Bible Study series: John 12:1-8. She was moved to be in Jesus’s presence. And she was preparing him for burial.
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For the Greek text, click here:
At that link, I provide a lot more commentary.
In this post, links are provided for further study.
Let’s begin.
Scripture: John 12:1-8
1 Then Jesus, six days before Passover, went to Bethany where Lazarus was and whom Jesus raised from the dead. 2 Then they made a supper for him there. Martha was serving, but Lazarus was one of the reclining guests with him. 3 Then Mary, taking three quarters of a pound of pure and costly nard, anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the aroma of the myrrh. 4 But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one about to hand him over) said, 5 “Why was this myrrh not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” 6 But he said this not because he cared for the poor but because he was a thief, and having the moneybag, he was lifting what was tossed in. 7 Then Jesus said, “Let her be. She kept it for the day of my burial. 8 You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.” (John 12:1-8)
Comments:
Two little historical tidbits: A Roman pound was 325 grams or 12 ounces or half a liter. The price of the ointment was three hundred denarii, about a working man’s yearly wage if he got steady work throughout the year, which often did not happen. The dollar amount would be huge.
Now let’s cover the differences between John and Matt. 26:6-13 and Mark 14:3-9. Let’s allow Carson to sort out the differences (pp. 426-27).
First, as to John saying the ointment was poured out on the feet and Mark saying on his head, the jar was full and the quantity was too large to have been poured out only on either area. It was poured out on both the head and feet.
Second, in Matt. 26:12 and Mark 14:8, the ointment was said to be poured out on his body in anticipation of his burial, so it was applied to his whole body. Mary must have begun at his head and poured it out the length of his body to his feet. Remember: in this world, people ate lying on their side with their feet sticking out.
Third, Matthew and Mark say the ointment was poured out on Jesus’s head for the theme of his royal anointing, important in their Gospels. John mentions the feet to reveal Mary’s unworthiness. Jesus will soon teach his disciples to wash each other’s feet in the next chapter.
Thus, Mark and Matthew and John, when combined, present a comprehensive account.
1:
“Six days before Passover”: Matthew and Mark indicate two days before Passover, but a careful reading of those two Gospels will show that these were the two days before the feast when the chief priests met to plot to kill Jesus, not when Jesus was anointed in Bethany.
Matthew 26 (scroll down to v. 2 for commentary)
Mark 14 (scroll down to v. 1 for commentary)
Once again, will your faith snap in two when these differences and special permissions crop up? Don’t let it. Relax and calm down. Read the Gospels as they present themselves, not as some uptight Bible hyper-inerrantist says the Gospel writers must present their data.
13. Are There Contradictions in the Gospels?
14. Similarities among John’s Gospel and the Synoptic Gospels
Celebrate the huge number of similarities, not these few differences of timing, resolved by thematic purposes.
Jesus was not yet in Jerusalem. Recall from the previous chapter that Bethany was about two miles or three kilometers from Jerusalem, on the road leading to Jericho (eastward). Jesus left there after the miraculous resuscitation of his good friend Lazarus. We will learn in v. 11 that many Jews believed in Jesus because of the miracle.
Let’s look more deeply at the chronology.
Why six days before Passover. A chronological problem? John, along with Matthew, Mark and Luke (the Synoptic Gospels), believe that this Passover began Thursday evening (i.e. the onset of Friday by Jewish counting of days). So six days before Passover must refer to the preceding Saturday, which began Friday evening. So if Jesus arrived at Bethany that evening, when the Sabbath began, the dinner, the dinner (v. 2) was held on the Sabbath, Saturday evening. When the Sabbath officially ended at sundown on Saturday, the large crowd of Jews gathered. On the next day, Sunday, the Triumphal entry took place (see Carson, comments on v. 1).
Let’s discuss Passover and the seven days of feasting immediately afterwards.
