Third Presbyterian Sunday Morning Bible Study - March 29, 2020

Below is the Bible Study written by Jim Rudiger for his Sunday School Class which meets at Third Presbyterian Church, Norfolk, Virginia. It's based on John 12:1-9.

Prayer

Suppose you won the lottery and wanted to do something special for your friends. What would you do? Throw a big party and invite all of your friends. Invite them on an all expenses paid trip in glorious Pungo. Pick your favorite friend and give the friend a brand new BMW. What would factor into what you would do? The amount you were willing to spend. If they would benefit from the gift. How they would react to the gift. How would you react if somebody gave you an unexpected expensive gift?

Gifts can be tricky. To be appreciated the gift doesn’t have to be expensive. What gift did you get that really meant a lot to you? Aside from the gift that Mr. McClannan gave me when I asked him I if I could marry his only daughter, one of the gifts that meant a lot to me was my grandfather’s ring. I never knew him. He died nearly twenty years before I was born during the 1918 flu epidemic. It was like, if the ring could talk, it would let me know him.

As our study for today opens, Passover is a week away. For our study we will establish two days and events generally accepted concerning the days between Palm Sunday and the Easter Sunday empty tomb. First is that the Last Supper was a Passover Feast. Secondly is that the Last Supper took place on Thursday, the day before Jesus was crucified. Of course we all know that the Passover feast celebrated the Israelites being led by Moses out of bondage in Egypt. As the Feast was celebrated over hundreds of years, it slowly changed. By the time of Jesus, it was mandatory that every adult male Jew who lived within 15 miles of Jerusalem attend the feast. Also, it was the goal of every Jew to spend at least one Passover in Jerusalem no matter what country he lived in. So at Passover, Jerusalem was pretty much packed with people. To get an idea of how many pilgrims were there, a Roman governor wanted to impress Nero with how important religion was to the Jews. So, he had Josephus, who was a historian at that time, come up with a number of the people who would be Jerusalem for Passover. Josephus got the High Priest to give him the number of lambs sacrificed during a typical Passover feast time. The High Priest came up with 265,000 lambs. The Jewish law mandated that there had to be a minimum of ten people taking part in the sacrifice of each lamb. That meant that for 265,000 lambs to have been sacrificed, there had to be at least 2,650,000 people in Jerusalem . If Josephus’ numbers are correct, there were a lot of people crowded in Jerusalem that day.

After raising Lazarus, word got back to the leaders in the Temple about what Jesus had done. An emergency meeting was called to get the facts and decide on their next move. It is quite likely that people who had been at Lazarus’ funeral were at that meeting and confirmed that Jesus didn’t arrive until the fourth day after Lazarus death and everybody knows that the spirit leaves the dead guy after three days certifying that Lazarus was absolutely dead.

Can’t you imagine what they were going through. This is the biggest day of the year. There are thousands of people from all over the world ready to celebrate the Passover. There was more preparation for Passover than there is for our Christmas Eve parties. For a month before the feast, stories of what had happened in Egypt were told in the Synagogues. Another thing they had to do was to white wash the burial places. Why did they do that? In those days people were normally buried next to the road. Now, if people coming to Jerusalem accidently sat down on a grave, they would have been considered unclean and have to go through the ritualistic cleansing. So that everybody knew where people were buried, the tombs were painted white as a warning to pilgrims going down the road.

In addition the Temple had to take a lot of time scheduling ritualistic cleansings and sacrifices. If a person waited until the last minute, he might not have time to complete the cleansing and would not be allowed in the Temple for the celebration. If you were going to make sure you weren’t late, what would you do? Come early and beat the long lines.

The merchants were faced with a major problem stocking their stores and there was no virus then - plenty of toilet paper. Can you imagine just ordering lambs for the Passover meals? Where to erect pens to hold them? Where to get water and feed for them? The newspapers must have been full of adds for buy one, get one free sheep. With relatives coming from far off, there must have been some reunion parties scheduled, too, that needed cheese dip for their Nachos.

This is the one day in the year when the priests and religious leaders take center stage and now they have to deal with Jesus resurrecting a man. What do you think they considered doing about this turn of events? (1) Claim that Lazarus has been in a coma and came too. What’s the problem with this idea? Three days have passed and so has the spirit. (2) The disciples are lying. Problem? Some of their trusted friends were there. (3) It’s a conspiracy passed out by Jesus’ followers. Problem? Their trusted buddies attest to the validity of Lazarus’ resurrection. That left them with No. (4) Kill Jesus.

In the mean time, it became obvious that it was dangerous to be close to Jesus, so for the safety of his disciples Jesus left town. It wasn’t that Jesus was hiding and peeking out of shuddered windows. He was willing to lay down his life, but he wasn’t going to throw it away before it is used for God’s purpose. So, until it was time for the Passover Feast, Jesus and his disciples hung out in a small village about twenty miles north of Jerusalem named Ephraim. Eight days before the Feast, Jesus and his disciples set out for Jerusalem with a stop-over at Bethany and that’s where we pick up the story.

