The Gospel for the Second Sunday of Easter

John 20:19-end (NRSV)

Jesus Appears to the Disciples

19 When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ ²⁰After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. ²¹Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’²²When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. ²³If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.’

Jesus and Thomas

24 But Thomas (who was called the Twin^*), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. ²⁵So the other disciples told him, ‘We have seen the Lord.’ But he said to them, ‘Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.’

26 A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ ²⁷Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.’ ²⁸Thomas answered him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ ²⁹Jesus said to him, ‘Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.’

The Purpose of This Book

30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. ³¹But these are written so that you may come to believe^* that Jesus is the Messiah,^* the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.

This week (with the aid of William Barclay, J C Ryle, John Suggit and John Marsh) I reflect on verses 19-23; Jesus appears to his disciples:

To the modern reader, these opening verses present some difficulty. John takes care to include the detail that the doors were closed and securely locked and Jesus was still able to enter. Ryle comments:

“Like all the events which followed our Lord’s resurrection, there is much in the facts before us which is mysterious, and requires reverent handling.”

To try to explain them – according to Ryle – leads to ‘… unprofitable speculation. … We shall find it safer and wiser to confine our attention to points which are plain and instructive …’

The disciples returned to the upper room where they had shared the Last Supper with Jesus. Now, however, they were terrified because they knew that the Jewish authorities were on the warpath to eliminate even the memory of Jesus. Would it be the rest of them next? Barclay writes:

“So, they were meeting in terror, listening fearfully for every step on the stair and for every knock at the door, lest the emissaries of the Sanhedrin should come to arrest them too.”

Into their midst Jesus suddenly appeared and greeted them with the words: “Peace be with you …”

These would have been loaded with meaning for the disciples gathered here. Ryle comments:

“He spoke, we may be sure, with special reference to the events of the last few days, and with special reference to their future ministry. ‘Peace’ and not blame, - ‘peace’ and not fault-finding, - ‘peace’ and not rebuke, - was the first word which this little company heard from their Master’s lips, after He left the tomb.’

This is entirely in keeping with our Lord’s ministry. ‘Peace on earth’  was the song sung at Jesus’ birth, and peace and rest for the human soul was the essence of what Jesus had taught over the past three years of the disciples’ experience. Ryle suggests that it is ‘peace’ that Jesus intended to be the key-note to the Christian ministry and Jesus wanted this to be central to the Christian message of the Gospel.

The Apostle Paul reminds us that what Jesus came to earth to give is peace between humankind and God as he wrote in the opening verses of chapter 5 of his letter to the Romans:

Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ²through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. ³And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, ⁴and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, ⁵and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.

This is indeed the essence of the Gospel. We, like the disciples who met in the Upper Room on this occasion, so often get things terribly wrong and we find ourselves fearful and full of guilt as a result. Just as Jesus entered into their presence in a miraculous way on this occasion, so he miraculously comes to meet us where we are and gives us the same message. “It’s okay, I forgive you, peace be with you…”

It is interesting to note how Jesus provided this gathering with excellent evidence that it was in fact he who had risen from the dead: he showed them his hands and his side. He invited them to see with their own eyes that he had a real, material body and that he was no ghost or spirit. Ryle comments:

“… great … was the principle which He established for the use of His Church in every age until He returns. That principle is; that our Master requires us to believe nothing that is contrary to our senses. Things above our reason we must expect to find in a religion that comes from God, but not things contrary to reason.”

And then Jesus commissioned them: “As the father sent me, so I send you …” And he equipped them for the task as he breathes on them and said: “Receive the Holy Spirit …”

The Church is now the presence of Jesus in the world – as Paul explains in Ephesians 1:23 and 1 Corinthians 12:12) - we are ‘… the Body of Christ …’ It is our task to take the message of peace to all people. The Church is the mouth of God to speak and reveal God’s message to the peoples of the world. But we need to remain united with Christ for without this we have no power, no support, no strength. We need to nurture our relationship with God through the study of the Word and the faithful offering of the Sacraments. It is this relationship that matters and here it requires obedience and perfect love. Barclay writes:

“The Church must never be out to propagate her message; she must be out to propagate the message of Christ. She must never be out to follow man-made policies; she must be out to follow the will of Christ.”

