Lesson #178
I thought I was finished with verse 3 at the end of the last lesson, but when I opened my Bible I looked at the note in the margin and noticed that reference was made to another anointing in both Matthew 26:7 and Mark 14:3. The margin note claims that the unnamed woman in both the Matthew and the Mark account was Mary and that she anointed both the head and the feet of Jesus. I decided to check the references and see and when I did I saw a problem; both the time of the anointing and the location was different. It appears that Mary anointed the feet of Jesus six days before Passover at their home and in the Matthew and Mark account, the event occurred two days before Passover and in the house of Simon the leper. From what Bible scholars say, I agree that the woman was Mary, but I don’t think I can accept the general consensus that it was the same event. I don’t think Martha would be serving dinner at Simon’s home and I have a problem with the day difference. I think there were two events, to show respect at both homes and I think the same container of ointment was used for both.
I wanted to include these thoughts at the beginning of this lesson to point out the importance of careful Bible study. This lack of careful study seems to be normal in BFG Bible studies and, I believe, has produced a generation of Christians that do not know how to study the Bible and as a result know only the popular, pleasant events at the surface level covered in their study guide. As a result, we are not living as Biblical Christians, but as western cultural Christians and, I believe, this is going to result is Christians suffering greatly at the Judgment seat of Christ or disaster in the face of persecution. Enough on this, we need to return to our text.
With a complete lack of respect for what Mary has done, Judas speaks up and in so doing reveals the kind of person he was. “But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was about to betray him), said, “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?”” (John 12:4 – 5 ESV). Judas was one of the disciples, but not the same nature. Hidden under the disguise of having been chosen by Jesus to be trained by him, we find Judas with a very selfish heart. He has no intent to serve or to honor Jesus, but will look for opportunities to serve his own wants and desires. Here is one of those opportunities. With the great value of the ointment, estimated by some to be about $25,000 in today’s value, Judas felt Mary should have given the ointment to Jesus to be sold and the value given to the poor. I am sure he didn’t care about the poor, but since he took care of the money this would give him a chance to benefit financially. It seems that Mary had been saving up for this and indicates the depth of her devotion to Jesus. This was truly a sacrifice and an exceptional expression of love and honor.
John clarifies what we just said about Judas: “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” (John 12:6 ESV). Having lost this opportunity to have access to such wealth, Judas will be looking for another opportunity. John hints at this in verse 4 by saying that he will betray Jesus and that would involve money, as we will soon see.
Prayer
Father, what a powerful example Mary was in her devotion to Jesus. The focus of her heart’s devotion was so pure that she felt compelled to sacrifice in extravagance. There was no thought to hold back for herself. On the other hand, Judas had no intentions to honor Jesus, but only to gather value to himself. Father, how clear this lesson is for us to evaluate our heart and see if it is fully devoted to Jesus, or are we holding back some honor for ourselves.
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