CHAPTER 9

FROM HEALING A BLIND MAN TO MARY’S OINTMENT

It is often overlooked that when Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd,” the Jews would inevitably remember that Scripture says, “The Lord (Jehovah) is my shepherd” (John 10:11 and Psalm 23:1). There can be no doubt that Jesus claimed to be God.

—G. BENFOLD¹

JESUS HEALS A MAN BORN BLIND (JOHN 9:1–34)

As they pass a man with congenital blindness, the disciples ask Jesus whether the man’s own sin or his parents’ sin caused his condition. “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents,” replies Jesus, “but that the works of God might be displayed in him. We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” Jesus heals him by anointing his eyes with mud He makes with His own saliva. He then commands the man, “Go wash in the pool of Siloam.”

John explains that Siloam means “sent,” a prominent concept in John’s Gospel. Jesus is “sent” by the Father (John 7:16, 18–29, 33; 8:14, 16, 18, 26, 29, 42), and the disciples are “sent” by Jesus (Matt. 21:2; Mark 11:1; 14:3; Luke 9:2, 52; 10:1).² Overall, the issue isn’t whether sin caused the man’s condition—it’s that in the limited time Jesus has left, He can use the man’s condition to demonstrate His healing power and advance His ministry.

People who’ve seen the blind man before question whether it’s really him. They take him to the Pharisees, who learn that Jesus healed the man on the Sabbath. Some of them proclaim Jesus is not from God because He violates the Sabbath, while others express doubt that a sinner could do such works. They ask the healed man his opinion, and he says Jesus is a prophet. The Pharisees are probably investigating because curing a congenital condition is more remarkable than healing a temporary condition that could have naturally improved.³

The Jewish leaders doubt the man had been blind at all until his parents confirm it. They say their son is “of age,” and they should ask him. So the Pharisees ask the man again, encouraging him to confess that Jesus is a sinner. He answers, “Whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” When they ask him how Jesus healed him, he replies that he’s already told them and they won’t listen. “Do you also want to become his disciples?” asks the man. They answer rudely that he is Jesus’ disciple but they are disciples of Moses—and Moses came from God, but they don’t know from where Jesus comes. The man says Jesus must be from God because no one has ever been cured of congenital blindness. “You were born in utter sin, and would you teach us?” they reply indignantly before casting him out.

The Pharisees believe congenital disabilities stem from the sin of the individual or his parents because God would not inflict suffering on the innocent.⁴ Their resistance to the truth shows their hard-heartedness—they reject the testimony of the disinterested witnesses, the man, and his parents, preferring darkness to the light.⁵

It’s difficult to miss the symbolism in this story, for what better captures a man’s conversion to Christ than the avowal, “Though I was blind, now I see?” “That is the testimony of any sinner who has been saved,” writes Vernon McGee. “Once I was blind but now I see. Once I was in spiritual darkness but now I am in spiritual light. Once I did not know Christ, but now I know Him as my Savior.”⁶ “This simple testimony,” declares J. E. White, “has been the incontrovertible evidence for the Christian faith for centuries.”⁷

I AM THE GOOD SHEPHERD (JOHN 9:35–10:21)

Hearing the Jews had cast out the man, Jesus finds him and asks if he believes in the Son of Man. The man asks who that is, and Jesus says it is He. The man declares, “Lord I believe” and worships Him. Jesus responds, “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.” Some Pharisees overhearing him ask if they too are blind. Jesus says, “If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains.” The Pharisees are more culpable than if they were acting in total ignorance. They pride themselves in having knowledge of spiritual things, and yet they are rebelling against Jesus.⁸ James reminds us, “Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness” (James 3:1).

Continuing to address the Pharisees, Jesus says,

 

           Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers. Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

                 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.

                 And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.

After hearing this, the Jews remain divided over Jesus, with some claiming He is possessed and others insisting a demon couldn’t have healed a blind man.

Jesus is aware that the analogy of the shepherd is richly expressed in the Old Testament (Psalms 23; Ezekiel 34).⁹ These scriptures foreshadow His salvation work, for God was Israel’s Shepherd (Gen. 49:24; Psalms 23:1; 80:1; Isaiah 40:11). According to Charles Spurgeon, “[Jesus] means us to understand three things; it is as if he said, ‘I am a shepherd,’ and then ‘I am a good shepherd,’ and, last of all, ‘I am the good shepherd’—that good shepherd who is spoken of in the Old Testament.”¹⁰ Indeed, Christ is here identifying with Jehovah. “This was clearly an affirmation of His absolute Deity,” contends Arthur Pink.¹¹

Christ is the Shepherd Who protects His sheep (His followers), and they recognize His voice calling, know they are His, and respond by following Him. They instinctively reject and flee from strangers who try to lure them away and destroy them. These are the false prophets and unbelievers who care nothing for the sheep and who work against Jesus and thwart God’s work. The Pharisees, in their spiritual darkness, do not recognize Jesus or understand His words. God’s kingdom has only one entrance and He is it—He is the gate. Those who enter through Him—via belief in Him—will be saved and will have eternal life. Jesus is the Good Shepherd Who lays down His life for His followers. He knows them, and they know Him, just as He and the Father know one another. This is a weighty revelation because it shows the Son and the Father are perfectly intimate.

In referring to “sheep not of this fold,” Jesus has in mind the Gentiles who will enter the kingdom through belief in Him. Jew and Gentile believers alike are part of the same flock and follow one Shepherd—Jesus Christ. Jesus emphasizes that no one, including the Father, is forcing Him to die a substitutionary death on the cross for His sheep, but the Father has given Him the authority to do so and to be resurrected so we may live.

