Daily Bible Study

Tweet

Day 22 John 12:1-11 John 12:1 Then Jesus six days before the Passover came to Bethany, where Lazarus was which had been dead, whom he raised from the dead. 2 There they made him a supper; and Martha served: but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with him. 3 Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odor of the ointment. 4 Then saith one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, which should betray him, 5 Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor? 6 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. 7 Then said Jesus, Let her alone: against the day of my burying hath she kept this. 8 For the poor always ye have with you; but me ye have not always. 9 Much people of the Jews therefore knew that he was there: and they came not for Jesus’ sake only, but that they might see Lazarus also, whom he had raised from the dead. 10 But the chief priests consulted that they might put Lazarus also to death; 11 Because that by reason of him many of the Jews went away, and believed on Jesus. Have you ever gotten in trouble because of someone you knew? Has anyone come to see you because of who you knew? Jesus was at Lazarus’ home. Martha made a feast, Mary poured the ointment, Judas condemned, and people came to see Jesus because he was at Lazarus’ home and they wanted to see Lazarus more than they wanted to see Jesus, and the chief priests wanted to put Lazarus to death because of Jesus. What would you do if people showed up at your home and wanted to see your guest more than they wanted to see you? What would you do if people showed up to see you because of what your guest did for you? People have many motives for what they do and not all of them are good motives. As Christians, you need to examine yourselves to determine your motives. Why did you become a Christian? Has your faith grown since you became a Christian or has it become stagnant? Do people know you’re a Christian? Is your faith on display? People will see what you do and they will wonder if you’re for real. People came to see Lazarus because Jesus raised him from the dead. They wanted to know if Jesus would do anything else to cause them wonder. Why was Jesus in Bethany at Lazarus’ home? He was there because Mary would anoint him against his burial. He wasn’t there to enjoy a feast. He wasn’t there to do miracles to make the people ooh and ah over him. He was there because in a few days he would hang on a cross for the sins of the world. He needed the ointment of Mary’s love poured out as a reminder of why he went to the cross for us. Would he have gone to the cross without the anointing? Yes, because it was the Father’s will. The ointment showed him the pure motive Mary had in anointing him with the costly ointment. The ointment was in his nostrils when they beat him, pulled out his beard, and put a crown of thorns on his head. Is the ointment of your love in Jesus’ nostrils as you go about your daily life? To Judas the ointment reeked. To Jesus it meant love. The love you show Jesus is a pleasing aroma in Jesus’ nostrils, but to the world it stinks. 2 Corinthians 2:14 Now thanks be unto God, which always causes us to triumph in Christ, and makes manifest the savor of his knowledge by us in every place. 15 For we are unto God a sweet savor of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish: 16 To the one we are the savor of death unto death; and to the other the savor of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things? 17 For we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ. (KJV) You hold in you the ointment of life and death to those around you. Let your love for Jesus fill you with his aroma and let it be sweet in his nostrils. Let’s pray: Father, let my life be a pleasing aroma in your nostrils as I present your love to everyone I meet. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen. Copyright © 23 December 2018 by Valerie Routhieaux Image courtesy of Pixabay