To fulfil our commission we must always rely on the witness and testimony of the Holy Spirit which is that which makes us – transforms us – into the image of Christ, both as individuals and as a gathering of the Church.

John reminds us that at creation what gave humankind the image of God was God breathing into them (Genesis 2:7) Ezekiel (37:9) saw the  same thing in the valley of the dead, dry bones until God breathes life into them. The coming of the Holy Spirit is like the wakening of life from the dead and when it fills the Church she is recreated and equipped for her task. Without it, the Church simply does her own work and dies.

We have the lovely message of peace and with it comes the essential message of forgiveness. Only God can forgive sins, but we are given the power and authority to act as God’s agents and thus able to say to those who are truly penitent: “Your sins are forgiven!” Barclay concludes: “This sentence lays down the duty of the Church to convey forgiveness to the penitent in heart and to warn the impenitent that they are forfeiting the mercy of God.”

For Thomas, the Cross was what he expected. When Jesus had mentioned that they were going to Bethany after the raising of Lazarus, remember what Thomas had said: “Let us also go, that we may die with him” (John 11:16). He was not lacking in courage; he probably just considered himself to be a realist (and a pessimist). There was no doubt that he loved Jesus because he was willing to go with him to Jerusalem and die, even when the other disciples expressed their reluctance. What happened was just as he expected and he was broken-hearted, to such an extent that he felt the need to be alone with his grief. So, when Jesus appeared in the Upper Room, Thomas was not there. When he was given the news, he refused to believe it because it seemed to be too good to be true and he needed more, because he probably could not cope with having false hopes dashed yet again.

A week passed and Jesus appeared again – this time – Thomas was there. Jesus knew just what Thomas needed and repeated the words that Thomas had used himself, inviting him to do as he wanted: ‘Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.’(verse 27)Thomas was thrilled and exclaimed: ‘My Lord, and my God.’(Verse 28)

Barclay suggests that we can learn the following from the experience of Thomas:

(i)                  He made the mistake of withdrawing from the Christian fellowship and as a result missed meeting with Jesus. There are certain things that we can only experience when we are an integral part of the Christian fellowship. The modern notion of not needing to go to church to be a Christian is a folly. We can only know God’s blessing when we are part of his body here on earth. Barclay comments: “… we should seek the fellowship of Christ’s people for it is there that we are likeliest of all to meet him face to face.”

(ii)                Thomas was a man of virtue: He refused to claim to understand when he did not and this sort of honesty is good. Lord Tennyson wrote: “There lives more faith in honest doubt, believe me, than in half the creeds.” And when he was sure, he went the whole way exclaiming “My Lord and my God.” Thomas doubted in order to be sure. Barclay comments: “… When a man fights his way through his doubts to the conviction that Jesus is Lord, he has attained to a certainty that the man who unthinkingly accepts can never reach.”

I believe the Lord inspired John to include this because Thomas reflects the experiences of so many. Thomas thought he needed physical evidence, but it is plain from John’s account that he did not accept the offer to touch the wounds of Jesus. As John Marsh explains: “He had learnt in the mere ‘seeing’ of the glorified Lord that sense and sight were not the sufficient things he supposed. In a strangely paradoxical way he had found through seeing that seeing was not believing.” So often people today think that if Jesus were to become physically present to them, it would be easier for them to believe. This is not so, because the only way that belief is possible is through the work of the Holy Spirit. There were no real advantages for the disciples in seeing Jesus because (as Marsh adds) “… physical seeing can be as seriously questioned as any other experience of sense …” This is why Jesus concludes with the words: “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.” (verse 29b)

Verses 30 and 31 are crucial in our understanding of the Gospel, because they give us insight into the paradigm of the Gospel writers – their philosophy – as it were. It seems very clear that John (and the others) did not set out to provide a detailed account of the life and ministry of Jesus. They are selective, choosing what for them are some of the things that will give us a deep and significant insight into who Jesus was, what he was like and the sort of things Jesus said and did. The Gospels are not meant to be biographies of Jesus, but documents designed to encourage people to faith – or Barclay puts it – ‘… Their aim was, not to give information, but to give life …’ Their bias is clear and honest. Barclay continues:

It was to paint such a picture of Jesus that the reader would be bound to see that the person who could speak and teach and act and heal like this could be none other than the Son of God; and that in that belief he might find the secret of real life.