In short, Christ is giving His life for us. “It is for us he lives, and because he lives we live also,” writes Charles Spurgeon. “He lives to plead for us. He lives to represent us in heaven. He lives to rule providence for us. He lives to prepare our mansions for us, wither we are going. He lives that he may come again and receive us to himself, that where he is there we may be also. Truly the good shepherd has proved his claim: ‘he giveth his life for the sheep.’”¹²

I AND THE FATHER ARE ONE (JOHN 10:22–42)

Jesus is walking in the Temple in Jerusalem during the Feast of Dedication, also known as Hanukkah and the Feast of Lights, which celebrates the cleansing of the Temple after Antiochus Epiphanes desecrated it.¹³ The Jews ask Him to state plainly whether He is the Christ. He insists He has already told them and that the works He does for the Father testify that He’s the Messiah. But they don’t believe, Jesus says, because they’re not His sheep. His sheep hear His voice and follow Him, He gives them eternal life, and no one will snatch them away from Him. His Father has given them to Him and He is greater than all. But when Jesus says, “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30), the Jews throw stones at Him. Jesus is not claiming that He and the Father are the same Person, but that their wills are united and that they are of one substance—they are two Persons of the Trinity.¹⁴

Insisting He has shown them many good works, Jesus demands to know for which one they will stone Him. The Jews say they aren’t going to stone Him for good works but for blasphemy—for making Himself God. Jesus says, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I said you are gods’? If he called them gods to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be broken—do you say of him whom the Father consecrated and sent in the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me; but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.” They try to arrest Him again, but He escapes across the Jordan River to the place where John had baptized people. Many come to Him and say that everything John said about Him is true, and many believe in Him.

Jesus notes the absurdity of their accusing Him of blasphemy when His works prove He is the Son of God with full authority from the Father, and when their own scriptures, which He affirms cannot be broken, show that God called his appointed agents “gods” when they were only men.¹⁵ Most commentators infer that when Jesus asks, “Is it not written in your Law?” He is referring to Psalm 82, in which God refers to His appointed judges of Israel as “gods.”¹⁶

THE NARROW DOOR (LUKE 13:22–30)

Jesus keeps teaching in the towns on His way to His destiny in Jerusalem. Someone asks Him if only a few people will be saved. He responds with a parable, teaching that they should strive to enter through the narrow door because once the master of the house has shut the door, many will knock and seek to enter in vain, as the master will tell them, “I do not know where you come from.” Those denied will protest that they ate and drank with him, but he will repeat that he doesn’t know them and declare, “Depart from me, all you workers of evil.” Those denied will be cast into a place where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, but from there they’ll see the Old Testament patriarchs and prophets in God’s kingdom. People will come from all directions to enter the kingdom—“some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”

By “strive to enter through the narrow door,” Jesus doesn’t mean people have to earn their way in through good works. Rather, they must repent and believe (Luke 13:3, 5).¹⁷ We must accept Jesus’ offer of salvation while we are living on this earth, so we must act while the door is open instead of waiting until it’s permanently shut.¹⁸ “The time is short, and there is an hour by which the ordinary householder expects his family to be indoors,” notes William Manson, “so there is a time when God will close the gate of life, and those who come knocking after that will be treated as intruders.”¹⁹ Salvation is not through kinship or ethnicity, but through saving faith in Him—and His reference to people coming from all directions to enter the kingdom indicates that Jews and Gentiles alike can be saved.²⁰

LAMENT OVER JERUSALEM (LUKE 13:31–35)

Some Pharisees warn Jesus to leave because Herod wants to kill Him. He instructs them to tell “that fox” He will cast out demons, heal today and tomorrow, and finish on the third day. But for now He will go on His way, for a prophet should not perish away from Jerusalem. He then laments over Jerusalem—“the city that kills prophets.” Jesus declares, “How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! Behold, your house is forsaken. And I tell you, you will not see me until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’” In bemoaning that He could have taken Jerusalem under His wing, Jesus could be making a veiled reference to His divinity, as God is shown in the Old Testament as protecting His people under His wings (Ruth 2:12; Psalms 17:8; 36:7; 57:1; 61:4; 63:7; 91:4).²¹

Having already ordered the execution of John the Baptist, Herod indeed now has his sights set on Jesus, who is even more popular. Jesus calls Herod a fox, which in the Old Testament represents a petty schemer (Neh. 4:3; Song of Songs 2:15).²² Jesus must not be captured or killed before He reaches Jerusalem, where He is appointed to die. He reveals His heart and compassion for the city and for His people despite their repeated rejection of Him. After He dies on the cross, is resurrected, and ascends, He will not be seen again until He is welcomed into Jerusalem at His Second Coming as the endtime Messiah (Acts 3:17–21).²³

JESUS HEALS AGAIN ON THE SABBATH; PARABLES OF THE WEDDING FEAST AND GREAT BANQUET (LUKE 14:1–24)

Again Jesus eats with leery Pharisees. After seeing that a man there has dropsy—excess fluid in the tissues, possibly due to liver or kidney problems²⁴—Jesus asks them if it’s lawful to heal on the Sabbath. When they don’t respond, Jesus heals the man and sends him away. In an argument echoing His remarks about their performance of circumcisions on the Sabbath (John 7:1–24), Jesus asks the Pharisees if they would extricate their son or ox if he fell into a well on the Sabbath. They have no answer, for if they say yes they’d seem like uncompassionate sticklers for the rules, but to admit they would pull him out would openly defy their traditions.

Here, as always, Jesus is in control. Whether it’s a question about healing on the Sabbath, stoning an adulterous woman, the disciples washing their hands before eating, or socializing with Samaritans, Jesus confounds the arrogant Pharisees and eludes their attempts to entrap Him.

