Time is short. Jesus is about to die, and it seems almost nobody understands, so there's no one to give Him comfort. Everyone seems too intent on what they can have, but nobody seems interested in hearing what Jesus is actually saying. Nobody seems to care that He is just a few days from execution.
We pick up the narrative in John's Gospel, six days before the Passover. After the long, arduous climb up from Jericho, Jesus stopped in Bethany at the home of Lazarus and his sisters, Martha and Mary. Again, Martha was serving, but no fussing this time; her brother had been raised from the dead not so long ago. He reclined next to Jesus in the typical Hebrew style, dining at a low table surrounded by cushions.
Mary did the one thing that made the most sense. She brought out from somewhere a Roman pound (litra -- 12 ounces for Americans) of spikenard (Nardostachys jatamansi), just about the most expensive ointment anyone knew about in those days. The fragrance was unique and easily recognized, and when poured on the skin or hair, would continue exuding its aroma for several days.
Mary poured it on His feet, then spread it with her hair (Matthew 26 mentions some of it went on His head, too). It didn't conflict with the food at all; wealthy people put in their wine. But for a good while the smell of that large quantity would have swamped everything else in the house. When Judas Iscariot complained that the money would have been better put into their treasury for distribution to the poor, it was a lie. As the group's treasurer, he would have pilfered from it along with all the other money in their common fund. He suggested it was worth more than 300 days' wages for a common laborer.
Jesus rebuked him and noted that, at last, someone understand what He had been saying about His coming death. It wasn't specifically used for burial, but the scent would still be on Him (and in her hair) when He died to remind Him that she understood. Then He said something few grasp even to this day. There will always be poor, and they are a bottomless pit. Giving to the poor has its place, but so does giving comfort to a Messiah about to sacrifice His life.
All during that day, a great many Jews from around Jerusalem came just to see, not only Jesus the famous rabbi, but the man He raised from the dead. Lazarus was well known, and his funeral was heavily attended, but now he was downright famous. And because of this noteworthy miracle, a significant portion of those who came to see him were now turning to follow Jesus as the Messiah. Meanwhile, the Sanhedrin were trying to come up with a way to put Lazarus back in the grave.
Some English translations miss the point of what John says next: There was a vast herd of Diaspora Jews arriving in Jerusalem before the Passover, wave after wave coming in from out of town over the week leading up to the celebration of the Exodus. It was the day following the celebratory feast where Mary anointed His feet. When the Jews from out of town got the news about Jesus, His claims to be the Messiah, and the man He raised from the dead, they gathered around the eastern gate of the city, because they heard that Jesus was coming down from Bethany.
This is late march and date palm trees were far more abundant in those days than now, one of the few trees still green year round. They would have been easy to climb and the palm fronds were huge. Just a few branches would have made quite a green carpet on the road. This was a royal welcome, and the people shouted glory to the Lord that the King of Israel had finally come.
We are told in Matthew 21 that Jesus had arranged for a young donkey, sending two of His disciples to fetch it from a small village on the way from Bethany. We also learn that some people laid their outer garments on the road with the palm fronds, all of which signifies their welcome and allegiance to a new king. Both Matthew and John quote from Zechariah 9:9 which prophesied of this very thing, that the Messiah would ride on a donkey colt into Jerusalem.
John reminds us that the disciples didn't understand in the flesh, but after the Resurrection, their hearts brought it all back to them. Meanwhile, folks who had witnessed the resuscitation of Lazarus were fanning out among the confused onlookers on both sides of the crowd, boldly describing what they had witnessed. This only increased the number of folks trying to press in and welcome Jesus as king.
This left the Pharisees grumbling among themselves at how their efforts were wasted on these people. For them, it seemed as if the whole world had chosen to follow this ignorant rabbi. All the while, and even up through the day He was crucified, Jesus was giving off this sweet smell of spikenard.
We pick up the narrative in John's Gospel, six days before the Passover. After the long, arduous climb up from Jericho, Jesus stopped in Bethany at the home of Lazarus and his sisters, Martha and Mary. Again, Martha was serving, but no fussing this time; her brother had been raised from the dead not so long ago. He reclined next to Jesus in the typical Hebrew style, dining at a low table surrounded by cushions.
Mary did the one thing that made the most sense. She brought out from somewhere a Roman pound (litra -- 12 ounces for Americans) of spikenard (Nardostachys jatamansi), just about the most expensive ointment anyone knew about in those days. The fragrance was unique and easily recognized, and when poured on the skin or hair, would continue exuding its aroma for several days.
Mary poured it on His feet, then spread it with her hair (Matthew 26 mentions some of it went on His head, too). It didn't conflict with the food at all; wealthy people put in their wine. But for a good while the smell of that large quantity would have swamped everything else in the house. When Judas Iscariot complained that the money would have been better put into their treasury for distribution to the poor, it was a lie. As the group's treasurer, he would have pilfered from it along with all the other money in their common fund. He suggested it was worth more than 300 days' wages for a common laborer.
Jesus rebuked him and noted that, at last, someone understand what He had been saying about His coming death. It wasn't specifically used for burial, but the scent would still be on Him (and in her hair) when He died to remind Him that she understood. Then He said something few grasp even to this day. There will always be poor, and they are a bottomless pit. Giving to the poor has its place, but so does giving comfort to a Messiah about to sacrifice His life.
All during that day, a great many Jews from around Jerusalem came just to see, not only Jesus the famous rabbi, but the man He raised from the dead. Lazarus was well known, and his funeral was heavily attended, but now he was downright famous. And because of this noteworthy miracle, a significant portion of those who came to see him were now turning to follow Jesus as the Messiah. Meanwhile, the Sanhedrin were trying to come up with a way to put Lazarus back in the grave.
Some English translations miss the point of what John says next: There was a vast herd of Diaspora Jews arriving in Jerusalem before the Passover, wave after wave coming in from out of town over the week leading up to the celebration of the Exodus. It was the day following the celebratory feast where Mary anointed His feet. When the Jews from out of town got the news about Jesus, His claims to be the Messiah, and the man He raised from the dead, they gathered around the eastern gate of the city, because they heard that Jesus was coming down from Bethany.
This is late march and date palm trees were far more abundant in those days than now, one of the few trees still green year round. They would have been easy to climb and the palm fronds were huge. Just a few branches would have made quite a green carpet on the road. This was a royal welcome, and the people shouted glory to the Lord that the King of Israel had finally come.
We are told in Matthew 21 that Jesus had arranged for a young donkey, sending two of His disciples to fetch it from a small village on the way from Bethany. We also learn that some people laid their outer garments on the road with the palm fronds, all of which signifies their welcome and allegiance to a new king. Both Matthew and John quote from Zechariah 9:9 which prophesied of this very thing, that the Messiah would ride on a donkey colt into Jerusalem.
John reminds us that the disciples didn't understand in the flesh, but after the Resurrection, their hearts brought it all back to them. Meanwhile, folks who had witnessed the resuscitation of Lazarus were fanning out among the confused onlookers on both sides of the crowd, boldly describing what they had witnessed. This only increased the number of folks trying to press in and welcome Jesus as king.
This left the Pharisees grumbling among themselves at how their efforts were wasted on these people. For them, it seemed as if the whole world had chosen to follow this ignorant rabbi. All the while, and even up through the day He was crucified, Jesus was giving off this sweet smell of spikenard.
