Unrestrained Love

BY KEVIN LANDIS

John 12:1-8

As we open John 12, we find the Lord Jesus steadfastly heading for Jerusalem, where He knows He will be killed. It is now six days before the Passover, and He stops in the city of Bethany. Not many days earlier, He has raised Lazarus from the dead there. And now, we read in verse 2, they have made Him a supper and Martha is serving.

This supper, according to the parallel accounts in Matthew and Mark, is in the home of Simon the leper, whom Jesus has evidently cured of his leprosy. Now, Jesus is there along with at least sixteen people: Lazarus and his sisters Mary and Martha, the twelve disciples, and Simon the leper.

We then read in verse 3, "Mary therefore took a pound of very costly genuine spikenard ointment, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the ointment."

This is the Mary who on one earlier occasion sat at the feet of Jesus Christ carefully listening to what He was teaching. She is also the one who fell at the feet of Jesus after her brother's death to tell Him of her sorrow. And now she comes to His feet

not to receive, but to give. She comes to love, to serve and to worship Him in a very special way.

The account goes on to show how others at the supper reacted to Mary's action. And from this poignant account, I believe we can find some guidelines by which to measure our personal relationship with Christ. So, let's take a close look at these verses.

The manifestation

First, Mary has taken out a "very costly genuine spikenard ointment". This perfume was made out of an aromatic herb grown in the high pasture land of the Himalayas. From that remote region, it was brought to the Middle East on camelback through miles and miles of mountain passes. Considering how costly perfumes are today even with modern transportation, you can imagine how much more costly it must have been then.

This spikenard ointment is genuine; it is not diluted. And it weighs a whole pound. The Roman pound would be equal to twelve ounces, and twelve ounces of perfume is a very large amount. In fact, verse 5 indicates that it is worth three hundred denarii, which, after deducting Sabbaths and other non-working feast days, would be equivalent to the annual wage of the average worker.

More than that, it says here that Mary anoints Jesus' feet. In that day, one would normally anoint the head of a special guest. And Matthew and Mark tell us that Mary has indeed anointed Christ's head at this supper. But to underscore the humility of Mary, John points out here that she is also anointing His feet. Only the lowliest of slaves would attend to someone's feet.

Then, she wipes His feet with her hair. For a woman to unloose her hair in the presence of men was in those days a sign of loose morals. But Mary is not concerned about cultural barriers. Her heart is going out to Christ in an unrestrained manner.

Of this event, Hendricksen wrote in his commentary, "One hardly knows what to admire mostthe lavish nature of Mary's sacrifice or the irrepressible character of her devotion." Truly, she is giving Christ the most costly gift in the most humble manner.

The motivation

Notice verse 3 says that "Mary therefore took a pound..." The word "therefore" indicates that Mary is doing this as a result of something.

To start with, she is no doubt grateful that Christ has recently raised up her brother Lazarus from the dead.

But there are other reasons. In Luke 7 there is an account of another woman, a notorious sinner, anointing Jesus with perfume and wiping His feet with her hair. When Christ was asked why He let that sinful woman touch Him, He told a parable about a man cancelling the debts of two debtors, showing that the one who had the greater debt naturally showed greater appreciation.

When there is much forgiveness, there is much love. Mary loves Jesus so dearly because she realizes that God has forgiven her sins and cancelled an infinite debt of hers.

And this leads to the third reason why Mary was showing her unrestrained love for Christ. Mary, having carefully listened to the word of God at the feet of Christ, has learned that the Messiah has to die. Sensing that His death is very near, she is now anointing His body in anticipation of His burial.

And so it should be with us. The more we appreciate what Christ did for us on the cross, the more we want to love and serve Him.

The reproach

As her heart goes out to Christ in unrestrained love, Mary is censured by Judas. He says in verse 5, "Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii, and given to poor people?" Significantly, the gospels of Matthew and Mark reveal that some of the other disciples chime in, saying, "Why has this perfume been wasted?"

What does this teach us? When we go out in love to Christ, we will be misunderstood by the world, often even by Christians.

Some of our missionaries tell of similar experiences. As they began to go to a mission field, their friends and family members would say to them: "Why are you leaving a good job, a nice home, all of the comforts of America? Why do you want to waste your education and talents to live in some God-forsaken country and work with some tribal people?"

You see, the unsaved of the world cannot understand such love to Christ and such love for our neighbors. They think we are being foolish when we live for Christ.

The reason Judas gives for criticizing Mary is a lie. We read in verse 6, "Now he said this, not because he was concerned about the poor, but because he was a thief, and as he had the money box, he used to pilfer what was put into it."

