Mary's Lavish Love, part 2

• John 12:1-8, "Six days before the Passover, Jesus arrived in Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. Here a dinner was given in Jesus' honor. Martha served , while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with Him. Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus feet and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray Him, objected, "why wasn't this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year's wages. He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it. "Leave her alone," Jesus replied. "It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. You will always have the poor among you , but you will not always have Me."

John tells us she anointed His feet, and dried them with her hair. This was a very intimate thing she did...Jewish women NEVER took down their hair until bedtime, and only in front of their husbands!!!!

• Again, Jesus words of love toward her were these: “let her alone; she has kept this for the day of my burial.”

An interesting sidelight to this is John 11:49-53,

• "then one of them named Caiphas, who was High Priest that year, spoke up, "You know nothing at all! You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish." He did not say this on his own, but as High Priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation, and not only for that nation but also for the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one. So from that day on they plotted to take his life." .

..Caiphas, the current High Priest used unwittingly, sacrificial, substitutionary language and prophesied Christ’s death for sinners...he actually spoke blasphemy against Christ, for which he would be responsible. But God made his statement truth. God actually used Caiphas here as a prophet, a role the High Priest frequently fulfilled to reveal the will of God...see 2 Sam 15:27.

MORE THOUGHTS!!!!

All three accounts record Judas outrage that Jesus allowed this luxury when the dollars could have been used to help the poor. What a hypocrite! Jesus statement is a reminder to us as well as a word to Judas…”the poor you have with you always”...and we do and we CAN be there to assist them in whatever way we are able. But Jesus, and our worship and time with Him MUST be our priority, and then and only then can we be fit to serve. Service comes from a full heart, a clean and pure heart, one that sees/anticipates needs, and does all in ones power to meet that need. We need Martha’s...but Jesus gave the commendation to Mary...not because she was lax and allowed Martha to do all the work, but because she did what was required of her and THEN she went to sit at the Master’s feet and listen, rather than fuss about unnecessary details. God grant us the wisdom to emulate our sister Mary, and arrange or rearrange our priorities to make that time to “sit at the Master’s feet”