The Scent of Love
John 12:1-8
Tony’s Overview Video
How to Use
Preparing to teach
- Read the Bible Lesson by Tony Cartledge in this month’s issue of the Nurturing Faith Journal
- Watch Tony’s Video for this session
- Select either the Adult or Youth teaching guide and follow the directions
Click to read the Bible Lesson by Tony Cartledge
Key Text: John 12:8
“You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.”
Are you proud of your feet? Do you long for summer so you can go barefoot, or wear flipflops or sandals that reveal the stunning beauty of your nicely aligned toes and their perfect nails?
I thought not. Most of us are more likely to be embarrassed by our feet rather than proud to put them on display. Even when we know our feet are clean, we may feel self-conscious about them.
Imagine, then, how it would feel to walk some distance on dusty paths while wearing worn leather sandals. Your host offers a bowl of water and a towel to wipe the dust off, but when you sit down, imagine that someone kneels down and gives your feet his or her undivided attention, rubbing in an expensive and fragrant ointment from ankle to toe – and does it for love.
Would you be comfortable with that, especially if other guests held harsh opinions of the person pouring such soul into your soles?
That, or course, describes the spot Jesus was in when Mary showed up with a jar of perfume and proceeded to treat his feet with deep adoration.
Someone Jesus loved (vv. 1-2)
The placement of today’s text is significant. [DD] It follows the account (John 11:1-43) of how Jesus’ friend Lazarus died and was buried while Jesus was away. It’s interesting to note that the first part of that story identifies Lazarus’ sister Mary as “the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair” (11:2), even though that story doesn’t appear until the next chapter.
Jesus’ closeness to Mary, Martha, and Lazarus is seen in his use of the term “friend,” (11:11), his empathic interaction with Mary and Martha after Lazarus’ death (11:17-34), and his own tears of shared grief (11:35). After declaring to Martha that “I am the resurrection and the life” (11:25a), Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, a foreshadowing of his own coming death and resurrection.
That story is followed by a reference to the religious leaders’ plot to kill Jesus, another reminder of Christ’s impending death that helps set the stage for today’s text. Chapter 12 returns to the home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, who lived just a mile or so from Jerusalem in the village of Bethany. As Jesus neared the eminent city and his imminent death, his friends hosted a dinner party for him.
The text paints a Norman Rockwell-style portrait of a family meal with a beloved guest, relaxing and enjoying each other’s company. We normally think of Jesus as being so driven and committed to his mission that we miss the many hints in scripture that he spent a lot of time having fun at dinner parties – so much so that the scribes and Pharisees criticized him for it.
Jesus knew how to be a friend: he understood that true friendship involves both giving and receiving. As he gave of his time, energy, and compassion to others, he also allowed others to show love and kindness to him. Try to imagine having Jesus as a faithful friend that you can call on when in need and return the favor when he or she needs you – then remember that Jesus still lives and wants to be in relationship with us. [DD]
Someone who loved Jesus (v. 3)
There seems to be little question that Lazarus, Mary, and Martha all felt close to Jesus, but the text portrays Mary as being most expressive in her feelings. We recall the story of another time when Martha complained that Mary was sitting with Jesus instead of helping with dinner (Luke 10:38-42), but Jesus pronounced a blessing on Mary for her attention. In John 12:1-8, Martha is again occupied with serving food, while Mary demonstrates her love more extravagantly.
As they dined, Jesus and any other men would have been reclining on cushions spread about a low table while the women served. It’s likely, then, that when Mary approached Jesus and knelt at his feet with her container of ointment, she would have been largely behind him. Mary brought with her a substantial quantity of “nard,” an expensive imported perfume. [DD]
If Judas’ estimate of 300 denarii is valid (v. 5), the fragrant ointment could have been worth as much as a common laborer’s annual income: the minimum wage was typically one denarius per day.
How would Mary have obtained such wealth to lavish on Jesus? No husband is ever mentioned. Since her brother Lazarus was living, it is unlikely that Mary would have received any inheritance. This seems to represent money that Mary had worked for and saved. As such, her gift was a great financial sacrifice and display of devotion to Jesus.