Next, Jesus challenges their assigned seating order at the dinner table with a parable of a wedding feast. He notes that when invited to such an event you should always sit in the least prestigious spot to avoid being humiliated for picking a place reserved for someone more distinguished. If the host moves you to a higher seat, you will be honored before the guests instead of shamed. “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” This recalls His earlier teachings that the first will be last and the last, first (Matt. 13:30), and that the meek and poor in spirit shall be blessed (Matt. 5:3–11).

The key to the kingdom of God is saving faith in Jesus Christ. Pride and egotism are mighty obstructions to the humble spirit that accompanies one’s surrender, repentance, and faith in Christ to do what one cannot do for himself—earn his way into the kingdom. “For by grace you have been saved through faith,” writes the Apostle Paul. “And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not as a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Eph. 2:8). Consider Nebuchadnezzar, whose pride preceded his fall. The Babylonian king said, “Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?” (Daniel 4:30). Immediately, “He was driven from among men and ate grass like an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair grew as long as eagles’ feathers, and his nails were like birds’ claws” (Daniel 4:33).

Jesus tells his host he shouldn’t invite friends, brothers, relatives, or rich neighbors to a dinner party because they’ll reciprocate and nullify his good deed. Instead, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind, and he will be blessed because they cannot repay him—“for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.” In the kingdom, God is the host, and no one can repay Him for His grace.²⁵ We should be good to people because it’s the godly thing to do, not to receive something in return. This resembles His instruction that we shouldn’t make a public spectacle of prayer, and we shouldn’t boast of our good deeds or philanthropy because our real judge is not other men but God.

Jesus relates a parable about the kingdom of God, comparing it to a great banquet to which many are invited, but everyone makes excuses and declines. The master becomes angry and tells his servant to invite the poor, crippled, blind, and lame, which he does, and though they accept, he still doesn’t fill the house. The master dispatches the servant to invite more people, noting that none of the previous invitees would taste his banquet. Many of them apparently had legitimate excuses—they needed to work their field, examine their animals, or be with their spouse.²⁶ But God’s kingdom offer—His invitation for us to come to Him in faith—outranks every other priority because it has eternal consequences, and a time will come when the offer will expire (our physical death). We were created to be with Him. As Jesus notes, “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?” (Mark 8:36).

THE COST OF DISCIPLESHIP (LUKE 14:25–35)

As noted in our discussion of Luke 9:51–62, Jesus is adamant about the high cost of being His disciple. In that passage, He directs one man to follow Him immediately and won’t allow Him to first bury his father. Now, Jesus teaches the crowds about the immense sacrifices required to be His disciple. One must hate has own father, mother, wife, children, and even his own life. He must bear his own cross and follow Him. He must calculate the cost before making the decision to follow Him, just as a builder must estimate the cost of building a tower before he begins, lest he be unable to finish and discredit himself. “So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.”

The severe command to hate our loved ones seems inconsistent with Jesus’ teachings to love our neighbor and honor our parents. He does not mean this literally, however. Walter Kaiser explains that Jesus uses this language to emphasize that just as material things can interfere with our pursuit of the kingdom of God, so can family ties. A person might be so encumbered with family that he has no time for the kingdom. “The interests of God’s kingdom must be paramount with the followers of Jesus, and everything else must take second place to them,” writes Kaiser. What better way to make this point than to use such an extreme example showing how Jesus demands a radical reordering of our priorities.²⁷

Jesus says, “Salt is good, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is of no use either for the soil or for the manure pile. It is thrown away. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” Warren Wiersbe comments, “When a disciple loses his Christian character, he . . . will eventually be walked on by others and bring disgrace to Christ.”²⁸ John Carroll adds, “In the same way that salt, if it does not remain salty, is set aside, the disciple must persist in the radical commitment that has been undertaken in order to participate in the present-and-future dominion of God.”²⁹

PARABLES OF THE LOST SHEEP, THE LOST COIN, AND THE PRODIGAL SON (LUKE 15:1–32)

Jesus relates another story, though in a different context, about a man who loses one of his hundred sheep. Matthew related Jesus’ story about the joy of finding lost sheep to emphasize His love for children and that He doesn’t want to lose any of them (Matt. 18:12–14).³⁰ Luke uses the metaphor to illustrate God’s joy when a sinner repents and finds the kingdom. Jesus reinforces the message with the parable of a woman rejoicing when she finds her lost silver coin. “Just so, I tell you,” He says, “there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

Jesus next describes a man who divides his property equally between his two sons. The younger son leaves with his property and squanders it all. After suffering in poverty he returns to his father in repentance, determined to tell his father he’s no longer worthy to be called his son and should be treated as one of the hired servants. Seeing him coming from far away, the father runs to him and embraces and kisses him. He showers him with gifts and throws a feast for him, exclaiming, “For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.” The other son, who has played by the rules and conserved his inheritance, is devastated at witnessing his father lavishing attention on his undeserving brother. When he complains the father replies, “Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.”

This seems to turn justice on its head—it’s as counterintuitive as the notion that we should forsake our parents to follow Christ. But more than property is at stake. The father is determined to restore his family, and that necessitates reconciliation between the brothers.³¹ The larger lesson, however, is that God goes and seeks the lost—everyone—and offers His grace to all. Christ is a boundless font of forgiveness and will accept the worst sinner into His fold if He repents, as the younger son clearly does. “How intensely this father loves his son,” writes William Hendriksen. “The father cannot have been very young anymore; yet, he runs [to embrace his son upon his return.] In that part of the world it was generally not considered dignified for an elderly man to run; yet, he runs. Nothing can keep him from doing so. He throws his arms around his son’s neck. Passionately he embraces his son. Does not this very fact indicate that the father has already in his heart granted forgiveness to his son?”³²

The parable also implicitly criticizes the Pharisees, who are furious with Jesus’ inclusion of outsiders, outcasts, and sinners. But while they strictly obey all the rules, they don’t have a humble, contrite spirit and refuse Christ’s invitation to the kingdom, which the poor in spirit shall inherit.

