Mary's Humble Act

Introduction

• For centuries, Bible scholars have tried to reconcile the four different accounts of Jesus’ last week before his crucifixion and resurrection. When we take an objective look, Matthew, Mark, and Luke seem to agree on the order of events. John, however, takes a different approach to Holy Week.

• I’m Brent and this is episode 27 of The Bible Unplugged. We start a series called, “Easter Unplugged” where we step back from the traditional attempts to harmonize the four gospels and their approaches to Holy Week.

• Please take a minute to look at the show notes for this episode at PowerLoveandMiracles.com under the Podcast tab. While you are there, please subscribe to receive notifications of future episodes.

Why is John Different?

• As we talked about in episode 20, the Gospel of John takes a completely different approach to the life of Jesus. The order of events in Matthew, Mark, and Luke line up with few glitches; but not the Book of John. John isn’t concerned about chronology. He focuses on the theological meaning behind Jesus’ life and ministry.

• Some examples of how John is different:

• The other gospels do not mention Lazarus. John says that Jesus went to Bethany to visit Lazarus the week before his crucifixion.

• John’s account of Jesus driving the merchants out of the Temple happens earlier in Jesus’ ministry instead of Holy Week.

• John does not mention the Last Supper.

• John is the only gospel that portrays Jesus washing the disciples’ feet. We tend to believe Jesus did this during the Last Supper, but no other gospel mentions this. John portrays this foot washing in a different context.

• The greatest difference we see is the story of the crucifixion. When we force all four gospels into one story, we miss the fact that John places the crucifixion on Thursday, not Friday. This may seem like a major contradiction, but John has a divine reason for the difference.

What was John’s Purpose?

• John places more emphasis on the theological meaning than the chronological order of events.

• When we allow John to speak for himself, we find a subtle but significant tapestry on which John weaves the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.

• The clue to John’s approach is in the first part of the gospel. In the Gospel of John chapter 1, John the Baptist sees Jesus and says, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.”

• This “Lamb of God” theme shows up throughout John’s gospel, but we miss the meaning if we don’t know the story of Passover. The highlight of Passover is when the priest sacrifices the lamb on the altar in the Temple. This happens on Thursday afternoon and is followed by the Passover meal that evening. As you listen to this series, keep Thursday afternoon in mind. It’s important.

John’s Theme

• From the time Jesus arrives in Jerusalem until his crucifixion, John parallels the events of Jesus with what would have happened to the Passover lamb during the week leading up to Passover. This theme isn’t found in the other gospels.

• John devotes almost half of his book to this Passover lamb theme.

• Our first example of this theme is in The Gospel of John chapter 12 when Jesus went to visit Lazarus in Bethany, a Jerusalem suburb.

• Passover tradition says that a family would choose their own Passover lamb at the beginning of the week and bring it into their home to be cared for it until Thursday. John’s symbolism shows that Jesus would be the Passover lamb for Lazarus and his family.

• During supper, Mary, the sister of Lazarus and Martha, takes a pint of pure nard which is an essential oil derived from a variety of the honeysuckle plant, and anoints Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair.

• All four gospels include this account.

• Matthew and Mark say that a woman poured oil on Jesus’ head. This mirrors the Old Testament practice of anointing a king’s head as a sign of divine selection.

• Luke and John say that the woman anointed Jesus’ feet as a symbol of preparation for burial. Luke, however, includes this account at an earlier time in Jesus’ ministry.

• John is the only gospel to give us a name: Mary.

• The most obvious motivation for Mary’s act of devotion would be her gratitude for raising her brother, Lazarus, from the dead; but there is a deeper meaning. Mary’s humble act is a symbolic representation of the entire gospel:

• Jesus went to Jerusalem knowing he would be crucified later that week. Jesus died for the forgiveness of sin. Mary symbolically recognized Jesus’ sacrifice by preparing Jesus for burial.

• Mary humbled herself by kneeling at the feet of Jesus and pouring very expensive oil on Jesus’s feet. She used her own hair to wipe Jesus’ feet as an act of pure devotion which represents devoting our lives to God as our response to Jesus’ sacrifice.

• By wiping the oil from Jesus’ feet with her hair, Mary’s head was anointed with the oil. Anointing someone’s head represented divine approval. We are crowned with the gift of eternal life because of Jesus’ death and burial.

• Mary stood up after her humble act with the praise and approval of Jesus. We live in the praise and approval of God because of what Jesus did for us.

What we learn from this

• Mary’s act of humility should be a pattern for us. Humility and devotion to God is just the start. This same humility should be a way of life for us.

• Judas ridiculed Mary for wasting expensive ointment. Jesus praised Mary’s devotion. When you face difficulty or opposition, respond with a humble attitude knowing that the God you serve is watching out for you.

• We should allow each gospel writer to express themselves without the need to harmonize and justify every difference. John had a different reason for writing his gospel the way he did. Forcing John into a different mold removes the meaning and intent of this gospel.

What do we do with this?

• We tend to read familiar Bible stories through the lens of our preconceived notions of what those stories mean. Pick a favorite story in the Bible and imagine that you know nothing about what that story means. What do you notice that you may have missed before? The Bible has a lot to teach us but we miss a lot when we depend on interpretations we have learned without examining the reasons behind them.

• Mary had a servant’s heart. We should have that same servant spirit. This week, look for someone who needs help, support, and love. Do something for them out of a desire to serve them and demonstrate God’s love through your act.

• It’s easy to miss the Passover Lamb theme in John. There are a lot of themes in our lives that we may not see because we don’t pay attention to the details in our lives. When something out of the ordinary happens this week, take a minute to see what God is saying through that event. God is speaking with what Elijah experienced as God’s “still small voice.”

The conclusion

• And, as you know, the music in the background means I have run out of time for this episode, but there’s more.

• I hope this has been helpful. If so, give this podcast a high rating and share it with others.

• In the next episode we continue the series, “Easter Unplugged” with a look at Jesus entering Jerusalem to the praise and adulation of the crowds. There are some profound things that happen but we miss them because we don’t know the history and significance of the event.

• My prayer for you is that you will take time to notice the amazing things God is doing in your life to bless you and demonstrate God’s love to the people around you.

• Have a blessed week.

The disclaimers

• Just to let you know

• All opinions are my own. If you agree, keep listening. If you don’t… keep listening, there may be some good stuff here.

• All Bible quotations come from the World English Bible which is a public domain work.

• Our show theme song is “Awesome Call” by Kevin MacLeod and is available under a Creative Commons license.

• The content of this podcast is copyrighted 2025 by J. Brent Eaton

• This has been a Power Love and Miracles production.