This means that, if we approach the Gospels, expecting to find biography or history, we ‘… approach them in the wrong spirit …’ Rather we must come to them seeking God. This does not mean that they are worthless as historical or biographical works, because they are filled with important information and increasingly, people are finding them to be works of massive literary importance as well. All this remains true – but they are also much, much more.

There were many other signs which Jesus did, but John had made a selection to help the reader and informs his readers of the basis of his choice. Marsh suggests that it is highly probable that John knew of the existence of the Synoptic Gospels or at least a source used by the synoptic writers – probably a source of his own as well. He wanted to help people – all people – even those who find belief difficult (the Thomas’ of this world) – to be able to come to faith in Jesus. He wants this to happen because it has been his experience (and the experience of others) that to believe means to have life in Jesus name. John has spoken of praying in Jesus’ name. This means much more than just ending a prayer “In Jesus’ name we pray…” it means ‘… offering prayer in Jesus Christ, as if the believer were his Lord, and his prayer the prayer of his Lord.’ So, to have life in Jesus’ name is to share his life, to become identified with him to the extent that Jesus’ eternal life becomes the life of the believer as well.  Life becomes sharing the life of God – as Marsh puts it – ‘… in his eternal felicity and bliss …’

The events as recorded in John’s Gospel all happened. I do not believe that the Gospel writers simply made them up. But they are not meant to be taken exclusively literally. John Suggit writes:

“The signs – words and narratives – used in the scriptures are what constitute poetry, in the widest sense of the term, not of course in the sense that they are untrue, but because they enable believers to receive the word not simply as an opportunity to participate in it, to become creative (poiesis – creation) in giving it meaning for themselves and for others so as to be changed and transformed by it.”

SOME THOUGHTS FOR AN EASTER SERMON

We are in Wales for Holy Week without internet connection. Palm Sunday reflection is below

The first day of the week.

                                                                 Luke 24:1-12.

Luke 24.1-12 (NRSV)

The Resurrection of Jesus

¹But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared. ²They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, ³but when they went in, they did not find the body. ⁴While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men in dazzling clothes stood beside them. ⁵The women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, ‘Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. ⁶Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, ⁷that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again.’ ⁸Then they remembered his words, ⁹and returning from the tomb, they told all this to the eleven and to all the rest. ¹⁰Now it was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them who told this to the apostles. ¹¹But these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. ¹²But Peter got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; then he went home, amazed at what had happened.

My text is written in Luke 24.12:

¹²But Peter got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; then he went home, amazed at what had happened.

Verses 1-12 describe what happened on that first Easter morning in the garden of the tomb where Jesus had been laid to rest. When the women arrived at the tomb, they found that the stone that had been placed in front of the entrance had been rolled away. They were worried about what this meant and were frightened by what they saw - two men whose appearance shone greeted them with the news that Jesus had risen from death:

⁴While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men in dazzling clothes stood beside them. ⁵The women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, ‘Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen (vs 4-5).

For them, this was the straw that broke the camel's back - they never understood Jesus' betrayal, his crucifixion, nor this resurrection - everything was equally perplexing to them. But the angels reminded them of what Jesus had taught them:

⁶Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, ⁷that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again.’ ⁸Then they remembered his words ... (vs 6-8)

Jesus had warned them that he would be delivered into the hands of evil people and would be crucified and that he would rise again on the third day. Luke adds in verse 8: ‘Then they remembered what Jesus had said.’

Nothing that ever happened to Jesus did so without his prior explanation to the disciples - but the disciples - like all humans - forgot and needed to be reminded. In the world today, the words of Jesus are freely available through the Bible which has been translated into just about every language and dialect in the world, but many tend to forget and so it becomes vital that the church reminds the world of our Lord's teachings and show how they remain relevant for all generations.