Furthermore, this parable makes a strong statement about good works. Note that the older son, though admittedly having lived more righteously than his brother, is still a sinner. The point is, we can’t earn entry into the kingdom no matter how many good deeds we do. Admission to heaven, as noted in the previous chapter, isn’t based on a test that’s graded on a curve. In the end, we are all sinners and don’t deserve the kingdom any more than the worst sinners—none of us measures up, so we must simply be grateful for God’s grace. “There is no evil that the father’s love cannot pardon and cover,” explains Timothy Keller. “There is no sin that is a match for his grace.”³³ Similarly, John Piper observes, “The elder brother had the mindset of a slave. He worked for the father. He did not rest joyfully in the father’s beneficence. And as long as he insisted on treating the commandments of his father as a job description for slaves, he would be cut off from Christ and a stranger to grace. Christ is at the feast with the broken, forgiven sinners who have learned that their service is utterly inadequate. And he invites you and entreats you . . . to forsake the mindset of a slave and accept the gift of adoption.”³⁴ As John’s Gospel asserts, “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” (1:12).

THE PARABLES OF THE DISHONEST MANAGER AND THE RICH MAN AND LAZARUS; TEACHINGS ON FAITH AND SERVANTHOOD (LUKE 16:1–31; 17:5–10)

Jesus tells of a rich man who fires his financial manager for wasting his assets. While he still can, the manager cuts favorable deals for some of the rich man’s debtors, angling to win their favor for later when he’ll be unemployed. Oddly, the master praises the dishonest manager for his shrewdness. Jesus comments, “For the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light. And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings.”

Jesus uses this unorthodox story to teach a lesson. He isn’t praising dishonesty, but teaching that His disciples should use their material goods for spiritual benefit such as caring for the poor and for investing in eternal things.³⁵ We shouldn’t collect treasures on earth but treasures in heaven that can’t be destroyed (Matt. 6:19–21). Just because Christians are called to holiness doesn’t mean we have to be naïve, helpless, and negligent. Remember, we are to be as shrewd as serpents and as innocent as doves (Matt. 10:16).

That Jesus doesn’t endorse every aspect of the manager’s behavior is shown in the verses that follow (Luke 16:10–34), in which He stresses honesty and integrity: “One who is faithful [with] very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest [with] very little is also dishonest in much. . . . No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”

The Pharisees ridicule Jesus because they love money. Jesus in turn chastises them for exalting themselves before men, which is an abomination to God. He insists they don’t understand their own scriptures or they would know that the New Covenant has been inaugurated and the good news of the kingdom of God is being preached. This does not negate the Old Testament, which points to Christ and remains valid: “It is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one dot of the Law to become void,” He argues. While the Pharisees busy themselves opposing Jesus and missing the boat, others are entering into the kingdom.

Jesus tells the story of Lazarus, a poor man who lays outside a rich man’s gate hoping to eat the morsels that fall from the rich man’s table. Both the rich man and Lazarus die, with Lazarus going to heaven and the rich man to hell. The rich man begs Father Abraham to mercifully send Lazarus to cool his burning tongue. Abraham refuses, saying the rich man had his chance on earth but greedily consumed himself with his riches, ignoring the plight of others. A great chasm separates heaven and hell, and none may cross it. The rich man begs Abraham to send Lazarus to his five brothers to warn them to avoid the torment of hell. The next verse is sobering: Abraham says that would be fruitless because they already have the scriptures—if they don’t believe them, they won’t believe a resurrected Lazarus when he warns them.

Notice how this comes together. Jesus affirms the Old Testament scriptures for a reason: they are the inspired, unbreakable Word of God, and we can rely on their promise of a coming Messiah. If people don’t come to believe in Jesus, it’s not because God hasn’t provided us sufficient revelation in Scripture and in general revelation. Something else—pride, sin, or hard-heartedness—may be obstructing their path.

The apostles ask Jesus to enhance their faith, and He again invokes the analogy of a mustard seed, saying if a person had the faith of just one grain of that seed, he could command a mulberry tree to be uprooted and planted in the sea, and it would obey. He probably doesn’t means this literally, but rather that even a small amount of genuine faith can yield powerful results.³⁶

Next, Jesus asks the apostles whether they would reward a servant coming in from a day’s work or order him to prepare dinner for them, noting that you don’t thank the servant merely for doing his job. Again, Jesus does not intend every aspect of this story to be accepted literally. He doesn’t want us to be ungracious to those working for us. Rather, His message is spiritual: we are unworthy of the kingdom and will only be permitted to enter if we put our trust in Him. It’s based solely on His unmerited grace.

THE DEATH OF LAZARUS (JOHN 11:1–45)

In the village of Bethany, two miles east of Jerusalem,³⁷ a man named Lazarus is ill. He’s the brother of Mary, who had anointed Jesus with oil and wiped his feet with her hair. Mary and her sister Martha send word to Jesus that “he whom you love is ill.” Jesus assures them the illness will not end in death but is for God’s glory so that the Son may be glorified through it. Jesus waits two days before going to Bethany to see Lazarus, who has now died. His disciples warn Him not to go because the Jews there are seeking to stone Him. Jesus assures them He will not be taken until His appointed time, and until then He (and they) must energetically advance the Gospel message. Jesus says He’s glad for their sake that Lazarus has died, “so that you may believe.” It’s remarkable that after all this time He’s still concerned about His disciples’ faith.

