People Jesus met - Mary part two

People Jesus met – Mary of Bethany

Faith’s devotion – John 11 verse 45 to 12 verse 10

Context

a) Where – Jesus was in the house of Simon the Leper
This is often confused with Mary Magdalene. It is the same story as in Matthew and Mark. Mary of Magdalene is in Luke (she is described there as a sinner). We are in Bethany. A dinner is being given in honour of Jesus. We do not know who the host is but Martha is serving.
b) When – Saturday night – after the Sabbath was over.
John is precise, they arrived on Friday and the dinner was on Saturday night – in the presence of friends who loved him.

What Mary did. Verse 3
She poured an expensive perfume on his feet and wiped it with her hair, the whole house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. Matthew and Mark say it was also on his head, it would have covered him. It was an alabaster phial, she broke the neck, it had served its purpose. It was very expensive, high quality perfume. John knew it was very expensive and it came from an aromatic herb grown in the Himalayas in India. It was used in cosmetics and for ritual use – it was often used for Kings’ anointing. It came on camel backs from far off lands. It was worth 300 denarii (more than a soldier’s pay) - £20,000 today.
The family was very well to do. They often hosted dinners. However, it was an extravagant, lavish gift.

The reaction it caused. – Judas objects verses 4 to 6
What triggered his comment? The other disciples were indignant. Judas’ real motive was that he wanted to have the money so he could steal it. No one suspected him at this point of having a double heart. The reason for his comment was his love of money, greed had a grip on him. His lack of commitment to spiritual values showed itself for the first time. His heart was not with Jesus but with the things of the World. There is a great contrast with Mary who showed selflessness, while Judas showed selfishness. Maybe this was the root of his betrayal, he knew the Sanhedrin were after Jesus, perhaps he worried about his financial security. This was an opportunity for financial gain that had gone with the perfume. Within hours he had agreed to betray Jesus for 30 silver coins – half a years’ wages. He had spent 3 years in the closet, in association with Jesus, the perfect person, he saw miracles, heard the words but in the end he turned Jesus over to die, how could he do that? He made a wrong judgement on was truly valuable as millions do today.
It is possible to be quite close to Jesus Christ, to listen to good sermons, to have Christian parents or friends who live consistent Christian lives and yet fail to love Christ. You can be that close to Jesus Christ and yet be lost. When Christ comes, the divided heart will be exposed. This reaction was sad and heart breaking. Do our treasure have us or do we have it? Will our gold drag is down as it did Judas? We may not love money but there may be something else, we must all ask if something else is more important than Jesus.

What Jesus thought about it. Verse 7
a) It was an act of humble love and devotion. Mary had said in the most powerful way, ‘He is everything, I am nothing. I wish to be nothing but his servant.’ In a wealthy family a servant did the feet washing, it was not a nice job, it was done by the lowest servant. ‘I just want to be the servant of the Lord Jesus. It is an act of gratitude and love, it was not low self esteem. Why? Her brother was in rude good health, he had been brought back from the dead in answer to the family’s prayers. It was his greatest miracle. He had given her hope and shown her the way to life. He was so worthy of her love. He was worthy of her devotion. Sometimes we have fear and depression, poor health, difficult marriages and these should draw us to Jesus – we humbly put up with them.
b) It was an act of self forgetting love and devotion. She is oblivious to all around her. She wiped his feet with her hair. Women rarely let their hair down in public. It was an extraordinary scene and she was overcome with her love for him. She probably didn’t care what people said. Other saints did the same – David leapt and danced before God, his wife said that it was unbecoming a king, but David could not suppress himself. We can be too hide bound and stiff and formal.
c) It was an act of generous love and devotion. Mary gives the best thing that she has. It was probably a family heirloom, she used it all in one go. It was not silly female emotionalism. What is the best we can do? Do we give of our best as Mary did? Second best is not good enough for her. She would have said nothing is too good for our Lord, do we say this? We owe so much – he has forgiven our sins, we will go to Heaven. We must love him and give what we can – free time, money and our skills.
d) It was an act of wasteful love and devotion. The disciples saw it as a colossal waste of money. Jesus did care about the poor as did the early church. Whenever the gospel comes so does care for the poor. In this case spiritual devotion takes precedent over social concern. Social concern does not get to the root of the problem – a problem heart needs the gospel. We have plenty of opportunities to help the poor. Jesus knew he was the root and cure of sin.
e) It was an act of perceptive love and devotion – Matthew 26 verse 12. How did Mary come to understand this when others, particularly the disciples, failed to do so? By being often in the place where we find her now – at Jesus feet. Mary knew Jesus was soon going to die. Nard was often used in embalming. Mary wanted everyone to understand what was going to happen. She knew more clearly than the disciples. Why? Mary is always in the same place – at Jesus’ feet, that is symbolic of being taught (when Lazarus died Mary was at Jesus’ feet, when he was at their house before she sat at his feet).
f) It was an act of love and devotion that is a lasting memorial. The Lord is saying ‘what she did is a lesson for all of you’. Mary was finding out the greatness of Jesus’ loving heart. She caught a glimpse of Jesus’ love for her, and took the best thing that she had and just poured it all over Him. She loved Him because he first loved her. Matthew and Mark say Jesus said it would told as a memorial to her. We cannot do what each other can do, we should do what we can do and show our love for Jesus who died for us.
It is staggering that what she did is recorded, not what she says. We do not know what Mary said when Jesus was in her house, she was criticized for what she did but Jesus commended her, it is a lesson for us that we should love him who died for us. She showed her love for him as we should. God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life. What do we do in return? Do we take every opportunity to show our love? How are we showing that we love the Lord?