John 12:1-11
Jesus Anointed at Bethany
1Six days before the Passover, Jesus arrived at Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2Here a dinner was given in Jesus' honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. 3Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus' feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.
4But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, 5"Why wasn't this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year's wages." 6He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.
7"Leave her alone," Jesus replied. " It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. 8You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me."
9Meanwhile a large crowd of Jews found out that Jesus was there and came, not only because of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. 10So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well, 11for on account of him many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and putting their faith in him.
Jesus in Luke 10:38-42 gently reprimands Martha for being "troubled" with serving...Martha here is still serving...She says nothing and Jesus says nothing about her serving...Martha has learned her lesson on being troubled with serving, and goes about serving without judging her sister...Sometimes when we are reprimanded by one or ones we respect we can over react...Martha, we must guess, has now found the right balance, and even if she has not, Jesus will forgive her...Martha likes to serve...We, as humans, gravitate to what we like to do, and all of us have similar routines daily in what we do...
Lazarus has been raised from the dead...What a story and what talk would this miracle have generated...People also gravitate to stories like this (as we will see later)...Jesus is in Bethany, where Lazarus lived...Lazarus had died and now was alive...Jesus has power over death...Lazarus and Jesus are at the table with Martha serving...We can assume they are eating, and thus by Lazarus eating, we know he is not a spirit, but a man returned from death, eating again...
Mary takes out an expensive perfume, called nard...Mary pours a full pint of nard on His head...Jesus is God's anointed Son...Mary shows the love she has for Jesus and the thankfulness she has for saving Lazarus and loving Martha and being with her family...
Judas objects to the expensive nard being poured over His Master, and says "this perfume could be sold, and given to the poor"... Judas was keeper of the money and had helped himself to what was put in it, and was not as concerned with the poor as he is saying...Jesus tells Judas, to leave her alone...It is intended that He be anointed before His death...Jesus tells us that we will always have the poor among us, but we will not always have Him...
The crowd was gathering and searching for what had just happened, outside the house to see Lazarus, who had died, and now was alive to see for themselves...The people also knew Jesus was there and they also came to see Him...Many of the Jews looking for Him, were now putting their faith in Him...
This story is a diverse one...The characters are diverse and there is much interest in their own personalities and even their recent history...Martha likes to work and keep busy...Her sister, Mary, is a touchy feely person, who shows love, right on her shoulder...Lazarus, whom we really do not know a lot about, has just been raised from the dead, and is thinking, wow, what an experience...What kind of man is this Jesus or who is He, Lazarus is probably thinking?...The gathering crowd searches for Jesus and the truth about one being raised from the dead...
We learn that when we are disciplined by ones we love we must listen and not overreact or get angry...Jesus has the power not only to heal, but to bring back life...Jesus, therefore, has power over death...Jesus sees the future, and talks about this anointment, being part of preparation for His death...Jesus sees certain acts, such as Mary anointing Him, as love...We search (as the crowd does) out Jesus for different reasons...It maybe that we are curious...It maybe we want to see His power...Whatever reason we have to search for God, it we get closer to Him, that is a good thing...