John 12:1 - Meaning and Application

In these verses, we see the kind visit the Lord Jesus paid to his friends at Bethany (John 12:1). He came from the country six days before the Passover and stayed in Bethany, a town so close to Jerusalem that, by the city’s reckoning, it was almost within its limits. He stayed with his friend Lazarus, whom he had recently raised from the dead.

His coming to Bethany can be seen in three ways. First, it was a preparation for the Passover he was about to keep, since the date is given as six days before the Passover. Devout people set time aside beforehand to prepare for such a holy time, and so it was fitting for the Lord Jesus to fulfill all righteousness, meaning to do everything God required. In this way, he gives us an example of setting ourselves apart before the sacred times of the gospel Passover. We should hear the call, “Prepare the way of the Lord.”

Second, his coming was a willing exposure of himself to the fury of his enemies. Now that his hour was near, he came within their reach and freely offered himself to them, even though he had shown them how easily he could escape all their traps. The Lord Jesus was willing in his sufferings, his life was not forced from him, but given up by choice. As the strength of his enemies could not overpower him, so their skill could not surprise him. He died because he chose to.

There is a time when we may act for our own safety, and there is also a time when we are called to risk our lives for God’s cause, as Paul did when he went to Jerusalem in obedience to the Spirit (Acts 20:22). Christ’s actions here remind us that obedience can sometimes lead into danger.

Third, this was an act of kindness to his friends at Bethany, whom he loved and from whom he would soon be taken away. It was a farewell visit. He came to take leave of them and to leave words of comfort before the coming trial. Even when Christ leaves his people for a time, he gives signs that he goes in love, not anger.

Bethany is described here as the town where Lazarus, the man Christ had raised from the dead, lived. That miracle gave the place a new honor and made it well known. Christ came there, as it were, to see what use people were making of that miracle. When he works in a powerful way and shows special favor, he watches to see whether the purpose is being answered. Where he has planted much, he looks to see whether it grows.

We also see the kind welcome his friends gave him there. They made him a supper, and it was a large feast (John 12:2). Some think this was the same supper mentioned in Matthew 26, in Simon’s house, but many details do not fit well. The older view taken here is that they were different events. This supper seems to have been in Lazarus’s house, on the night before Jesus entered Jerusalem in triumph.

Mary likely showed her devotion at both meals. What she did not use of her ointment at this first supper, when she used only a pound of it (John 12:3), she later used all of it, in Mark 14:3. Here, we learn that they made him a supper. In that culture, supper was usually the best meal of the day. They did this to honor him and show gratitude, because a feast is for friendship. It also gave them a chance for free and pleasant fellowship with him. In this, we may hear an echo of Christ’s promise to those who open their hearts to him, that he will come in and sup with them (Revelation 3:20).

Martha served. She waited at the table herself as a sign of deep respect for the Master. Though she was a woman of some standing, she did not think it beneath her to serve when Christ was at the table. We should not think it beneath us to do any service by which Christ may be honored.

Christ had once corrected Martha for being troubled with much serving, but she did not stop serving altogether. Some, when corrected in one extreme, swing into another. Not so here. She still served, but now she did it in a better spirit, close to Christ and able to hear his gracious words. She would have counted those happy who, like the queen of Sheba said of Solomon’s servants, stood always before him to hear his wisdom (1 Kings 10:8). It is better to wait at Christ’s table than to be a guest at a prince’s table.

Lazarus was one of those reclining at the table. This showed the truth of his resurrection, just as others later showed the truth of Christ’s resurrection by eating and drinking with him (Acts 10:41). Lazarus did not withdraw into the wilderness after being raised, as if he must become a hermit after visiting the other world. No, he lived among people as before. He sat at table as a living witness of the miracle Christ had done. In the same way, those whom Christ has raised to new spiritual life are made to sit together with him (Ephesians 2:5-6).

Mary showed special respect to Jesus above the others by anointing his feet with sweet ointment (John 12:3). She had a pound of very costly ointment of spikenard, probably kept for her own use, but the death and raising of her brother had changed her heart toward such things. She poured it on the feet of Jesus and then wiped his feet with her hair, a further sign of reverence and self-forgetfulness. Everyone there noticed it, because the whole house was filled with the smell of the ointment (Proverbs 27:16).

She surely meant this as an act of love to Christ, who had already shown real love to her and her family. She was thinking about how she might repay him. Her love appears to have been generous, because she did not spare costly expense in his service. She was ready to use the best she had for Christ’s honor. Those who truly love Christ love him far more than this world, and they are willing to give their best for him.

Her love was also humble and willing to stoop. She did not merely give the ointment to Christ, she poured it on him with her own hands. She could have ordered a servant to do it, but she did it herself. She did not even anoint his head, as was more common, but his feet. True love does not only spend freely, it also takes pains to honor Christ. Considering what Christ has done and suffered for us, we are ungrateful if we think any service too hard or too lowly when it can truly glorify him.

