The Anointing of Jesus

I like that little phrase, "Out of my bondage now liberty." Those of you who were born again, you know what that's like to leave the bondage of your sin, being the captain of your own life, captive to rebellion against God, no peace, no hope, no security. Even when you know that you're lost and undone before God, you're still in that bondage of sin and rebellion and lostness. But oh, when the grace of God brings you into liberty and peace, it's wonderful. It's indescribable, and you'll spend your whole life telling others about that. I'm thankful for those verses. Thank you, Brother Keith. Well, take your Bible this morning.

Turn with me to John's Gospel, John 12. Like I said earlier, you heard Brother Keith say earlier, we're back in our study, our verse-by-verse study through the Gospel of John. Now, you know the title of this series is Christ the Son of God, Believe and Live. Now, if you keep up with where we are in our studies, you know that we stepped away from John back in October. We stepped away from this verse-by-verse study, and in your mind and in your heart, this teaching, John's teaching, could be a little rusty, could be a little faded in your memory. Now, I want to take a minute and kind of help you get it back in your mind properly.

Now, remember that the title of our series comes from the theme verse of the book, which is John chapter 20, verse 31. John writes, "But these are written so that you may believe that Christ, Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name." And we can see John's purpose for the entire book just in this one verse. John wanted to present Jesus as the promised Messiah, as the Son of God, and he wanted to draw those readers of the book into true belief in Christ. This was an evangelistic letter. Of course, this was very polarizing to his readers.

It forced him to accept John's claims about Jesus or to reject John's claims about Jesus. Now, we've been seeing this polarization all throughout the book. Those who came into contact with Jesus' ministry, His message, and who He had, who He was, either chose to accept Him or they chose to reject Him. In chapter 11, our previous chapter, that took place. Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead, and ultimately it led to some believing, while some ultimately conspired to kill Him. There's that polarization. Now, I want to give you a quick overview of what took place in chapter 11, and it will help us in chapter 12.

It will help us get back in the groove of this study. Chapter 11 was a multi-day event. Lazarus was sick, and even though his sisters, Mary and Martha, sent for Jesus, he seemed to have died because Jesus delayed in coming. Of course, we learned that this death and raising of Lazarus had a purpose, and it was to reveal the glory of God. Chapter 11, verse 40 tells us, if we examine the people involved in this story, we see that there were three groups, and they were all very different. The first group was the disciples. Remember the disciples? They were dragged into this situation. Isn't that kind of a common practice in this study of John?

They see that Jesus drags them along, even in places they did not want to go. Second were the sisters, Mary and Martha. They had this situation dumped into their lives. They did not ask for their brother to be sick. They did not ask for their brother to die, and they did not ask for Jesus to delay. So this was dumped into their lives. And then the third group were the Jews who had come to mourn, and they were terribly divided by the situation. And there was so much division over Jesus and his claims and his message that it led to a conspiracy to kill him at the end of chapter 11.

Now in chapter 12, we will see that same division that we saw in chapter 11. We will see those accepting Jesus and his claims, and those rejecting Jesus and his claims. We will see those expressing their saving belief in Christ as the Messiah, and those expressing their murderous rejection of Christ as the Messiah, thus revealing their lost, doomed, and damned condition. Now the characters here in our verses this morning are the same characters in chapter 11. We have Lazarus, whom Jesus raised from the dead. We have his two sisters, Martha and Mary. And then of course there are the Jews. Some of them seem to believe, while some rejected.

And again, especially those religious leaders, those chief priests, who desired to kill Jesus. Now this takes us to the title of the message. It's rather simple. It is the anointing of Jesus. And like I said earlier, we'll be in verses 1 through 11. You see how we're going to divide these verses. It's real simplistic. We'll look at the reception of Jesus, verses 2 through 9, and then the rejection of Jesus in the last two verses, verses 10 and 11. So the reception and the rejection of Jesus. We'll read these verses. Let's look at them together. I'll make a few more introductory comments out of verse 1, and then we'll dive into the message.

Jesus therefore, six days before the Passover, came to Bethany where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. So they made him a supper there, and Martha was serving, but Lazarus was one of those reclining at the table with him. Mary therefore, took a pound of very costly perfume of pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair, and the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

Verse 4, "But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples, who was intending to betray him, said, 'Why was this perfume not sold for 300 denarii and given to the poor people?' 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 or money bag, he used to pilfer what was put into it. Jesus therefore said, 'Lurt her alone in order, that she may keep it for the day of my burial.

