John 12:1-111Then Jesus six days before the passover came to Bethany, where Lazarus was which had been dead, whom he raised from the dead. 2There they made him a supper; and Martha served: but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with him. 3Then 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. 4Then saith one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, which should betray him, 5Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor? 6This 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. 7Then said Jesus, Let her alone: against the day of my burying hath she kept this. 8For the poor always ye have with you; but me ye have not always. 9Much people of the Jews therefore knew 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. 10But the chief priests consulted that they might put Lazarus also to death; 11Because that by reason of him many of the Jews went away, and believed on Jesus. (John 12:1‑11)
The Lord Jesus came again to the town of Bethany and those who loved Him made a supper in His honor. This may not have been very long after He raised Lazarus from death, and Lazarus sat at the table, and the disciples were there.
Mary, the sister of Lazarus, brought sweet smelling oil and put it on the feet of Jesus, and on His head also (Matt. 26:6, 76Now when Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper, 7There came unto him a woman having an alabaster box of very precious ointment, and poured it on his head, as he sat at meat. (Matthew 26:6‑7)). This would seem a strange thing to us, but in that land it was a mark of respect to pour oil on the head of kings or great men, and olive oil was often put on the feet of a guest who had walked over rough roads.
But Mary did not use the olive oil which was common there, but a costly oil, called spikenard, obtained from other lands, the very best she could use.
Sweet smelling oils were also used in preparing a dead person for burial, and when one disciple objected that Mary had used so expensive oil for Jesus, He said she had done it for His burial.
He had told them plainly that He must suffer and die, but the disciples were so certain He would then be King, that they did not think He would die. Mary seemed to have believed His words about death and suffering; she longed to do what would soothe Him, and felt she must do it before.
She used her own hair to wipe or spread the oil, tenderly on His feet. There is no word written being said by Mary, but from Jesus’ words we know her act gave Him the most honor of all that day, because He knew she was grateful to Him that He would give His Life.
We learn from this that the Lord Jesus values the thought of each one who is grateful for His death and suffering for them; no one now can do for Him as Mary, or as those who made Him the supper, but all who believe Him their Saviour can be grate ful to Him for His death. Their prai may also bless others as the sweet odo of the oil was known to the other when it filled the house that night.
The work or power of Jesus to raise the dead and all other of His works deserve our praise, but His work in death was the greatest of all, because He suffered for our sins. Except for that there could be no other blessings.
It is told that many persons learn, that Jesus had come to Bethany a they went there to see Him and to see Lazarus, and they too believed in Jesus. They were no doubt, people who lived away and had come to Jerusalem for the passover feast and there heard the raising of Lazarus, for Bethany was close by that city (John 11:5555And the Jews' passover was nigh at hand: and many went out of the country up to Jerusalem before the passover, to purify themselves. (John 11:55)).
The leaders of the temple found that still more people were believing in Jesus as the Christ, and they became more wicked in their plans to stop them.
ML 11/24/1946