This shows a believing love, a love that worked through faith in Jesus as the Messiah, the Christ, the Anointed One. He was anointed in his office as priest and king, as Aaron and David were. God’s Anointed should be ours too. Has God poured the oil of joy on him above all others? Then we should pour out the best love of our hearts on him above all rivals.

If we agree to Christ as our king, we must also accept God’s plan and receive the head he has appointed for us (Hosea 1:11). The house being filled with the sweet smell of the ointment may also teach us two things. First, those who welcome Christ into their hearts and homes bring a sweet fragrance with them, because his presence brings joy and delight. Second, honors given to Christ bring comfort to all his friends and followers. To God and to good people, such acts are like a pleasing offering.

Judas did not like Mary’s act of respect toward Christ (John 12:4, John 12:5). The person who found fault with it was Judas, one of Jesus’ disciples. He was not one of Christ’s true people, only one of the group outwardly. It is possible for the worst people to hide under a good profession. Many claim to belong to Christ, yet have no real love for him. Judas was an apostle, a preacher of the gospel, and still he tried to stop this act of holy devotion. It is sad when the life of religion and serious zeal is looked down on by those who should encourage it. But this was the one who would betray Christ. When people who profess religion grow cold in love to Christ and quietly despise serious piety, that is a sad sign of future falling away.

Judas covered his dislike with a fair-sounding excuse (John 12:5). He asked why the ointment was not sold for three hundred pence, about 8 pounds 10 shillings in their money, and given to the poor. Here is a bad act covered with a smooth and plausible excuse, for Satan can disguise himself as an angel of light. Here is worldly wisdom judging sincere devotion as wasteful and poorly managed. Those who pride themselves on practical cleverness, and look down on others for their serious devotion, show more of Judas’s spirit than they may realize. Here also charity to the poor is used as a reason to oppose a work of devotion to Christ, and as a cover for greed. Many excuse themselves from giving to charity by claiming they are saving for charity, yet if the clouds are full of rain, they will empty themselves.

Judas asked, Why was it not given to the poor? The answer is simple, because it was better spent on the Lord Jesus. We must not assume that people have done no good work just because they did not do it our way. Not everything should be called careless or wrong because it does not follow our own ideas. Proud people think all advice is bad unless it comes from them.

John, guided by the One who searches the heart, exposes Judas’s hypocrisy (John 12:6). Judas said this, not because he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief and had charge of the money bag. He was not moved by charity. He had no real compassion for the poor, no concern for them, except as their name could help his own purpose. Some people loudly defend the church’s power, or the church’s purity, but only to promote themselves. They may sound sincere, yet the truth is, they do not care for the church at all.

Judas’s words really came from greed. Since the ointment was meant for his Master, he would rather have had it sold for money and added to the common fund, because then he knew how to use it for himself. Judas served as treasurer for Jesus’ household. Some think this is why he was called Iscariot, meaning the bag-bearer. This shows how little Jesus and his disciples had to live on. They had no farms, no trade, no barns, no storehouses, only a bag, or perhaps a box, that held just enough for their needs. Any extra, if there was any, was given to the poor. They carried this with them wherever they went. We should think less of worldly wealth and be less concerned with outward rank and ceremony. If our lot is a humble one, we should remember that it was our Master’s lot too, for our sake he became poor.

Judas was the one in charge of the little they had. He received and paid out the money, and we do not read that he ever gave an account of his dealings. He was given this role either because he was the least important of the disciples, or because he wanted the job. Perhaps he loved handling money, and so the money bag was entrusted to him, either as a favor to please him and keep him faithful, or as a judgment on him, putting into his hands what would become a trap. Strong inner desire to sin is often justly answered with strong outside temptations to sin. We have no reason to admire the money bag or take pride in it, because at best we are only stewards of it. It was Judas, a man of bad character, who was steward of the bag. The prosperity of fools destroys them.

Being trusted with the bag, Judas was a thief. That means he had a thief’s heart. The love of money rules the heart in the same way anger and revenge rule the heart in murder.

Or perhaps Judas had really been stealing from his Master’s money bag, taking for himself what had been meant for the common fund. Some even think he was now trying to fill his own pockets and then run away from his Master, since he had heard Jesus speak often about coming trouble and could not accept it. People trusted with public money need steady honesty and justice, so no shame should attach to their hands. Some people joke about cheating the government, the church, or the country, but if cheating is theft, then robbing a community is no light matter. The guilt of theft and the end of thieves are no joke. Judas, who had broken his trust, soon afterward betrayed his Master.

Christ then defended what Mary had done, saying, “Leave her alone” (John 12:7, John 12:8). In this, he showed that he accepted her kindness. He was fully free from the pleasures of the senses, yet because her gift showed love, he was pleased with it. He also made clear that she should not be troubled for it. It can also be read as, “Forgive her.” In other words, “Excuse her this time. If it is a mistake, it is a mistake made out of love.” Christ does not want people to be blamed or discouraged when they honestly try to please him, even if they do not always show perfect wisdom in the way they do it (Romans 14:3). We may not do as they do, yet we should leave them alone.

