The Anointing of Jesus

John 12:1-11

Praise and Prayer

What motivates you to be a follower of Christ? Do you serve Him with a sincere heart, or is there something else that draws you to Him?

The true motive for serving Christ is because He is worthy of our worship and devotion.

We learn that from Mary in our story, and her incredible act of devotion.

But John also contrasts Mary’s devotion with the selfishness of Judas and the evil plans of the chief priests.

The Point; The preparation for the death of Jesus was a time of worship and wickedness.

John 12:1–11 NASB95

Jesus, therefore, six days before the Passover, came to Bethany where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. So they made Him a supper there, and Martha was serving; but Lazarus was one of those reclining at the table with Him. Mary then took a pound of very costly perfume of pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But Judas Iscariot, one of His disciples, who was intending to betray Him, said, “Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and given to poor people?” Now he 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 into it. Therefore Jesus said, “Let her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of My burial. “For you always have the poor with you, but you do not always have Me.” The large crowd of the Jews then learned that He was there; and they came, not for Jesus’ sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He raised from the dead. But the chief priests planned to put Lazarus to death also; because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and were believing in Jesus.

Who are the characters in this story?

What are they doing?

Why are they doing this?

The Point; The preparation for the death of Jesus was time of worship and wickedness.

The beginning of chapter twelve marks a major transition in the gospel of John. The book of John can be broken down into two parts. The first eleven chapters John is proving to us who Jesus is. This is the incarnate Son of God. The Savior of the world.

The 2nd half of the book, beginning ion Chapter twelve, focus on the final week of the life of Jesus, leading to the crucifixion and the resurrection.

This is the most important week in the history of mankind, so John slows it down, and takes his time, and he shows us how important it is by devoting half his gospel to it.

John writes about the details of that final week in a very personal way we don’t get from the other gospels.

I. The setting at Bethany Vs. 1-2.

Notice In Vs. 1 John tells us it was six days before the Passover. So, that makes this Saturday before the crucifixion. Matthew and Mark both record this event as well.

But Matt. 26:6 and Mark 14:3 add an interesting fact that John leaves out. They tell us this takes place at the house of Simon the Leper.

We don’t know who this is, maybe he is a leper Jesus has healed, we don’t know. We do not even know if Simon the Leper was at this dinner.

But notice what John says in Vs. 2, “So they made Him a supper there, and Martha was serving”

Do women go into other women’s homes and cook and serve dinner?

Apparently Martha is either Simon the Leper’s wife or his oldest daughter, because John tells us she was serving.

There are two things emphasized in this passage.

Jesus is with Lazarus, the man He raised from the dead. Notice Lazarus is mentioned three times in 1,2 & 9.

The point is Lazarus is there. He is serving as witness to the power of Christ, having just been raised from the dead, proving Jesus is the Messiah.

2. Jesus was facing the Passover. It was just six days away, and He would become the Passover Lamb that takes away the sin of the world.

That is the point of His return to Bethany. He is on His way to Jerusalem where He will become the Passover Lamb. That is the reason Mary anoints Him. Jesus tells us this in Vs. 7-8.(anointing Him for burial)

So, chapter twelve begins by giving us the setting at Bethany. Does anyone have any questions or comments on Vs. 1-2?

II. The Purpose for Jesus at Bethany. His purpose was not only to be anointed and prepared for death, but He was there to be worshipped by Mary.

Vs. 3, “Mary then took a pound of very costly perfume of pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.”

Notice two times in this verse it speaks of the feet of Jesus. She anoints His feet with perfume and she wipes His feet with her hair. Every time we see Mary she is positioned at the feet of Jesus worshipping.

She is the supreme example of what a believer should be. She loves the Lord with all of her her heart and sacrifices all that she has for Him.

What we see here is not only her love and humility but there is also an element of repentance.

Remember how she criticized the Lord in the previous passages for not being there when her brother died. Now, she comes to Him and she is worshipping Him with humility and repentance.

Mary is a supreme believer because she understands the magnitude of the situation better than anybody else.

She understands that Jesus is going to die and this is her chance to show Him she loves Him and she does that by anointing Him for His burial.

Notice the sacrifice she makes. Judas tells us this perfume could have been sold for three hundred denarii. One denarii was the average pay for a days wage. so, she has poured out on the feet of Jesus what would have cost her a years worth of work!!

Perfume was the most precious thing to Middle Eastern women of the ancient world. So, Mary was taking her most precious possession, costing nearly a years pay and pouring it out on the Lord. She did this to anoint Jesus because He was the anointed One!!

In other words, Mary anointed Jesus to show how much she believed in Him as the Messiah!! He was her Savior, Lord, and King. He had done so much for her and her family that she wanted Him to know how much He was appreciated.

That should be the heart of every believer. We have to ask ourselves, what do we do to show our love and faith in Christ?

Notice Mary does this right in the presence of everybody. She laid down her pride and embarrassment and demonstrated her love. How far are you willing to go to show Jesus you love Him and believe?

Notice the end of Vs. 3, John tells us, “the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.”

That tells us something we take for granted about the story. John the author of this gospel was an eyewitness of the events he is recording for us.

John was there and he not only tells us the things said and done, but he tell us the sights and smells. The house was filled with the fragrance of perfume.

Are there any questions or comments on Vs. 3?

We have seen the setting at Bethany and we have see the purpose at Bethany.

