The fact that three of the evangelists have recorded this interesting incident, proves how deep was the impression it made upon the minds of Christ's followers and friends. We recognize in Mary's gift -
I. AN EVIDENCE OF GRATEFUL LOVE. Mary had many reasons for regarding Jesus with affectionate thankfulness. To him she was indebted for many precious lessons in spiritual knowledge. Sitting at his feet, she had imbibed his incomparable teaching. To him she was indebted for a brother restored to life and home. That she appreciated what Jesus had done for her is abundantly apparent from her conduct on this occasion. And her love is a rebuke to the cold-heartedness with which many of our Savior's professed disciples regard him to whom they owe every privilege in the present, and every prospect for the future.
II. AN INSTANCE OF CHRIST-LIKE SELF-SACRIFICE. Although the circumstances of the family of Bethany may be presumed to have been easy, still the costly gift of perfumed unguent here described was the fruit of self-denial. Mary did not offer a common gift, did not give of her superfluity, did not part with what cost her little or nothing. Our offerings to Christ's cause too seldom in this respect resemble hers. But if we give our hearts to Jesus, it will be natural in us to render to him offerings which shall be meet expressions of our consecration, to serve him with our best.
III. THE WILLINGNESS OF JESUS TO ACCEPT THE OFFERING OF A FRIEND. One of our Lord's disciples looked with cold disapproval upon this act of ardent love, grudging a gift evidently costly but not, in his view, evidently useful. To Jesus himself the tribute was welcome, for it was the sincere and genuine tribute of affection. Christ had, and has, a human heart; and he can understand and sympathize with the disposition which is not satisfied unless treasure can be poured out at his feet. He found a meaning in the gift deeper than any of which the giver was conscious. He saw in the perfumed unguent the offering for his embalming, for he knew that his death and burial were at band. They who bring to the Lord Christ any gift which the heart dictates and the judgment approves, need not fear lest he should repulse them. Since he seeks and desires their love, it must needs gratify him to receive its genuine expression, whatever form it may assume. It may be said that this is to take a somewhat simple and childlike view of religion. Be it so; still the language and conduct of Christ here recorded assure us that it is a view which the Lord himself approves. - T.
For I have not spoken of Myself.
I. HIS PROFOUND HUMILITY. "I have not spoken of Myself." As if He had said, I take no credit for the thoughts that I have addressed to men: they are not the flashes of my own genius, or the conclusions of my own reason. I am not their fountain but their channel. A teacher is great and divine just in proportion to his humility. Alas! the vanity of preachers has become proverbial.
II. HIS CONSCIOUS DIVINITY. "But the Father which sent Me," etc. No man is a true spiritual teacher who is not conscious that the thoughts he utters are not his own but God's.
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People
Andrew,
Esaias,
Isaiah,
Jesus,
Judas,
Lazarus,
Martha,
Mary,
Philip,
SimonPlaces
Bethany,
Bethsaida,
Galilee,
Jerusalem,
ZionTopics
Allow, Alone, Blame, Burial, Burying, Death, Embalming, Intended, Interposed, Kept, Leave, Perfume, Preparation, Replied, Save, SufferOutline
1. Jesus excuses Mary anointing his feet.9. The people flock to see Lazarus.10. The chief priests consult to kill him.12. Jesus rides into Jerusalem.20. Greeks desire to see Jesus.23. He foretells his death.37. The people are generally blinded;42. yet many chief rulers believe, but do not confess him;44. therefore Jesus calls earnestly for confession of faith.Dictionary of Bible Themes
John 12:7 2530 Christ, death of
4490 ointment
4496 perfume
5241 burial
John 12:1-8
5745 women
Library
Easter Day
Chester Cathedral. 1870. St John xii. 24, 25. "Verily, verily, I say unto you, except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal." This is our Lord's own parable. In it He tells us that His death, His resurrection, His ascension, is a mystery which we may believe, not only because the Bible tells us of it, but because …
Charles Kingsley—All Saints' Day and Other SermonsDecember 28 Evening
We would see Jesus.--JOHN 12:21. O Lord, we have waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee. The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth. Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.--I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.--Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the …
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path
September 8 Evening
Christ the firstfruits.--I COR. 15:23. Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.--If the firstfruit be holy the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches.--Now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.--If we have been planted together in the likeness of his death we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection.--The Lord Jesus Christ . . . shall change our vile …
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path
September 22 Evening
O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.--MATT. 26:39. Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour. I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.--He . . . became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.--In the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto …
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path
May 8 Morning
It pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief.--ISA. 53:10. Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour. Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.--Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him. Being found in …
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path
February 29 Morning
Boast not thyself of tomorrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.--PROV. 27:1. Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.--Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth. While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light. Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor …
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path
June 12. "We Would See Jesus" (John xii. 21).