To defend Mary, Christ gave a kind meaning to what she had done, one her critics had not seen: “She has kept this for the day of my burial.” Or, as Dr. Hammond explains it, “She has saved this for the day when I am to be embalmed.” You do not complain when ointment is used to prepare a dead friend’s body, and you do not say it should have been sold and given to the poor. This anointing may have been meant for that purpose, or at least it can be understood that way. His burial was near, and she had anointed a body that was already as good as dead.

Our Lord often thought about his own death and burial, and it would be good for us to do the same. God’s providence often opens the right moment for good works, and God’s Spirit often opens the heart too, so that acts of devotion turn out to be more fitting and beautiful than we could have planned. Christ’s grace gives a kind reading to the words and actions of good people. He does not only overlook what is weak, he brings out the best in what is good.

Christ also answered Judas’s objection in a full way (John 12:8). In God’s providence, the poor will always be with us, and there will always be people who need help (Deuteronomy 15:11). As long as human life is broken by sin, there will be poverty and suffering. In God’s grace, the church will not always have Jesus’ bodily presence. “You do not always have me,” he says, meaning only for a little while. When two duties compete, we need wisdom to know which one should come first. We should make the most of chances while they last, especially the ones that will soon be gone. A good duty that can be done at any time should yield to one that can be done only now.

Many people among the Jews knew that Jesus was there in Bethany, and they came in crowds (John 12:9). He was the talk of the town. The more because he had recently hidden himself away, the more clearly he now appeared, like the sun breaking out from behind a dark cloud.

They came to see Jesus, whose name had been greatly honored by the recent miracle of raising Lazarus. They came, not to hear him, but to satisfy their curiosity by seeing him in Bethany, since they feared he would not appear in public as he usually did during that Passover. They came, not to arrest him or inform on him, though the rulers had already treated him as if he were an outlaw, but to see him and show respect. Some people will always hold Christ dear, even when his enemies try hard to misrepresent him. Once it was known where Christ was, crowds came to him. Where the king is, there is the court. Where Christ is, people gather (Luke 17:37).

They also came to see Lazarus and Jesus together, which was an inviting sight. Some came to strengthen their faith in Christ, perhaps hearing the account directly from Lazarus. Others came only out of curiosity, wanting to say they had seen a man who had been dead and buried and now lived again. In that way, Lazarus became a kind of display during the feast for people like the Athenians, who spent their time telling and hearing new things. Some may even have wanted to ask Lazarus about the state of the dead and what news there was from the other world. We ourselves may have said that we would travel far for one hour of conversation with Lazarus. But if anyone came for that reason, it is likely that Lazarus said nothing about his experience, or at least Scripture gives us no account of it. We must not try to know more than Scripture tells us. Jesus himself was there, and he was the better one to question. If people will not hear Moses and the prophets, or Christ and the apostles, then they would not be persuaded even if Lazarus rose from the dead. We have the more sure word of prophecy.

The chief priests were angry because Jesus’ influence kept growing, and they planned how to crush it by killing Lazarus too (John 12:10, John 12:11). Since many Jews were leaving their party and believing in Jesus because of Lazarus, they wanted Lazarus dead as well. Notice how useless their earlier attacks on Christ had been. They had tried to turn the people against him and stir up hatred, but many Jews, even their neighbors and supporters, were so moved by the power of Christ’s miracles that they left the priests’ control and believed in Jesus. Lazarus had helped them do that. His raising from the dead gave new life to their faith and showed them that Jesus was truly the Messiah, with life in himself and power to give life. It also confirmed the other miracles they had heard Jesus did in Galilee. What was impossible for the one who raised the dead?

How absurd and unreasonable this vote was, that Lazarus must be put to death. It shows the wildest kind of rage, like a bull trapped in a net, furious and striking out without any thought. It proved that these men feared neither God nor people.

If they had feared God, they would not have dared to fight against him like this. God had just shown his power by bringing Lazarus back to life, and they wanted to kill him out of hatred. In effect, they were saying, “Away with this man, he should not live,” when God had so clearly shown that he should live. They were acting against God himself. They meant to put Lazarus to death and challenge Almighty God to raise him again, as if they could argue with the King of kings about who has the right to life and death. Who holds the keys of death and the grave, God or them? Blind malice is shown here, thinking that Christ, who could raise a man who died naturally, could not raise one who had been murdered. Augustine made this point. Lazarus was singled out for special hatred because God had marked him out with special love. It was as if they had made a pact with death and hell, determined to punish anyone who turned away from them.

They should have thought instead about befriending Lazarus and his family, and through them making peace with Jesus, whom they had been persecuting. But the god of this world had blinded their minds. If they had cared about people, they would not have done such a wrong to Lazarus, an innocent man against whom they had no real charge. What bonds can hold people who break the strongest ties of ordinary justice, and ignore even the lessons nature teaches? Yet they thought their own power and false religion were enough to excuse them. As in the church of Rome, such people often went so far as to treat the worst crimes not only as acceptable, but as holy and even deserving of praise.