For the poor, you always have with you, but you do not always have me.' The great multitude therefore of Jews learned that he was there, and they came not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom he raised from the dead. But the chief priests took counsel that they might put Lazarus to death also. But on account of him," that's Lazarus, "many of the Jews were going away and were believing in Jesus." Now a few more comments in introduction, and these comments pertain to the setting of the message.

Now at the end of chapter 11, specifically verse 53, we learn that Jesus moved out of Bethany because of that conspiracy to kill him. Now here in chapter 12, verse 1, we see Jesus is coming back to Bethany. He's coming back to the home of Lazarus and his two sisters. But notice, notice some emphasis that John places here. In verse 1, John emphasizes that this is the place where Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. We also see that he is coming at the time of the Passover, which would have been a great time spiritually in the lives of the Jews.

This was the most sacred festival on their calendar, and no doubt the crowds would have been very, very large. Then in verse 2, we see that there was a supper given in the honor of Jesus. Now notice how dangerous this was. Previously in chapter 11, verse 57, the religious leaders gave orders that the people should turn Jesus in so that they may arrest him. Very dangerous. But his friends did not do this. No doubt there would have been a great number of people there, many who must have been witnesses to that great miracle, and many who would have believed on Jesus.

So there must have been a great crowd there, and we will see how the crowds of people reacted to Jesus as he came back to Bethany. So truth number 1 that you see in your outline, I want us to look at the reception of Jesus. The reception of Jesus. Go back starting to verse 2. So they made a supper there, and Martha was serving, but Lazarus was one of those reclining at the table with him. Mary, that's the other sister, therefore took a pound of very costly perfume of pure nard and anointed his feet, and wiped his feet with her hair, and the house was filled with this fragrance.

Verse 4, "But Judas Iscariot, one of the disciples who was intending to betray him, said, 'Why was this perfume not sold?'" So here we see those who were involved in this reception. Now, here in these verses, we will mostly see those who received Jesus in true biblical belief and salvation. Of course, we have seen those who possessed a superficial faith, which did not last. The observation of these groups is essential in understanding John's gospel. John wrote that the readers may believe just as Jesus ministered, and Jesus taught, and he lived and died, that many would believe.

So here's the main point, and it is essential to see this, therefore it is essential to see how these reacted to Jesus. But not only do I want us to see how they received Jesus, how they reacted, I want us to see specifically these individuals, how they related to Jesus. So let's divide these individuals. Let's examine these four individuals. First, I want us to notice Martha. And I want us to notice that Martha served Jesus. Martha served Jesus. Verse 2, "So they made a supper there, and Martha was serving." Now, if you know your Bible, you will know that this is not the first time we've seen Martha serving in this manner.

If we look at Luke's account, chapter 10, we see that Martha was worried about physical preparations while Mary was concerned with being with Jesus, and he seems to rebuke Martha in Luke's account. Luke chapter 10, starting in verse 41, "But the Lord answered her, 'Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things.'" Verse 42, "But one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her." So this is a different account, a different situation where they're encountering Jesus, and Martha is reacting much the same way. This seems to have been a pattern in her life.

Now, there are two indications that this was a rather large preparation that Martha was involved in. In the original, the word for supper here is speaking of the main meal of the day. And also, the original language reads, "They made him a supper, indicating that there were others involved in this work." So this was a large ordeal, and Martha is serving. But notice, notice what I call Martha's spiritual personality, and her spiritual personality was to serve. This appears to be a pattern in her life. Also, second, I want you to see, Lazarus was a student of Jesus. Lazarus, he seems to be a student of Jesus.

Go back to verse 2, so they made a supper for him there. Martha was serving, but Lazarus was one of those reclining at the table with him. Now, whereas in Luke 10, Mary was occupied with Jesus, here we see that Lazarus is occupied with Jesus, exactly like Mary was in that previous different account. You would think that Lazarus would gladly sit at the Lord's feet? After all, what did the Lord do for Lazarus? He raised him from the dead. And so, Lazarus owed Jesus a great debt.