When they arrive in Bethany, they find that Lazarus has been entombed for four days. Martha goes out to meet Jesus while Mary remains at home. Martha tells Jesus that her brother wouldn’t have died had He been there, but she knows if He asks God to raise him, God will do so. Jesus insists Lazarus will rise again. Misunderstanding Jesus, Martha says, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” Jesus proclaims that He is the resurrection and the life, and that whoever believes in Him will never die. He asks her if she believes that, and she replies, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.”

Martha informs Mary that Jesus is calling for her, and Mary quickly goes to Him. The Jews with Mary follow her, thinking she’s going to her brother’s tomb to mourn. When Mary sees Jesus, she falls at His feet and tells Him that if He’d been there, Lazarus wouldn’t have died. When Jesus sees her and the Jews weeping, He is “deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled.” He asks where they have placed Lazarus, and they tell Him to come see.

John reports that “Jesus wept,” which is one of the shortest and most profound passages in the New Testament. It illuminates Jesus’ humanity, His compassion, and the pain and suffering He endures because of His unbounded love for us. In a sermon, Charles Spurgeon observes, “Jesus wept. . . . He was deeply affected, and his tears were the fit expression of his intense emotion. Love made him weep: nothing else ever compelled him to tears. I do not find that all the pains he endured, even when scourged or when fastened to the cruel tree, fetched a single tear from him; but for love’s sake ‘Jesus wept.’”³⁸ In a separate sermon Spurgeon continues the theme, saying, “You will never forget how ‘Jesus wept.’ You all know how he suffered, and how at last he died. Treasure up in your mind and heart the assured fact that Christ was most really and truly man; and though the godhead was most mysteriously united to his manhood, yet he was none the less completely and intensely man. Because he was perfectly and supremely God, his godhead did not take away from him his power to suffer and to be wearied.”³⁹

Some Jews wonder whether Jesus, Who had healed the blind man, could have kept Lazarus from dying. Deeply anguished again, Jesus comes to the tomb, which is inside a cave. He orders them to remove the stone covering the tomb. When they remove it, Jesus lifts up His eyes and says, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.” He cries out, “Lazarus, come out,” and Lazarus emerges with his hands and feet bound with linen strips and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus commands them to unbind him. Many of the Jews who came with Mary now believe in Him, but some of them go to the Pharisees and report what Jesus did.

After Jesus wept the Jews proclaim, “See how he loved him!” Pastor Timothy Keller points to this verse as the heart of the message. The Jews are wrong to use the past tense. “The teaching of this passage,” says Keller, “is that Jesus’ love is never in the past tense. It means if he has set his love on you, his love is always present. It’s never in the past tense. It’s an eternal love. . . . Think of that. It never lets you go. Jesus’ love is the richest, most powerful, most manifold, wealthy thing you can talk about.”⁴⁰ Jesus’ sorrow should be understood in the context of this resurrection story. Jesus’ resurrection of Lazarus is a sign of His own coming resurrection as the culminating event of all salvation history. But it’s also symbolic of His everlasting love for us, a love that doesn’t end at our physical death.

THE PLOT TO KILL JESUS (JOHN 11:46–54)

When the Jews report Jesus’ resurrection of Lazarus to the Pharisees, they join the chief priests in convening the Sanhedrin. They debate what to do, concerned that if He continues to perform signs everyone will believe in Him and the Romans will take away their Temple and their nation. Caiaphas, the high priest, tells them they know nothing. It’s better, he says, that one man should die for the people than that the whole nation perish. Caiaphas, unwittingly, has uttered a divine prophecy—that Jesus would die for the nation so it would not perish.⁴¹ From that point, they plot to kill Jesus. Consequently, Jesus no longer walks openly among the Jews but goes to stay with His disciples in Ephraim. “Caiaphas could hardly realize the full meaning of his own words (John 18:14),” writes Charles Ryrie. “He was simply expressing the thought of a political collaborator with Rome; and yet those words express the central doctrine of the Christian faith—the substitutionary atonement of Christ.”⁴²

CLEANSING OF TEN LEPERS (LUKE 17:11–19)

While passing between Samaria and Galilee, Jesus enters a village and encounters ten lepers who say, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” He tells them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” Jesus means that each of the lepers should go to their respective villages and present themselves for inspection. If they are clean, they may re-enter society.⁴³ As they go they are cleansed and one of them, a Samaritan, turns back and loudly praises God, falling at Jesus’ feet and thanking Him. Jesus asks why he, the “foreigner,” was the only one of the ten who praised God. Jesus tells him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.”

This is more than another testimony to Jesus’ healing power. It also involves Jesus’ concern with the response of those He cures. “Jesus’ mercy is offered to all men, but they must acknowledge what God has done through him; to faith must be added thanksgiving,” writes I. Howard Marshall. “Moreover, this may be missing from the attitude of Jews, who might be expected to appreciate the obligation more than Samaritans. The person who makes such acknowledgement experiences a salvation which goes beyond merely the physical cure.”⁴⁴

THE COMING OF THE KINGDOM (LUKE 17:20–21)

The Pharisees, for once apparently not trying to trick Jesus, ask Him when the kingdom of God will come. He replies, “The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.” The Pharisees don’t understand that Jesus has already inaugurated His ministry, recently demonstrated by His healing of the ten lepers. Again, the kingdom of God has both a present and future dimension—it has already arrived, but has not yet come in all its fullness. It begins with His life, death, and resurrection, and will be completed on His coming when He will totally defeat evil. Douglas Moo explains that Jesus is saying, “Don’t be looking up to the sky for spectacular signs and wonders. I’m standing right in front of you—the one who in my own person embodies the kingdom of God. I’m right here in your midst. . . . [The kingdom has already been inaugurated and is] present, [though it] has not yet come to its climax.”⁴⁵

JESUS TEACHES HIS DISCIPLES ABOUT THE COMING OF THE KINGDOM (LUKE 17:22–37)

Jesus says the days are coming when the disciples will want to see the return of the Son of Man, but they won’t see it. People will claim those days have come, but the disciples shouldn’t listen to them—they will know themselves when He has come, for He will be as noticeable as lightning illuminating the entire sky. But first, He must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.

