Last Sunday, we saw the resurrection of Lazarus. We said that it was the greatest of all Jesus’ miracles and the climax of all the prior works that he had done pointing to who he was. After the raising of Lazarus from the dead, it doesn’t take long for word to spread. The Jews who witnessed this miracle run and tell those that they know about what happened. What an outstanding witness and I’m sure a huge growth for the “Jesus movement” that was taking place. I mean, we are told that many of those in attendance now believed in Jesus, a radical break from what had been only a few days prior. However, there were some who still didn’t believe in him, and that group runs and tells the Pharisees what has just taken place and that some have now begun to believe in Jesus as a result of these events.
So, the Pharisees and the chief priests gather together and try and figure out what they are going to do. They know that if they keep letting Jesus walk around and perform his works, that eventually everyone will believe in him. However, they aren’t worried about everyone believing in him from the standpoint of heresy. No, they are worried about everyone believing in him from the standpoint of self-preservation. You see, they’re worried that if the people begin to unite under Jesus, that the Roman government will come in and assume complete control and remove those Pharisees and chief priests that have enjoyed some positions of power even during the Roman occupation.
I want to take a second and draw a comparison between the chief priests and Pharisees in Jesus’ day with the American church of today. You see, the Pharisees were once the pillars of orthodoxy and religious leadership. Originally, their intentions were solely focused on maintaining the purity of the matters dealing with God. Their aim was to have everyone live in a manner that was worthy of being a child of God. They sought to shape culture in the image of God. However, somewhere along the way, their vigor for religious purity began to become corrupted both by their surroundings and from within. As the Roman Empire took over areas inhabited by the Pharisees, mainly Jerusalem, the Pharisees desire for maintaining orthodoxy gave way to their desire to keep the peace. It’s very similar to how the American church has given way in order to keep the peace. When we look at the early church and we look at the Apostle Paul, there was a vim and vigor there that Paul was going to place to the matters of God above civility with a particular government and over his own physical health and status. Now, I’m not entirely blaming Christians of today. This is something that has taken many, many generations to do. We live in a world that seeks to keep the peace. We hear things on the news that don’t quite sit right with us from a Christian perspective. Now, I’m just as guilty of this as anyone else, maybe even more so. We hear things that we disagree with, yet we say nothing about it to anyone other than those who we already know to be Christians. When was the last time that you go into a discussion, not a debate or an argument, but a discussion about your faith with a non-Christian? We live in a world that says often times that anything is fair game for conversation except for religion or politics. Well, last I checked, politics is not a matter of eternal salvation. There are Bible-believing Christians out there who have a different political affiliation than I do. However, there is no salvation apart from our Savior Jesus Christ, the one who we Christians worship.
As far as Jesus’ day is concerned, no other figure represents this notion of lax religious standards in order to keep the peace greater than Caiaphas. You see, Caiaphas, the high priest that particular year (a position that he corruptly bought), is the primary person promoting the killing, the murdering of Jesus Christ. He rationalizes in his own mind that it is better for this one person to die than it is for an entire nation of people to be punished as a result of the Roman government being upset. Such rationalizing reminds me of our own minds so often. We stay silent when faced with golden opportunities to proclaim the gospel, yet we rationalize that we don’t want to come off as being some type of religious nutjob or as a “Jesus Freak.” We tell ourselves that by keeping quiet and not coming off too pushy, we are doing greater work for God’s kingdom than we would do by speaking up.
I find it humorous, as well as outstanding, that Caiaphas prophesied here without even really knowing what he is saying. As he was speaking about the need for Jesus to die, he really had no clue how accurate he was. John, the Evangelist, the writer of this gospel account clarifies for us just how true the words from Caiaphas really are. He provides us with his own commentary on Caiaphas’ words. John tells us that Caiaphas says aloud that it is time for Jesus to die. He then provides the insight that Jesus’ death will not only come, but that it will save a nation. Not only will it save a nation, but it will bring about a gathering together of God’s children that are currently scatted all over. You see, Caiaphas wants to accomplish his own sinful wishes, but what he is actually doing is accomplishing the work of God. There’s a reason why so often we are brought to a low point in our lives before we can truly see the works of God. That reason is because God works through the natural things of this world to bring about His will. He uses our pain and our suffering to bring about even greater glory to Himself, just as He is using Caiaphas and the Pharisees own sinful desire for self-preservation to accomplish the ultimate work of His Son dying upon the cross and paying the price owed for the sins of all mankind.
