There's a lot going on here historically and there's a lot going on here that'll challenge our heart. Okay, the first one is in John 12:1 and then following. We'll read through for the slide guy, we'll read through to Verse 8 okay, John 12, Verses 1 through 8, so here's the first instance. It says this - it's going to come up on the screen. Jesus therefore, six days before the Passover - so when did this take place? Six days before the Passover - so six days before the Passover came to Bethany, where Lazarus was whom Jesus had raised from the dead. So they made Him supper there and Martha was serving, but Lazarus was one of them reclining at the table with Him. Mary took a pound of very costly perfume of pure nard and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But Judas Iscariot, one of the disciples, who was intending to betray Him said why was this perfume not sold for 300 denarii and given to the poor people? Now he said this not because he was concerned about the poor, but because he was a thief and he had the money box, and he used to pilfer what was put into it. Therefore Jesus said let her alone, so that she may keep guard of it for the day of My burial, for you will always have the poor with you but you'll not always have Me.
Okay, so we'll come back to the basics of this story because the same basic story happens four days later. The next instance is in Mark 14, Verses 1 through 9. The same thing - it's almost word for word, the same thing happens four days later, two days before the Passover. Here's what it says. Now the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread were only two days away, and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were looking at some sly way to arrest Jesus and kill Him. But not during the feast they said, or the people may riot. While He was at Bethany reclining at the table in the home of a man known as Simon the leper - so in the first instance six days before He was at Mary and Martha and Lazarus' house. In this instance He was at a man named Simon the leper - a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume made of pure nard. So here's that same pure nard perfume again. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on His head, so in the first instance where does she rub the perfume? On His feet. In the second instance where do they rub the perfume? On His head.
So the first instance is a rubbing of the feet with the pure nard; the second instance is a pouring on the head of the pure nard. Something is relevant here. So some of those present were saying indignantly to one another why waste the perfume? Now here Judas Iscariot's not the one protesting, its other people standing there and it says some of those so there's a plurality of people going she's pouring pure nard on His head, this can't be right. It could have been sold for more than a year's wages and the money given to the poor, and they rebuked her harshly. Leave her alone Jesus said. Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to Me. The poor you will always have with you and you can help them any time you want, but you will not always have Me. She did what she could. She poured perfume on My body beforehand to prepare Me for My burial.
So in both instances, whether He was rubbed on His feet or rubbed on His head with this pure nard, His defence of the person doing it was they're preparing Me for My burial. They're preparing Me for My burial, so in both instances He defends the person that other people are attacking. He says I tell you the truth, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her. Now what's going on here? What's going on here? First of all you have to understand history. Remember last night we talked about peshat, remez, drash and sod? There's some plain stuff here to Hebrew people that isn't so plain to us. In that culture it was hospitable if I had you as a guest in my house, it was customary for me to provide water in a bowl for you to wash your feet. Why? Because you just walked. Where? Through Israel which is really dusty okay, so I would provide water in a bowl for you to wash your feet, so that your feet feel better and my house stays cleaner okay. So it was customary to provide a bowl.