Positive volition develops instinctive love for the Lord. John 12:1-3; Jer 17:7-8

Now in John 12 Jesus has returned to Judea for His final time, which would be His seventh.

 

Seven in the scriptures speaks of perfection and fulfillment. Christ enters Judea for the seventh time perfect (impeccable) and ready to fulfill the final act of God’s plan for His life.

 

And it begins with a going away party thrown by His friends.

 

 

 

In my opinion, and this is not scripture, it was Mary’s idea to throw this party because she had bought something extremely expensive for Him out of her savings that would commemorate His death, burial, and resurrection. She wanted to apply this perfume to the Lord in front of those who knew the Lord so as to honor His coming death.

 

However, this is no somber party. 

 

In chapter 12 we have a party for the Lord Jesus Christ and it’s a wonderful party. The reason why it is wonderful is not the good food or the good wine, but the good people. The people are good because they are people with doctrine.

 

There are some great principles to glean from this party because of the people present and because of its timing.

 

The passion week is at hand. Christ will enter Jerusalem on the colt on the next day as prophesized and the sequence of events that will change the world will be set into place.

 

But this is no somber party; rather it is a time of celebration. The celebrity of the universe is being celebrated. The Lord knows what’s coming and so does Mary, but neither of them are sad or quiet.

 

This brings out a principle that the time to deal with sorrows is during the sorrow and not in anticipation of it.

 

So often we know that great adversity or sadness is coming, or we assume that it is, and we start the sorrows in our own soul too early.

 

This is why we are commanded as believers to live one day at a time. We never know what tomorrow holds, and even though the Lord absolutely knows what is to come upon Him, He is relaxed and enjoying His party.

 

The time for sorrow will come, but not just now. This is a great principle to bear in mind; live in the present.

 

John 12:1 Jesus, therefore, six days before the Passover, came to Bethany where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.

 

John 12:2 So they made Him a supper there, and Martha was serving; but Lazarus was one of those reclining at the table with Him.

 

The subject is 3^rd person plural: they did Him a supper. The plural suffix indicates the party was a joint venture.

 

“They” refers to Lazarus, Mary, Martha, and Simon the leper who also lives in the same suburb. The supper is actually held in the house of Simon the leper because he has a larger home.

 

This is indicated by Matthew 26:6 and Mark 14:3, which we’ll get to later.

 

This is a large and happy party. The word “him” is dative of dignity, a reference to the Lord Jesus Christ who is the guest of honour at this party. They didn’t make Him a supper, however.

 

The Greek word is deipnon[deipnon] and it means a dinner party, a banquet, or just simply a party where they dine.

           

And naturally, we have Martha doing what she always seems to be doing, serving dinner.

 

Now, we can assume that Martha has grown in her faith after witnessing the resuscitation of Lazarus and that she is happy that he is with her again.

 

There is nothing wrong with serving and Martha is great at it. But again we are going to see her in opposition to Mary who has chosen something better.

 

Martha understands some doctrine and is happy to go about her details, but Mary has an instinctive love for the Lord through her own maximum amount of doctrine and so again outshines her sister in the understanding of our Lord’s glory.

 

Believers can be winners or losers. They can have personal love for the Lord or occupation with the details of life. Both Martha and Mary are saved forever, but Mary has consistently made better decisions when it comes to her personal relationship with the Lord.

 

Mary knows instinctively what to do in her love response to the Lord and has no trepidation concerning what she is about to do.

 

“and Martha served” - diakonew[diakoneo] is used here in the imperfect, which means during the entire party she kept providing food, waiting on guests, running in and out of the kitchen.

 

She is true to character. This is what she did before; this is what she is doing now. She is doing what she knows how to do—functioning in the area of cooking and serving.

 

We are going to find, just as before, that Martha and Mary—the two sisters—both follow the pattern which is established in the prior chapters.

 

Lazarus also follows a pattern that you would expect. He is reclining at the table with the Lord.

 

One word would describe the beginning of this party—rapport.

 

This is a party where true love and pseudo love are co-existing but it isn’t apparent at the beginning of the party.