Another significant lesson we learn from this passage is the fact that, like the disciples, our ignorance of our Lord's teachings often leads to unnecessary confusion. The first step in our salvation is to realise and acknowledge that life does not make sense unless we accept Jesus and his teachings as the central feature of our lives. In the midst of unnecessary suffering, Christians need to spread Christ's teachings and remind people in the same way that the angels reminded these women: "Remember, Jesus told you ..."

McBride reminds us that none of the Gospel narratives actually recounts the rising of Jesus because no one was actually there to witness it. All the Gospel narratives can do is register the fact of the empty tomb and the resurrection appearances. The empty tomb by itself does not make for adequate evidence for the resurrection because all it can do is bear witness – like an empty room – that no one was there. And there can be a number of explanations as people have tried to explain over the thousands of years since then: the disciples could have stolen the body and hid it somewhere so that they could ­claim that Jesus has risen; dogs might have eaten the body etc. There have been many others which I am sure you have been reminded of over the years. But none of them can withstand historical scrutiny. What matters is that over 500 credible witnesses experienced the risen Christ over a period of 40 days and more importantly, we experience Christ even now in the power of the Holy Spirit, as our lives and the lives of millions of other credible people, are transformed as we are touched by the power of his love.

But the empty tomb is important, because it is filled with symbolism. The worst place – the place of death and darkness, becomes the best place, a symbol of life and hope – it shows how tragedy can be transformed into the best news of all, especially is one remembers what Jesus had said. This is why being steeped in the Scriptures is so important, because it reminds us of the Gospel; it reminds us that even the dark places in our lives can be transformed into something beautiful when touched by the love of God in Jesus Christ, and especially so when we remember what God has taught us.

At first the women are not believed and their message is dismissed – Luke uses the word leros which implies demented ramblings. It is almost as if the men think that the women are so stricken with their grief that they are not making any sense at all. Peter runs to the tomb to see for himself and he too finds it empty, this does not make him believe either, but it does make him wonder – which is always a preface to belief (McBride). Barclay reminds us that the presence of Peter in the group is of great significance as it says much about his character. The story of his denial of Jesus must have been well-known ‘... and yet he had the moral courage to face those who knew his shame ...’ Barclay continues:

           

‘There was something of the hero in Peter, as well as something of the coward. The man who was a fluttering dove is on the way to becoming a rock.’

We need to wonder more. Evidence matters, as does the testimony of reliable witnesses, but nothing can replace experiencing things for ourselves, first hand. This does not mean that we fly in the face of evidence and blindly believe – not at all – it does mean that it is good to doubt, it is good to search, it is good to find things out – all for ourselves – to experience firsthand the love of God in the risen Jesus Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit.

This is also a story of faithfulness, as John Wesley advised his preachers who were going through times of difficulty – ‘Preach faith until you have faith’. The women in their doubt were given the reliable testimony of the two men in dazzling clothes. We are given reliable testimony through scholarship and faithful preaching.

But it always comes down to the same thing again – all the evidence can only take us part of the way; we still need to experience firsthand the reality of the loving presence of God in our lives, and this becomes real for us as we are prompted to respond to others in the same way as our Lord responds to us – with love and forgiveness and acceptance.

There is so much here for our blessing and edification, and I close with some thoughts given by William Barclay when he reflected on this passage himself. He explains that one of the problems for people is that they continue to look for Jesus among the dead; so many people are willing to acknowledge that he was one of the greatest men of all time, perhaps even the noblest hero ever to have lived. It is easy to see that he lived one of the loveliest lives ever seen on earth – but then he died. But this is not the end of the story, because Jesus is not dead; he is alive. ‘He is not merely a hero of the past; he is a living reality of the present’.

There are others who claim that it is worthwhile to study the life and teachings of Jesus. And I agree, it is important to study, but Jesus is more than someone to be studied, he is someone who is meant to be met and lived with every day – he is a living presence.