Passover comes from the noun pascha (pronounced pah-skha, for the -ch- is hard). This is one of three festivals required by law (Tabernacles or Booths and Pentecost are the other two). Let’s define Passover. BDAG is considered by many to be the authoritative lexicon of the Greek NT. It says: (1) An annual Israelite festival commemorating Israel’s exodus from Egypt, the Passover, celebrated on the 14th of the month Nisan and continuing into the early hours of the 15th … Ex 12-13 … This was followed immediately by the Feast of Unleavened Bread on the 15th to 21st. Popular usage merged the two festivals and treated them as a unity, as they were for practical purposes (see Lk 22:1 and Mk 14:12)”…. (2) “the lamb sacrificed for observance of the Passover, Passover lamb …figurative of Christ and his bloody death 1 Cor. 5:7 … eat the Passover Mt 26:17; Mk 14:12b, 14; Lk 22:11, 15; J 18:28.” (3) “The Passover meal Mt 26:19; Mk 14:16; Lk 22:8” …. (4) “in later Christian usage the Easter festival.”
The key points in that definition: popular usage merged Passover and Unleavened Bread for practical reasons; the Greek can be translated as the lamb itself, so the figurative usage is easy to apply to Christ’s sacrifice (1 Cor. 5:7). (To this day, modern Greeks celebrate the pascha by eating a lamb.) The latter usage of the term “Easter” is the church’s choice to take over a pagan festival. You can certainly skip the term if it bothers your conscience and biblical values.
Here are the basic facts about the two festivals:
(1).. Passover
Time of year in OT: First Month: Aviv / Nisan 14th day (for one day)
Time of Year in Modern Calendar: March / April (second Passover is one month later according to Num. 9:10-11)
How to celebrate it:
(1) A whole lamb by the number of people in household, being ready to share with nearest neighbor; (2) one-year-old males without defects, taken from sheep and goats; (3) take care of them until the fourteenth day; (4) then all the community is to slaughter it at twilight; (5) put the blood on the tops and sides of the doorframes of the houses where the lambs are eaten, with bitter herbs and bread without yeast; (6) that night eat the lambs roasted over fire, with the head, legs and internal organs, not raw or boiled (7) do not leave any of it until morning; if there is any leftover, burn it; (8) the cloak must be tucked into belt; sandals on feet and staff in hand; (9) eat in haste in order to leave Egypt soon (Exod. 12:4-11).
Purpose: Exodus from Egypt and Protection from Judgment:
“The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt” (Exod. 12:13).
Other Scriptures: Exod. 12:4-14; Num. 28:16
(2).. Unleavened Bread
Time of Year in OT: Same month, 15th to 21st days, for seven days
Time of Year in Modern Calendar: Same month, on the fifteenth day, which lasts for seven days
How to celebrate it:
Exod. 12:14-20 says that the Israelites were to eat bread without yeast for seven days, from the fourteenth day to the twenty-first day. On the first day they were to remove the yeast from their houses. If they eat anything with yeast from the first to the seventh days they shall be cut off (excommunicated), and this was true for foreigner or native-born. They must not do work on those days, except to prepare to prepare the food for everyone to eat. On the first days they are to hold a sacred assembly (meet at the tabernacle) and another one on the seventh day.
Other Scriptures: Exod. 12:14-20; Num. 28:16
Purpose: see the previous section “Passover.”
Paul writes in 1 Cor. 5:6-8:
Don’t you know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough? 7 Get rid of the old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. 8 Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old bread leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. (1 Cor. 5:6-8)
The ancient Israelites were not supposed to eat leavened bread during this time. They were in such a hurry to leave Egypt that they could not wait for the yeast to raise the lump of dough. In this context yeast symbolized sin and hindrance. We are to keep the Passover, but only in a spiritual sense: “with sincerity and faith.” We are to get rid of the old yeast or moral corruption in our lives and the life of the church. Christ is our Passover lamb, and he protects us from God judicial wrath or judgment, when we are in union with him.
Festivals in Leviticus 23 from a NT Perspective
As we saw in vv. 1-2 and 1 Cor. 5:6-8, Jesus is our Passover lamb. And so, John draws the comparison between Jesus and the Passover lamb (John 1:29). His blood smeared on the door of your heart protects you from God’s judgment at the final judgment. However, please be aware that God is judging / evaluating you every minute of every day. Sometimes he likes what he sees, and at other times he tells you that you need an attitude adjustment.
See Heb. 12: 5-11, which talks about the discipline of the Lord out of his love. And 1 Peter 4:17 says that judgment begins with the household of God—now, here on earth.
Everyone Shall Be Judged by Their Works and Words
2-3:
For another intimate view of this family, see Luke 10:38-42.