Now, immediately following this account of a compromising religious official, John provides us with a true example of worship. We are told of an event mentioned earlier and that is the account of Mary anointing Jesus’ feet with oil. Remember, Mary is one of the two sisters of the Lazarus, the man whom Jesus has just recently raised from the dead. We are told that while having a meal with Jesus in her home, that Mary took a “pound of expensive ointment” and “anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair.” Now, there are two things about this gesture that are noteworthy. First, this bottle of oil or ointment was expensive. The cost of this bottle would have been equivalent to about one year’s pay for the average person (one denari was equal to one day’s pay). Secondly, not only does Mary anoint Jesus with this oil, but she does so on his feet. You see, the feet were considered to be the most disgusting and vile of all body parts at this time. A disciple, or student, was responsible for the care of their master/teacher. However, the extent of care always stopped short of their feet because it was simply too humiliating for a person to be asked to care for the feet of another. Yet, here is Mary, not only caring for Jesus’ feet, but doing so willingly and in such a grand manner, using expensive oil and drying them with her own hair.
Now, it’s interesting that we have this woman, Mary, showing such devotion and humility towards Jesus, while the supposed top religious official in Jerusalem, Caiaphas, wants Jesus to be killed. You would think that the chief religious official, if he were truly a man in touch with God, would be the one wanting to wash the feet of Jesus. For that matter, Jesus’ own disciple, Judas, is there to witness the washing of Jesus’ feet and even he thinks it is crazy. Of course, we see in this account and our own knowledge of his future betrayal, that he is a man motivated by selfish means and money. However, Mary is willing to be bold in her faith. She is willing to take something that is of great earthly value and us it for Christ. Caiaphas should have been willing to risk his position of power and his comfortable lifestyle for the sake of Christ. We should be willing to risk our comfort, our security, our friends, and even our family for the sake of Christ. I’m not advocated giving up all that we have and leaving everyone that we care about behind, but I’m simply saying that in a list of priorities that God should always be at the top. Former United States Vice President Thomas Riley Marshall once said that in a list of the most influential forces in his life, that God was first and family was second. We have to be willing to make the tough choices in order to advance the kingdom of God. You see, God doesn’t need us to advance His kingdom. It is a blessing, an honor, and a privilege to be able to do so.
Judas doesn’t get it. Caiaphas doesn’t get it. Both of these men are focused upon themselves. Mary gets it. She has seen God at work. She has seen Jesus raise her brother from the dead. She knows that Jesus is greater than all things. She knows that everything in this world is a gift from God. We know that too. We have recorded for us in both Scripture and extra-biblical writings how much we owe to God. We will openly admit that apart from God that we have nothing. However, the time is now to start living like that. We need to move beyond saying that God is everything and start living like God is everything. When we live as if we have nothing apart from Christ, then that is where true faith is displayed. When the world says one thing and our faith says another and there is no conflict or hesitation to cast aside the worldly desire, then that is a greater witness that any speech, movie, or production could ever manage for God’s kingdom.
I want this text to challenge each of us in the coming days and weeks. From the outside it would seem as if the religious official or the disciple would be the one to show faith. However, it was this average woman. I want all of us to have the faith of Mary. I want all of us to be able to make the tough choices for God and for our faith. I want all of us to be able to abandon the things of this world in order to serve God. As I said, I’m not asking for everyone to take up a vow of poverty, but I’m just saying to place such priority and importance on God in your life that nothing else matters. I want God to be what matters most in your life. For it is only when that has taken place, that we can truly begin to worship Him fully and enjoy Him in the greatest sense. Glory be to God; in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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