And this can be overlooked, but we need to see that Lazarus was at the feet of Jesus, listening to Jesus, interacting with Jesus, because he was a disciple and a student of Jesus. Then third, I want you to see Mary. And I want you to see that Mary sacrificed for Jesus. Mary sacrificed for Jesus. It transitions here in verse 3. Mary therefore took a pound of very costly perfume of pure nard and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. Here we see that Mary was being true to her expressive personality in worship. Now, remember that other event in Luke chapter 10?

She is at the Lord's feet, abandoning Martha to the work. And here she is doing the same, ignoring the physical preparations and expressing that personality of worship. But what is she doing here? What is she actually doing here in verse 3? Jesus tells us that in verse 7. Let's look on down to verse 7. Jesus therefore said, "Let her alone, in order that she may keep it for the day of my burial, for the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me." We see that what she is doing here is she is performing an act of worship that is really prophetic in manner.

This was pointing to the death and the burial and the resurrection of Christ, the fact that he would die on the cross. Now, there are three observations about Mary's sacrifice I want us to see. Notice this was a costly sacrifice. This was a costly sacrifice. Mary therefore took a pound, a very costly perfume of pure nard. Now, if you have the King James Version, it reads "spike nard" while the modern translations read "nard." Now, what was this nard? This was an ointment made from an aromatic herb, which was imported even in Old Testament times. It came a great distance.

It came from places like India and the Far East, thus making it more expensive because it was imported from such a great distance. Also, notice that John states that it was pure nard and it was a great volume. In my study this week, I tried to find a resource that would tell me how much this would have cost in our day and in our time. I ran across one commentator that said this would have cost upwards to $300 to $400. Now, we know that with inflation things change. It possibly and more likely would be the equivalent of more money in our day and time. So, I want you to see this was a very costly sacrifice.

And then notice, I want you to see this was a humbling sacrifice. Verse 3 says she took that nard, that perfume. She anointed the feet of Jesus. And then she wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance. Now, this was a humbling sacrifice. In this day, the washing of feet was done by the lowest of slaves and it was considered a very degrading job. Also, the fact that she washed his feet with her hair was even more shocking to the crowd. And that day for a woman to let down her hair in public was seen as improper, indecent, even considered to be immoral by some who were more conservative.

This could have tarnished her reputation. And culturally, we have a difficult time understanding this because we live on a different day and a different time. Now, I can relate to this by my travels when I went to India. I noticed that those women there in India, when they walked out in public, they had a habit of putting a scarf over their head, especially in church and in worship. And I asked one of the brothers about this, and he said, "This is a form of humility and a form of submission and a form of respect that is common in that culture." That gives us a glimpse of how cultures are different.

So we see this was a very humbling sacrifice. And then notice this was a public sacrifice. This was a public sacrifice. Verse 3 says that the house was filled with the fragrance. The text reads that the fragrance filled the house, the scent of the perfume filled the house, and everyone there would have known what Mary was doing. Even if they could not see the act, they could smell the act. And I want you to notice Mary's spiritual personality. Her spiritual personality was to be expressive, was to even be risky. At times she seemed to abandon everyone else to express her personality in worship. Then fourth, I want you to notice Judas.

And Judas is the seeming servant of Jesus. Judas is the seeming servant of Jesus. Look at verse 4. The Scripture says, "But," there's a transition here, "But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples, was intending to betray him, said, 'Why was this perfume not sold for 300 denarii and given to the poor?'" Verse 6 says, "And he said this not because he was concerned about the poor, but because he was a thief. And as he had the money bag or money box, he used to pilfer what was put into the money bag." Now we see that these circumstances force Judas out in the open.

Now John tells us that Judas was going to betray Jesus here, so we know he's a false disciple. We know he is a counterfeit. But the crowds did not know this information. But notice his actions seem to portray some sort of spiritual veneer or spiritual covering. He was using spiritual language to cover over wickedness. What does the text say? He said, "Why was this done? We could have kept the money and given it to the poor." But John says, "No, he would have stolen that." So we need to see that he was using giving to the poor as a cover for his stealing.

This tells us that to others, he seems like a true spiritual servant, but actually he was a self-seeking snake. He was a seeming servant of Jesus. So here we see so much out of these verses. We see Martha, we see Mary, we see their brother Lazarus. Martha, she was serving, working hard just like she did in Lutian. Mary, she is sacrificing and sacrificing in a great way. And Lazarus is being a student as he sits at the table with Jesus. Now interestingly, the fact that this was not their home highlights their actions.

