“Then Mary took a pint of very costly ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the ointment.” John 12:3 (Read John 12:1-9)

Not much is told to us in the Bible about Mary, the sister of Lazarus and Martha. We know that she sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His Word on one occasion when Martha was busy serving (Luke 10:38-42), and we know that she was present when Lazarus died and when Jesus came and raised him from the dead (John 11).

Just before Jesus entered Jerusalem to suffer and die on the cross for the sins of all mankind, Jesus was the honored guest at a supper in Bethany. Martha served, and Mary came and anointed the head and feet of Jesus with a very costly ointment (cf. Matt. 26:6-13), worth around 300 denarii (approximately 300 days wages).

The disciples, and especially Judas who kept the money box and stole from it, were upset and indignant over this extravagant act, but Jesus told them to leave Mary alone. She was anointing His body for burial, and this deed of hers would be remembered and spoken of wherever the Gospel was preached.

Mary acted in love for her Lord and Savior. She understood what Jesus’ disciples had not yet grasped: that Jesus was going to the cross to suffer and die for her sins and the sins of all.

Do you know the love of Jesus? Do you realize the tremendous love He has for you — love which moved Him to willingly lay down His life for your sins so that you might have forgiveness and life everlasting rather than the condemnation and eternal punishment of God you deserve? Have you taken the time to sit at Jesus’ feet and hear His Word? Through His Word, God desires to graciously bless you with an understanding of His love and mercy toward you for Jesus’ sake!

Consider God’s great love for us sinners: “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8); “In this is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins” (1 John 4:10); “Jesus Christ … loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood” (Rev. 1:5).

O dearest Jesus, thank You for loving me so much that You came into this world and willingly went to the cross to bear the punishment for my sins. Forgive me for all that I have done wrong and for my failure to love You and appreciate Your great gift of salvation. Give me the desire to sit at Your feet and read and study Your Word, and open up my heart and mind so that I might understand what You have done for me, trust in You, and follow You unto life everlasting. Amen.

[Scripture is quoted from The Holy Bible, Modern English Version, Copyright © 2024, 2017, 2014 by United Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House. All rights reserved.]

“He who eats bread with Me has lifted up his heel against Me.” John 13:18 (Read John 13:18-30)

Jesus here cites Psalm 41:9, which says: “Even my own familiar friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted up his heel against me.”

While David certainly had close and trusted friends who betrayed him and rose up against him, and we may also have experienced the same, David here speaks of the fact that one of Jesus’ own disciples, eating bread with Jesus at the table, would betray Him.

When His disciples questioned which one of them would do this, Jesus identified Judas Iscariot as His betrayer by handing him a piece of bread that He had dipped.

Why would Judas, a trusted disciple and the group’s treasurer, betray Jesus? Jesus said, “I know whom I have chosen” (v.18), indicating Judas was not among those He had predestined and chosen to inherit eternal life.

We can speculate further as to why Judas wasn’t among the chosen (perhaps a love for money as we see in John 12:6, expecting Jesus to establish a worldly kingdom, etc.), but we can only say with certainty that Christ died for all (cf. John 1:29; 3:16; 2 Cor. 5:15; Heb. 2:9; 1 John 2:1-2) and that God desires all (including Judas) to be saved (cf. 2 Pet. 3:9; Ezek. 33:11) but that Judas did not let the Word of God, which he heard continually from the lips of Jesus, sink into his heart and produce the fruit of true and enduring faith in Jesus as the Son of God and His Savior from sin.

Jesus was troubled over what Judas was about to do, not that He would be betrayed and go to the cross but that His disciple Judas would turn against Him and then remain unbelieving and hang himself in despair (cf. Matt. 27:3-10).

We remember that Jesus’ disciples fled in fear and that Peter denied Jesus three times, but they later acknowledged their sins and trusted that Jesus forgave them and accepted them as His disciples and apostles. Judas, on the other hand, despaired of God’s mercy and took his own life rather than trusting in God’s mercy and partaking of Christ’s forgiveness. How sad!

While it is easy to point the finger at Judas, we must also ask ourselves how often we have betrayed Jesus by disobeying God’s Word, hiding our faith in Jesus from those around us, and failing to hear Jesus’ Word and follow Him. Have we ever let our desires for worldly goods and recognition get in the way of faithfully following Jesus? How sad!