John 12:1 Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.

How long before the Passover when Jesus got to town? Six days. If the Passover is celebrated on Thursday, then it was Friday when Jesus arrived in Bethany - one day before the Sabbath. John then described the anointing of Christ. John tells us that Jesus was in Bethany, the home of Lazarus. John is talking about Bethany being the hometown for Lazarus, not that they were in the house where Lazarus lives. Why are they gathered there? For a dinner honoring Jesus. The account in Mark tells us that the dinner was at the home of Simon the Leper. Obviously, Simon no longer suffered from leprosy or he wouldn’t have been allowed to live in Bethany, but would have had to live outside the city. There isn’t any proof that Simon had been cured by Jesus but wouldn’t that make this story special? We do know from scripture that in these last weeks, Jesus healed ten lepers. Simon may have been one of the ten.

John 12:2 There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those at the table with him.

Who does John say is serving the guests? Martha. Who else is mentioned as being there? Lazarus. Why mention Lazarus? To show us that he was alive and had resumed a normal life. Many times we don’t appreciate how much Lazarus plays into these last days of Jesus’ mortal life. Today will let us know.

Last week we studied the story about Lazarus being raised from the dead. I would imagine that he became quite a local celebrity after that. And I’m sure that the guys from Jerusalem who attended Lazarus’ funeral went back and told the leaders of the Temple and now they knew that Jesus had to go. He had shown a power that no one has ever had, the power over death. Lazarus was a witness to that power.

Who were some of the other guys around the table at the dinner honoring Jesus? The disciples. This would have indicated that Jesus was using this meal as a teaching moment. The men were in the main room and the women were probably in the kitchen getting the meal ready. Women in those days were shuttled off away from the men. It would have been inappropriate for a woman to have entered the room while the men were meeting.

John 12:3 Then Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus' feet, and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

But, who comes into the men’s room? Mary. What does she do? Pours a pound of perfume made from pure nard. You wives. Ever get a bottle of pure nard for Christmas? Nard? It even sounds nasty. Anybody here got any ideas what in the world “nard” is and why Mary is pouring it on Jesus’ feet? You better take notes, because you are about to become an expert in “nard” knowledge and a test will follow. Ready? Nard is made from a small plant grown at the foot of the Himalayan mountains. It was worth the wages a man earned for the whole year. In our dollars it could amount to 40 or 50 thousand dollars not counting the plastic bag. This tells us something about Martha, Mary and Lazarus. Financially, they were loaded. Enough money that Mary could pour something as expensive as this perfume on Jesus’ feet. A major reason for it being so expensive was in shipping it thousands of miles from India. This particular perfume definitely wasn’t the 10 cents a gallon stuff I used to give my Mamma on Christmas.

Mary came before Jesus and took an alabaster vial of perfume and poured it over the feet of Jesus. Women back then loved their perfume and they usually carried it in a little bottle hung around their necks. Maybe they needed to have it ready to toss on men who had spent the day around a flock of sheep. Mary starts to pour perfume on Jesus’ feet. Her actions must have left the men in the room in shock.

What does John say the house was filled with? The fragrance of that perfume. What do you think John is telling us in that statement? Sometimes when a woman leaves a room her perfume lingers. As long as the aroma lingers, we remember that person. Maybe John was saying that this act of love on the part of Mary will last and be remembered long after she is gone.

John 12:4 But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was about to betray him), said, 5 “Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year's wages." 6 (He said this not because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; he kept the common purse and used to steal what was put into it.) Jesus said, 7 “Leave her alone. She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial. 8 You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me."

How did Judas react to Mary anointing Jesus? He became very upset. Why? He recognized how expensive the perfume was. What was his argument for a better use for the perfume? It was a foolish waste something that could have been a wonderful gift to the poor. Was Judas sincerely concerned for the poor? No. It meant there was less for him to steal.

How does Jesus react? “Knock it off, Judas. Leave her alone. It was a lovely thing to do.” As for the poor, Jesus tells them that the poor will always be with them. Was Jesus diminishing the needs of the poor? What he meant was that there will always be opportunities to give to the poor, because there are so many around and they will always be around. But, there might be only one chance to do something good for him. Ever have a chance to do some good and you wait to think about it and when you are ready to act, it is too late? The person that you have wanted to tell for so many years that you were sorry for something you said or did. There just never seemed to be the right time. Then one day you pick up the newspaper and see that he or she has passed away. You may regret for the rest of your life not taking the time to tell him or her while they could have been warmed and encouraged by it. Jesus said that what the woman did wasn’t wasted. Why wasn’t it wasted? She anointed his body for what? His burial and that came true. Remember Jesus’ body was put into the tomb before it could be prepared. If Mary had not have anointed him that night, she may have never gotten that opportunity again. It is interesting to note that in Matthew’s account of the resurrection, the women didn’t go to the tomb with ointments to anoint the body because Matthew saw in this act of this woman at this dinner, the preparation of Jesus’ body.