The Son of Man’s coming will be at an unexpected time, just like the flood in Noah’s days and like the fire and sulfur that rained from heaven on Sodom and Gomorrah. When that day comes people should not turn back, as Lot’s wife did (and became a pillar of salt) (Gen. 19:26). “Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will keep it,” Jesus declares. “I tell you, that in that night there will be two in one bed. One will be taken and the other left. There will be two women grinding together. One will be taken and the other left.” The disciples ask Jesus, “Where, Lord?” and He replies, “Where the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.”

The kingdom has already arrived, but it will come in a different sense in the future with Christ’s Second Coming. He will be absent for a while—there will be a time between His ascension and His return (the Church Age) when they will long for His arrival. But they shouldn’t listen to people who say He’s already here because His coming will be so dramatic they won’t need anyone to confirm it.⁴⁶ If someone says He has come and they aren’t aware of it, they’ll be pointing to a false prophet.

We mustn’t concern ourselves with the specific time Jesus will come, but should get our houses in order beforehand because once He arrives it will be too late. We will either already believe in Him then or we won’t. If we are believers, we will recognize Him. John assures us, “Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2; cf. 1 Cor. 15:52–54; Phil. 3:21). Not only will His arrival be unexpected, but He will be coming in judgment, just as God came in judgment in Noah’s day and also in Lot’s.

TWO PARABLES ON PRAYER (LUKE 18:1–14)

Jesus relates a parable about a widow’s repeated attempts to seek justice from an unjust judge who finally relents due to her persistence. How much more will God give justice to His elect who cry to Him day and night! “I tell you,” says Jesus, “he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” Jesus is encouraging His disciples (and everyone else) to keep the faith and persist in prayer until He comes.

Jesus next compares the respective attitudes of a Pharisee and a tax collector toward prayer. In his prayer, the Pharisee thanks God that he’s more righteous than others, including the tax collector. The tax collector is too humble even to look up to heaven, but says, “God, be merciful to a sinner.” Jesus says, “I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

I marvel at the Bible’s thematic consistency. Just as Jesus says the meek and humble will be blessed, that we should not do our “good deeds” conspicuously to win man’s approval instead of God’s, that we must have the innocence of children, and that we should eschew pride, we must also acknowledge our sinfulness, repent, and come to Him in faith. Righteousness is not a matter of following rules but of the heart. It comes from faith in Him. How affirming for Jesus to explain that it’s not our sinfulness that will obstruct our relationship with Him and sabotage our prayers but our pride and conceit. We must not be self-exalted, especially in our prayers—and we should pray that we remain humble.⁴⁷

JESUS ON DIVORCE (MATT. 19:1–12; MARK 10:1–12)

Having decided to kill Jesus (John 11:53) and order His arrest (John 11:57), the Pharisees are even more determined to trap Him in legal questions. Some ask Him whether it’s legal for a man to divorce His wife. He replies with a question: “What did Moses command you?” Moses, they reply, allowed a man to divorce his wife. Jesus says Moses permitted it because the Jews’ hearts had become hardened. Quoting Genesis 2:24, Jesus explains that since the beginning of time, God has made people male and female, and that they would leave their father and mother and become one flesh. “What therefore God has joined,” Jesus declares, “let not man separate.” So while God established marriage as permanent, He made allowances for divorce because man’s heart became hard.

Later the disciples ask Him again, and He says, “Whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery.” (Mark’s Gospel, however, doesn’t include this exception for sexual immorality.) The disciples ask Him whether it would just be better not to marry, which indicates they fully understand the seriousness Jesus is attaching to divorce.⁴⁸ While some interpret Jesus’ response as recommending celibacy, that would contradict His strong endorsement of marriage as a God-given institution in the preceding verses.⁴⁹ Remember that God instituted marriage for mankind, proclaiming, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him” (Gen. 2:18).

JESUS BLESSES CHILDREN (MATT. 19:13–15; MARK 10:13–16; LUKE 18:15–17)

When people bring children to Jesus to lay His hands on them and pray, the disciples rebuke them. Jesus responds, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” And He lays His hands on them, and they go away. Jesus is expressing His love for children, praising their innocence, and instructing that all people cultivate such childlike innocence, humility, and trust to inherit the kingdom of God. Thomas Hale explains that when a child receives something, “He holds out his hands. He asks. A little child is helpless. He cannot earn anything. He cannot pay money for what he wants. He cannot say, ‘I have worked hard; I deserve to receive a reward.’ The child just trusts that what he needs will be given to him. Whatever he asks for he asks in faith. . . . This is how we must enter the kingdom of God. We do not deserve to enter. . . . We must receive the kingdom of God by faith like a little child. There is no other way.”⁵⁰

JESUS TEACHES ON RICHES (MATT. 19:16–20:16; MARK 10:17–31; LUKE 18:18–30)

A rich man asks Jesus, Whom he calls “Good Teacher,” what good deed he must do to have eternal life. Jesus says there is only one who is good—God—and that to enter life the man must keep the commandments. The man says he has done so and asks what he still lacks. Jesus instructs him to sell his possessions and give them to the poor so he will have treasure in heaven, telling him, “Come, follow me.” The man leaves heartbroken because he’s unwilling to part with his possessions. This is another lesson in the high cost of discipleship.

Surely Jesus isn’t endorsing salvation by works in telling this man he must follow the commandments. In saying, “There is only one who is good,” He means that no man can live up to the commandments, yet he must to attain eternal life. But if he appropriates the finished work of Christ by placing his saving faith in Him, God will declare him justified on the basis of his trust in Christ (Romans 4:5)—Christ’s righteousness, as we earlier observed, will be imputed to him, and it will be as though he did honor all the commandments. Christ’s message is consistent, as He demands the same exacting standards in the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5:48).

