Jesus Anointed by Mary (John 12:1-9)

Jesus was aware that the day of his death was drawing near. He knew that it was going to take place in Jerusalem during the upcoming Passover, and he journeyed there determined to fulfil his mission. Yet he also knew that he would engage in various activities before his arrest and would need a base while he was there. The place that he chose to stay in was with a family he knew well in Bethany, the place of Lazarus, Martha and Mary.

Simon the leper

John tells us that the Lazarus and his sisters Mary and Martha lived in Bethany. Matthew and Mark say that the home in which this incident took place belonged to a man called Simon the leper. Clearly he was no longer a leper because if he was he could not have been present for the meal.

Who was Simon the leper? There are several options. One is that he lived in another house from Lazarus and his sisters, perhaps one that was bigger and more suitable for feeding a large number of people. Another option is that he was the father of Lazarus and his sisters. Some speculate that the family came into contact with Jesus when he healed Simon from his leprosy. Of course, such suggestions are only guesses. What is not a guess, however, is the fact that Simon was willing to identify with Jesus.

This decision of Simon’s was a courageous one because, as John 11:57 says regarding Jesus, ‘the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where he was, he should let them know, so that they might arrest him.’ And after the incident was over, we read about the response of those authorities in John 12:10-11: ‘So the chief priests made plans to put Lazarus to death as well, because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus.’

The reason why Simon was prepared to do this was because he loved Jesus for the great blessings he had brought to him and to others. We know about the amazing activity of Jesus when he raised Lazarus from the dead, and we are also told elsewhere about visits that Jesus made to their home. As Simon and the others interacted with Jesus, they increased in love for Jesus.

The supper

John tells us in verse 2 that a supper was made for Jesus, probably on the day after he came to Bethany. The day that they made it on was the Sabbath, because John tells us in verse 12 that the following day was Palm Sunday. So this meal with Jesus took place on the Saturday afternoon or early evening, presumably after they had been to the synagogue somewhere in the vicinity.

What can be said about the supper? A meal is a common picture of fellowship in the Bible and we are told about five kinds of people who participated in this meal. First, there was Simon the former leper and we can see in him a picture of sinners who have been cleansed from the effects of sin. Second, there is Lazarus, the resurrected man, and he is a picture of those who have experienced new life from Jesus. Third, there is Martha, now happy to serve without complaining about what her sister was not doing, as she had done on a previous occasion. Fourth, there were the disciples, and they illustrate that fellowship with Jesus involves learning from Jesus.  And fifth, there was Mary, who wanted to give something precious to Jesus. Each of these persons are an example of every Christian.

So here we have a good picture of the kinds of people that Jesus loves to have fellowship with. Of course, the obvious detail is that the fellowship would not have happened if someone had not taken the initiative and arranged for it to occur. As we can see from the account, it was not Jesus that arranged for the event, although the idea would have been given to the organisers by the Holy Spirit. What would have happened if they had done nothing? Nothing. What will happen if we do nothing? Nothing. Someone has to take steps to arrange for fellowship to take place. And who can tell what will happen when it occurs.

The anointing

We know that participants at an event see different things in the same incident. Matthew records that Mary poured some of the ointment on the head of Jesus. Mark, who may be expressing the recollections of Peter, says that she first broke the vial and then poured out the ointment. John chooses to focus on what she did when she anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped them with her hair. He also tells us that the aroma filled the house. These differences inform us that we don’t all have to have the same experience when having fellowship with Jesus at the same time. Some will experience one aspect and others will experience different aspects. What the accounts tell us is the value of sharing our own experiences and then have a combined grasp of what has taken place.

John also records what Judas thought of the event. Judas had the devilish ability to spoil the incident, and he did so by what we can call an assessment based on selfishness. He grasped that the ointment was worth a certain amount of money. He knew that in order to get his hands on the money he would have to make some pious comments about the poor. The value was correct and the duty of helping the poor was based on God’s law. Sadly, not every true statement comes from a true heart. John says in verse 4 that Judas was intending to betray Jesus, and here he managed to lead the other disciples astray. No doubt, they would squirm later as they recalled how easily he had done so.

What Mary did here was against the accepted customs of the time regarding what was appropriate for a woman to do. The meal would have only been attended by males and it was regarded as improper for a woman to attend. It was also regarded as unbecoming for a woman to let her hair down in public. Mary broke those two customs.