These verses contain small character sketches:

1. There was the character of Martha. She was serving at the table and that was fine with her. She loved Jesus and the only way she could show that love was by working with her hands - cooking and serving. She was a “what you see is what you get” kind of woman. She gave what she could, but, she was a practical woman. Martha proved that no job is too small if it is done to serve Jesus.
2. There was the character of Mary. The tender hearted younger sister who cried at the drop of a hat. She wore her love for Jesus on her sleeve. In what she did we see three things about love:
1. We see love’s extravagance. Mary took the most expensive thing she owned and spent it all on Jesus. Love isn’t love if it is counting the pennies. Love is giving everything you have and regretting there isn’t more you can give. 
2. We see love’s humility. In those days it was a sign of honor to anoint a person’s head. We are all familiar with Psalm 33, “Thou anointest my head with oil.” Mary wouldn’t assume that she was good enough to anoint Jesus’ head, so she anointed his feet.
3. We see unselfish love. How did Mary dry Jesus’ feet? With her hair. This was a bigger thing for Mary to do than you might imagine. Back in her day, no respectable woman would have appeared in public with her hair let down. If she wore her hair loosely hanging in public, she would have been considered a prostitute. Mary loved Jesus so much that she didn’t care what others thought.
3. There was the character of Judas. There are three things about him to note: 

1. We see that Jesus trusted Judas. Jesus knew for a long time that Judas was going to betray him, yet, he allowed Judas to hold a very important job - keeper of the money. He was in effect the bank for the Apostles. Why would Jesus give him such an important job? Maybe he was trying to appeal to Judas’ sense on honor. He might have been saying, “Here, Judas, is something that you can really do well for me. This proves that I need and want you near me.” For some people, if you let them know you trust them regardless of their past, then they will go out of their way not to betray that trust. Obviously, the appeal for Judas failed.
2. We see the power of temptation. Judas must have had some background in accounting or Jesus wouldn’t have had him handle the money. One of the laws of temptation is that it comes through things we are naturally trained for. A man in the business of handling money may think that money is the most important thing in the world. Judas thought money was so important that he was willing to steal and then betray a friend for it. He not only kept the Apostles money bag, but shoved his hand in to take what he wanted when he wanted.
3. We see a how a person’s view can be warped. Judas was there when Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. He was there when Jesus fed the 5,000. He was there when Jesus cured the blind, the lame and the demon possessed. He then witnessed Mary’s actions - one of the loveliest things done for Jesus - and condemned it as wasteful. Judas was a bitter man. A person sees only what they want to see. If you like somebody, they can do no wrong. If we don’t like somebody, he could cure Tiny Tim and we wouldn’t admire him. Judas saw things through a bitter mind that revealed his own bitter view of the world.

Lastly, there is one great truth about life. There are some things that we can do anytime, but there are some things that we only get a chance to do one time. If we don’t act then, we might never have the opportunity again. We have to seize those times when we have the chance to do something fine and generous. We can’t put them off. Life is such an uncertain thing. If we wait to say that word of encouragement, that word of thanks or that word of love, there may not be the time to say the words ever again. Mary had her chance and she took it. Good for Mary.

John 12:9 When the great crowd of the Jews learned he was there, they came, not only because of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. 10 So the chief priests planned to put Lazarus to death as well, 11 since it was on account of him that many of the Jews were deserting and were believing in Jesus.

For the Jewish leaders things were rapidly approaching an impossible situation for them. Jesus was a thief by stealing the hearts of the people. The Sadducees began to see Jesus as the possible leader of a rebellion. Rebellion meant Rome sending in troops. There was no question. Jesus had to go. As almost an after thought, Caiaphus, the chief priest adds, “While were at it, kill Lazarus, too.” Why kill Lazarus? He was a constant reminder of power of Jesus. If Jesus was killed, people would still see Lazarus and remember what had happened. It might even anger them enough to come after the Sanhedrin. Besides, Caiaphus was a Sadducee who didn’t believe in the after life and Lazarus was a living argument against that belief. So, get rid of the evidence. That is why I pointed to Lazarus as a person who unknowingly helped lead the religious leaders to conclude that Jesus had to go.

There you have it. The body is now prepared. What will tomorrow bring?

All right. You have won the lottery. The time has come. What I’m about to say is to help you. If you never remember anything else, remember this: I like to party at the Surf Rider; been to Pungo once and that’s enough for a lifetime; and a red convertible with lots of lights and buttons to push would be nice.

Prayer: Lord, open our hearts when the opportunity arises for us to serve you by serving one of your children. Amen.