Verses 1-3 It’s Saturday, just six days before the Passover, six days before Jesus’ crucifixion, and Jesus prepares himself for the celebration by having a quiet supper in Bethany (just outside Jerusalem). He’s in the fellowship, love, and comfort of the disciples and his friends Mary, Martha, and their brother, Lazarus, the man Jesus raised from the dead. Martha served the meal, of course.
Jesus prioritizes people. He knows it’s the last week of his life and here he is visiting his closest friends and having supper. We can learn a lot about Jesus’ priorities and how to live in those from this simple act.
Balance With Jesus
Remember when Jesus reprimanded Martha at the previous supper for busying herself with serving? Notice how Martha doesn’t jump to the other extreme and quit serving altogether. She continues to serve with balance in her life. We all need balance in our serving and seeking Jesus. We cannot neglect our families and other godly appointments while we stretch ourselves thin in serving the Church.
Extravagant Humility & Worship
We find Mary at Jesus’ feet in reverence to this Messiah again. This time she’s anointing him with twelve ounces of very expensive perfume and wiping his feet with her hair.
In those days, it was inappropriate for a woman to let her hair down in the presence of a man who was not her husband. But Mary is caught up in her love and gratitude for Jesus.
Deep love does this. It forgets whose watching and focuses solely on the desire of our hearts. Consuming love prioritizes people who hold our hearts over the perception of any witnesses.
Perhaps she perceived his death was near. So she brings her best to him. In an outburst of love, she literally pours her fortune all over His feet. Mary’s tremendous sacrifice for Jesus showed her amazing devotion to him.
A Waste Of Perfume
Verses 4-6 Judas Iscariot (this is the one who would betray Jesus) was sitting at the table. A preacher of the gospel, and an apostle, Judas was in the business of encouraging faithful followers, but here he ridicules Mary for “wasting” expensive perfume on Jesus’ feet. Pretending to be a philanthropist, Judas says it could have been sold for about a year’s worth of wages (three hundred denarii) and donated to the poor.
Love and hate meet here at the feet of Jesus.
Satan loves to disguise himself as an angel of light. Judas was a thief stealing from Jesus but pretending to have the people’s best in mind.
Worldly wisdom disapproves of faith’s great enthusiasm for Jesus’ causes. They pour guilt onto followers, calling it mismanagement or lacking moral judgment. This is the spirit of Judas, a very evil spirit disguised as a saint. His priorities are out of place. His selfish ambition is taking precedence over his love for Jesus.
Mary’s perfume is an example of Jesus’ priority in her life. She gave her best and most to Jesus. It was not a waste of money or time.
Judging Service To Jesus
We should be careful not to judge the way someone gives or serves Jesus with their time and resources. Proud people think their way of serving and giving is the only way. We’re not here to judge what is acceptable service to God.
Jesus searches the heart and knows Judas had no concern for the poor. Put in charge of the disciples’ moneybag, Judas was padding his pockets with the resources from others. He prioritized his love of money over his love for others. Judas, their treasurer, had no compassion and would steal from under their noses. And he used the poor as an excuse to oversee the money.
Jesus Gives Us The Benefit Of The Doubt
What is interesting is that Judas had this strong desire for wealth and possessions and yet Jesus still gives him the benefit of the doubt and names him treasurer over their money. The temptation to sin is his daily battle, but Judas gets to make the choice.
Judas’s real problem is that his priorities are out of alignment with Jesus. Our choices will follow the direction of our deepest desires.
Any gains from sin will destroy us. In the end, Judas’ greed, dishonesty, and betrayal lead him to turn Jesus over to the religious leaders for even more money. This is the ultimate betrayal in Jesus’ life.
Sin is never a small, inconspicuous thing. One step in sin’s direction is one step away from Jesus.
Here Judas has his mind on the money Mary can get from her perfume; money he would have access to steal from.
Jesus’ Grace Always Makes The Best Of A Situation
Verses 7 Jesus stepped in and told Judas to leave Mary alone. Though it may have offended some, this was Mary’s way of showing love. The grace of Jesus will always make the best of what is amiss. This anointing was preparing Jesus’ body for his burial in just a few days.
Verse 8 There will always be people who are poor in this world. While providing for the poor is a biblical mandate for God’s people, it’s also an ongoing reality in this sinful, fallen world. Jesus is urging his listeners to tend to the things that are necessary today and let other duties wait.
When Jesus is our priority, his plans work out what is for our best.
How to prioritize two good things
When we must decide between two good things that come into competition with each other, we need the wisdom to determine which of the two we should give preference to.
What is the circumstance? Which can we improve upon? Will it affect us or others first? Which will require the shortest amount of time to accomplish and wipe off the list?
To do’s with no deadlines should be at the end of the list, behind those that cannot wait.
The Talk of the Town
Verses 9-11 After raising Lazarus from the dead, Jesus became the talk of the town. It’s Sunday now and word circulated all the way to Jerusalem that Jesus was at Lazarus’ house. So a sizeable crowd of curious Jews made the two-mile trek to Bethany to see both Jesus and the man he brought back to life. Did they have questions for Lazarus like, ‘what’s it like being dead?’ We don’t know. But their curiosity is confirmation of their faith that Jesus is the Messiah.
Despite the religious leaders’ attempts to misrepresent Jesus, this miracle solidified his messianic identity. Jews were deserting their Jewish religious leaders and believing in Jesus as the Messiah they had been waiting for. This conversion ignited a burning desire in the chief priests to kill Jesus and Lazarus. They wanted both guys gone. Sin is very irrational.
Prayer
Jesus, Messiah, you saved me from myself. You saved me from sin. Your miracles surround me daily, and I’m humbled by your consideration to be called a child of God. My heart is tender to think you call me yours even when I struggle to follow your plans for my life.
Jesus, you see the struggles with sin in my heart. I do what I don’t want to do. Help me throw off these temptations and run toward you, Jesus. Holy Spirit, strengthen my resolve to do the right thing when I am tempted. I don’t want to read this story about Judas and believe I’m any different. My sin is a betrayal to the Son who died on a cross for me. I need saving daily, Jesus. Search my heart for any evil hiding behind the judgment of others and draw this out with conviction. I don’t want to live under the gavel of judgment for the criticism I projected on others.
Jesus, you deserve my best. Help me when my mind is tired, and lesser things preoccupy my heart. Forgive me, Jesus. You change my life when I fully give myself over to you; my thoughts, words, and actions. Quiet the distractions and help me surrender to seeking you in the scriptures. Holy Spirit, help me throw off the devil’s misrepresentations that time in your Word is eating up my time. I want to come with curiosity and anticipation to see you, Jesus. You are my Savior, day after day. Seeking you is my priority, Jesus. Help me discern the immediate and important things that come after you, and prioritize my life accordingly. In Jesus’ name, Amen.