Six days before the Passover, Jesus therefore came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2 So they gave a dinner for him there. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at table. 3 Mary therefore took a pound[a] of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4 But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was about to betray him), said, 5 “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii[b] and given to the poor?” 6 He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it. 7 Jesus said, “Leave her alone, so that she may keep it[c] for the day of my burial. 8 For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me.” – John 12:1-11
Beauty
There are certain people who are always very concerned with how other people spend their money. They will always be able to find what they deem to be a more important or a more spiritual thing for that other person’s money to have been spent on. This is the concern of Judas in our passage today. If they would have sold the amount of perfume used by Mary to pour on Jesus’ feet, they could have made about a year’s worth of wages for a general laborer of that day, and then given all that money to the poor. “Think of how many poor people we could’ve helped with all that money!” Judas says. We are of course let in on the secret motives of Judas’ heart, that he cared nothing for the poor, but was rather a thief who wanted to help himself to the money.
Regardless of motives, there are certain people who think that we should always be doing whatever they deem to be the most pious, or most spiritual thing possible, and spending our money exclusively on such things. Basically their line of reasoning is that if you aren’t always either out on the street evangelizing or out feeding the poor, then you are probably being worldly and carnal by going out to eat with your family or buying your wife a nice piece of jewelry. However, the Bible never tells us or teaches an ethic that we are to go out and find the most urgent need in the world and try to meet it. Instead, the Biblical ethic is that we are to do what’s right, with what’s right in front of us. Sometimes that will be feeding the poor. And sometimes it may be taking your wife out to dinner and buying her jewelry.
There are times and situations where beauty and adornment are good things to spend time and money on. Mary adorns her Lord with pure ointment and beautifies the air with the aroma. Jesus affirms this as a good thing, and defends Mary against Judas who grumbled that the ointment could’ve been sold for cash to give to the poor. Jesus did not just do this because he knew that Judas was a thief. Instead, Jesus, who knows the hearts of men, refrained from exposing Judas’ intentions and simply dealt with the surface level concern that was raised – which was simply “but the money could’ve gone to the poor.” It is that argumentation which Jesus defends Mary against.
Now, none of this is to say that worldly materialism is not a real danger we must be on guard against. It is simply to say that the material – beauty and adornment – matter and are good. The physical matters because it’s an expression and an outworking of what’s inside. The tendency to want to separate the spiritual and the physical is an attempt to tear apart the fabric of the created order. We shouldn’t tear creation apart. God made this world with both spirits and bodies; with heavens and earth. If you think about the way the Apostle Paul talks about sexual sin in 1 Corinthians 6, it shows us that sexual immorality is one of the most spiritual sins; but we also know that it is of course one of the most physical sins. It is often true that the more spiritual something is, the more physical it also is. This is not to conflate the two, but to show that they go together.
So, our Lord affirms the adornment of His feet with this ointment, regardless of the protest that the money could have been spent elsewhere. The physical, beauty, and adornment matter. And Christians should have a robust theology of physical beauty and adornment that is distinct from that of the world’s. This means that our clothes, homes, church buildings, cleanliness, hairstyles, and hygiene all matter, say something about us, and we should think about how these things reflect the fact that we are Christians. This is not to say that there is one way all these things should look for everyone. It is just to say that it matters, and it communicates something about what we believe. The fact is that we are incarnational beings because we are more than just spirits or souls. We are men and women, boys and girls, with bodies and physical needs as well as souls and spiritual needs. As incarnational beings we are always incarnating what we believe, or putting into flesh – fleshing out – what we believe. Because of this, we should adorn our homes and bodies in such a way that shows we are Christians.
Judas displays a utilitarian worldview, that everything must be valued by its most efficient use. Mary and Jesus on the other hand display a worldview that values and appreciates things beyond their mere utility. Beauty may not seem very useful. But we need it. It is important. Beauty reflects the beauty of God who created a beautiful world, not for its mere utility, but for our enjoyment, His enjoyment, and our well-being. So our adornment of things doesn’t need to be for mere utility’s sake, but for beauty. And that doesn’t mean gaudy. Beauty can be very simple.