If you go to the synoptic Gospels and their accounts of this story, Matthew chapter 26 verse 6 and Mark chapter 13 verse 3, they tell us that this was Simon the leper's home and not Mary and Martha and Lazarus' home. So Martha was working like she was the hostess, yet she clearly was not the hostess. Mary was not mimicking Martha's actions and joining in with the others and serving. And there's Judas, that snake in the grass. He seemed so spiritual to so many, but he was a seeming servant of Jesus. Now, an application, what can we learn? What can we see as we look at those who received Jesus and we look at how they received Jesus?

It is not just that they received Him that is so important, but how they received Him can teach us so much. Now, an application, we need to see that we all received Jesus in different ways and we all relate to Jesus in our worship and service in different ways, and that is not bad. Now let me explain. Some of you are much like Martha. She is a servant. I mean, you want to roll up your sleeves and you want to get busy. Your default in serving is to work. And this is not bad, but we need to see that there are those who roll up their sleeves and they work. And I'm so thankful because just like in Jesus' day, that meal needed to be prepared.

The tables needed to be set. Everything needed to be just so for this meal to honor Jesus. We need men and women who will serve. They'll roll up their sleeves and they'll even do the most menial of tasks. Why? Because they serve. But I also want to issue you a warning because when Martha was serving in Luke, Luke chapter 10, Jesus said that there was one thing that was necessary and that was to sit at His feet. So those of you who serve, I want to thank you for your service.

I want to thank you that you want to roll up your sleeves, but don't let your physical service overshadow your need to sit at the feet of Jesus and to hear His voice and to obey. Now some of you are like Lazarus. Some of you are like Lazarus and you have a propensity to be a student. You have a propensity to be in the Word and to read extensively. You have a propensity maybe to study church history and read theology and listen to other sermons. And let me tell you, that is good because we need students. We need people who will sit at the feet of Jesus. But let me issue you a warning here.

Make sure when you are studious that you are sitting at the feet of Jesus and not just a man. They are people, they will sit at the feet of another man, but they will never take what they have learned and bring it on down to the most important place and that is at the feet of Jesus. Make sure what you are learning comes back to a true relationship with Jesus. And let me tell you, we need students. We need men and women and young people who know the Word of God. They know church history. They know theology and they are students of Christianity. And we need them so that they can use what God has taught them in the life of the church.

Some of you are like Mary. Mary was sacrificial, expressive. She even seemed impulsive. And this is good. And there are some of you, you are sacrificial. And in the right place at the right time, you will do very sacrificial things. And some of you are expressive, even maybe impulsive. I've said this numerous times. There are some people we are praying for their salvation and the day they come to know the Lord and they are in that baptismal waters, it would not surprise me if some of you express worship in a very expressive, emotional, impulsive way. And I promise you, I will not get in your way.

But listen, some who can be sacrificial, expressive, even impulsive, sometimes they can be even oblivious to the things that need to be done, like being a servant. Sometimes they will sit at the feet of Jesus, sit at the feet of Jesus, when there are physical things that need to be done. But the sad thing is, there are some of you, you are like Judas. You have a spiritual covering which covers up the fact that you are self-serving.

You need to realize that many times there are men and women and young people that they will use church, sermons, attending church, serving, working in the life of the church, and they will use it for self-serving means. You are a seeming servant when actually you are not. Judas was a seeming servant. He had this spiritual covering. He had the right words at the right time to portray this particular image when actually he was a snake. Now, for some of you I want to give you some advice, because I know that some of you, you are looking around and you are desiring to be used and to serve in the life of the church. Here is my advice.

You make yourself available to serve in the work. And look, you serve and you get involved, and then in that you will discover your strengths, you will discover your weaknesses, you will discover that spiritual personality. And I invite you, if that is your desire, seek out the leadership of the church. Make yourself available. And then in making yourself available, it could be that we would put you in the right place that fits your spiritual personality, your gifts, your talents, and your abilities. I'll never forget when I began to volunteer in the life of my home church. I walked right into my pastor's office and I made myself available.

I saw needs in the life of the church, and he said, "Brother, I've been praying for young men like you," and he began to plug me in, and in that I began to find my spiritual personality. And then when other leaders in the life of the church came along, they affirmed me, they affirmed me, and they kept putting me in places where they saw fit. I've had the privilege of doing that with Brother Keith through the years. We're continuing to do that as the ministry grows. I think you see the picture that I am trying to paint here in application. But I want to say one more thing before we move on.

