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Weekly Message | October 26th, 2008
Passage: John 11:45-12:11
Key Verse(s): 12:7,8
It has been several months since we last studied John’s gospel. If you recall our last passage was Jesus who raised Lazarus from the tomb. Jesus revealed powerfully that he was the “resurrection and the life.” The events that followed contrasted those who despised Jesus for his life giving work and those who deeply loved and were devoted to Jesus. There are some very meaningful and relevant principles that arise from these events. Today we may think about Jesus who was anointed which prepared Jesus for his death.
First, “Jesus would die…to bring them together and make them one” (11:45-57). Look at 45 and 46. “Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, put their faith in him. But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done.” Jesus allowed the public to see this miracle because it was his desire that they may all put their faith in him. Foremost, Jesus planted resurrection faith in Mary, Martha, Lazarus and Jesus’ disciples. In verse 45 we learn that some of those who witnessed the miracle put their faith in Jesus. They saw Jesus, the resurrection and the life who overcomes the power of death and gives new life. However verse 46 says that others went to the Pharisees and reported what Jesus had done. Even though they saw Jesus raise Lazarus from the dead, they did not believe.
What was the reaction of the Pharisees? “Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin. ‘What are we accomplishing?’ they asked. ‘Here is this man performing many miraculous signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our place[c] and our nation’” (47,48). This was an emergency meeting of the Sanhedrin council, composed of the best and brightest leaders who governed Israel. There were two groups of men. One group was the Pharisees who were concerned about keeping the Mosaic laws. The other group, the Saducees, were the chief priests. They were highly political, wealthy, and often collaborated with the Romans to preserve civil order. They were a very unlikely coalition. However, they found common ground because both of these groups felt that their control over the people was threatened by Jesus.
This counsel was not interested in facts or truth. They were not interested in discussing the miracles. They said, “Here is a man who is performing miraculous signs. If we let him go on like this everyone one will believe in him.” This is not a matter of just being indifferent and unbelieving. Instead, they became enemies of God.
In verses 49 and 50 it says that Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, spoke up, "You know nothing at all! You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish" (49, 50). What Caiphas was saying was that one man, Jesus, should die for the sake of the entire nation. Politically, this was only an excuse to kill Jesus so they could save the nation from the Romans. He was giving the entire Council the political framework to rid themselves of Jesus.
Look at verses 51, 52: "He did not say this on his own, but as high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation, and not only for that nation but also for the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one." These are John's comments that we may understand it was God, and not politicians, who was working. Here we see that God is fulfilling a greater plan. It is God that had a greater purpose in what was an evil act. John declares why Jesus would die and the scope of his death. First, it is God’s plan to bring salvation into the entire world through Jesus’ death. Jesus would die for a nation. It was not just for the Jewish nation. Rather for all nations. To restore (the tribes of Jacob) Israel would be too small a thing for God to do. God wanted Jesus to be a light for the Gentiles and therefore Jesus may bring salvation to the ends of the earth (Zec 49:6). Secondly, we understand that God’s rule is sovereign. When we read this passage we may feel somewhat overwhelmed with the idea that men with evil intentions can command the destiny of so many just based upon their own political will. John is teaching us that God is in control. It is God who is using these events for his good and his purpose.
A Biblical example of this is found in the Old Testament in the story of Joseph, the son Jacob. He was the youngest of 12 sons. The brothers of Joseph hated him because Joseph had dreams that revealed that his older brothers would serve him (Ge 37:1-11). So Joseph’s brothers sold him as a slave and this began many years of hardship and imprisonment for Joseph. However, Joseph never lost his faith and God’s purpose in his life. Joseph fixed his eyes on God and on God’s good purpose for his people. In the course of time, God exalted him as second in command in the country and he was put in charge of the whole land of Egypt. Later, Joseph was reunited with his entire family when they had to come to Egypt to escape a famine. He helped his brothers to repent and accept God’s mission. Joseph’s conclusion was that he could see that God had turned his brother’s evil actions into good. He said to them, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives” (Ge 50:20). Joseph was not a bitter man. Instead, he looked at things from the divine point of view that God is sovereign and that God’s good purpose prevails over all the evil of mankind.
