JOHN 12:1-11

 

John 12:1-11

There are many ways in which one can divide up the Gospel of John, but let us just look at one particular passage in the first eleven verses of John 12, all taking place on the sixth day before the Passover. This was soon after the raising of Lazarus when that event was still fresh in the mind of those in the vicinity.

And as we reach here the half-way point in this book, we are overwhelmed with the many foreshadowings of Jesus' coming death and resurrection. See, for example, the dual reference to Lazarus' rising from the dead, specific mention of Judas' coming betrayal, description of Judas' greed which is part of the motive for his betrayal, Jesus' foretelling of his death in both verses 7 and 8, and the plan of the chief priests to kill Jesus. All of this is intended to prepare us for the second half of John's Gospel, which is devoted to the Savior's coming death.

Let's first take this narrative in a strictly chronological manner:

The Setting: John 12:1-2

Hendricks notes that Jesus chose to return to the vicinity of Jerusalem, specifically Bethany, in spite of the plot against his life mentioned in the previous chapter (see verses 53 and 57).

Metzger explains the controversy among scholars as to whether the phrase “who had died” to describe Lazarus in v. 1 was in the original. Early manuscripts are divided on this point, and that is reflected in the modern translations, most of whom delete these words as being redundant in light of the subsequent words stating that he was risen from the dead.

Mary's Action: John 12:3

Mary's anointing Jesus' feet with nard is described in this verse. Raymond Brown says, “This action is closely paralleled in Mark 14:3-9; Matt 26:6-16, where at Bethany two days before Passover an unnamed woman pours ointment on Jesus' head...Luke 7:36-50, another parallel, is a penitential scene set in Galilee where a sinful woman weeps over and anoints Jesus' feet. As with Mark/Matt, it is set in the house of Simon. In no Gospel account is Mary Magdalene the agent, despite artistic imagination.”

Ellis adds, “It has even been suggested that Simon was the father of Martha, Mary and Lazarus.”

Guthrie: “There are many similarities between John's and Luke's narratives, but it is unlikely that the two women concerned should be identified.”

As for the ointment used in the anointing, Blum states, “The pure nard was a fragrant oil prepared from the roots and stems of an aromatic herb from northern India. It was an expensive perfume, imported in sealed alabaster boxes or flasks which were only opened on special occasions.” And many commentators give the information that the worth of the nard in this case amounted to almost a year's wages for a laborer.

Judas' Response: John 12:4-6

Culpepper concentrates on the various literary devices John utilized in his Gospel, especially his use of irony. Thus, he says regarding this passage, “Judas protests the waste of precious ointment at the proleptic anointment of Jesus for his burial, yet Judas bears a heavy share of responsibility for that burial. His pretense is concern for the poor, but he was pilfering from the common purse (12:4-6). Then by an irony of events, the other disciples think Judas has gone out to 'give something to the poor' when he slips off into the night to betray Jesus (13:29). From another vantage point one can see that he gave more to the poor than they realized.”

Jesus' Reply: John 12:7-8

There are various ways of understanding the Greek wording in v. 7. For example:

    “The purpose was that she might keep it for the day of my embalming” (AB)

    “Let her keep it till the day when she prepared for my burial.” (NEB)

    “Against the day of my burying hath she kept this.” (KJV)

    “She's anticipating and honoring the day of my burial.” (The Message)

    “She did it in preparation for my burial.” (Living Bible)

Thus, the implication may have been that she (a) was doing it, knowingly or unknowingly, in anticipation of his approaching death, (b) she made a big mistake since she should have saved it until his actual death, or (c) she is being warned to save what still remained for his embalming.

Guthrie says in support of (a), “In light of Mk. 14:8, it is better to understand the meaning as...Mary's present act was in fact anticipatory of His burial.” And “Torrey makes the words a question: 'should she keep it for the day of my burial?'” (Morris)

Verse 8 has caused even more concern. That is mainly due to the fact that when Jesus states, “You always have the poor among you,” He almost sounds as if he is being more hardhearted than Judas in regard to His attitude toward those disadvantaged people (cf. verse 6). Scholars have tried to explain Jesus' words in various ways:

D.G. Miller simply states, “Such spontaneous love [as Mary demonstrated] will not neglect the poor.”

“The response to Judas's objection by Jesus in 12:8...probably involves an allusion to Deut. 15:11: 'There will always be poor in the land.' Jesus' point is that under normal circumstances concern for the poor has its place, but these are not normal circumstances.” (Kostenberger)

Hoppe: “Too often, texts such as Deut. 15:11...have been read as evidence that poverty is part of the natural order of things. But when these texts are read against the wider backdrop of the entire biblical tradition, it becomes clear that not poverty but mutual concern and support are to be the normal pattern of the community's life.”

“In short, the Scriptures are clear in that love of neighbor is among God's top priorities for humankind, but they offer no explicit policy prescriptions for modern nation-states.” (Blanchard)

Action of the Populace: John 12:9

The “great crowd” of the Jews comes to see both Jesus and Lazarus. “Lightfoot thinks that the unusual expression [in quotes] may be meant to recall the crowd of 6:2,5..., for that crowd had followed Jesus in Galilee and sought to make Him king.” (Morris)

And Borchert explains that unlike the meaning of the term 'Jews' elsewhere in the New Testament to imply Christ's enemies, that is not the case here.

Response of the Chief Priests: John 12:10-11

Verse 10 “is an important reminder than an evil thought or deed does not usually remain an isolated event, and those involved in such evil matters are generally forced further into evil in order to 'clean up the loose ends.'” (Borchert)

Morris expresses the same thought in different words: “It is interesting to reflect that Caiaphas had said, 'It is expedient for you that one man should die for the people' (11:50). But one was not enough. Now it had to be two. Thus does evil grow.”

Concerning the word “depart,” Morris states, “The verb is common in John. It may be used here with something of the meaning 'depart from one's allegiance' (i.e. to the chief priests).”

And Borchert adds, “The combination of the words 'departing' and 'believing' could well have also been viewed by the evangelist as a proleptic portrayal of what would happen in the conflict between the early Christians and the synagogue. The preaching and ministry of the early believers led to the departure (exclusion) of Jewish believers/converts from their cradle of Judaism into the fold of the Christian church.”

An Alternative Organization

However, if one wishes to take a more literary approach to divisions within this short unit, the following is another way to look at the verses. Notice the totally symmetrical arrangement.

Figure 1: The Organization of John 12:1-11

A. Jesus “came” to a dinner at the home of Lazarus “whom he had raised from the dead” (vv. 1-2a)

     B. Lazarus was at the table and Martha served (v. 2b)

          C. Mary anoints Jesus' feet with pure nard (v. 3)

              D. Judas complains the money should have gone to the poor (vv. 4-5)

                  E. Judas' real motive (v. 6)

        C'. The nard was meant for Jesus' burial (v. 7)

            D'. “You always have the poor with you” (v. 8)

A'. Crowd “came” to see Jesus and “Lazarus whom he had raised from the dead” (v. 9)

    B'. Chief priests decide to kill Lazarus as well as Jesus (vv. 10-11)

Some verbal parallels are shown in Figure 1 in quotation marks. In addition, we should note that Lazarus is only mentioned four times in the passage, at sections A, B, A', and B'.