If you are new to this fellowship, I want to advise you just to wait. What I mean is you just come if you are just visiting and you've just been coming, less, yes, you come, and you absorb what God is doing here, listen to what God is saying, begin to understand our motives and what we do and why we do what we do because I do know we are different than many churches. And you need to see really who we are, and we need to see God working in you. So it's okay when you first visit. It's okay to take that time and to spiritually acclimate. Let's move on. I want us to notice truth number two. I want us to notice the rejection of Jesus.

I know we took quite a bit of time there with that first main truth, but our second main truth will not take quite as long. This rejection of Jesus, verse nine, "A great multitude therefore of the Jews learned 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." But the chief priests, they took counsel that they might put Lazarus to death also because on account of him, many of the Jews were going away and believing. Here we see the vast crowds and the religious leaders still hovering around Jesus and his work.

We have seen both of these peoples all throughout the Gospels. Remember that massive two-day event back in John chapter six? There were the vast crowds that were there and the religious leaders, and both of them seemed to hover around Jesus and what he was doing. Now, it is important to see how these groups are responding to Jesus, how they are rejecting Jesus. So let's examine them closer. First notice the crowds, the crowds out of verse nine, and they were superficial.

Verse nine, "The great multitude therefore of Jews learned that he was there, and then they came." We need to see that there is a difference in the people in verse nine and in the people of verse ten. The word for Jews here in verse nine is a term for the common people, but what do we see in these people? They seem to be following Jesus for the action. They seem to be following Jesus for the energy of what is going on. Again, I refer to John six. In that event, Jesus identified the crowds and why they followed him. I think John MacArthur describes these people very well.

He says, "News of that sensational miracle had spread, and the curious crowd wanted to see both the miracle worker and the one whom he had raised." I like that. These people were not like Judas, who was using Jesus for his self-serving selfish reasons. They were not like the religious leaders who hated Jesus and wanted him dead. These people were not like Lazarus and his sisters who were totally committed to him. They were superficial sightseers. They were the curious crowds who were not committed. It is interesting to note that some were believing little by little as we see at the end of verse seven.

Ultimately, the vast amounts of the crowd would reject him. The crowds, they were superficial. Then notice the religious leaders sought to kill him. The religious leaders sought to kill him. But the chief priests took counsel that they might put Lazarus to death also because on account of him, many Jews were believing. Here we see their murderous plot grows. All along, they sought to kill Jesus, but now it gets worse. Now, there are two observations about these religious leaders and how they sought to kill. Notice they sought to kill Lazarus. What does it say? But the chief priests took counsel that they might put Lazarus to death also.

Now, why? Why would they want to kill an innocent man who just associated with Jesus? There is a lot of reasons why. Lazarus was proof that Jesus was who he said he was. He brought validity to Jesus. He was exhibit A in Bethany to Jesus deity and the miracle working power that Jesus possessed. He was the greatest evangelistic tool in town because the verse says many Jews were believing on Jesus because of who? Because of Lazarus. It seems that he not only exemplified Jesus, but he evangelized as well. So they sought to kill Jesus. Then notice they sought to kill Jesus like they had done so many times.

The chief priests took counsel that they might put Lazarus to death also. We need to look at this word also. It is important. This word is important because it puts both Lazarus and Jesus in the middle of their murderous plot that has been going on all along. So here we see those who rejected Jesus and both groups were very different. The curiosity seekers were much different than the committed killers, but they were rejecting Jesus. Even though the crowds were not trying to kill Jesus overtly, they were still rejecting Jesus. Now, what can we learn in application from these verses from these two different groups?

We must see that there are those who were superficial sight seers. They are the curious crowd. They always have been and they always will be and they're very much alive today. We can see them in many of these large quote unquote Christian events. I've seen it in my years of ministry. I've seen Christian concerts, the lights and the smoke in the mirrors and I've seen thrones of people crowd just jam into the church. And then the next day, the next week, the next month, you couldn't find any of them. Curiosity seekers. They were just seeking a feeling. They were just following the energy.

We see this in the lives of many of these large churches today. Many of these churches become large and they have these other campuses and they use technology and they have the biggest bands and they have all of the lights and all of the effects. And what do we do? We see an environment that caters to the superficial. We see an environment that caters to the curiosity seekers and you put them to the test with the word of God. You preach the word of God and you will find out who they are. Isn't that what Jesus did in John six?