God also desires that we repent by acknowledging our sins and shortcomings and looking to Him for mercy and forgiveness for the sake of the blood Jesus shed on the cross for the sins of all. Indeed, Christ died for our sins, and God reaches out to us in mercy, offering us pardon and forgiveness through faith in Jesus and His sacrifice on the cross for the sins of the world.

Don’t let your love of money, earthly goods, or earthly fame keep you from hearing God’s calling and receiving in faith God’s love and mercy in Jesus! Don’t despair and die in your sins. Turn to Christ Jesus for mercy now, before it’s too late!

Have mercy upon me, O God, for I have oft betrayed Your Son and my only Savior by my words, thoughts, and deeds. Wash away my sins in the blood of the Lamb, whose blood was shed to take away the sins of all. In His name, I pray. Amen.

[Scripture is quoted from The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.]

“Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, yet shall he live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?’” John 11:25-26 (Read all of John 11.)

If only Jesus had been there, Lazarus would not have died! So thought both Martha and Mary, Lazarus’ sisters (John 11:21,32). We, too, may have had similar thoughts when we lost a loved one to death — if only Jesus would have been here!

Yet Lazarus’ death was for the glory of Jesus Christ, God the Son in human flesh (John 11:4). Jesus was going to raise him up from the dead. When those who have trusted in Christ are raised up again on the Last Day and given everlasting life in heaven, this too will bring glory to God the Son; for without His innocent sufferings and death in our stead and His glorious resurrection, we could only rise to the eternal torments of hell!

When Jesus told Martha that her brother would rise again, she said, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day” (John 11:24). It is then that Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, yet shall he live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26).

Jesus was telling Martha that not only would her brother rise again on the Last Day, but He (Jesus) is “the resurrection and the life”! Jesus is the one who will raise up all the dead on the Last Day, and Jesus is the one who gives life. He breathed life into Adam’s breathless body at creation (Gen. 2:7); He breathes spiritual life into us today (John 1:4; 5:21,24-26; 10:10); and He will raise up all the dead on the Last Day and give eternal life to all who have believed on Him (John 5:27-29)!

And so it is that the one who trusts in Jesus as his Savior, even if he dies, shall live again; for Jesus, who is the resurrection and the life, will raise him up at the Last Day. And whoever lives and trusts in Jesus shall in no way [a Greek double negative amplifying the negative] ever die, forever and ever into eternity; for even when their body dies, their soul goes to be with the Lord Jesus in heaven (Phil. 1:21-23; 2 Cor. 5:1-10; Rev. 7:9-17). Then, on the Last Day, when Jesus returns and raises the dead, their bodies will be raised up and reunited with their souls, and they will live forever with the Lord (1 Thess. 4:13-18; 1 Cor. 15)!

Do you believe this? Do you believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that it is He who will raise the dead and give everlasting life to all who believe in Him? Consider the evidence. Not only did He heal the sick and open the eyes of the blind, He raised the dead. When Jesus went to the tomb of Lazarus, who had already been dead for four days, He said, “Lazarus, come out!” (John 11:43); Lazarus walked from the tomb alive!

Not only this but after His own death on the cross for our sins, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day in victory so that we might trust in Him and be assured of forgiveness and everlasting life in His name!

O dearest Jesus, grant us faith to trust in You as our Savior and hold fast to You, even in death, that we might be raised up on the Last Day, at the sound of Your voice, unto life everlasting and to the glory of Your holy name. Amen.

[Scripture is quoted from The Holy Bible, Modern English Version, Copyright © 2024, 2017, 2014 by United Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House. All rights reserved.]

“Now a man was sick, Lazarus from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. … So the sisters sent word to Him, saying, ‘Lord, he whom You love is sick.’ When Jesus heard this, He said, ‘This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified by it.’ Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus. So when He heard that he was sick, He remained where He was two more days.” John 11:1,3-6 (Read John 10:1-7)

Lazarus from Bethany (just outside of Jerusalem), the brother of Mary and Martha, was very sick, and his sisters sent word to Jesus to seek His help and aid. The Scriptures clearly tell us of Jesus’ love for Lazarus and his sisters Mary and Martha. Yet, when Jesus received word that Lazarus was sick, He remained in the place where He was for two more days before traveling to Bethany to aid His friend.

