Lifted Up
Read John 12.
It may have been part of her dowry; maybe it was her entire dowry. A pint of pure nard was not something you just kept around for any old reason. It was an expensive perfume, as John notes, not easy to obtain and not something to be used recklessly. For a family that was likely not wealthy, such a treasure was probably kept in a special place, protected, sealed up.
Until Mary breaks the seal and pours the whole thing out.
The whole house was filled with the fragrance of the pungent perfume. Whatever conversation might have been happening, whatever else is going on at Martha's dinner party, it all most likely came to a halt when they smelled the perfume. Mary didn't do this to draw attention to herself; she wanted to honor Jesus, to draw people's attention to him. I doubt she was even thinking about the others. She kneels at Jesus' feet, washing those feet with her hair, because she wants to Jesus to be noticed.
It reminds me of John the Baptist's comment earlier in the Gospel. To those who are concerned that Jesus' ministry is eclipsing John's, John says, "He must become greater, and I must become less" (John 3:30). And Mary's action also points toward Jesus' own statement a bit later in this chapter: "I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself" (12:32).
That last statement, in the context, is speaking of the cross, of course. Jesus will be lifted up, very soon now, on a Roman cross. He will hang between heaven and earth and he will die on that tool of Roman torture. And while he is on that cross, though it looks to the world like he is beaten, he will be doing the real work his Father sent him to do. He will be saving the world, the world that will be, at that moment, at his feet.
John (the Baptizer) becomes less...so that Jesus can be glorified.
Mary kneels and pours out perfume...so that Jesus can be honored.
Jesus willingly goes to the cross...so that the Father can be glorified and honored (12:28)...and so that the world can be saved.
John (the author) is saying something important in the simple act that takes place in the home of Lazarus. The gifts we give to Jesus, the ways we bow down to and honor Jesus, are the fragrance of Christ that drifts into the world, that fills our world. The ways we live must show the world a profound humility that lifts Jesus up and not ourselves, for if they do not see Jesus in us, they will not see him. Mary shows the way. Kneel before him, honor him, and live as he would have you live. Lift him up, not anyone or anything else.
It may have been part of her dowry; maybe it was her entire dowry. A pint of pure nard was not something you just kept around for any old reason. It was an expensive perfume, as John notes, not easy to obtain and not something to be used recklessly. For a family that was likely not wealthy, such a treasure was probably kept in a special place, protected, sealed up.
Until Mary breaks the seal and pours the whole thing out.
The whole house was filled with the fragrance of the pungent perfume. Whatever conversation might have been happening, whatever else is going on at Martha's dinner party, it all most likely came to a halt when they smelled the perfume. Mary didn't do this to draw attention to herself; she wanted to honor Jesus, to draw people's attention to him. I doubt she was even thinking about the others. She kneels at Jesus' feet, washing those feet with her hair, because she wants to Jesus to be noticed.
It reminds me of John the Baptist's comment earlier in the Gospel. To those who are concerned that Jesus' ministry is eclipsing John's, John says, "He must become greater, and I must become less" (John 3:30). And Mary's action also points toward Jesus' own statement a bit later in this chapter: "I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself" (12:32).
That last statement, in the context, is speaking of the cross, of course. Jesus will be lifted up, very soon now, on a Roman cross. He will hang between heaven and earth and he will die on that tool of Roman torture. And while he is on that cross, though it looks to the world like he is beaten, he will be doing the real work his Father sent him to do. He will be saving the world, the world that will be, at that moment, at his feet.
John (the Baptizer) becomes less...so that Jesus can be glorified.
Mary kneels and pours out perfume...so that Jesus can be honored.
Jesus willingly goes to the cross...so that the Father can be glorified and honored (12:28)...and so that the world can be saved.
John (the author) is saying something important in the simple act that takes place in the home of Lazarus. The gifts we give to Jesus, the ways we bow down to and honor Jesus, are the fragrance of Christ that drifts into the world, that fills our world. The ways we live must show the world a profound humility that lifts Jesus up and not ourselves, for if they do not see Jesus in us, they will not see him. Mary shows the way. Kneel before him, honor him, and live as he would have you live. Lift him up, not anyone or anything else.
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