The fact that we see Mary, a woman, adorning the Lord’s feet and filling the home with the aroma of this ointment reminds us that this is one of the things that women were created for – to beautify or glorify. It’s part of dominion taking that women are particularly built for. Men build homes, cities, and civilizations; women glorify this work of man by making them beautiful, valuable, and smell good. So men build homes and civilizations, women make them worth preserving and fighting for. So what Mary was doing was much more than simply pouring expensive ointment on the feet of Jesus. She was building civilization as she prepared the body of Jesus for His burial, the One upon whom all Christian civilization would be built. So, the women need to remember that when you get tired of getting the stink out of your smelly boys’ rooms, you are not just getting the stink out of their rooms, you are building Christian civilization.
But we need to remember that no one builds a civilization without conflict. This is why keeping the home is not an easy thing. The woman could not simply honor her Lord without a thief trying to steal from what she has. Like it was in the garden, the serpent wanted to take what was God’s for himself. And thus we are introduced to the conflict of this event. In the characters of Judas and Mary, we are brought back into the ancient conflict of the cosmos that begin in Genesis 3. Again, we have a serpent and woman. One of the features of this story is the contrast between the two, which shows the conflict, one of faith, one of flesh. Let us consider these contrasts.
Contrasts
1)Mary loved Jesus and He was precious to her. Judas loved money and it was precious to him. It is often those who have a love of money that don’t want to spend it on the things of God. If you don’t love money, you are free to give it. Mary saw her precious ointment as but a small thing to be poured out on Jesus’ feet. Judas saw it as a great deal of money being put to waste. You see, love gives with liberality. Love gives without reserve. Love gives and gladly absorbs the loss. If Judas would have loved Jesus, he would have rejoiced to see the display of honor given to Jesus by Mary. But instead he loved money. Truly, “the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.” Mary saw Jesus as worth more than anything she had to give, but Judas saw the money as too valuable to give away. Is Jesus this precious in your life? Is He worth more than all you have in your life? Or are there things that you love a little bit more, and want to keep to yourself?
2)Mary displayed humility at Jesus’ feet; Judas displayed self-righteousness above her at the table. By anointing Jesus’ feet, Mary showed great humility and displayed her unworthiness. She put herself under his feet. Judas was too proud. He looked down upon her and scoffed. It is pride that keeps many men from pouring out all they have in service at the feet of Jesus. And thus it was pride that came before Judas’ fall.
3)Mary’s offering was given in remembrance of what Jesus had done for her; Judas’ pride was a sign of what he would soon do to Jesus. If you remember in chapter 11, it was this same Mary who fell at Jesus’ feet in tears, wishing Jesus would have saved Lazarus, her brother. Here, she now falls again at his feet, this time with precious ointment in gratitude that Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead. Note that both the tears and the ointment were precious to Jesus, and at the feet of Jesus is the location we are to be for every occasion, sorry or rejoicing. When we take our tears to the feet of Jesus, He can turn them into expensive and precious oils. In contrast, it is foreshadowed here that Judas would betray Jesus. It would be at another dinner table that Jesus would tell His disciples that there is one here who will betray Him. And at that point, Judas’ love of money would grow more corrupt, as he here is concerned about a great sum of money, but in the future he would betray Jesus for a measly 30 pieces of silver. Thus we see that the more one loves money, the more corrupt things he would do for just a little bit of it.
4)Mary spent her wealth on Jesus, giving it away without reserve; Judas wanted to take it for himself, under the guise of charity. Faith gives, while the flesh takes. Judas was a thief, but the gospel calls men to “no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.”
5)Mary displayed true actions of love and service; Judas merely talked about it with words only. Mary’s love and faith was living and active, displayed in her generous and humble giving to Jesus. Judas had a dead and empty faith, with no substance to the words of charity he spoke. Does your life display with actions that your love and allegiance belongs to Christ, or is your faith a dead faith with nothing but empty words?
6)Judas had the seeds of betrayal in him, as he would seek to betray Jesus unto death; Mary sought to anoint and preserve Jesus’ body in death, as Jesus says “Leave her alone, that she may keep it for the day of my burial.” Judas cared nothing for the body and death of Jesus. So the unbeliever would trample the body of our Lord. But to Mary, the body and death of Jesus was precious. To the believer, the body and death of our Lord is precious. It is a great source and object of our affections. It is something we do not take lightly. The world and flesh would mock such a thought, but we would shed tears over it. Is Christ’s death precious to you? Is His body, the Church precious to you? Or could you care less?