God has a plan for each one of us in Jesus Christ. We believe that God is working. God has made us alive in Christ. By God’s grace we are saved from our sins, no longer following its desires and thought. “For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do (Eph 2:10). Like Joseph, we must learn to trust God. We must be patient and let God work. The good news is that in time, we will see God prevail in all things in Jesus Christ.
The result of the Council meeting was that they plotted to take Jesus’ life (53,54). Therefore’ Jesus no longer moved about publicly among the Jews and withdrew to a region near the desert, to a village called Ephraim. Meanwhile, the time of the Passover was approaching and the people were hoping to see Jesus. The chief priests and the Pharisees were also waiting for him to arrest Jesus.
Second, Mary anointed Jesus with expensive perfume (12:1-6). Look at verse one. “Six days before the Passover, Jesus arrived at Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.” We know from the other gospels that Jesus did not go directly back to Jerusalem. Instead, he and his disciples went through Jericho (Lk 18:35-42; Mk 10:46-52; Lk 19:1-9). It was here he healed Bartimaeus of his blindness because of his faith. This is also where Jesus met Zacchaeus, who repented of his selfish greed as a tax collector. According to Matthew’s gospel 20:29-34, Jesus also healed two other men of their blindness as he was leaving Jericho. What was Jesus doing? Jesus was traveling to Jerusalem for the last time. He planted faith in many unnamed people who observed his miraculous healing of blind men and his welcoming of the despicable Zacchaeus. As Jesus travelled closer to Jerusalem, he continued to teach the people along the way (Lk 19:11). He was still the source of hope and the object of faith for many people and so Jesus served them as a Good Shepherd.
When Jesus and the disciples arrived in Bethany, it says in verse 2 “Here a dinner was given in Jesus' honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him.” A dinner was held in Jesus honor. We know that Martha, Mary and Lazarus were there. However, the rest of the people attending were all friends of Jesus. They showed their love and gratitude for him with this dinner. They were also brave. In just the last chapter, the Pharisees had given the orders that if anyone had seen Jesus, they were to report it so that Jesus could be arrested. Jesus had the status of a fugitive. But the friends of Jesus were undaunted by the actions of the Pharisees and honored him with a dinner.
What happened next? In verse three it says, “Then 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.” Nard was a highly desirable perfume. (It was traded on the open market and made from a plant by the same name grown in the Himalayas) The perfume was highly fragrant and had an intense musky scent. Mary had about a pint (16 oz) of the desirable perfume. During the course of the dinner, she poured perfume on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. The act was an expression of her love and devotion to Jesus.
Initially, we may not be able to understand Mary’s actions. Mary had offered the absolute best of what she possessed. Her nard was expensive. She acted in humility as she poured the nard on Jesus’ feet and wiped it off with her hair. Where does such an act of love and devotion come from? How do people get to the point where they unconditionally love Jesus? People love and devote themselves because they are moved by Jesus. Mary was able to do this because Jesus had moved her heart.
In John chapter 11, Martha and Mary sent word to Jesus that their brother was sick (11:3). They wanted Jesus to come and heal their brother. Jesus did not come right away and consequently, Lazarus died. When Jesus finally came, both sisters expressed their great disappointment with Jesus and stated that if he had only been there, Lazarus would not have died (Jn11:21, 32). Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” On that day they did see the glory of God. They saw Jesus, the resurrection and the life. Their hearts were moved. Mary lost her trust in Jesus and doubted Jesus’ love because Jesus did not care enough to come and heal her very sick brother before he died. Through the resurrection of her brother, Mary had grown in her love and trust in Jesus. Now we know that she absolutely trusted Jesus. She gave what was most precious to her in an expression of love and devotion to Jesus.
There was a sharp objection to Mary’s act of worship. One of Jesus’ disciples, Judas Iscariot, spoke up: “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages” (5). On the surface, Judas’ point was that it was a waste of money to pour the expensive perfume on Jesus’ feet. But John points out that his motive really was; “He 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” (6). Judas was with Jesus, heard Jesus’ words, saw his miracles and personally spoke with Jesus but his heart was never changed. He did not see Jesus as the Son of God and would later betray Jesus for thirty silver coins (Mt 26:14-16). Later, he was so filled with remorse over his betrayal that he would commit suicide (Mt 27:3-5). Judas is the complete opposite of Mary. He never examined his heart nor would he allow the word of God move his heart. He loved money more than Jesus and betrayed him.