Expositors often note that Mary sacrificed not only her money, but also something of her dignity. Her behavior would have been considered shocking in first century Palestine. In Luke’s version of the story – or the account of a similar occurrence – the woman is described as a “sinner,” so her actions might not have been so surprising. But Mary of Bethany was an upstanding, respectable Jewish woman. For her to lavish expensive ointment on the humblest part of Jesus’ body and then to wipe them with her own unbraided hair (the most “glorious” part of the body, according to 1 Cor. 11:15) was nearly unthinkable in her cultural setting – but that did not stop her from pouring love onto Jesus’ feet.
We often think of our service to Christ as growing from duty or obligation. How often do we show real generosity in Jesus’ name, simply for love? [DD]
Someone less loving (vv. 4-8)
Mary’s actions – and perhaps the strong smell of perfume – may have set several of the guests back on their heels. Matthew and Mark say the disciples were offended by their perceived waste of a valuable commodity, while Luke says it was the host who took umbrage. John, in an intentional preview of Judas’ character, names the troupe’s treasurer as the one who criticized Mary for “wasting” the ointment and Jesus for allowing it.
John apparently had no sympathy for Judas. He made no attempt at naming anything but the basest motives, describing the disciples’ money-man as a thief, a double-crosser, and a false disciple who thought only of personal gain.
Judas, like those who took offense in the other gospels, complained that the ointment could have been sold to help the poor, but John’s parenthetical statement leads us to believe that Judas wanted to sell the perfume so he could skim some of the price for himself (v. 6).
Responding to Judas, Jesus again brought up the subject of his coming death. “Leave her alone,” he retorted. “Leave her alone. She has kept it for the day of my burial. For you will always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me!” (vv. 7-8, NET).
Jesus’ charge to Judas that Mary should be allowed to keep the ointment for his burial implies that she had not used the entire amount, which is certainly reasonable. Mark’s version says the woman “broke open” the jar, and preachers often make homiletical hay of the notion that Mary gave it all and didn’t hold anything back. It’s not necessary, however, to assume that Mary poured out the entire contents of the container. [DD]
Think about it: many of today’s perfumes come in bottles holding two ounces or less, and they last a long time. None of us would use a full 12 ounces of cologne or perfumed body lotion at one time. Unless Mary was being intentionally extravagant, it’s reasonable to presume that she would have used what ointment was needed to rub Jesus’ feet rather than dumping the entire box, with most of it running onto the floor. Jesus’ prophetic admonition to let her keep it for his burial suggests that ointment remained to be used for that purpose. This could have been done when Jesus’ body was initially prepared (John 19:40), or on the third day, when women were first at the tomb, bearing spices designed to mask the odor of decomposition (Luke 23:56, 24:1).
The other disciples seemed to be in denial over Jesus’ continued predictions that he would be killed. Perhaps John wants us to see that only Mary understood, that her profligate gift was not only an outpouring of love, but of grief and a desire to spare no expense in showing love to Jesus while she could.
Jesus’ statement that “the poor you have with you always” must not be read in any way as an encouragement to ignore the less fortunate. If anything, Jesus pointed out that there would always be a need for Christians to help those who live in poverty, and texts such as Matthew 25 leave no doubt that his followers were called to care for those who are hungry, poor, or imprisoned. At the moment, however, Jesus’ need was most urgent, and Mary was perceptive enough to see it. Her gift was as prophetic as it was generous.
While Mary’s immediate intent was to demonstrate pure love for Jesus, she accomplished far more than she ever knew. Many Christians through the years have learned from Mary and have been inspired to demonstrate greater love for Christ and those Christ loves. In the same way, our own self-giving love can accomplish far more than we know – provided we’re willing to open our jars and our hearts to those who need it most. [DD]
Adult Teaching Resources
Download the PDF of teaching resources for this lesson.
This PDF contains the Teaching Guide, Digging Deeper, and Hardest Question pages.
Read Scripture online: John 12:1-8
Youth Teaching Resources
Parent Prep
Do you know of any parents that treat their student like royalty? Providing every want for them? Covering for them when they get into trouble? Waiting on them hand and foot? What is their reasoning for doing this? What do they hope comes from parenting in this way? We can dote on our students without pandering to them? We can shower them with love without giving in to every request and want. The biggest gift you can give to your students is to love them with all of who you are.
Additional Links/Resources
Read Scripture online: John 12:1-8
Download the PDF for youth teaching resources using the button below. This PDF contains the Teaching Guide for this lesson:
Video
Encourage youth to check out this video ahead of the lesson.
“Elizabeth is Crowned” from Elizabeth
Via www.youtube.com
Need Help?
Learn how to better use Nurturing Faith teaching resources.