The Gospel of John | Anointed As King For Burial – John 12:1-11
Followers of Christ serve Him as a servant would a King, not seeking their own purposes.
At the end of Jesus’ ministry, before the events of His crucifixion, He had gone to be with Lazarus, Mary, and Martha. This trip, specifically with the resurrection of Lazarus from the dead would become the catalyst for the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. The area of geographically much closer to Jerusalem and the story of Lazarus would quickly spread. Yet, Jesus returned anyway, calling Lazarus out from the tomb and demonstrating the true divine nature and foreshadowing as the one who would conquer death. This had been an emotional encounter for all involved and Jesus knew what would still be coming. Throwing a dinner in honor of Jesus, the guests had gathered to celebrate the gift of Jesus Christ but also that Lazarus had returned from the dead. Lazarus’ mere presence presented a testimony to the Divinity of Jesus Christ
During dinner, Mary took a bottle of expensive oil and came to anoint Jesus’ feet with it. It is estimated that the bottle would have been the equivalent of roughly one year’s wages. This was no small gift and its significance did not go unnoticed. Judas, whose job had been to keep the finances of the group (and who stole some along the way) objected to the anointing as wasteful claiming the money could have better been used for the poor. Yet, Jesus understood the heart behind Mary’s offering, knowing that it signified His Kingship and prepared Him for burial, and He rebuked Judas. Between Judas and Mary we see a contrasting position to the person of Jesus Christ and the submission to Him as Lord of their lives. Mary understood that no offering was too great for the one who would conquer sin and death. Judas sought only his own personal gain
Mary’s Anointing of A King
The actions of Mary demonstrate a profound reverence for Jesus Christ. First, that she would be willing to spend essentially a year of wages to anoint Jesus Christ shows, not only her reverence for the God who defies death, but also the honor that is due to Jesus. This gift had not been a small gift but quite costly. Yet, for Mary, the decision was easy. Jesus is worthy of this gift as King. Furthermore, the fact that she anointed His feet is significant as well. Foot travel would have made a person’s feet consistently dirty and in need of constant washing. Pouring expensive oil on a persons feet would only have been done for someone similar to a King. The extravagance of anointing a person from head to toe denoted a person of importance to communicate that even the dirtiest part of the person was worthy to receive the highest of honor. The gift, for Mary, was not in the economic worth of the oil but rather the one whom the oil had been bestowed upon. There would be nothing too small for the worship of a King brought the dead to life.
Yet, whether she fully understood it or not, Mary also had been preparing Jesus for His upcoming burial. Bodies would be anointed with oil out of both reverence and to lessen the smell of a body decomposing. Mary’s act had intended to show the adoration of Jesus Christ, bowing to Him in humility by wiping His feet with her hair. Yet, God’s unveiling story of glorifying His name by rescuing His people from the grips of death but taking the penalty by dying on a cross. Jesus came to save others from death but taking the fullness of the wrath of God and the punishment of death upon Himself. Those who follow Jesus hold the two perspectives tightly with one another. We know that Jesus Christ is King who rules and reigns for all eternity for His glory and for the good of those who love Him. We bow before Jesus with the best of our offering and our worship to Him, not because of the worth of the objects we bring, but because our God is infinitely worthy. Yet, we must also receive the gift of God as grace. Christ died our death so that we could live life with him. We are servants of God, willing to wash the feet of God with our hair to glorify His name in all of our lives. Nothing else compares, comes close, or is worthy of the fullness of our worship. Christ the King saves us from death. We bow to Him and give Him everything we have out of worship for our loving God who conquers death.
- What do Mary’s actions towards Jesus tell us about her attitude towards and understanding of Jesus Christ? How did she view Jesus Christ?
Those Who Would Seek Their Own Glory
In the face of submission to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, many who refuse to bow to Him would resist even the inclination that others submit to Him. Judas, seeing the extravagance and the monetary worth of the oil could only think of the economic loss. John notes that Judas, who took care of the finances of the disciples, had been skimming from the coffer and lining his own pockets. His objection to Mary’s extravagant offer displayed his mourning over the loss of his own personal gain. Furthermore, it demonstrated a complete lack of understanding as to what had been going on. Judas, at best, did not understand the scope of the work of Christ and, at worst, sought his own personal gain over the work of the True King, Jesus Christ. By the oil not being sold for the supposed intent of helping the poor, Judas would be unable to personally profit. Following Jesus is not about our own personal gain or seeking our own personal profit, but comes with first being willing to die to ourselves so that we could come alive as a new creation in Jesus Christ. We cannot, like Judas, fail to see that what we desire (our own personal glory and gain) cannot compare to the riches and blessing that comes with the will of the King. If Jesus Christ is truly King over all aspects of our life, then we willingly kneel before Him, pouring out our best and extravagant offering to Him in worship.
With Lazarus’ resurrection, the news spread quickly of the one who had been dead but now stood before them alive. The dinner celebration had drawn attention and the Pharisees, blinded by the challenge to their authority from this rogue teacher from Bethlehem, needed to respond to the crisis. Knowing that as long as Lazarus stayed alive, he served as a testimony to the power of Jesus Christ. Rather than seeing the miracle stepping out of death into the power of life, they did all they could to discredit the witness by making the decision to have Lazarus killed. Their own ego and blindness to the goodness of God pushed them to seek to maintain their own power rather than submit to the one who conquered death. The Christian does not allow death to continue to reign for the sake of continued power but bows before the King of Jesus Christ who conquers death. When compared to the life that Christ offers, we can willingly submit our power, our will, and our authority to the higher power, the higher will, and the higher authority.
- What do the Pharisees view of the death and resurrection of Lazarus reveal about their commitment to their own power and structure?
Discussion Questions
- What does it mean to worship Jesus Christ? What forms the foundation of our worship?
- How can be bring our best to Him in worship of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of our lives?
- Where do we withhold from God in our lives? What effect does this have on our soul when we withhold our best offerings from Him?
- How does Jesus Christ offer us the resurrection from the dead and the life of the eternity to come? How does this compared with our own ability and power?
- Why do we sometimes feel tempted to look to our own ways and our own abilities when confronted with the presence and glory of Jesus Christ? What can we do to align our lives to reflect the glory of God in and through them?
About The Author
Daniel Burton is the founder of The Gospel Outpost. He is passionate about discipleship and seeing people grow in their relationship with Jesus Christ. To find out more about him, check out his Author Page.