Continuing His talk with the rich man, Jesus avers, “Truly I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. . . . It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” Hearing these words, His astonished disciples ask, “Who then can be saved?” Jesus responds, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

It is impossible for a rich man, or any other man, to get to heaven on his own. But with God all things are possible—so we lean on God through faith in Jesus Christ, and heaven opens up to us through God’s grace. I’m not dismissing Jesus’ reference to rich people, for I think He uses them as an example of a group who is particularly vulnerable to idolatry. If you lust after money or obsess over worldly possessions, you will not have your heart on God, “for the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils” (1 Tim. 6:10).

Peter notes that the disciples have given up everything and asks what they will have. Jesus says that in the “new world,” He will sit on His throne and the disciples will sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left his family or possessions for Jesus’ sake will inherit eternal life. “But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”

Jesus compares the kingdom of heaven to laborers in the vineyard. The vineyard owner hires laborers who go out early in the morning, and the owner agrees to pay them one denarius a day. Throughout the day he hires additional workers who begin working at different times, but all end work at the same time in the evening and all are paid the same amount. When the laborers who work the longest complain that the arrangement is unfair, the owner argues he’s doing nothing wrong because he’s honoring his agreement to pay them one denarius. The owner asks, “Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?” Jesus says, “So the last will be first, and the first last.”

As the story of the prodigal son shows, we mustn’t worry about the other person, but we should get our own houses in order. The foreman doesn’t breach his contract with the laborers but pays them exactly what he promised. If God wants to extend us grace, it’s His prerogative to do so, and we have no standing to complain. We shouldn’t covet or be jealous.⁵¹ God is in sovereign control of rewards.⁵² No one can earn his way to eternal life. No one is worthy on the basis of merit, but only through the substitutionary blood of Jesus Christ. So of course terrible sinners will be admitted into heaven along with those who haven’t sinned as much—provided they trust in Christ for their salvation.

When you really think about it, begrudging the other guy’s salvation implies that we think we’re somehow worthy without God’s grace. From a human perspective we may be less unworthy, but we’re still fallen creatures who fall far short and who cannot earn our salvation.

JESUS AGAIN FORETELLS HIS DEATH (MATT. 20:17–19; MARK 10:32–34; LUKE 18:31–34)

As Jesus heads toward Jerusalem with His twelve disciples He says, “The Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles. And they will mock him and spit on him, and flog him and kill him. And after three days he will rise.” Jesus is specific about the phases of suffering He will endure: He will be betrayed, sentenced to death by the Sanhedrin, handed over to the Roman authorities, mocked, spit on, flogged, killed, and resurrected.⁵³ The disciples are amazed and afraid.

REQUEST OF JAMES AND JOHN (AND THEIR MOTHER) (MATT. 20:20–28; MARK 10:35–45)

Matthew’s Gospel relates that the mother of James and John requests that Jesus allow her sons to sit at His right hand and His left hand respectively in His kingdom. (Mark relates that James and John themselves make the request.) Jesus replies, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with which I am baptized?” They say they are. He says they will drink His cup and be baptized with His baptism. He doesn’t have the authority to grant their wishes on seating, however, for the Father will assign such places of honor. Overhearing the discussion, the other ten disciples are indignant at James and John. Jesus reminds them that the rulers of the Gentiles lord their authority over their subjects, but that won’t be the case among the disciples. “Whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

It’s unclear whether Jesus’ prediction of His suffering, death, and resurrection fully registers with the disciples. They still may think He’s going to establish an earthly kingdom now.⁵⁴ Recently, the disciples had argued among themselves as to who among them would be the greatest in the kingdom. Now James and John try to secure the cushiest spots at the table for themselves, but Jesus declines. James and John (as well as the other ten disciples, who are jealous of them) are showing no comprehension of Jesus’ message of humility and servanthood. He doesn’t scold them, but asks them whether they will drink from His cup and be baptized as He will be baptized. Will they stand by Him and suffer as a result?

Though they cannot possibly understand what they are agreeing to, Jesus doesn’t correct them, but affirms they will suffer—a prediction that is fulfilled with James’ martyrdom (Acts 12:2) and John’s suffering, persecution, banishment, and loneliness in his old age.⁵⁵ Jesus is saying that service, not authority or status, will characterize His kingdom. After all, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is serving human beings and will make the ultimate sacrifice for them on the cross.

JESUS HEALS BARTIMAEUS (MATT. 20:29–34; MARK 10:46:52; LUKE 18:35–43)

Close to Jericho, Jesus walks past a blind man begging on the roadside. When the man hears the crowd he asks what’s happening, and people tell him Jesus is passing by. He cries out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” People tell him to be quiet but he cries out all the more. Jesus stops and has the man brought to Him, asking, “What do you want me to do for you?” The man asks Him to return his sight. Jesus says, “Recover your sight; your faith has made you well.” Immediately he can see, and he glorifies God and follows Jesus.