Barclay continues: There are still others who see in Jesus the perfect pattern and example. And this is also true, but trying to follow the perfect example can also be the most heart-breaking thing in the world, because as we sincerely try to model our lives on the perfect example all it ever does is show up how far short we fall from the ideal. But Jesus does more. Just as a teacher will come alongside a pupil and help them to improve, so our Lord is with us to forgive, renew, encourage – as Barclay puts it ‘... he is not simply a model for life; he is a living presence to help us to live ...’

We need to be like Peter and experience it all first hand for ourselves and be amazed by the Love God has for us. As Luke records:

... Peter got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; then he went home, amazed at what had happened.

GOSPEL FOR PALM SUNDAY

Luke 19.28-40 (NRSV)

Jesus’ Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem

²⁸ After he had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. ²⁹ When he had come near Bethphage and Bethany, at the place called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of the disciples, ³⁰saying, ‘Go into the village ahead of you, and as you enter it you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden. Untie it and bring it here. ³¹If anyone asks you, “Why are you untying it?” just say this: “The Lord needs it.” ’ ³²So those who were sent departed and found it as he had told them. ³³As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, ‘Why are you untying the colt?’ ³⁴They said, ‘The Lord needs it.’ ³⁵Then they brought it to Jesus; and after throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. ³⁶As he rode along, people kept spreading their cloaks on the road. ³⁷As he was now approaching the path down from the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the deeds of power that they had seen,³⁸saying,‘Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven!’  ³⁹Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, ‘Teacher, order your disciples to stop.’ ⁴⁰He answered, ‘I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out.’

I have chosen to reflect on the Psalm Sunday Gospel instead of the Passion readings which are also suggested for this day, because of time and space. (The Passion is a wonderful exercise to read in itself, and when we used to celebrate Easter in Scotland, it was often a joy and privilege to be asked to read this important lesson.)

When reading the incident where the disciples collected the donkey in verses 28-35, modern people feel comfortable with the idea that Jesus had made prior arrangements about the donkey with friends in Bethpage, who on hearing the correct password, would release the animal to his disciples. The tenor of Luke's writing suggests rather that this was evidence that Jesus was all knowing. Whatever view we chose is not important. What is of significance is the fact that Jesus was fulfilling the prophecy of Zachariah 9:9-10:

Rejoice, rejoice, people of Zion! Shout for joy, you people of Jerusalem! Look, your king is coming to you! He comes triumphant and victorious, but humble and riding on a donkey - on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

Verse 38 records how the disciples, plus a number of other supporters were happy and praised God because of all the miracles they had seen. Verse 39 describes the disciples as heralding in the new messianic era by shouting: “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory to God.” Here Luke has taken the words of Psalm 118:26 and inserted the word ‘King’ ‘… so as to leave no doubt that the crowd believed themselves to be taking part in the coronation procession of the Messiah' (Caird).

This prophecy originally referred to ‘peace on earth’. Luke now makes it refer to ‘Peace in heaven ...' Through Jesus, God had achieved victory over Satan and the forces of evil (see Luke 10:17) and now all that remained was for the reality of this peace in heaven to become real for people on earth. In this, Luke is explaining a point that was of crucial significance for the people of Christ's day and remains eternally true. The people of Jerusalem wanted to see the Messiah claim His kingdom ‘… and their delighted delirium arose from the fact that they saw him as doing this ...'(Morris) But the people were mistaken and did not fully understand. Luke reminds us that peace only becomes real for people on earth when they are at peace with God in heaven. The fact remains that there will be no real peace on earth until people make peace with God and this is only possible through accepting Jesus Christ as one's personal saviour. The only way a person can love, accept and live at peace with others is when they can love, accept and live at peace with themselves. Individual peace begins with God. Paul explains in Romans 5:1: “By faith we have been made acceptable to God. And now, because of our Lord Jesus Christ, we live at peace with God.”

When we realise that we are loved and accepted by God, even though we do not deserve God's kindness - we learn to love and accept ourselves because God loves and accepts us - and we learn to love and accept others because they too are precious. Christ died to redeem all those who are willing to accept his free gift of salvation. Remember John 3:16: “God loved the people of this world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who has faith in him will have eternal life.”

