1415 - "The Supper & Anointing at Bethany"

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:01

Welcome to On the Way with Tony Crisp. Each weekday, Dr. Crisp will be discussing biblical passages, people, places, and prophecies. Tune in daily to start your day right and deepen your understanding of how to better walk the way and enjoy the journey. Here's your host, Dr. Tony Crisp.

SPEAKER_00 0:21

Welcome to On the Way. This is Tony Crisp and this is Podcast 1415. We are days before the crucifixion of Jesus. We are days before they put him in a tomb and days before he came out of that tomb alive from the dead forevermore, and all of history was changed after all. History is his story, and it was during these years that Jesus split time in two. And so this is the story of the final week. We pick up on the story in John chapter twelve, then six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, who had been dead, whom he had raised from the dead. There they made him a supper, and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with him. Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of Spiknard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair, and the house was filled with the fragrance of this oil. But one of the disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, who would betray him, said, Why was not this fragrant oil sold for three hundred denari and given to the poor? This he said not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, a clepto, and had the money box, he had the bag, he had the purse, and he used to take what was put in it. He was a thief. But Jesus said let her alone. She has kept this for the day of my burial, for the poor you will have with you always, but me you do not have always. Now just to understand what the circumstances were and what a big meal this was, it says now a great many of the Jews knew that he was there, that is Jesus, and they came not for Jesus' sake only. Amazing, amazing parenthetical statement. Not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus whom he had raised from the dead. This was a known, verifiable reality. Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead. He had been dead four days. He had already been wrapped up and mummified, so to speak, with claws and all kinds of spices and oils. When he came out of the tomb, he could barely walk. He was almost like hopping from side to side. And Jesus said loose him and let him go. And so they wanted to see him. But it says the chief priest plotted to put Lazarus to death also, as well as Jesus, that is, because on account of him many of the Jews went away and trusted Jesus and believed in Jesus. Now who were these priests? They were the Sadducees. They were the ones that were in charge, and they did not believe in the resurrection. They did not believe in the supernatural. But around the temple area they were these political appointees that were there, they were pawns. They had turned their back on Torah. They didn't believe in what the Torah said. They were the woke, liberal, religious people of the day of Jesus. Now let's go back and look at this story. Six days before the Passover they came to Bethany. Bethani B E T H is the word for house. Ani in this particular context goes with the house because it's the word poor POR. Bethany is the house of the poor. Now this is where Lazarus was, who had been dead, that Jesus had raised from the dead, and they made a big supper for Jesus. This was a big deal. And Martha was serving as she always was, and Mary took a pound of very costly spikenard. Now this is a lot of money. This would have been practically a year's wage. In Matthew, I think it would be chapter twenty. It should be in the first two verses off the top of my head where Jesus was talking about a stewardship. And he said that a denarius was a day's wage. And so that means that there were 300 days of wages. She would have worked in that time 300 days almost a whole year for this Spike Nard. And that was a very fragrant scent. I have Spike Nard in my office and in our gallery, our Israel gallery at the church. You can just spray one little spray and it'll fill the entire room. Now think about it, this was the resin, the oil, and the fragrance would have, when it says it would have filled the room, it would have filled the house. It would have gone into every room. Everyone was amazed at what was going on. But one of the disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, now Judas was the only disciple that was not from the Galilee. He was from Kariot Kariot. And the word Ish is the word for man in Hebrew. Judas Ish man Kariot. Judas, the man, the one from Kariot. And all of the other disciples were from the Galilee. As a matter of fact, five of the disciples came from one town, Beth Sida, that is Beth Sida, Beth, there again's the word for house. Sida's the word for hunter. H U N T E R. They were game fishermen there. It wasn't hunting game as in deer or fowl, it was fish. And so it was a fishing village. And out of that came Andrew and Peter, James and John and Philip. That's right, five of the disciples, the five beside boys. And you say, well, now wait just a minute. Peter was living with his mother-in-law in Capernaum. Yes, he was. And the reason he was there is because he had married probably the oldest daughter of a man who had no sons. And the man died, and Peter, doing the thing that any good Jewish man would do, he moved in and took care of not only his family, but the rest of her family, as now the father figure in the home, and he took care of his wife's mother. And so he would have moved there. That's why he was living in Capernaum. He was from Bethlehem. Read the gospels and you'll see that. And so they were in teamwork and in business together, James and John and Andrew and Peter. But one of the disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, who would betray