"We would see Jesus" (John xii. 21). Glory to Him for all the things laid up for us in the days to come. Glory to Him for all the visions of service in the future; the opportunities of doing good that are far away as well as close at hand. Our Saviour was able to despise the cross for the joy that was before Him. Let us look up to Him, and rise up to Him till we get on high and are able to look out from the mount of vision over all the land of far distances. There shall not a single thing come to …
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth
November 19. "We Would See Jesus" (John xii. 21).
"We would see Jesus" (John xii. 21). When any great blessing is awaiting us, the devil is sure to try and make it so disagreeable to us that we shall miss it. It is a good thing to know him as a liar, and remember, when he is trying to prejudice us strongly against any cause, that very likely the greatest blessing of our life lies there. Spurgeon once said that the best evidence that God was on our side is the devil's growl, and we are generally pretty safe in following a thing according to Satan's …
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth
May 8. "Except a Corn of Wheat Fall into the Ground and Die" (John xii. 24).
"Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die" (John xii. 24). Death and resurrection are the central ideas of nature and Christianity. We see them in the transformation of the chrysalis, in the buried seed bursting into the bud and blossom of the spring, in the transformation of the winding sheet of winter to the many tinted robes of spring. We see it all through the Bible in the symbol of circumcision, with its significance of death and life, in the passage of the Red Sea and the Jordan …
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth
April 14. "I if I be Lifted up from the Earth Will Draw all Men unto Me" (John xii. 32).
"I if I be lifted up from the earth will draw all men unto Me" (John xii. 32). A true and pure Christian life attracts the world. There are hundreds of men and women who find no inducements whatever in the lives of ordinary Christians to interest them in practical religion, but who are won at once by a true and victorious example. We believe that more men of the world step at a bound right into a life of entire consecration than into the intermediate state which is usually presented to them at the …
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth
After Christ: with Christ
'If any man serve Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there shall also My servant be.'--John xii. 26. Our Lord was strangely moved by the apparently trivial incident of certain Greeks desiring to see Him. He recognised and hailed in them the first-fruits of the Gentiles. The Eastern sages at His cradle, and these representatives of Western culture within a few hours of the Cross, were alike prophets. So, in His answer to their request, our Lord passes beyond the immediate bearing of the request, …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture
The Universal Magnet
'I, if I be lifted up ... will draw all men unto Me.'--JOHN xii. 32. 'Never man spake like this Man,' said the wondering Temple officials who were sent to apprehend Jesus. There are many aspects of our Lord's teaching in which it strikes one as unique; but perhaps none is more singular than the boundless boldness of His assertions of His importance to the world. Just think of such sayings as these: 'I am the Light of the world'; 'I am the Bread of Life'; 'I am the Door'; 'A greater than Solomon is …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture
The Son of Man
'... Who is this Son of Man?'--JOHN xii. 34. I have thought that a useful sermon may be devoted to the consideration of the remarkable name which our Lord gives to Himself--'the Son of Man.' And I have selected this instance of its occurrence, rather than any other, because it brings out a point which is too frequently overlooked, viz. that the name was an entirely strange and enigmatical one to the people who heard it. This question of utter bewilderment distinctly shows us that, and negatives, …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture
Love's Prodigality Censured and vindicated
'Then Jesus, six days before the passover, came to Bethany, where Lazarus was which had been dead, whom He raised from the dead. There they made Him a supper; and Martha served: but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with Him. Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment. Then saith one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, which should betray …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture
A New Kind of King
'On the next day much people that were come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm-trees, and went forth to meet Him, and cried, Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord. And Jesus, when He had found a young ass, sat thereon; as it is written, Fear not, daughter of Sion: behold, thy King cometh, sitting on an ass's colt. These things understood not His disciples at the first: but when Jesus was glorified, then remembered …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture
A Parting Warning
'Jesus therefore said unto them, Yet a little while is the light among you. Walk while ye have the light, that darkness overtake you not: and he that walketh in the darkness knoweth not whither he goeth. While ye have the light, believe on the light, that ye may become sons of light.'--JOHN xii. 35,36 (R.V.). These are the last words of our Lord's public ministry. He afterwards spoke only to His followers in the sweet seclusion of the sympathetic home at Bethany, and amid the sanctities of the upper …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture
The Praise of Men.
