CHRIST MEMORIALIZES LAZARUS' SISTER


Throughout Christ's 3 1/2 years of ministry, the chief priests, scribes, Pharisees and officers were highly offended by His vocal condemnation of their corrupt religious authority, and by His claims to be the Son of God. So they sought to catch Him at His words, to lay hands on Him to take Him captive, to silence Him from preaching and to falsely accuse Him of some religious blasphemy or heresy. But for a time they were not able to do so. We read, for example, in the following passages:

And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his parables, they perceived that he spoke of them. But when they sought to lay hands on him, they feared the multitude, because they took him for a prophet. (Matthew 21:45-46)

And the chief priests and the scribes the same hour sought to lay hands on him; and they feared the people: for they perceived that he had spoken this parable against them. And they watched [him], and sent forth spies, which should feign themselves just men, that they might take hold of his words, that so they might deliver him unto the power and authority of the governor....And they could not take hold of his words before the people: and they marvelled at his answer, and held their peace. (Luke 20:19-20, 26)

So there was a division among the people because of him. And some of them would have taken him; but no man laid hands on him. Then came the officers to the chief priests and Pharisees; and they said unto them, Why have ye not brought him? The officers answered, Never man spoke like this man. John 7:43-46

Christ's wisdom and understanding of Scripture was so astounding and limitless that they simply were not able to find fault with His words. Rather, time and again they were left in stunned silence. This should have awakened them to the fact that Christ was indeed who He claimed to be, the Christ, the very Son of God. But they really only cared about their privilege and positions of authority in society and polity and were thus furious against Him and envious of His influence.

Of course, we know that Christ had to be crucified eventually. He came to be the atonement for the sins of His people through His death and resurrection on the cross, this was God's will. So they did not just give up. It's just that it could not occur until God's decreed time.

We might rightly conclude that Christ's preaching instigated the religious authorities to crucify Him. However, there were 2 main events that solidified their determination against Him and moved them to take action. The first was the raising of Lazarus from the dead. This was such a notable event that none could dispute that the power of God was evident through Christ's resurrection of Lazarus. It caused such a stir that the religious authories were all the more resolute to bring Him down. Immediately after Christ raised Lazarus from the tomb, we read:

Then many of the Jews which came to Mary...

That is, the Jews who had come to console Mary, Lazarus' sister, upon his death...

...and had seen the things which Jesus did, believed on him. But some of them went their ways to the Pharisees, and told them what things Jesus had done. Then gathered the chief priests and the Pharisees a council, and said, What do we [do]? For this man does many miracles. If we let him thus alone, all [men] will believe on him: and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation....Then from that day forth they took counsel together to put him to death....Now both the chief priests and the Pharisees had given a commandment, that, if any man knew where he were, he should show [it], that they might take him. (John 11:45-48, 53, 57)

So the die was cast, they were firmly set on taking Jesus and putting him to death. That would, in their view, silence Him forever and allow them to continue their charade in peace. Notice how they raged at the fact many people believed on Christ through this notable miracle which they could not deny. This is seen again in the next chapter, John 12:

Then Jesus six days before the passover came to Bethany, where Lazarus was which had been dead, whom he raised from the dead. There they made him a supper; and Martha served: but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with him....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. (John 12:1-2, 9)

In fact, they were so infuriated by this that they even plotted to put Lazarus back to death, who had just been raised by Christ:

But the chief priests consulted that they might put Lazarus also to death; Because that by reason of him many of the Jews went away, and believed on Jesus. (John 12:10-11)

And then a few more verses down:

The people therefore that was with him when he called Lazarus out of his grave, and raised him from the dead, bore record. For this cause the people also met him, for that they heard that he had done this miracle. The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, Perceive ye how ye prevail nothing? behold, the world is gone after him. (John 12:17-19)

They just could not stand it. Were they ever angered by this. So as Christ ate supper with Lazarus, and with many believing on Him, the chief priests plotted to just kill both of them off to prevent even more people from believing on Jesus. But this wasn't all.

We read of another interesting event that occurred at this same supper where Jesus was eating with Lazarus, along with Lazarus' two sisters, Martha and Mary:

Then Jesus six days before the passover came to Bethany, where Lazarus was which had been dead, whom he raised from the dead. There they made him a supper; and Martha served: but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with him. 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 odour of the ointment. Then saith one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's [son], which should betray him, Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor? This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and stole what was put therein. Then said Jesus, Let her alone: against the day of my burying hath she kept this. For the poor always ye have with you; but me ye have not always. (John 12:1-8)

Mary, the sister of Lazarus, took some very costly ointment of spikenard and anointed Christ's feet with it. We know Mary was Lazarus' sister from John 11:1-3, where Mary and Martha had called Jesus to tell Him Lazarus was sick -- prior to when Lazarus died and was resurrected by Christ:

Now a certain [man] was sick, [named] Lazarus, of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. (It was [that] Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.) Therefore his sisters sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick. (John 11:1-3)

So now, at this supper after Christ had raised Lazarus, Mary poured this expensive ointment on Him. But Judas, who would soon betray Christ to the chief priests to be crucified, was incensed against this action under the guise that the ointment could have been sold for a lot of money, which could then have been given to the poor. But it was all virtual signaling. He didn't really care for the poor, he was the treasurer of the group and wanted to embezzle the money.

A parallel passage to this is seen in Matthew 26:

Then assembled together the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders of the people, unto the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas, And consulted that they might take Jesus by subtilty, and kill [him]. But they said, Not on the feast [day], lest there be an uproar among the people. Now when Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper, There came unto him a woman having an alabaster box of very precious ointment, and poured it on his head, as he sat [at meat]. But when his disciples saw [it], they had indignation, saying, To what purpose [is] this waste? For this ointment might have been sold for much, and given to the poor. When Jesus understood [it], he said unto them, Why trouble ye the woman? for she hath wrought a good work upon me. For ye have the poor always with you; but me ye have not always. For in that she hath poured this ointment on my body, she did [it] for my burial. Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, [there] shall also this, that this woman hath done, be told for a memorial of her. Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests, And said [unto them], What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver. And from that time he sought opportunity to betray him. (Matthew 26:3-16)

We have some additional detail in this account as a matter of record. Not only did Mary anoint Jesus' feet with the ointment, but she poured it on his head as well. And not only did Judas protest about the costly ointment being wasted, but so did the other disciples. Nevertheless, from the previously quoted account in John, we know that Judas instigated this complaint because he really wanted to steal the money for himself. And here we see that he left forthwith to conspire with the chief priests for 30 pieces of silver to betray Christ. He wasn't able to rip off the treasury of the ointment money, so he came up with Plan B to betray Christ for the 30 pieces of silver instead.

But in response to the disciples' indignation, Christ rebuked them saying that Mary had rather performed a good work on Him in preparation for His burial, and that this action would be memorialized in the Gospel throughout the world.

While we won't add it here, yet another parallel passage to this is Mark 14:3-11.

So the 2 main events that kicked off the final push to capture and crucify Christ were the raising of Lazarus from the dead, after which many of the Jews present believed on Him, and this anointing of Christ for the burial by Mary, Lazarus' sister, with the precious ointment. And as Christ Himself declared in Scripture, wherever this Gospel is preached in the whole world, this good work of Mary anointing Christ for the burial is told for a memorial of her. Here it remains in Scripture and shared with you in this article by God's grace. It is only through the atoning work of Christ and His resurrection that we can have the hope of eternal life, and this work of love that Mary bestowed upon Christ shall forever be enshrined in the pages of the Bible.


2.19.2023