INTRODUCTION:
Fourteen men are enjoying a meal together, and engaging in conversation with one another, when something unexpected and unusual takes place. It captures the attention of everyone. One of the hostesses walks over to Jesus with a beautiful jar in her hands. She opens the jar, pours a small amount of the strong-smelling perfume on His head, and gently massages it into His hair. Then she gets down on her knees, unties her hair, pours the rest of the perfume on His feet, and uses her hair as a washcloth and towel. The eyes of everyone are upon her, and Jesus makes no comment. There is a beautiful silence as these men watch and try to comprehend this act of devotion.
I. THE WORDS OF JUDAS (verses 4-6)
The silence is about to be broken by someone, however, and the apostle John describes that person before he quotes his words. In verse 4, he says, “But Judas Iscariot, one of His disciples, who was intending to betray Him, said . . . “. John didn’t know that information at the time it was happening, but he wants his readers to know some helpful information about Judas. He has told us something about Judas that helps explain the words that Judas is about to say. Judas is the treasurer for the group, appointed to the position by Jesus Himself. At the moment, Judas is making some financial calculations in his mind: “Let’s see; that bottle of nard ointment must have cost about 300 denarii. Based on a six-day workweek and time-off for feast days, that’s a whole year’s wages for a common laborer. What a waste of money! Jesus needs to be made aware of this.”
In verse 5, Judas puts his thoughts into words when he says, “Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii, and given to poor people?” I think he said it loudly enough for everyone to hear, and he was expecting to get a response from Jesus and the other disciples, agreeing with him and his objection.
Before we hear from Jesus, the apostle John gives us some additional information about Judas so that we might better understand his motives for asking that question. Verse 6 reads, “Now he [Judas] said this, not because he was concerned about the poor, but because he was a thief, and as he had the money box, he used to pilfer what was put in it.” Nowadays, you would call his tactic a “smokescreen”. The dictionary defines a smokescreen as something that you do or say that is intended to hide the true activities or motives. Judas was only concerned about one poor person – himself. He took advantage of his position as treasurer in order to benefit himself. Before saying those words to Jesus, he was probably thinking about all the things he could have purchased for himself with all that money. There was anger in his tone of voice. Judas could almost feel the added weight, and see the bulge of that money in his bag.
!!. JESUS’ RESPONSE TO JUDAS (verses 7-8)
In verse 7, Jesus responds by saying, “Let her alone”. The verb is singular, so Jesus is directing those words to Judas, not to all the disciples. Jesus may have been saying something like: “That’s not your business, Judas. She has the right to do what she wants with what is hers.” Objection overruled. Judas must have felt the sting of those words, but the other disciples had no inkling that Judas was a thief.
The Lord Jesus then proceeds to tell Judas why he should leave Mary alone. In verse 8, He says, “You always have the poor with you.” He’s referring to the words of Moses, who said, “For the poor will never cease to be in the land; therefore I command you, saying, ‘You shall freely open your hand to your brother, to the needy and the poor in your land’.” (Deuteronomy 15:11). The word “you” is plural in Deuteronomy, and it is also plural in the Greek text of John 12:8. Why does Jesus use the plural in His answer to Judas? There is a good reason, and we find it in Matthew’s Gospel. Matthew 26:8-9 says, “But His disciples were indignant when they saw this [the pouring of the perfume], and said ‘Why this waste.’ For this perfume might have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor.” Judas was saying what all of them were thinking, so they chimed in and agreed with Judas after he said it. Jesus was making an appeal to the conscience of Judas by reminding him that he hasn’t been giving the money in his purse to benefit the poor but to benefit himself. His motives are wrong because he has already demonstrated, time and again, that he is a thief. The Lord Jesus is also conveying to the rest of the disciples that they have made a rash judgment because they have failed to understand Mary’s reasons for her act of worship and humble service.
Secondly, Jesus says, “but you do not always have Me.” Once again, the word “you” is plural. Mary understands something that all of them have misunderstood. She sat at the feet of Jesus many times, listening to His every word and pondering them in her heart. She heard Jesus say, many times, that He had come to die for the sins of the world and she connected His words to the Old Testament prophecies of the Suffering Messiah. She also realized that the time of His death was near, and she wanted to express her love for Her Lord in the most sacrificial way.
The Lord Jesus goes on to say, in Matthew 26:13, “I tell you the truth, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.” Those words have been proven to be true. Many artists have painted that scene and many pastors have preached about it. Many parents, over the years, have chosen to give the name “Mary” to one of their daughters in memory of the Marys in the Bible. Yet you won’t find many, if any, who have named one of their sons Judas. That name has become synonymous with greed and treachery.
Mary’s sacrificial act of love for Jesus was completed. The head and feet of Jesus, as well as the whole room around Him, were now perfused with the smell of death. It was the smell that accompanied the burial service for a king. Only Jesus, Mary, and possibly, Martha and Lazarus, understood the meaning of this sacrificial act of love and service for her King, who was about to die for the sins of the world.
CONCLUSION:
There are many things we can learn and apply from this passage of Scripture. One of them comes from a comparison between Mary and Judas. Mary was selfless; Judas was selfish. Mary worshipped the Lord Jesus; Judas worshipped an idol – the idol of money. In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also (Matthew 6:21). True devotion to the Lord Jesus Christ is costly. If others around us examined the way we spent our money and lived our lives, would they come to the conclusion that we must be deeply in love with Jesus Christ and devoted to Him? If others could read our thoughts and could examine our motives, would they find that the focus of our thoughts and the reasons for our actions are rooted in a growing fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ and a desire to please Him in all that we think, say, and do?
A second lesson can be drawn from the timing of Mary’s act of devotion and the response of Jesus to Judas. Mary performed her act of love and service to Jesus as soon as the opportunity was available to do so because she knew that, very soon, Jesus was going to die. Jesus commended her for not waiting until His death before showing her devotion. If she had waited, she would not have been able to use that ointment, for when she arrived at the tomb on Easter morning, it was empty. If we intend to do an act of kindness for someone, we shouldn’t put it off. It’s easy to keep postponing an act of kindness until it’s too late. Do it now, or you may regret that you waited. There’s a saying that goes like this: “The devil doesn’t care how much good we do, as long as we don’t do it now.” Is there someone on your mind right now to whom you want to express your appreciation? Why not follow Mary’s example. That person would be pleased and so would the Lord Jesus.
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