"They loved the praise of men more than the praise of God."--John xii. 43. This is spoken of the chief rulers of the Jews, who, though they believed in Christ's Divine mission, were afraid to confess Him, lest they should incur temporal loss and shame from the Pharisees. The censure passed by St. John on these persons is too often applicable to Christians at the present day; perhaps, indeed, there is no one among us who has not at some time or other fallen under it. We love the good opinion …
John Henry Newman—Parochial and Plain Sermons, Vol. VII
The Saviour Lifted Up, and the Look of Faith.
"As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life."-John iii. 14, 15. "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. (This he said, signifying what death he should die.)"-John xii. 32, 33. IN order to make this subject plain, I will read the passage referred to-Num. xxi. 6-9. "And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much …
Charles G. Finney—Sermons on Gospel Themes
On the Words of the Gospel, John xii. 44, "He that Believeth on Me, Believeth not on Me, but on Him that Sent Me. " against A
1. What is it, Brethren, which we have heard the Lord saying, "He that believeth on Me, believeth not on Me, but on Him that sent Me"? [4174] It is good for us to believe on Christ, especially seeing that He hath also Himself expressly said this which ye have now heard, that is, that "He had come a Light into the world, and whosoever believeth on Him shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." [4175] Good then it is to believe on Christ; and a great evil it is not to believe on …
Saint Augustine—sermons on selected lessons of the new testament
Christ Lifted Up
We have three things to notice. Christ crucified, Christ's glory. He calls it a lifting him up. Christ crucified, the minister's theme. It is the minister's business to lift Christ up in the gospel. Christ crucified, the heart's attraction. "I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men unto me." His own glory--the minister's theme--the heart's attraction. I. I begin then: CHRIST'S CRUCIFIXION IS CHRIST'S GLORY. He uses the word "lifted up" to express the manner of his death. "I, if I be lifted up, will …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 3: 1857
Israel and Britain. A Note of Warning
Her rejection of the Lord Jesus is the more amazing because Isaiah gave so clear an account of the Messiah, and so clearly pictured Jesus of Nazareth. Descriptions of him could not have been more explicit than were the prophecies of Isaiah. It would be very easy to construct an entire life of Christ out of the book of Isaiah, beginning with "a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel," and ending with "he made his grave with the wicked and with the rich in his death." …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 31: 1885
Sermon for St. Stephen's Day
Of three grades of those who learn to die unto themselves, like corn of wheat, that they may bring forth fruit; or of those who are beginners, those who are advancing, and those who are perfect in a Divine life. John xii. 24.--"Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit." BY the corn of wheat we understand our Lord Jesus Christ, who by His death has brought forth much fruit for all men, if they are but willing not only to reign …
Susannah Winkworth—The History and Life of the Reverend Doctor John Tauler
Answer to the Jewish Rabby's Letter.
WE Are now come to the letter of Mr. W's Jewish Rabby, whom Mr. W. calls his friend, and says his letter consists of calm and sedate reasoning, p. 55. I on the other hand can see no reason in it. But the reader than not need to rely upon my judgment. Therefore I will transcribe some parts of it, and then make some remarks. The argument of the letter is, that the story of Lazarus's being raised is an imposture; or else the Jews could not have been so wicked, as to be on that account provoked against …
Nathaniel Lardner—A Vindication of Three of Our Blessed Saviour's Miracles
Our First Proposition Was, that There is Satisfactory Evidence that Many Pretending to be Original...
Our first proposition was, That there is satisfactory evidence that many pretending to be original witnesses of the Christian miracles, passed their lives in labours, dangers, and sufferings, voluntarily undertaken and undergone in attestation of the accounts which they delivered, and solely in consequence of their belief of the truth of those accounts; and that they also submitted, from the same motives, to new rules of conduct. Our second proposition, and which now remains to be treated of, is, …
William Paley—Evidences of Christianity
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