Sermon

John 12:1-8

Freely, Freely

Check out these helpful resources
Biblical Commentary
Children’s Sermons
Hymn Lists

John 12:1-8

Freely, Freely

Dr. Randy L. Hyde

“A little dab’ll do ya.” That was Brylcreem, wasn’t it? Remember? Back in the 1950’s and 60’s the TV commercials were letting men know it didn’t take much to get the rich, creamy effect they wanted when it came to having wavy, manageable hair. Just put on a little Brylcream, comb it in, and you were good to go. “A little dab’ll do ya.”

The same goes with perfume. I honestly don’t remember where I was recently, but I assure you it was a public place. A lady walked by in near proximity and I swear you could virtually see the fumes emanating all around her. She hadn’t caught on that it doesn’t take much “sweetener” to get the job done. I wasn’t the only one who noticed, let me tell you. Everybody in that area was turning to see where might be the source of such fumatic essences. If her purpose was to get attention, guess what? It worked! Except, I don’t remember her or what she looked like. I only remember the smell.

Imagine what it might have been like for the disciples in the story we read in John’s gospel. Well, actually, we don’t have to imagine. John portrays it for us quite vividly.

Passover is less than a week away, and Jesus and his disciples have returned to Bethany where they are visiting in the home of their friend Lazarus and his sisters, Mary and Martha. John almost goes out of his way to remind us that this is after Jesus has raised Lazarus from the dead. He’s setting the stage for this story, isn’t he? A dinner is being given in honor of Jesus and his disciples, and typically, Martha’s in the kitchen and Mary is at Jesus’ feet. We’ve seen that little scenario before, haven’t we?

Apparently without a word, Mary takes a bottle of very costly perfume made from pure nard, pours all its contents over Jesus’ feet, and wipes it with her hair. The whole house, John says, “was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.” “The whole house.”

This story just begs for some explanation, doesn’t it?

First of all, let’s play around for a moment with Mary’s motivation for doing this. Why do you suppose she used the whole bottle? As we mentioned, such perfume was very costly, and was always used with a great deal of discrimination. Like Brylcreem, a little dab here, a little dab there. You didn’t pour out the whole bottle at one time! But Mary did! Why?

We can’t be sure, but there’s always room for theory. Perhaps she was so overwhelmed by the presence of her Master, it was an uncontrollable act of pure compulsion. Have you ever done something on impulse that was somewhat out of character for you? You’re very close with your money, counting every penny, and one day, without giving it much thought, you buy a whole roomful of furniture? That kind of thing. Maybe that’s what Mary did. This perfume was the most precious thing she owned, and she wanted to share it with Jesus… all of it… every last drop. She didn’t think of the consequences or the cost. That didn’t matter. The only thing that counted was showing her love for Jesus.

There’s a lesson in that, don’t you think? Mary teaches us that if we’re going to give anything to Jesus at all, we need to give everything to him. You don’t reserve a small section of your heart for Jesus. If you give him any of it, you give him all of it. Perhaps Mary teaches us this.

One thing we do know for certain: Judas doesn’t like it… not one bit. Immediately, he protests the waste of such a valuable resource. Why, that perfume could have been taken to the local market and sold. There’s always a strong demand for products like that. The money secured from the sale could have gone into their benevolence account and used to help feed the poor.

That’s what Judas says. But Judas doesn’t have his mind and heart on the poor. He’s thinking about thirty pieces of silver. He’s thinking about betrayal. And Mary’s prodigality is in such sharp contrast to the evil at work in him, he has to say something, if only to try and cover up the larceny that is going on in his heart.

“Leave her alone,” Jesus says. “Let her keep it for the day of my burial.”

Have you ever said or done something that someone else has taken in a different way from how you intended it? It happens to all of us from time to time. Several years ago I preached a sermon and was met after worship by a guest. He had grown up in the church and now lived in a mid-western state. He was back home visiting family and had come to church. “That was the most interesting sermon on hell I have ever heard,” he said to me. He was quite gracious about the sermon and said good things about it… except I hadn’t preached on hell, hadn’t mentioned the word, and it never – at least in the context of that sermon – entered my mind. Has something like that ever happened to you?