III. The Protest at Bethany Vs. 4-8

There was a hypocritical protester among the disciples; Judas Iscariot. The character of Judas we see in these verses teaches us what causes a disciple to turn his back on Christ in betrayal, and become a hypocritical unbeliever.

Notice Vs. 4-5, “But Judas Iscariot, one of His disciples, who was intending to betray Him, said, “Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and given to poor people?”

Notice that Judas was a follower of Jesus but what was he doing? He was criticizing other believers.

So, he was a person claiming to be a believer, but when he disagreed with other believers, he criticized them.

Notice he is criticizing a believer who has deep devotion for the Lord. Someone who is openly repenting and sacrificing all she has.

Mark tells us that Judas was not the only one. Look at Mark 14:4–5 “But some were indignantly remarking to one another, “Why has this perfume been wasted? “For this perfume might have been sold for over three hundred denarii, and the money given to the poor.” And they were scolding her.”

Notice the word “indignantly.” That means this was a strong rebuke by these disciples.

I can’t help but think about how criticism has a way of spreading. One bad apple spoils the whole bunch, and Judas was able to influence other believers.

The lesson I want us to take away from this is; we need to be careful how we criticize other believers for the mistakes they make. None of us are perfect and we can do a lot of damage to someone’s faith.

Matthew 7:3 ““Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?”

Judas not only had a log in his eye he had a very dark heart. Notice his concern for the poor, but he had an ulterior motive. He says, what Mary did was a waste. But, what he is really saying is; Jesus isn’t worth the sacrifice.

Remember Judas sold Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. That is the equivalent of 120 denarii, or less than half of what Mary poured out on His feet. That was all he felt Jesus was worth. But remember Judas was not giving the money to Jesus, he was receiving it. He was selling Jesus for that!!

Notice John 12:6 “Now he 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 into it.”

Again we see John giving us personal, inside information of an eyewitness. I cannot stress this point enough. This is the reason John wrote this gospel. He tells us in John 20:31 “but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.”

This time John is an eyewitness of the character of Judas. Judas was angry about what Mary did because this would have been a big payday for him.

I can’t help but wonder if Judas would have sold Jesus for the 30 pieces of silver, if he could have just stole them from the money bag. We don’t know.

The lesson for us is; there are many reasons people get involved in a ministry. Sometimes their motive is to see what they can gain from it. Other times people will make great contributions to the church but their motive is to recognized and honored.

The point is we want to make sure our heart is right with God and we do that by evaluating our motives.

Judas worked for Jesus but he didn’t love Jesus. Notice John 12:7–8 “Therefore Jesus said, “Let her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of My burial. “For you always have the poor with you, but you do not always have Me.””

This is a strong rebuke by Jesus. He says, “Let her alone.” Judas didn’t understand why Mary was doing what she did. Judas was a follower of Jesus but he had no idea what was getting ready to take place, even though he would be directly involved in bringing about the death of Jesus.

Three important points here.

Jesus says, Mary’s anointing pointed toward His burial. That tells us that Mary understood what the disciples did not. Jesus had been predicting His death and Mary believed Him.

Judas lost the opportunity that Mary grabbed a hold of. Why? because Mary loved Jesus and Judas did not.

3. When Jesus says, “For you always have the poor with you, but you do not always have Me.”” He is not condoning that people be poor but acknowledging there will always be people who are. In other words, you will have time to minister to the poor. You will not have time to be with Me!!

This is important for us. Jesus is teaching us you only have so much time to serve the Lord and we need to make the most of our lives while we have them to make the most of Christ!!

Any questions or comments about Vs. 4-8?

We have see the purpose at Bethany and we have seen the protest at Bethany.

IV. The People at Bethany Vs. 9-11. Here we see the crowds that gather to see Jesus and the religionist who plan to destroy Him.

First we see the crowds in Vs. 9. Some were there to see This man who claimed to be the Messiah. They wanted to see Jesus for themselves. This was the one everyone is talking about.

Others were there to see Lazarus, this man who was raised from the dead. It was like a circus atmosphere. There were a lot of things going on at Bethany, and because all of this is taking place before the Passover, the city was full of people traveling to Jerusalem.

The lesson for us is there are always people who sincerely seek Jesus as the Messiah and there are always those who are half-hearted seekers.

The half-hearted seekers are always worldly seeking the spectacle. They come to church looking for a show. Their experience is what matters to them not the truth of the Word of God.

John 4:48 “So Jesus said to him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you simply will not believe.”” (Charismatic churches)

Notice how the religious leaders have expanded their plot in John 12:10–11 “But the chief priests planned to put Lazarus to death also; because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and were believing in Jesus.”

Now they want to kill Lazarus too, because they are afraid of people believing in Jesus.

Notice the phrase “Many of the Jews,” that tells us that people who were formerly opposed to Him now believe in Jesus as the Messiah. This tells us the enormous impact raising Lazarus from the dead was having on the people.

What is amazing to me is the reaction of the religious leaders. Instead of leading the people to God and becoming followers themselves they are planning, not only to destroy Jesus, but trying to cover up the miracle of Lazarus!!

The Point; The preparation for the death of Jesus was time of worship and wickedness.

The same thing is true today. Wherever worship is taking place you will find those who protest that worship like Judas. You will find believers who criticize other believers.

And wherever you find people who want to know the Lord you will find people plotting to try and prevent them.

Unfortunately, what we learn from this story is many times it is the religious people who are getting in the way.

I pray that we as the people of God would evaluate our own hearts and make sure we resemble Mary in this story and not Judas or the religious leaders of Israel.