 

The real theme of this party is death, but not everyone in attendance knows that.

 

The Lord, Mary, and most likely Lazarus understand that the Savior is about to take His place as the slain Lamb.

 

The understanding of death gives capacity for life.

 

Capacity for life is preparation for death, and the one who lives well then dies well.

 

Jesus Christ knows He will die the most horrible death in all of human history in six days—three hours of bearing our sins. No one ever went through what Jesus did in the field of suffering. It is maximum; it is unique, and yet here, six days before, He is relaxed.

 

Again, there is no need for response to suffering simply in anticipation of the suffering.

 

But that attitude demands mature use of the faith rest drill.

 

JER 17:7-8

"Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord

And whose trust is the Lord.

8 "For he will be like a tree planted by the water,

That extends its roots by a stream

And will not fear when the heat comes;

But its leaves will be green,

And it will not be anxious in a year of drought

Nor cease to yield fruit.

 

Now in verse three we have a dramatic application of doctrine. What motivated Mary to do such a wonderful thing? Love.

 

When you truly love someone you do instinctively for them. In this case Mary understands the issue in the near future of the Lord. He will die a spiritual death for all mankind so that anyone can have an eternal relationship with Him like Mary does.

 

She takes her savings and buys a very expensive perfume so that she may anoint Him.

 

 

Martha goes about her everyday chores, which are multiplied at this party, but Mary does something of her own choice from pure instinct. But Mary’s instinct is not just a whimsical chance, it is the instinct of love. She knows in her own soul that this will glorify the Lord.

 

Do you and I possess this instinct? Do we, under the power of the Holy Spirit know what to do and when to do it?

 

There is no course you can take and no practice you can repeat that will give you this instinct. It emanates from personal love for the Lord and that only comes from consistent Bible study.

 

John 12:3a Mary therefore took a pound of very costly perfume of pure nard,

 

This nard or spikenard as it was known comes from the root of a very rare plant that grows in northern India and parts of China. It was attainable through Rome’s trading with the east and it was one of the most expensive things you could buy.

 

It had a very sweet fragrance that was unmistakable in a place that didn’t often smell sweet. It was often used for burial, but not for the common man since no commoner could afford it.

 

But Jesus Christ is no common man and Mary knows this. She knows it so confidently that she is willing to spend a year’s wages to honor Him during His life and His death.

 

It was valued at 300 denarii which was 300 days wages at 12 hours per day. Mary shows her ability to save money and then use that money for God’s glory. Her family was common and this would’ve taken Mary years to save.

 

Notice the difference between Mary and Martha. Martha cooked food for the living Lord; Mary provided oil for the dying Lord.

 

Neither of them did anything that was wrong; both of them did something that was good. However, Mary did the best thing.

 

Not that she’s in competition with Martha, but she reveals how two people in the same environment with the same opportunities can become different in their relationship to Jesus Christ.

 

Mary expresses something that is recorded in the Word of God forever and ever.

 

Let me ask this; what did Martha serve that night?

 

Nothing about Martha’s cooking is recorded in the word of God. She might have made the best meal of her life and everything was perfectly cooked and perfectly seasoned and mouth watering. But it is not remembered or recorded because food deals with the living and this time is about the Lord’s death.

 

There was nothing wrong with what she was doing because part of the party was the good food, but it isn’t something that you remember.

 

Why? Because eating is connected with living.

 

What Mary did was better because Martha has just passed the crisis of seeing her beloved brother Lazarus die and come back to life. She is glad to have that behind her and is so happy that she is doing her best cooking. But God the Holy Spirit does not see fit to record all of the dishes—because it has to do with living.

 

But what Mary does has to do with dying, and capacity for dying comes from capacity for living. Martha is zealous; Mary is doctrinal. Martha is sincere; Mary is oriented to grace.

 

The party food was wonderful but the application of doctrine was absolutely fantastic.

 

Recorded in the Word of God forever is the act of Mary because it was an application of Bible doctrine; it is a manifestation of her edification complex of the soul.