Judas is the treasurer of the group; he has had his hand in the bag. Up to this point, he has fit in
very well with the rest of the disciples. He has behaved much like the other apostles. Yet, all the time he has been making material gains through his attachment to Christ.

In Judas, what we see is a materialistic heart of a man. The fact is, many who call themselves Christians and behave much as Christians have such a materialistic heart. But Paul warns in I Timothy 6, "Do not set your eyes upon the uncertainty of riches but upon God, who richly gives us all things to enjoy." We simply cannot serve two masters.

The commendation

Notice the bottom of verse 3 reads, "all of the fragrance filled the room." Mary hasn't come to minister to Christ as a means to show off. Yet, this perfume filled the room and everyone took notice of what she is doing.

You know, often when we love and serve Christ selflessly, it indirectly becomes a blessing that touches many, many other lives. As our hearts go out to Christ, many will see how Jesus has chnaged us.

But that's not all. Coming to Mary's defense is none other than the Lord Jesus Himself. He says, "Let her alone, in order that she may keep it for the day of my burial. For the poor you always have with you" (vv. 7,8).

When we go out in love to Christ, we will be misunderstood by the world, 

The word "you" at the end there is in the plural form, so Christ is not speaking just to Judas, He's speaking to all of them. He is saying, "You will always have opportunity to minister to the poor, but you will not always have me in your presence. Mary has chosen the better thing. She has been wise. She has shown her love while I am here and in her presence."

WHICH ONE ARE YOU?

Every one of us, who call ourselves Christians, can fit into one of the characters in this drama of John 12.

Are you a Mary? In Mary we see one who gives to Christ unrestrained love and honor and worship. He is a believer who has peered into the person and the work of Christ and has experienced the condescending grace and mercy of Christ. He knows deep in his heart that Jesus is worthy of all his love, all his devotion, and all his worship. To him, no earthly possession is too valuable to give to Jesus.

And you say: "Well, I would like to be like Mary, but I don't have expensive perfume or anything of great value to give Him."

You know what the Bible asks of us to give Him? Our self. In Romans 12:1, we read: "In light of the mercies of God, I beseech you that you offer up yourself as a living sacrifice to God."

A living sacrifice. Do you know what that means? It's what Jesus said: You die to yourself. You die to your plans. You die to your own rule in life. And as you grow in the grace of God and are humbled by His holiness and majesty, you, like Mary, will increasingly see your own sinfulness, and appreciate the forgiveness that Christ has provided.

Over-familiarity. Maybe you say as you look into your heart: No, that really doesn't describe me. Maybe I am more like those eleven disciples in that account. Yes, we have an attachment to Christ. Yes, we have been saved by His grace. But we don't really see the privilege nor the neces
sity of loving Him the way Mary did.

In fact, we're almost incensed by people like that. Those eleven disciples had spent three and a half years with Christ and became so familiar with Him that they failed to see the glory of Christ as Mary did. They were upset with Mary, chiding her for giving so much to Him.

It may be that familiarity has also bred contempt in our life. We've heard about Christ and the gospel so much that we have begun to take all that for granted. If so, may this drama reawaken our desire to seek and serve the One who gave His life for us.

Hypocrites. There's one last character that may describe some of us, and that is the character of Judas. Judas has professed allegiance to Christ. In fact, he has fooled everyone else for three and a half years. Even at the last Passover, none of the apostles knew that Judas was about to betray Christ. He has fit in very well to the scenery.

But as we've learned from this text, what really was in his heart was a love for himself, a love for money, a love of the things of this world. He had no love for Christ. He professed Christ with his lips, but denied Him by his deeds.

That may describe some of you. You may have made a profession of faith. You may say: Yes, I accepted Christ on such and such a day; I prayed the sinner's prayer. But let me ask you, is there a manifestation of love for Christ in your heart? Do you still want the things of this world?

In I Corinthians 16:22, Paul says, "If any man love not Christ, let him be anathema," that is, let him be accursed. You see, saving faith is not just a profession of faith; it is a faith manifested in a Christlike life. It is manifested in love to Him. Without such love, you are still accursed.

As we examine our heart, I pray that God by His Spirit would help us know where we stand today. I myself realize that I'm not anywhere near where Mary is. I have a long way to go. I sincerely pray that God would teach me to approach unto the love that was manifested in the life of Mary. And I do pray that He would do the same for you as well. o

Rev. Kevin Landis is pastor of Bible Chapel of Delhi Hills, 705 Pontius Road, Cincinnati, OH 45238.

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