John 12:1-11
"Jesus therefore six days before the Passover came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus raised from the dead. So they made Him a supper there; and Martha served; but Lazarus was one of them that sat at meat with Him. Mary therefore look a pound of ointment of spikenard, very precious, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feel with her hair; and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment. But Judas Iscariot, one of His disciples, which should betray Him, saith, Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor? Now this he said, not because he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief; and having the bag took away what was put therein. Jesus therefore said, Suffer her to keep it against the day of My burying. For the poor ye have always with you; but Me ye have not always.
"The common people therefore of the Jews learned that He was there; and they came, not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might see Lazarus also, whom He had raised from the dead. But the chief priests took counsel that they might put Lazarus also to death; because that by reason of him many of the Jews went away, and believed on Him."
Six days before the Passover means six days before the cross of Calvary. None of those who sat at the table with Jesus knew this; but Jesus knew it very well. Indeed, Jesus was always walking beneath the cross, for He knew from the beginning of His ministry what its end would be; and He knew just when the betrayal and crucifixion would take place, for He Himself had told His disciples about it as they were on their way to Jerusalem. Yet He was calm as at any other time. There was nothing in His looks or actions to mar the peace or joyousness of the feast.
What a lesson this contains for us. Jesus lived every day just as perfectly as He possibly could live on His last day; and therefore there was no need for Him to make some great change at the last. Most people would consider it an exhibition of recklessness or bravado, or else gross insensibility on the part of a man who should attend a feast six days from the time when he knew he was to suffer death; but we know that it was not so with Jesus. Why should He refuse to act in the last week of His earthy life just the same as He had always acted? Why spend time in mournful "preparations for death?" That always implies that one is conscious of a misspent life. No preparation is needed for death; all one has to do is to be prepared to live, and really live, and then if death does come, he will be ready for it, no matter how or when it comes.
If we put ourselves in the place of those disciples, we shall not wonder at their indignation over the seeming waste of the costly ointment. A reference to the record in the twenty-sixth chapter of Matthew shows that the other disciples were indignant, as well as Judas. How often have we expressed what we thought was "righteous indignation" over some supposed extravagance, or when something was done for which we could see no reason. We are very apt to make hasty judgments. May we not from this learn a lesson? We can see that it was wrong in this case; but it is not in itself so apparent as in many instances that come under our immediate notice. If the disciples had known all the circumstances, as we know them now, and as they did afterwards, none of them, save Judas, would have murmured.
The eleven disciples were sincere in their care for the poor, while Judas was a hypocritical thief: yet their zeal was altogether out of place. Indeed, they made themselves sharers in the sin of Judas, because he was the leader in the condemnation of Mary's act, since in this place he alone is mentioned as having complained. If they had known what spirit actuated him, they would not have thought of joining him in his outcry. Here again we may learn to be on our guard against sympathizing too readily with a man's grievance, and too readily joining in with somebody else's denunciation of what plainly seems to be a mistaken course. If we are not careful, we may be strengthening some traitor in his wicked designs, instead of helping the cause of suffering humanity.
When the disciples saw the whole box of ointment used upon Jesus, they said, "To what purpose is this waste?" (Matt. 26:8) Think of spending the value of a whole year's labour in one girt, and that something that could be used only once! Three hundred pence meant three hundred days' labour. (See Matt. 20:1, 2) But it was given freely, and Jesus did not reprove the giver, but on the contrary commended her. Nothing is wasted that is given to the Lord from a sincere heart. In the ancient days God's people used to burn up entire beasts upon the altar, and offer much costly incense, and God accepted it, yea, found delight in it. But God's pleasure in such service was dependent on the condition of the worshipper's heart. When the heart was filled with evil, incense was an abomination, and a multitude of whole burnt offerings was to no purpose. Isa. 1:10-13. But when the heart was purified by faith, and the sacrifice was one of joy for righteousness bestowed, then God was pleased, for "the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit." (Ps. 51: 17-19) There is only one sacrifice that has ever been made, or that can ever be made, and that is the sacrifice of Christ. No man ever yet "made a sacrifice" for God. Many have "offered sacrifices," and sacrifices that have been acceptable, too, but they were sacrifices that God Himself provided. In the one sacrifice God has given us everything, and of His fullness, which we have all received, we are expected to make returns which serve, not to enrich Him, but to show our appreciation of and trust in His gift. The secret of every acceptable sacrifice is trust in God. "By faith Abel offered unto God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain." (Heb. 11:4) That which the one sacrificing really says,--that which his offering means,--is that which gives everything back to the Lord, and still be sustained. With Christ we receive all things from God. God has abundance of everything, and He gives lavishly. He not only sends rain on the unjust as well as on the just, but He causes it to rain on the wilderness, wherein there is no man. (Job 38:26) Is it wasted? Oh, no; it will not return unto Him void. None of God's gifts are wasted, and nothing is wasted that is given to Him. Only by giving ourselves and all that we have to the Lord, can we be preserved. He that will save his life shall lose it, and he that will lose his life for Christ's sake shall save it unto life eternal.
What an example we have in this lesson of the blindness and wickedness of unbelief. Lazarus had been raised from the dead, and consequently much interest centered in him. The miracle had caused many to believe on Jesus. People flocked to see the man who had been dead four days, and buried, and who was now alive, and many of them went away believing. Now what did the unbelieving chief priests do? They were determined not to believe and not to allow anybody else to believe if they could help it; so they resolved to put Lazarus to death, so that this witness to the power of Christ might be removed. Yet they thought that they were working for the good of the people. Strange that they could not see that when they found it necessary to commit murder in order to sustain their position, that position must be wrong; for truth can never be sustained by violence and crime. "The wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God." That shows the wickedness to which unbelief drives men. As to the blindness of it, think of their planning to kill a man that had been raised from the dead by and for the glory of God, in order to silence his living testimony as to the power of Christ to give life! How could they expect to kill him? They would be fighting directly against God. Even if the priests had been permitted to kill Lazarus, the result would necessarily have been his resurrection again under more striking circumstances than before. God makes even the wrath of man to praise Him, so that nobody can do anything against the truth, but for the truth. Who would not wish to be in harmony with a power that is so sure to succeed that even opposition helps it along?
--March 30, 1899