him, said, Why was this fragrant oil not sold for three hundred denarii? That tells you how much it was worth, and given to the poor. Now this he said, Now isn't this interesting? God gives us insight and he gave John insight into the heart of Judas Iscariot. And so his motives are divinely revealed here. This he said not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, he was a klepto, and he had the money bag, he had the box with the money, and he used to take what was put in it. In other words, that was going to be less for him. He was a thief. But Jesus said to Judas, let her alone. She has kept this for the day of my burial. You see, Mary got it. She understood what Jesus had been saying, that he had come to Jerusalem to die. And she was putting it all together now. Isn't it amazing that many times it is the spiritual women in our congregations, the spiritual women that are in our homes that get it first? Their hearts are tender toward the things of God. Men, by and large, are dense and more cool to spiritual realities. It is only when the Spirit of God turns a man's heart with all of his heart to the Lord that you get these sold out giants for God. But the women are, it seems like, naturally more tender toward the things of Jesus. Jesus said, You let her alone. She knows what she's doing. You see, the anointing, the rubbing of the skin with oil was the first thing that was done to a body. It was washed and then anointed with oil. And then it was wrapped, and the wrappings had all kinds of spices in the cloths where the body would not be as stinking with decay and so forth. And this was giving honor to the body and allowing to mourn in a proper way. And so this is what Jesus says she's doing that because listen, you're always gonna have the poor with you, but me you do not have always. Now this is a couple of things I want to say here that Jesus taught us before his crucifixion. There is no society that is ever going to rid all of the poverty. I don't care what government it is, what type of government it is, that's not going to happen because people are human beings. And unless their hearts are changed, people are not always going to be good stewards of what God has given them. I have said it to congressmen to senators, I have said it to state congressmen and senators, I have preached it from pulpits all over America. You see, we have not gotten it yet that you can take people and you can take them out of the slums and out of poverty and out of disgrace of all kinds of lifestyles, and you can put them in the finest part of town, in the nicest home, you can put them in a palace. But we haven't gotten it yet. Unless you get the slums out of the heart, the slums out of the people, you will never be able to change a person's direction. Because you can take someone in the slums and put them in a palace, and it will not be long until that palace will look like the slums. And the reason is the slum is in the heart. The poverty is in the heart. This is what Jesus was saying. You're going to always have the poor with you. Take this time and worship. Now, verse nine says a great many of the Jews knew that he was there, Jesus, and they came. But not for Jesus' sake only. Why? Because they wanted to see Lazarus. Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead. He'd been dead for four days. And his body would have normally already started decay. And you remember Martha, his sister, said, Lord, don't open that grave. By now he's already stinking. And Jesus said, Remove this stone. And he called him out, and Lazarus came forth. And Jesus said, Loose him, cut those claws, those grave clothes off of him, and set him free. Oh my goodness, what a message that is for all of us. We need to stop wearing around the old deadness of the clothes that we once wore. We need to change them and let God give us a new outfit of righteousness. Now a great many of the Jews knew that he was there, Jesus, and they came not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. Now look at verse 10. But the chief priests plotted to put Lazarus to death also. Why? Because on account of him, many of the Jews went away and trusted and believed in Jesus as the Messiah. So they wanted to kill Lazarus. Why? Because these priests were Sadducees. They were not Pharisees. We don't have one record of a Sadducee being converted to Jesus in the New Testament. Why? Because they were not believers in the Torah. These were political appointees by and large. They had not come out of the priestly line. They were Sadducees, which they didn't believe in supernatural. They didn't believe in angels. They didn't believe in the resurrection. And as you'll recall, Paul said that was the hallmark of those who were looking for the Messiah. They believed in the resurrection and his defenses. At Caesarea before Felix and Festus and Agrippa, he said to Agrippa, Harry to Grippa, he said, For the belief of my forefathers I am brought before you day for the hope of the resurrection of the dead. And so Lazarus was a living witness that Jesus could bring people back to life again. And Mary got it that he was going to die, but he would be back to life again. And so this story days before the crucifixion gives us insight into what's coming. Stick with me over the next few days as we count down the days until Jesus was crucified. He died as a substitute for our sins. Thank God, the Father in heaven, that Jesus is alive and he's alive forevermore. For on the way, this is Tony Crisp.

SPEAKER_01 15:24

Thanks for listening to On the Way with Tony Crisp. Tune in every weekday for information on biblical passages, people, places, and prophecies. Fridays are for your questions. Email your questions to questions at TonyCrisp.org, then just listen for your question to be answered on Friday's podcast. That's questions at TonyC R I S P dot org. Thanks for listening and have a blessed day on the way.