Loving Jesus and Living for Others

John 12:1-8

There’s a lot going on in these eight verses, and it’s important to shed some light on what leads up to them…take a little time to unpack where these verses are located within the bigger story, if you will. Right before this passage in 11:45-48, the Jerusalem elites, the Roman allies, are fearful of losing their control over the crowds that the presence of Jesus commands. They are worried that he may take their place, so in verse 53 they actually begin to conspire to kill him by basically putting a ransom on his head.

So, Jesus no longer continues his public ministry, and in today’s passage (chapter 12) he and the disciples return to Bethany, to the home of Lazarus. You remember Lazarus…Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead earlier in his ministry. Like two old friends who fellowship over the lunch table when one is in town for a visit, Jesus joins his friends Lazarus, Mary, and Martha for dinner. While Martha prepares the meal (v2), Lazarus keeps Jesus and the other company entertained. Then Mary enters (v3), and in an unexpectedly extravagant act, she changes the whole course of the evening. As the sweet-smelling perfume permeates the party, Judas opposes Mary’s act (v4-6), and he speaks out against Mary’s extravagance.

I think it’s fair to say each of these people loved Jesus, but it was expressed in very different ways.

Mary’s extravagant love of Jesus stands at the heart of this passage. Maybe Judas was right. Maybe Mary got carried away and overdid it. But we should remember this is a dinner where two grateful sisters give thanks to Jesus for bringing back to life a once-dead brother! Given these circumstances, how could Jesus have done anything except receive the gifts. For in all honesty, the gifts were more for Mary and Martha’s benefit than for Jesus. Jesus didn’t need their gifts, but they needed to give them. Mary’s act reveals the love that is at the center of true discipleship because discipleship is defined by acts of love in response to Jesus.

We must first love Jesus before we can fully and truly love others, even ourselves! We must first love Jesus before we can fully love and serve the poor. As we look closely at this story, we can begin to see that it’s not really about the money at all. Perhaps this is why Judas couldn’t grasp it.

There is a real connection between honoring and serving Jesus; between loving God and loving neighbor; between loving Jesus and living for others. This passage of scripture is about gratitude and recognizing what Jesus has done in our lives! And it is about giving back to him extravagantly as disciples through serving and loving the world around us! 

It appears our society has forgotten how to do this. Or the importance of doing this.

To love God AND love neighbor; to love Jesus AND live for others. These statements are as inseparable as the vertical and horizontal beams of the cross! You can’t love your neighbor and support those who will hurt them. You just can’t! You can’t live for others and love with the extravagance of Mary and side with the powerful at the expense of the powerless. You just can’t! That is what the Jerusalem elites and Roman allies did. 

Rev. Dr. Debi Powell-Maxwell

4/6/2025