This is one of the most non-complex and simply presented passages in all the Gospel of John. As we first read it, we see something that seems on the surface to be incidental - very much just a narrative report. Mary pours expensive perfume on Jesus's feet and wipes it with her hair. Judas rebukes her action as wasteful, Jesus makes the curious statement that the poor would be in the world always, and John comments that Judas was driven by his thievery. But what would move Mary to such an action? Was she unconcerned about using the expensive oil as a foot wash because she was very rich? Is this the lesson of this passage - because Mary is rich, she is out of touch with the real world? Or maybe John is simply identifying Judas as the reprobate thief he was.
But, before we move on, perhaps there a deeper, more amazing lesson in view? Has Mary discovered a treasure greater than the cost of the oil? As we trace back through the encounters between Jesus and Mary over the whole time of Lazarus'es death and resurrection, may we too be filled with the wonder which filled her soul. May we recognize that the love of God revealed by Jesus Christ is not only of greater value than the treasures of this world - He is the treasure of earth and heaven!
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August 24, 2014 | Pastor John Bayles | A Love Greater than Treasure | John 12:1-7
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