We may ask ourselves, “How is my heart moved by Jesus?” Is my heart being renewed by the good news of Jesus? Certainly! We should be mindful of God’s word that we received. Jesus is trying to mold us in his image. Likewise, we may be mindful what Jesus has done for us personally and as a community in Christ. We must keep our hearts open to Jesus, love and devote ourselves to him all the more.
Third, “Leave her alone… you will not always have me” (12:7-10). Look at verse 7. “’Leave her alone,’ Jesus replied. ‘It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial.’” Jesus defended Mary. Jesus reveled that God had a great purpose for this perfume, far beyond Mary’s intention. God’s purpose for the nard was to anoint Jesus’ body for his burial. I don’t think that this is what Mary intended. However, at the time she expressed her love and devotion to Jesus, Jesus took great comfort in Mary’s beautiful act. In fact no one really knew or understood the heart and mind of Jesus at this time. Who really understood Jesus’ agonies? Jesus would die on a cross for the sin of the world later in the week. Everyone else was going about their business. The Pharisees wanted to kill Jesus. The disciples thought that helping the poor was the best. But Mary recognized Jesus as the Son of God. Mary loved him enough to pour out her treasure. Jesus was greatly encouraged at this critical moment. Our Lord Jesus always knows our intension and the value of our devotion. Jesus recognizes us and our work.
Verse 8 says, “You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.’” Jesus said we will always have the poor among us. We can serve the poor anytime and in any way that we want. Helping the poor is an important part of Christian ministry. However, there should be a priority in the minds of Jesus’ disciples. We must learn to love Jesus first. Only then will our service for others, including the poor, have any real and lasting value. In other words, there is an important principle that Jesus was teaching his disciples. The work of helping the poor is good and necessary work, but God desires us to do the most necessary work first. This is a godly sense of priorities and timing that can only come through knowing the mind and heart of Jesus.
Naturally, we ask ourselves what is the most necessary work for us to do. In our ministry we have Children’s Bible Fellowship. We have High School Bible Fellowship and finally we have University Bible Fellowship. At each level, there are vastly different needs and the work to be done at each level requires special prayer, specific word of God and much care. The necessary work of God at each level is just as important as the next. The necessary work of God is simply to raise spiritually healthy people and capable leaders who love Jesus. In this, everyone must do his or her part and cowork for this common outcome.
At this time in our ministry we have several Bible students who are growing in their personal faith in Jesus. They aspire to serve God. The most necessary work for our ministry is to pray for them and learn to support them. Essentially, as a ministry, we work together to raise disciples of Jesus. On an individual bases, each person will need to understand what is necessary work and give it the time and attention that is needed. My personal life lacks a consistent daily devotion of prayer and Bible reading. For the longest time my mandatory work schedule was from 6:30 am to 5:00 pm. My focus in the morning was simply to get ready and go to work. But these days my work starting time is flexible but I chose to begin my work day at 6:00 or 6:30 am. Certainly I was disciplined through this and I was productive at work. I understand that this is not necessary for me to do anymore. I have realized lately this it is no longer productive. Instead of going to work so early, I want to join the early daily bread prayer meetings from now on. What the necessary work for me to do now is to learn daily devotion and prayer. I need to grow in a deeper love relationship with Jesus and in a spiritual devotion with him. For this, I will change my work schedule so that I can have Bible reading and prayer in the morning.
When we review Jesus’ ministry his necessary work was preaching and healing ministry (Mk 1:15) and he raised up 12 disciples who were close to him (Mt 10:1-4). Jesus continued to do this necessary work throughout his ministry and through his last week. For this, he always had a sense of timing and focus. Likewise, we will do much of the same things as Jesus. Primarily, we teach the Bible and we raise up disciples of Jesus. To do this there is much to learn. We begin to learn to devote ourselves to Jesus, love him and in time we understand his heart and mind. We can learn to have the right sense of priorities and focus to do the necessary work first.
October 26, 2008. Toledo UBF.
Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.