I wonder if Mary had Jesus’ impending death and burial on her mind. My guess would be that she was probably like all the others surrounding Jesus… in denial. She didn’t any more want to give in to the idea that Jesus was about to die than anyone else in the house. After all, they were good friends before Jesus raised her brother Lazarus from the dead, but if that kind of thing won’t seal a relationship, what will? I get the feeling that she anointed his feet because she loved Jesus and was showing her heartfelt devotion to him. But he took her action in a completely different way. Why do you suppose that was?

Well, my guess is that the fellow who heard me preach on the subject of hell had hell, for whatever reason, on his mind when he came to worship that morning. He heard a sermon on hell because he wanted to hear a sermon on hell. In much the same way, Jesus took Mary’s action as a preparation for his burial because his death was on his mind. John tells us this took place six days before Passover. Six days before the Lamb of God is to be slaughtered on the cross. The whole room may have been in denial, but Jesus knows what will happen, and he interprets what Mary has done as preparation for his passion.

“Leave her alone,” Jesus says to Judas. “Let her keep it for the day of my burial.”

Very often, “words and deeds have meaning beyond the intentions of those who speak and act.”1 You’ll find it elsewhere. Caiaphas, the high priest, said to Pilate, “It is better for you to have one man die for the people” (11:50). He was thinking and acting politically, but now we consider the greater truth of his words. When Jesus gave his life on the cross, he – One Man – gave up his life so all might be saved. That’s not even close to what Caiaphas meant, but that is what happened. At one point the Pharisees exclaimed, “Look, the whole world has gone after him!” (12:19). They had no idea. For them, it was simply an exaggerated expression that revealed their astonishment at Jesus’ great popularity. Now, indeed, the whole world does know the name of Jesus. They really had no idea what they were saying.

“We speak and act in ways we think most appropriate for the occasion.”2 But at the time, we may not know what power, what impact, they carry in the hearts and minds of those who hear our words and see our deeds. To you, at the time you do it, it may be just a drink of cold water to someone who is thirsty. But to that person, it is the very source of life. To you, at the time you say it, it might just be a simple word of encouragement. But to the person who receives it, it becomes the very voice of God. There is life, there is power, in the simplest deed if it is done to bring honor to Christ… even if sometimes that may not be our direct intention.

That is what Mary has done. But, on second thought, maybe she did know what she was doing. It could be that she was the only one – or one of a few – who were aware that Jesus was about to go to the cross. After all, when Jesus was in Bethany, Mary was always at his feet, listening to his every word, taking in everything Jesus had to say about the kingdom of God. Let Martha do the kitchen work; Mary wanted to spend time with Jesus. Maybe she was the only one who really understood because she was willing to listen to Jesus with an open heart and mind.

The nard plant was used by the wealthy as a perfume, but for the more common folk it was reserved as a burial ointment to offset the odor of decaying flesh. Jesus was still six days away from Passover, from destiny, so this would have been a rather symbolic act on her part. Six days can wash away even the strongest perfume even a whole bottle of it! This was Mary’s way of being there for Jesus. Jesus spent so much of his time and energy focusing on the needs of others, now it is Mary’s opportunity to give herself to his needs.

The other gospels that tell this story, or a version of it (and this story is one of the rare ones recorded in all four gospels), do not name Mary as the woman who anoints Jesus. Only John identifies her as Mary. We can’t help but think, however, that each of these narratives point to the same occurrence. Mark quotes Jesus as saying something that is so true. Whether Mark knew these words would still be repeated some two thousand years later, who knows? He records, “Wherever the good news is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in remembrance of her” (14:9).

Mary’s intent, surely, was not to have this act recorded for posterity. She had no idea her action would be recorded, later to be accepted as scripture by the church. She simply knew she wanted to show Jesus how much she loved him. So she gave to him… freely, freely, without reservation or thought to cost. She simply gave to him freely, freely. And now the whole world knows of it.

What are you and I willing to do to show Jesus our love and devotion? Whatever it may be, let us give to him freely, freely. And all the rest, let ‘s just leave to God.

Lord, take what we give freely, freely. Use it, we pray, for your kingdom. And help us know that what you have given to us freely, freely leads to nothing less than eternal life. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Notes

1Fred B. Craddock, et. al., Preaching Through the Christian Year: Year C
(Trinity Press International: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, 1994), p. 164.

2Ibid.

Copyright 2004, Randy L. Hyde. Used by permission.