John highlights the posture of Mary, that she was kneeling at the feet of Jesus. I assume that she commenced her anointing with the head of Jesus – he was reclining at the table – and then knelt to anoint his feet. Is it too much to say that spiritual progress leads a person to kneel at the feet of Jesus as a worshipper? It has often been pointed out that when we see Mary in the Gospels she is usually at the feet of Jesus, listening to him.

Why did Mary do this on this occasion? She had knowledge and she had resolve. As far as her knowledge was concerned, she had grasped that Jesus was going to die for her. How did she know that this was the case? The answer is that she had listened carefully to what he had been teaching his disciples. In her grasp of his teaching, she is a long way ahead of the disciples who had been travelling with Jesus. It is obvious that we can only know what the plans of Jesus are by listening to what his Word says. Mary had taken the time to find out what was going to happen, and because she did so she could engage in a suitable act of worship.

What about her resolve? It looks from what Jesus says that Mary had purchased this special ointment so that it could be used to anoint him after he died. It was expensive ointment, which may have come from as far away as India. We are told that it was worth about 300 denarri, and a denarri is what a person would have been paid for a day’s work. So we can say that the vial is the equivalent of almost a year’s wage. When Mary purchased it she may not have imagined that she would have to apply the ointment personally at a meal in Simon’s house. But she realised that having Jesus there was a good opportunity for her to pour the ointment on him.

Mary was obviously a wealthy person because only such a person would possess that kind of ointment. I suspect she had other vials of oils and ointments, but they did not contain such valuable contents as this vial. Her resolve was to give her best to Jesus. She could have given other ointment, but what would that have said about her estimation of Jesus? Mary says to us that it is not appropriate to give the second best to Jesus.

What else is Mary expressing by this act of devotion? Did she think that his death would be the end? I doubt it. Had Jesus not told her a short time before, when he raised Lazarus from the dead, that he was the resurrection and the life? How could he be the resurrection without defeating death? His raising of Lazarus had shown his power, but he had not yet dealt with the problem of why Lazarus would yet die again. Mary here was stating very graphically that the death of Jesus would have greater effects in its space that the precious ointment had in the space it affected. Her ointment filled the room with sweetness, and the death of Jesus would fill the world with glory because he would have dealt with the problem of sin.

Mary could have used this ointment on her brother Lazarus when he died, but she chose not to do so. After all, the ointment was a special expression of her love for Jesus, and she would not have given it even to those she loved the most in this world. Do we have something special for Jesus, something that only he and we know about, that we would never give to another?

So we can say that her reaction was based on accurate understanding of the word of Jesus about his death, was a display of affectionate love for Jesus because of his coming death, and was an expression of confidence concerning the purpose and outcome of the death of Jesus.

The assessment

The discussion looked very one-sided initially as the disciples joined together to accuse Mary of wasting her possession. But the voices of opposition soon had to listen to another assessment of what she had done – the voice of the Master. What did he think of her expression of devotion? We can see that he approved of what she had done.

His words are a reminder that Jesus will come to the defence of his people who show love for him. Sometimes he does it in providence in this life, and he will do so at the judgement seat. His words are also a reminder that we should distinguish between what is good and what is best. It is good to give to the poor and we should, but we cannot use that duty as a reason for not showing great love for Jesus.

The other Gospels tell us that Jesus promised that what she did would be told down the ages, and what we are doing this morning is proof of that. Mary goes off the stage historically with this incident and we don’t read about her again. Yet there is a sense in which she never goes off the stage, that her story is always there challenging us to imitate her in showing love for Jesus.

Why is her story told? It is not because she is the believer who has made the greatest sacrifice for Jesus – many other Christians have given far more than what she gave on this occasion. I suspect her story is to be told because she was the only person who had grasped was happening at that time. She took Jesus at his word and her story tells us that we should do the same.

Some closing comments

This was the last Sabbath of Jesus’ life before he died on Calvary. The following Sabbath his body would be in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea. He had known many a pleasant Sabbath experience with his disciples, but this one may have been the most pleasant. I suspect we can still sense that pleasantness as we read this story, as the King tells us about it in his Word.

The incident also tells us to grasp the present. If Mary had waited for another time, she would have discovered that there was not another time. She would not have been able to do what her heart wanted to do. We all know that we should seize the moment and always we should do now what we should do.

Finally, the incident tells us not to worry about what others will think of your enthusiasm. Instead, remember what Jesus thought of Mary when she poured ointment on his head. Christians, sadly, can become like dampeners determined to put out every spiritual fire that they see. But some fires are good, and serving Jesus enthusiastically is one of them.

Preached on 11th September 2016