For the Joy Set Before Him: Jesus's Final Journey to Jerusalemਨਮੂਨਾ

The Night Before Entry

Then, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom he had raised from the dead. So they prepared a dinner for Jesusthere. John 12:1-2, NET

Six days before Passover, Jesus stopped in Bethany. He was less than two miles away from Jerusalem (John 11:17). It was the evening before his triumphal entry into that holy city.

Here, in the home of dearly loved friends, a dinner was given in Jesus’s honor (John 11:5). What was the mood that evening? Were the disciples charged with the same excitement as the crowds over being so close to Jerusalem? Or had Jesus’s repeated words sobered them up along the way, creating an undercurrent of anxiety and unease? Whatever the atmosphere that night, no one was prepared for what happened next.

Mary, the sister of hosts Martha and Lazarus, poured an entire pint of pure nard on Jesus’s feet. Nard was expensive—and the amount she “wasted” was worth a year’s wages! And if that weren’t shocking enough, Mary’s untying of her hair at a public meal added to the scandal. The room’s occupants must have been stunned by Jesus’s silence when Mary broke more social conventions by touching his feet and wiping them with her hair.

The scent of the perfume filled the entire house. Judas was the first to voice his objection, “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor?” Of all the things Mary had done wrong that night, surely the financial waste was the worst.

“Leave her alone,” was Jesus’s firm reply. “It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial.” This was its exact purpose. The extravagance of her display of love was but a faint echo of the extravagant love of Jesus, which would show the world that week.

The next day, Jesus would enter Jerusalem to shouts of "Hosanna!" The crowds would wave palm branches, still buzzing with news of Lazarus's resurrection. But Jesus knew what awaited him beyond the celebrations. And this startling moment in Bethany—this act of devoted love—honored the sacrifice to come.

Reflection

Place yourself in the shoes of Mary:

• Before you begin your extravagant act, what are you thinking and feeling?
• What is it like to hear Judas’ words of condemnation?
• What is it like to hear Jesus’s words in your defense?

Consider the extravagant love Mary displayed and the extravagant love Jesus would display. Have you ever given or received an extravagant display of love?

If you'd like to discover more about Jesus's last days, we invite you to start our Bible plan: Journey to the Cross: An Easter Study from Mark’s Gospel.