7)Judas sought to deceive by hiding the intentions of his heart; Mary instead exposed the intentions of her heart by pouring it out at the feet of Jesus. The flesh would conceal sin and try to hide it from Christ, hindering fellowship. Faith confesses sin, and gives it up to Christ, so that forgiveness and restored fellowship would be obtained. What are you currently doing with your sin and the motivations of your heart? Are you hiding it, foolishly thinking you could deceive the Lord? Or do you bring it and lay it bare before the Lord?
8)Mary displayed faith by anointing the flesh; Judas displayed the flesh while hiding behind “faith.” It is often the case that practical Christianity and faith applied looks very earthy. It looks like duties attended to and faithful plodding in the tasks at hand. And it is often the case that fleshliness often looks very “pious” or “spiritual” hiding behind things of “faith.” Think prosperity, health and wealth gospel here. It tries to hide behind the guise of faith and religion but it is nothing more than carnal desires seeking worldly gain.
9)and finally, Mary has filled the house with fragrance; Judas stinks. You see, it is often the case that while intentions and heart motivations are hidden to the eyes of man, it gives itself away by a certain smell. Sometimes you can just smell a bad attitude or fleshly thinking because it just stinks. And sometimes the sweetness of a genuine faith and love for God is so obvious because it gives off a sweet smell of persuasion that fills everything it touches. It is important that we clean our bodies and wear deodorant; but our body is not the only thing about us that gives off a smell. Is there a pleasing aroma about your spirit? Or is it kind of rotten? We must seek to be washed in the water of the Word and renew our minds, hearts, and attitudes in Christ Jesus.
As we consider these contrasts between Judas and Mary, let us remember that this is not mere contrast, but it is conflict. It is the ancient conflict between the serpent and the woman. It is the seed of the serpent and the seed of the woman at war here. However, this time around, unlike in the garden, there is a man who protects the woman from the serpent. When the forked tongue of Judas hurls these pious sounding accusations at the woman Jesus rises to her defense. In the garden, Adam failed to protect his wife from the deceptive words of the serpent. But here, Jesus protects the woman from false words. In the garden, the serpent’s words were posed as an innocent question, “hath God really said?” This time, the Man was ready for the pious question tactic as Judas probably said in a very innocent sounding voice, “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” Jesus responds, “Leave her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of my burial. For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me.” Jesus is her defense. He is her advocate. Jesus advocates for the woman. And this is a picture of what He would be, and what He is now for His bride. The accuser has been thrown down out of heaven, and there Jesus sits before the throne of God as the advocate of His bride, the Church. Accusations, insults, lies, condemnations, judgments, and deceptive words do not make it to the ear of God for there Jesus defends His bride, advocating for her, as her defense.
This conflict in John 12 is a bit of a foretaste of the great conflict between Christ and the dragon that would come. Things stay rather tame in John 12, because it was not yet the time. It was a time of preparation as the cross is nearing and looming. And as a time of preparation, Mary is preparing Jesus for His great battle at the cross by anointing His feet. For His feet would be His decisive weapon of war. It was promised that the seed of the woman would crush the head of the serpent, and in the process, His heel would be bruised. So Mary pours out the ointment on His feet, preparing His feet for war. The bruising of the serpent’s head is the ultimate act of advocacy, because when He takes out the head, He takes out the ability to accuse and speak words of deception.
The Dinner Table
Now, I want you to notice where all these ancient and cosmic themes are taking place. They are taking place at a dinner table, an institution as old as these themes. And I would propose to you, that the world is moved by the dinner table. History is moved, one dinner table at a time. Indeed, civilizations are built one dinner table at a time. It was at the dinner table of Martin Luther that the reformation really happened. Martin Luther would always have many guests around his table, his students and others and that’s where the reformation happened. Discussion over food. Luther’s book “Table Talk” is a collection of the many things that he said around at his dinner table that moved the reformation. And all of this was possible because of one very important woman: Katarina Luther, Martin’s dear wife. She threw her heart and soul into preparing a table that was worthy and welcoming of the many guests that would be entertained in their home. She butchered pigs, milked cows, grew vegetables, and brewed her own beer, to adorn her table and help her husband move along the reformation. And she did it because she loved Christ.
