Jesus Anointed by Mary John 12:2-8

http://www.biblestudyworkshop.org 1 Jesus Anointed by Mary John 12:2-8

http://www.biblestudyworkshop.org 2 Text: John 12:2-8, Jesus Anointed by Mary 2. There they made him a supper; and Martha served: but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with him. 3. Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odor of the ointment. 4. Then saith one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon s son, which should betray him, 5. Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor? 6. This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein. 7. Then said Jesus, Let her alone: against the day of my burying hath she kept this. 8. For the poor always ye have with you; but me ye have not always. Commentary: John 12:2, There they made him a supper; and Martha served: but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with him. I. Lazarus, Mary and Martha and perhaps others in Bethany made supper for Jesus and, no doubt, his apostles. A. Lazarus life after his resurrection appears to have been very normal (except, of course, for plots to kill him by Jesus enemies). B. As was her custom previously, Martha served. C. Lazarus sat with Jesus at this meal.

http://www.biblestudyworkshop.org 3 D. This was six (6) days before the Passover. John 12:3, Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odor of the ointment. I. Mary took a pound of costly pure nard... A. Spikenard was a perfume highly prized by people of that day and was produced from Nardostachys jotamansi, a small plant which is a native of the Himalayan Mountains. (New Encyclopedia via Coffman, John, p. 312.) B. Its high cost was due in part to the long transport from India to Jerusalem. C. Mary, Martha and Lazarus must have been financially comfortable. Otherwise Mary could not have afforded a pound of pure, expensive nard. II. and anointed the feet of Jesus with this nard. III. Mary wiped Jesus feet with her hair. IV. The house was filled with the nard s fragrance. A. This speaks to the fact that John was an eyewitness to these events. V. The anointing in Simon s house in Galilee occurred at least a year before Mary anointed the feet of Jesus. These two anointings are distinctly different events. A. Luke 7:36-50, And one of the Pharisees desired him that he would eat with him. And he went into the Pharisee s house, and sat down to meat. And, behold, a woman in the city, which

http://www.biblestudyworkshop.org 4 was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee s house, brought an alabaster box of ointment, And stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment. Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him: for she is a sinner. And Jesus answering said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And he saith, Master, say on. There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty. And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most? Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged. And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head. Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet. My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment. Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little. And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven. And they that sat at meat with him began to say within themselves, Who is this that forgiveth sins also? And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.

http://www.biblestudyworkshop.org 5 VI. This is also a different event than the anointing at the home of Simon the leper although the similarities between these two are great. A. Matthew 26:6-13, Now when Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper, There came unto him a woman having an alabaster box of very precious ointment, and poured it on his head, as he sat at meat. But when his disciples saw it, they had indignation, saying, To what purpose is this waste? For this ointment might have been sold for much, and given to the poor. When Jesus understood it, he said unto them, Why trouble ye the woman? For she hath wrought a good work upon me. For ye have the poor always with you; but me ye have not always. For in that she hath poured this ointment on my body, she did it for my burial. Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world; there shall also this, that this woman hath done, be told for a memorial of her. B. Mark 14:1-9, After two days was the feast of the Passover, and of unleavened bread: and the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might take him by craft, and put him to death. But they said, Not on the feast day, lest there be an uproar of the people. And being in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard very precious; and she brake the box, and poured it on his head. And there were some that had indignation within themselves, and said, Why was this waste of the ointment made? For it might have been sold for more than three hundred pence, and have been given to the poor. And they murmured against her. And Jesus said, Let her alone; why trouble ye her? She hath wrought a good work on me. For ye have the poor with you always, and whensoever ye will ye may do them good: but me ye have not always. She hath done what she could: she is come aforehand

http://www.biblestudyworkshop.org 6 to anoint my body to the burying. Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world, this also that she hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her. C. This was two days before the Passover. John 12:4, 5, Then saith one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon s son, which should betray him. Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor? I. Judas Iscariot: A. who would betray Jesus... B. faulted Mary for what he claimed to be a total waste... C. faulted Jesus for accepting the gift. D. Judas said the nard should have been sold for 300 denarii, and given to the poor. 1. A denari was an average day s wage. 2. It would have taken 300 days for a person earning an average wage to have earned enough to buy this pound of pure nard, a year s income. E. Was Judas really interested in helping the poor or helping himself? 1. The answer is in the next verse. 2. I had to put Papa in the nursing home so he could get better care, on occasion can be translated, I put Papa in the nursing home so I wouldn t have to be bothered with him.

http://www.biblestudyworkshop.org 7 John 12:6, This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein. I. Judas did not care for the poor. II. As he was the apostolic treasurer, he wanted access to the money. III. So he could steal some of the money because he was a thief. IV. In addition to being a betrayer, Judas was a greedy, selfish, sneaking thief! John 12:7, Then said Jesus, Let her alone: against the day of my burying hath she kept this. I. Jesus said, Suffer, permit Mary to anoint my feet with this nard as it is in anticipation, in view of, my death and burial. John 12:8, For the poor always ye have with you; but me ye have not always. I. You can help the poor at any time you wish. A. The poor will always exist and will need help. B. The war on poverty helped, but certainly did not eliminate poverty. II. Jesus bodily would soon no longer be on earth. A. Anointing his body was then or never. B. Jesus accepted this costly gift of love and devotion.

http://www.biblestudyworkshop.org 8 Jesus Anointed By Mary Questions 1. They made Jesus a. served. was one of them that at the with him. 2. took a of of, very, and anointed the of Jesus, and his with her. The was filled with the of the. 3. complained, Why was not this sold for, and to the? 4. was not interested in the ; but because he was a, and had the, and what was put therein. 5. Jesus said, Let her : against the day of my has she kept this. 6. You always have the with you; but you have.

http://www.biblestudyworkshop.org 9 7. What have we done to help the poor during the last week? 8. What have we done to honor Jesus within the last week? 9. What does the New Encyclopedia say about spikenard? 10. How many times, by whom and on what occasions were Jesus feet anointed during his public ministry?