Mary, the Sister of Martha and Lazarus
John 12:1-11
In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
St. John 12:1-11 Then, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was who had been dead, whom He had raised from the dead. 2 There they made Him a supper; and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with Him. 3 Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil. 4 But one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, who would betray Him, said, 5 “Why was this fragrant oil not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” 6 This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the money box; and he used to take what was put in it. 7 But Jesus said, “Let her alone; she has kept this for the day of My burial. 8 For the poor you have with you always, but Me you do not have always. 9 Now a great many of the Jews knew that He was there; and they came, not for Jesus’ sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead. 10 But the chief priests plotted to put Lazarus to death also, 11 because on account of him many of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus.
Dear fellow redeemed in Christ our Lord… If you Google the name Marie Kondo, you will learn that she is a Japanese organizing consultant, author, and TV host who has written four books on the topic of organizing. Those books of hers collectively have sold over thirty million copies, and they have been translated from Japanese into many languages, including English. Marie Kondo’s 2011 book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing has been published in more than thirty countries. It was a best seller in Japan, Europe, and the United States. And in 2015, Marie was listed as one of Time’s “100 most influential people” in the world.
Marie Kondo has struck gold, in a sense, because she realized that too many people are surrounded by too much complexity and clutter. If that is not a problem in your house, you are in the minority. In our house, we will occasionally look at something that has been laying around the house for a very long time and is on the “out the door” list – a card or a nick-nack, or something like that. Then we will ask, “Did it give pleasure? Did it serve its purpose?” And if the answer is “Yes,” then out it goes, usually to make room for something else.
All of us need to simplify. All of us need to declutter. For when we do, we get joy – the joy of “visual peace,” the joy of “Hey, it looks nice and quiet in here;” the joy of one less thing to dust or move or work around.
This Lent, we are meeting witnesses to Christ’s Passion in John’s Gospel. In our text for tonight, John introduces us to the Marie Kondo of the Bible. It is Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus. Mary helps us to simplify and declutter. Mary helps us to focus on the most important things.
And how does Mary do that? She replaces get with give. It’s pretty simple. You see, if you’re constantly getting things, that only contributes to the clutter. Getting only confuses things. Getting only makes us miserable. This sinful world in which we live tells us to get ahead, get back, get even, get more, and worst of all, get revenge. Mary does something different; she replaces get with give. Mary gives freely. Mary gives extravagantly. Mary gives joyfully.
John’s 11th chapter records the death of Lazarus. After Lazarus had been in the grave four days, his dead body stank. Mary is Lazarus’ sister; she’s the one who had given in this way: she anointed Jesus’ feet with her hair and, along with her sisters, had sent for Jesus to let Him know that Lazarus was sick. But now Lazarus is dead, and Jesus stands in front of the tomb and weeps. Then Jesus shouts, “Lazarus, come forth!” And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. (Jn 11:43-44).
For the Jewish leaders, this was the last straw. By raising Lazarus from the dead, Jesus moved from the category of “manageable nuisance” to that of “serious threat.” “So from that day on they made plans to put Him to death” (John 11:53). Even more so than before, Christ’s days are numbered.
As we come now to John 12, Jesus has a price on His head; for that matter, so does Lazarus. “The chief priests made plans to put Lazarus to death as well because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus” (John 12:10–11). “We must destroy Jesus. And we must destroy all the evidence. That means we must also destroy Lazarus!” That’s the context and setting for tonight’s reading.
Here, however, is the cost. “Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard” (which is a perfume made originally from a plant which grows in the Himalayas), “anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair” (John 12:3). How much did the ointment cost? We’re told in John 12:5 that it’s worth 300 denarii, a little more than 80% of a year’s income. Can you imagine spending that much of your income on one item? In our day it would be a car or maybe one quarter of a house. That’s a lot of money to part with all at one time. That was the value of Mary’s gift to Jesus.
We know from Scripture that to attend to someone’s feet was the task of the lowliest slave; Jesus teaches this in John 13 after Mary models it in John 12. Further, in John 13, Jesus teaches that washing someone’s feet is the same as washing the entire body. Mary, then, in a sense, embalms Christ’s entire body for burial. Her actions are prophetic; they are pointing to the embalming of Jesus in John 19:39–40.
So, the context again is this: death for Jesus and death for Lazarus. And the cost? Everything. The comparison is between Mary and Judas. Mary is extravagant. Mary is excessive. Mary has gone way over the top. And Judas? John tell us, “But one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, who would betray Him, said, 5 “Why was this fragrant oil not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” 6 This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the money box; and he used to take what was put in it.” (John 12:4–6). Judas is threatened; his entire world comes crashing down. All because Mary lives in this moment by one word – give.
The comparison couldn’t be more stark. Mary is a generous disciple. Judas is a greedy disciple. Mary gives with abandon. Judas is miserly to a tee. Mary sacrifices financially. Judas won’t give a nickel. Mary shows her faith with actions. Judas talks a good game – giving money to the poor – but we know he doesn’t mean it. Mary loves the word give. But all Judas can do is get. Get more. Get ahead. And get on top. And eventually, it killed him when he received the thirty pieces of silver to betray Jesus.
And this all leads to the cross. “But Jesus said, “Let her alone; she has kept this for the day of My burial.” (John 12:7). “The day of My burial.” Mary understands the cross. Mary believes these words of John 1:29: “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” And these in John 2:13: “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” And these in John 3:14: “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up.” Mary gives Jesus everything she has, and the room is filled with the smell of very costly perfume. And in so doing, she prepares Jesus to give everything He has…
…which is exactly what He did when He fulfilled His vocation as Savior of the world, and gave up His life for you and me. His suffering and death was full payment for all our sins, even the sins we have yet to commit. His death was a sweet fragrance to His Father in heaven…
As we know, smells and fragrances are powerful things. To this day the smell of a roast beef reminds me of Sunday dinner when I was a kid. Similar smells may take you back. Maybe the smell of a rose sends you back to your first date in high school. Or maybe the scent of your grandmother’s perfume causes memories of her to come flooding back. While words go to the thinking part of our brain, smells go to the emotional part. Smells can stir up some powerful emotions in us.
And that is also true for Jesus. Perhaps Mary’s strong perfume lingered with Jesus throughout Holy Week as He made His way to the cross. Even on Good Friday, the fragrance of Mary’s perfume still may have lingered. And then, perhaps, just perhaps, when Jesus gives Himself completely – all of His love and mercy and grace, holding nothing back for us – He might have still faintly smelled the sweet fragrance – a reminder that Mary had marked Him with one word: give.
Both Matthew 26:13 and Mark 14:9 state, “Wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.” And why is that? Because the kingdom of God isn’t about hoarding and stockpiling. The kingdom of God isn’t about being chintzy and cheap. The kingdom of God isn’t about get. Get will kill us. Always and forevermore, God’s kingdom is about one word: give. Give. Mary gave her fragrant offering to the Lord which led to Him giving His life for the sins of the world.
Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus, shows us that the kingdom of God is about giving lavishly, giving generously, giving joyfully, and giving completely. In Matthew 26:13, Jesus says, “Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her.” Jesus never says this about anyone else.
Your Lord and Savior will say to you someday, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant” (Mt 25:21). But He will say that not on account of anything you have done, but because of what He has done for you, and the faith He gives you to believe in Him. And, like Mary in our text, you are free to give your talents and treasures to help others, purely out of thankfulness and joy for Christ giving His all for you.
Christ has uncluttered your life by removing your sins and paying for them. And you have the peace – His peace – which passes all understanding.
In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