Jesus said, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified by it.” God had a reason for allowing Lazarus to be sick. It was that Jesus would be glorified by raising Lazarus from the dead, providing further witness to the fact that Jesus was and is the Son of God in human flesh who came into this world to atone for our sins and give us new life in communion with God through faith in Him.

And Jesus promised to raise the dead and give eternal life to all who believe in Him. His raising of Lazarus from the grave after being dead for four days is evidence that He can raise us up from the grave on the Last Day, as He promised, and give eternal life to all who have trusted in Him. Thus, Lazarus’ death was for the glory of Jesus, the Son of God and the Savior of lost mankind.

This raises important questions for us to consider. What if we or a loved one becomes seriously ill and faces death, and our prayers for healing and recovery seem to go unanswered? If God delays or even allows death to come, has he failed to answer our prayers? Not at all. He has a reason, often unknown to us, but for our good and for His glory.

We trust “that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose” (Rom. 8:28). If God wills that our lives in this world end, that is better for us and our loved ones than continuing to live on in this world, even though we are unable to see and understand His divine reasoning now.

And when we do become ill, face death, or even die, do we bring glory to God through it? Do we accept God’s will and die in the faith that Jesus paid in full for our sins when He died on the cross as our atoning sacrifice? Do we die with the assurance that, through faith in Jesus, we are pardoned and forgiven and will not be condemned in the final judgment? Do we die in the confidence that Jesus, who raised Lazarus from the dead and who Himself rose from the dead on the third day after His crucifixion, will also raise us up as He has promised and give unto us and all believers eternal life with Him in His kingdom?

Let your life and your death be to the glory of Christ Jesus by trusting in Him and His cross for pardon, forgiveness, and the eternal joys of heaven!

O precious Jesus, our resurrection and our life, grant that we trust You in all things and glorify Your name while we live and when we die. Amen.

[Scripture is quoted from The Holy Bible, Modern English Version, Copyright © 2024, 2017, 2014 by United Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House. All rights reserved.]

“Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands and that He came from God and was going to God, rose from supper, laid aside His garments, and took a towel and wrapped Himself. After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel with which He was wrapped.” John 13:3-5 (Read John 13:1-17)

What would you have done if you had been there in the upper room when Jesus began to wash His disciples’ feet? Would you have been like Peter, who initially refused and said to Jesus (v. 8), “You shall never wash my feet!” Peter was not about to let Jesus stoop to do the job of a servant and wash his feet. Yet, when Jesus pointed out that those who would not let Him wash them had no part in Him, Peter was ready to have Jesus wash his hands and his head, as well (cf. v. 8-9).

Today, too, many are unwilling to let Jesus do the work of a servant and cleanse away the filth of their sin. But those who will not let Jesus wash away their sins and cleanse them in His shed blood have no part in Him; they remain lost forever!

What about you? Jesus suffered and died on the cross for your sins. He paid in full! Will you let Him wash you and cleanse you from the filth of your sin? Are there yet some areas in your life that you refuse to let Him cleanse?

Jesus also told His disciples that He was giving them an example. As He humbled Himself to serve them, they should also humble themselves to serve each other. If Jesus, God’s own dear Son, could humble Himself to wash His disciples’ feet — if He could humble Himself and bear on the cross the punishment for the sins of the world that He might grant to all who believe God’s pardon and forgiveness — certainly we are not above humble service to our brethren, nor are we above forgiving those who have offended us (cf. Phil. 2:5ff.; Gal. 6:1-3; Eph. 4:32).

While we are not required to observe the ancient custom of foot washing, we can learn much from Jesus’ example. As Jesus came into this world not to be served but to serve us and give His life a ransom for many (cf. Mark 10:45, Matt. 20:28), so we, as His disciples, and especially those called to be His ministers, are not here to be honored and served but to serve others. No needed service is beneath our dignity.

O dearest Jesus, wash away my sins and cleanse my heart with Your shed blood. Move me also to humbly serve the needs of others and share with them Your grace and forgiveness. Amen.

[Scripture is quoted from The Holy Bible, Modern English Version, Copyright © 2024, 2017, 2014 by United Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House. All rights reserved.]