So I would exhort you all to emphasize the dinner table in your home by filling it with delicious smells, sights, sounds, tastes, and textures. Emphasize your dinner table with the presence of Jesus in Scripture reading at the table, praying at the table, and singing Psalms around the table, and then fill it with guests to be transformed by it. In a world where the dinner table is missing from the home, or where the family is missing from the table, and in a world that eats meals in front of a T. V., we, as Christians, can change the world one beautiful, delicious, faith-filled dinner table at a time. Dad’s, we must make it a priority to be home for dinner. Mom’s, you must make it a priority to make the dinner table a place the family wants to be home for.
The aroma of Mary’s ointment filled the entire home, not just the dinner table. Thus we see that the aroma of the dinner table, whether good or bad, fills your entire home. The state of your dinner table, tells of the state of your home. This doesn’t mean that every night should be a perfect 5 course meal. In fact it shouldn’t be that every night. Some nights it will be boiled hot dogs and mac and cheese. But there are ways to make those types of meals still persuasive and attractive and still have a vibrant time at the dinner table. It isn’t a demand for perfection, for we cannot be, and sometimes the dinner table is a little messy. Sometimes one of the kids brings a stinky attitude to the table, or maybe you do. But if the general aroma of love and joy covers our dinner table, then love covers a multitude of wrongs.
Again, the dinner table is a strong area for women to take dominion, to beautify and glorify it, physically and spiritually. But this does not mean that the fathers can be aloof here. The Father must lead in gratitude at the table, praising the food prepared and praising God, the giver of all things good around the table. Fathers must make it a priority to be present there both physically and as a leader, wives should make it a place that the family wants to be present for.
As we see in John 12, some serious serpent head crushing can be done at the dinner table. If you think praying, singing, rejoicing, and reading the Scripture around the table won’t forever change your children’s lives, you have no idea the power that is wielded in those things. The gospel itself is pictured as a feast in many places in Scripture. The Lord’s Supper which changes God’s people one week at a time, is a meal around a dinner table. There is something about the way God created the world, that it is made to be changed at dinner tables. We should recognize this and capitalize on it and make it as productive as possible.
Parents, sometimes you get tired of your responsibilities that you have at the dinner table. But you must remember that you will not always have your children with you at the table. Make the most of it while you can. Make the most of the time God gives to you. You cannot underestimate the impact a beautiful dinner table can have on your children.
A meal itself is actually a type of death and resurrection. Something died, then is resurrected onto our plates, and imparts life to us as we eat it. We live by death and resurrection. So we can find life at a dinner table when the gospel is present there, and it is shown to us in the incarnation of a beautiful dinner.
Not only is the dinner table a place that moves history and changes the world, but it is also where history is moving toward. This is why the enemy has attacked the dinner table, and sought to tear it apart and wreak havoc there. Because it is potent, and it is the future. We can’t concede ground at the dinner table. We must take dominion there, claim it for Christ, for it is Christ’s. You see, one day we will recline with Christ at His dinner table, with resurrected bodies, partaking in all that is Christ’s, for all that is Christ’s is ours. This is what Lazarus pictures to us here. Lazarus, with his resurrected body, reclines with Christ at dinner, raised to life and seated with Him. One day we will die, and in Christ, we will rise again with resurrected bodies, to recline with Christ. We will be raised to rest and feast in and with Christ. All that is His is ours. We are not outside the gates begging for scraps, we are seated with Him at His table. We will have new bodies, we will have new clothes, that are the spotless and pure white robes of the righteousness of Christ, and the sorrow of death will be behind us. Even though we are here on this earth, where sin happens and people want us dead, we are even now seated with Christ in the Heavenly places. And each week as we bring ourselves to the Table of the Lord, we partake of the flesh and blood of our Lord, being reminded of where we are headed: a Table with Christ and all of His people, where we are forever defended and filled with joy, as Christ’s beauty and sweet aroma fills all in all.
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