38 And while they were going along, he entered a particular village, and a woman named Martha welcomed him. 39 She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and began listening to his message. 40 Martha was distracted by all the serving. She stood over him and said, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me alone to serve? So tell her to help me!” 41 The Lord replied and told her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled by many things, 42 but one thing is necessary. Obviously, Mary has chosen the right part, which shall not be taken from her.” (Luke 10:38-42)
It is remarkable how John’s account here matches up with Luke’s in terms of Martha serving and Mary doing something spiritual.
Caring for the feet was the work of a slave, yet the act also symbolized the anointing of royalty (e.g. Exod. 28:41; 1 Sam. 10:1-13; 16:12-13). Yet this king is no ordinary king. He has to die first before his ascension and enthronement. He was first to be enthroned on the cross (Klink, comment on v. 3).
Her action would have scandalized the first-century Jewish culture, particularly when she uncovered and unbound her hair. Imagine it happening today! However, please note that reclining in the Middle East at that time meant that people did not sit at table (sorry, Davinci), but their heads were towards the low table, and their feet farthest away from the table. So she walked around and got to his feet which were sticking out, behind.
4-6:
The money bag was for donations—those who tossed money into it, as the Greek literally reads. Yes, Jesus took donations. Recall that women helped to finance his ministry: “… Joanna, wife of Chuza, estate manager of Herod, and Susanna. And many other women were supporting them from their resources” (Luke 8:3). No doubt men contributed to his ministry, as well.
“Lift” works in both Greek and English to denote stealing money or “lifting” the things tossed into the moneybag.
Whenever Judas is mentioned in the four Gospels, he is labeled as “the one who was to betray him” or “hand him over.” Awful legacy. See my commentary on Matthew 27:3-10 for a small glimmer of hope for his repentance at the last minute.
Mounce writes of Judas: “Life is the arena in which we demonstrate by our conduct the reality of our commitment to God. Judas simply proved openly what he had always been secretly” (comment on. v. 6).
7-8:
“We give to the poor because they are in need; we give to Jesus because we are in need. It is only by means of the latter that we can rightly see ourselves as slaves of Christ and not as fellow royalty” (Klink, comment on v. 8).
Novakovic suggests v. 7 be translated as: “Leave her alone. (She bought it) that she may keep it for the day of my burial” or “Leave her alone in order that she may keep it for the day of my burial” (p. 48). The other Gospels say that women approached the tomb to put ointment and other spices on his body (Mark 16:1-2; Luke 23:56-24:1), while Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus brought ointment (John 19:38-40). It could be that they contributed ointment for the same purpose.
Here is half of Mark’s account:
6 But Jesus said, “Let her be. Why do you cause trouble for her? She has done a good work for me. 7 For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you want, you can do something good for them. But you always have me. 8 She did what she could with what she had. She acted ahead to anoint my body for burial. 9 I tell you the truth: wherever the gospel is preached to the whole world, what she did will be remembered as her memorial offering.” (Mark 14:6-9)
Yes, the poor will always exist, and the disciples can help them whenever they can. But the disciples will not always have Jesus with them, and his death will be a one-time act and once and for all. Therefore, her anointing was perfectly thought through and perfectly done. Don’t scold her. Leave her alone.
See Mark 14:3-9 for a plausible harmonization of Mark’s and John’s accounts.
Don’t allow your faith to be so brittle that it snaps in two when these differences emerge. Here is a link that has a huge list of similarities between John’s Gospels and the Synoptics.
14. Similarities among John’s Gospel and the Synoptic Gospels
Celebrate the similarities; don’t obsess over these tiny differences.
Remember, a difference ≠ contradiction.
GrowApp for John 12:1-8
1. Mary risked social shame and embarrassment to anoint his feet and wipe them with her hair. Has your devotion to Christ caused you embarrassment but you followed him anyway? Tell your story.
RELATED
14. Similarities among John’s Gospel and the Synoptic Gospels
12. Eyewitness Testimony in John’s Gospel
4. Church Fathers and John’s Gospel
3. Archaeology and John’s Gospel
SOURCES
For the bibliography, click on this link and scroll down to the very bottom:
Dr. Jim's Essential Bible Teaching 