Faith again leads to healing and salvation, as the man “follows” Jesus and acknowledges Him as the Messiah—the Son of David—when he asks to be healed. Though initially rebuked by the people, he persists, showing his faith is real. Upon being healed, he gives God the glory. In Matthew’s account there are two blind beggars but only one in Mark’s and Luke’s. Regardless of whether these were two different events, the messages are identical. Warren Wiersbe summarizes the lesson with a contrast between the beggars and the rich young ruler. “The beggars were poor,” writes Wiersbe, “yet they became rich, while the young man was rich and became eternally poor. The beggars claimed no special merit and openly admitted their need, while the young man lied about himself and bragged about his character. The young man would not believe, so he went away from Jesus despondent; but the two beggars believed in Jesus and followed Him with songs of praise. ‘He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich He hath sent empty away’ (Luke 1:53).”⁵⁶

JESUS AND ZACCHAEUS (LUKE 19:1–10)

As Jesus enters Jericho, a rich chief tax collector named Zacchaeus is seeking to see Him. The man is too small to see over the crowd, so he climbs a sycamore tree. Jesus notices him and says, “Hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” The people grumble that Jesus has gone into the house of a sinner. Zacchaeus tells Jesus, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” Jesus tells him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

Tax collectors are hated and widely regarded as corrupt. Jesus doubtlessly chooses this man to show that His grace is available to the worst of sinners provided they are repentant, which Zacchaeus obviously is. Notice that Jesus already knows his name and says, “I must stay at your house today,” which suggests a divine priority to extend His grace to Zacchaeus. After all, as Jesus attests, “The Son of Man came to seek and save the lost” (Luke 19:10).⁵⁷

This statement summarizes Jesus’ entire mission and is probably the key verse in Luke’s Gospel.⁵⁸ Peter comments, “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). “None are too sinful, too base, too vile, or too far gone for Christ to save,” writes Donald Fortner. “His arm is not shortened that he cannot save. Oh, no! His mighty arm is omnipotent in the operations of his grace! None are beyond the reach of omnipotent mercy! . . . Here is a notorious publican, one of the most well known of the despised tax-collectors dwelling near Jericho, transformed into a child of God. . . . Here is a covetous man transformed instantaneously into a self-sacrificing philanthropist!”⁵⁹ Indeed, let us not overlook the extent of his wickedness when Jesus meets him or the radical transformation in his character after Jesus completes His work in him.

THE PARABLE OF THE TEN MINAS (LUKE 19:11–28)

Jesus tells of a nobleman who is about to travel to a far country to be crowned king. He calls ten of his servants and, giving them each ten minas (a mina is equal to one hundred denari, about one hundred times a typical day’s wage),⁶⁰ says to them, “Engage in business until I come.” But the people hate him and send a delegation after him to say they don’t want him to reign over them. When he returns, he orders the servants to report how they have fared with the minas. The first says he made ten minas more. The nobleman says, “Well done, good servant! Because you have been faithful in very little, you shall have authority over ten cities.” The second one made five minas, and the nobleman says to him, “And you are to be over five cities.”

Another servant returns his mina, saying he’d kept it in a handkerchief because he was afraid of the nobleman. The nobleman tells him, “I will condemn you with your own words, you wicked servant! You knew that I was a severe man, taking what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow? Why then did you not put my money in the bank, and at my coming I might have collected it with interest?” He orders those standing by to take the mina from him and give it to the servant with ten minas. They say, “Lord, he has ten minas!” The nobleman replies, “I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. But as for these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slaughter them before me.”

Jesus probably presents this parable because the people think He’s going to reinstitute His kingdom immediately. But the parable shows the kingdom will not reach its fullness until His return.⁶¹ The various elements in the story suggest it’s pointing to Jesus, Who will be reviled and rejected by His people, intensely opposed when His kingship is announced, and called away for a time (after He dies, is resurrected, and ascended). He will later return in power and glory, and demand an accounting from those to whom He has entrusted responsibility and resources.⁶²

If those elements point to Jesus, the rest of the story points to Christians, all of whom are accountable for their lives, with some acquitting themselves as good stewards and the others as poor ones. The poor steward, having been disobedient and inattentive to the nobleman’s directions, suffers the consequences. Just as we don’t know when we will be called home or when Christ will return, we have to believe in Him and fulfill the responsibilities attendant to Christian living.

Matthew relates a similar parable that differs in certain details but conveys the same message. Matthew’s version has three servants, not ten, and they receive talents rather than minas. In Matthew the worthless servant is cast into the outer darkness and in Luke the enemies are slain before the king.

TALK OF ARRESTING JESUS AS PASSOVER APPROACHES (JOHN 11:55–57)

As the Passover is at hand, many Jews have come to Jerusalem before the feast to purify themselves. Looking for Jesus, they are wondering if He will come to the feast, and the chief priests and Pharisees order people to inform them if Jesus appears so they can arrest Him.

ANOINTING OF JESUS AT BETHANY (MATT. 26:6–13; MARK 14:3–9; JOHN 12:1–8)

Jesus is sitting at the table at Simon the leper’s house when Mary, sister of Martha and Lazarus,⁶³ approaches Him with an alabaster flask of expensive ointment and pours it on His head. (John’s Gospel says she anoints His feet and wipes His feet with her hair.) The disciples, including Judas Iscariot, are appalled that she has “wasted” ointment that could have been sold for a large sum and given to the poor. Jesus asks, “Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a beautiful thing to me. For you always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me. In pouring this ointment on my body, she has done it to prepare me for burial. Truly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.”⁶⁴ Judas, the disciples’ treasurer, is pretending to be altruistic to mask his greed.

It might appear that Jesus is downplaying any concern for the poor, but that’s absurd in light of His ministry. Instead, He’s using this event to highlight urgent priorities. We will always have the poor, and we should always show them love and mercy and be charitable. But Jesus’ time on earth is coming to an end, and He is drawing their attention to His impending death and the precious time left for the disciples (and others) to spend with Him. “The gift of the woman was a tremendous memorial, wonderfully preservable in the light of the forthcoming death of Jesus,” Gerald Borchert writes. “It was an anointing fit for a king who came to save the world.”⁶⁵ Though some might view Mary’s act as wasteful, she’s demonstrating her love and commitment to Him. Jesus, for good reason, emphasizes her act of sacrifice motivated by her deep love.