All these curiosity seekers following him for many different reasons and one by one, he attacked them in who they were with the word of God and then they all left. There is a danger with that kind of ministry today because you will build a crowd of nothing but curiosity seekers. And what they are doing is looking for the energy, looking for the feeling, looking for the moment. They are superficial sight seers for Jesus. You know, I'll never forget one of my conversations with one of the men of our church. I liked his take on where we are. He was explaining how he viewed where we are. He was explaining our geographical location.

I don't know if you realize it. It takes quite a bit of energy to get here. Now, some of you live right down the road and I'm thankful. But for the majority of the people here, it takes effort to drive on out to the Nola community. We don't have a lot of the things that some churches have and we don't want them. As a matter of fact, we really don't have a facility that is very attractive by today's standards and that's okay. But this man in our church was saying that the things we don't have act as a filter against some of those who would be the curiosity seekers. And I think that's true.

And then we must see that they are those who vehemently reject Jesus. They vehemently reject his people and they vehemently reject his work. And I want you to see, we must see that when people have determined to reject Jesus, the gospel, there is no end to their rejection and their sin. Isn't that what we see the religious leaders? They rejected and rejected and rejected and it became more angry and more murderous and more threatful. And ultimately, they did kill Jesus only because he gave up his life.

And we must see that those who reject Jesus and reject Jesus and reject Jesus and reject the church and the work of God, ultimately, they determine to reject Jesus and they go to a place where there is no end to their rejection and their sin. I'm reminded of an example of a particular individual that my wife knew, my wife and I knew, in our years of our home church. I'm thankful for my home church. We had the privilege of seeing many people converted. We had some good revival meetings and times where the Spirit of God was moving.

But my wife and I had an opportunity to see a particular individual really, really get down to the very nitty gritty of who he was spiritually. Begin to examine with spiritual leaders in the church, begin to examine the scripture, and begin to examine his own spiritual condition over a period of time. And ultimately, this individual came to a point where he rejected what God was doing around him and in him. And when that individual did that, it was like he crossed the line. It was like he rejected all that God was doing around him and he was never the same. And then he began to lead a life where there was a never ending appetite for sin.

And he ended up doing things that he never would have done in his previous years. And there is a line that an individual can cross. I don't know where that line is, but man, when somebody crosses that line 5, 10, 20 years after that, they are a completely different person. And that's exactly what we see with the religious leaders, the rejection of Jesus. Now, let's move to the conclusion of our message. And let's move to the conclusion by going back to the beginning. What's the title of our message? It is the anointing of Jesus. Now, remember the setting that must have been a joyous, almost homecoming type of feel.

Jesus is coming back to Bethany. Lazarus is excited because he owes him so much. Mary and Martha love him even more because of how the glory of God was revealed in their lives and in their family. No doubt, many who had believed previously were excited to see the Lord come. The great time of Passover was there. There was just spiritual energy in the air. And then we come to this wonderful time of the anointing. And in that anointing, there was an expression of a great love. And then all around that anointing, there is an expression of a great love because we see so many different spiritual personalities.

We see Lazarus, we see Martha, and we see Mary. And then within this anointing, we see this great expression of hate and rejection of Jesus. Now, I want to challenge you today to examine where you are. I mean, if you were on your way to Bethany, and you were on your way to this great Passover event, and you happen to find yourself right in the middle of this celebration for Jesus, where do you fit? Maybe you're a Martha, and the Lord's encouraged you. Maybe you're a Mary, and the Lord's encouraged you. Maybe you're a Mary, and the Lord's corrected you that you need to be a little more like Martha.

Maybe you're a Lazarus, and the Lord's corrected you, and you need to see that you need to do something with what you're learning. You need to be a servant with being such a student. There are so many things that the Lord could teach us and encourage us and show us, but maybe the Lord has showed you you're a Judas. You're not what you seem to be. Let me tell you, your only hope is to humble yourself and repent. Your only hope is to leave the facade, leave the veneer, leave that carnal covering that you have over who you really are. And the Lord has you here to show you that you're just a Judas. So what do we see? The anointing of Jesus.

Beautiful story, but so much associated with what went on that day in these verses. Let's pray. Lord Jesus, I thank you.