John 12:5 Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor
Recently I was in a famous drive-thru fast-food restaurant, and they were delighted that I was there. Every time I asked for something, a sandwich, fries, a drink, a napkin, they told me it was their pleasure that I was asking and were overjoyed that I was there. I may be exaggerating a little bit, but they run a tight ship and seem genuinely happy that I would have been there and that they had my business.
That is in stark contrast to a week before when I had been at another fast-food drive-thru and you couldn’t even get into the restaurant. All they had open was the drive-thru. I think there was one person in the entire establishment and they could not accommodate what we needed. They didn’t seem to care if we were there or not. All of us have received service from people who didn’t really care. They really didn’t care about helping us and didn’t really love the business for which they were working or the people who were their customers. There is obviously a difference between merely doing one’s duty of serving and being driven by a motive of love.
In John 12 we have a story about Lazarus, Martha, Mary, and Judas Iscariot. Lazarus had just been raised from the dead by the Lord Jesus. Martha and Mary were Lazarus’ sisters, and Judas Iscariot, as you probably know, was one of the twelve disciples. He was the man of the twelve who held the money for the disciples. He was well thought of, but in the end he betrayed the Lord Jesus.
Mary, on the other hand, was not a disciple and was not a man. As a woman she was not in a place of power in this country and day, yet at great cost she anointed the Lord Jesus by faith. You may have heard before that it was probably a year’s worth of wages to expend this ointment upon the Lord Jesus. When Judas saw what Mary had done, that she had made this great sacrifice, he said, “What a waste!”
By the way, we all have to get beyond having everyone’s approval for every good thing we do. I hope people do approve the good things you do, but there may even be good people who don’t understand what you are doing sometimes. They don’t understand your sacrifice and love for the Lord Jesus. They may even say the good things you are doing are a waste, going to Bible college, being a giver, helping other people, giving your life to service. That is exactly what Judas said. We can kind of demean Judas and say, “Who cares what Judas says. He is a traitor.” But, no one on that day knew that Judas was a traitor. He was one of the twelve disciples, and Mary was just a simple woman who had given a costly anointing to the Lord Jesus.
Judas said in verse 5, “Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor?” He tried to take the moral high ground even though his heart was full of sin. In verse 6 the Bible comments, “This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein.” No one knew besides Jesus would have known that he was a thief.
There is a stark distinction between Mary and Judas. What did Mary give? She didn’t give ointment; she gave herself. What did Judas give? He didn’t give anything; he took. He was in “full-time ministry,” but his heart wasn’t in it. For him it wasn’t love; it was greed. I think there is something to learn here: all you ever have to give is yourself. God doesn’t need your money, talent, personality, or position. God loves and wants you. All you ever have to give is yourself. All that matters is the Lord’s appraisal and approval. As to His appraisal, He said of Mary, “She hath done what she could.” Jesus never asks more; Jesus never demands less. As far as His approval, He said that she had done a good work and would be remembered, and indeed she is thousands of years later.
So, what produced Mary’s love? First, it was gratitude. Jesus had just raised her brother, Lazarus, from the dead. Mary was grateful. She didn’t anoint Jesus because she had to; she anointed Jesus because she wanted to because she loved him. I’m all for full-time Christian ministry, but there is a difference between merely doing things and being motivated by love. Mary was motivated by gratitude. Judas was motivated by greed. There is a difference.
Second, Mary had humility. Mary was a woman, and at this day and place that was not a position of power. Judas was in a vaunted position. That is why he did not see this generosity for what it was. He saw it as a waste. Mary, on the other hand, was humble; she had humility. Today, despite all the good things you may be doing, you dare not do the right thing for the wrong reason, to forget Who Jesus is, to forget who we are in comparison, and to forget the great debt of gratitude we owe Him.
Judas said that what Mary had done was a waste, but his life was really the waste. Mary didn’t give some costly ointment; Mary gave of her life because of her gratitude and humility. All you ever have to give the Lord Jesus is yourself.