John 12:1-11
1Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. 2There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him. 3Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus’s feet, and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was about to betray him), said, 5“Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?” 6(He said this not because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; he kept the common purse and used to steal what was put into it.) 7Jesus said, “Leave her alone. She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial. 8You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.”
9When the great crowd of the Jews learned that he was there, they came not only because of Jesus but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. 10So the chief priests planned to put Lazarus to death as well, 11since it was on account of him that many of the Jews were deserting and were believing in Jesus.
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I hate to admit that when I first read this passage, I found myself agreeing with Judas; setting aside the part about him stealing the money! Being a very practical person, I thought that selling the nard perfume and giving the money to the poor would be a better thing to do. Doesn’t Jesus teach about taking care of the poor? Isn’t this what Jesus would do? Isn’t it a selfish thing to waste all this on one person?
For me, the answer to these questions was articulated in a sermon by Watchman Nee. His states that the gospel is “to bring each one of us to a true estimate of His (Jesus’) worth.” Jesus is worth devoting everything you are and everything you have to him. It is not a waste to devote yourself and your life to Jesus.
In this passage, we see this play out between the selflessness of Mary’s act and the selfishness of Judas and the chief priests. Judas wants to steal the money therefore, he doesn’t want Mary to use it on Jesus. The chief priests want to put Jesus and Lazarus to death. Because of Jesus acts, including raising Lazarus from death, the chief priests see Jesus is a threat to their power. Mary on the other hand, has a deeper spiritual understanding and knew that Jesus was worthy of all that is given to him. She is not held back by the scorn and judgement of others. She has the vision to see that Jesus is worthy of all her honor, praise, prayer and devotion and then she has the courage to act on that vision.
Prayer: Jesus, help me to be a selfless as Mary, even at the cost of others judgements, to give all that I have to you because you are worth it.
—Lori Thomson