In verses 39-40 the Pharisees tried to make Jesus stop the crowd from declaring his praises. The commentator in the Life Application Bible explains:

“[The Pharisees] didn't want someone challenging their power and authority, and they didn't want a revolt that would bring the Roman army down upon them, so they asked Jesus to keep his people quiet.” Jesus responds in verse 40 by echoing the words of the prophet Habbakuk 2:11: "If they keep quiet, these stones will start shouting."

Miller writes:

“He was saying in effect: The Messiah is here, and somebody must herald his coming. It could not be that there would take place a momentous event toward which the entire Old Testament, even the entire history of mankind, had been moving, without some recognition of its happening. Should men not herald it, the very stones would cry out. The secret of Jesus' Messiahship, which heretofore he had kept to himself and had not permitted either demons or disciples to proclaim (4:35, 41; 9:21,36), must be revealed before his death. The issue is clear. Israel must either accept or reject her Messiah.”

Jesus knew what lay before him, so did Luke and so do we. From Jesus’ point of view it is appropriate because he is about to something momentous – he is coming to bring God’s salvation to the world (as Wright explains) ‘… through his own Passover action on the Cross …’

As we journey with Jesus this Palm Sunday are we ready to celebrate – like the crowd – only as long as Jesus seems to be doing what we want? Wright concludes:

“Are we ready not only to spread our cloaks on the road in front of him, to do the showy flamboyant thing, but also now to follow him into trouble, controversy, trial and death?’

Easy in theory – difficult in practice – especially when one has a family to consider!

Something indeed worth pondering …

Jesus deliberately planned his entry to Jerusalem; he made it a royal procession of such a kind in order to beg the question: “Is this Israel’s Messiah?” He is proclaimed king but will eventually only be given a mock coronation. Matthew in his Gospel seems to suggest that this is a deliberate dramatization by Jesus of Zecharaiah 9.9; in Luke the crowd shouts out Peace in heaven, glory to God in the highest heaven reminding us of what the angels had sung at his birth. Tinsley writes:

“Jesus is so intensely aware what is really happening that he suggests men would have to be more insensitive that stone not to have some idea of what is taking place.”

This whole episode strikes me as so strikingly unlike the general tenor of our Lord’s life (as J C Ryle points out). Generally Jesus withdrew from the public glare wanting not to draw any attention to himself at all. What has changed? Ryle suggests that this is because Jesus was at the crisis point of his ministry: he knew that his time had come to bring his ministry to fruition, his time as the greatest Prophet was almost finished. It was therefore important for people to take note that something significant was happening. Jesus was about to offer himself up as the ultimate sacrifice and so (as Ryle puts it) “… This great thing was not to be done in a corner …”

Whatever people might think of the atonement, they can never deny that Jesus died – it was a public event in the glare of publicity: his entry into Jerusalem, he was seen and heard in the city, brought before the High Priests and Pilate and condemned. He was publicly nailed to a cross.

Just as Jesus entered Jerusalem amidst cries of joy, there will be joy when Jesus returns, but this time without any pain and disappointment. Paul captures the sentiment of the second coming in Philippians 2.11: “Before Him, every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.” But we know this already, because we have already experienced the deepest joy when Jesus entered our lives when we came to faith.

Lent 5: Gospel Reading

John 12.1-11 (NRSV)

Mary Anoints Jesus

12Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. ²There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those at the table with him. ³Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus’ feet, and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. ⁴But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was about to betray him), said, ⁵‘Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?’ ⁶(He said this not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief; he kept the common purse and used to steal what was put into it.) ⁷Jesus said, ‘Leave her alone. She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial. ⁸You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.’

Dear Brother Mark and other readers,

Apologies for lateness. I am indebted to the commentary by John Marsh (Pelikan Commentariers) for this reflection.

Marsh reminds us that the woman in the similar incident described in Mark’s Gospel is in fact unnamed. In Mark’s account the woman anoints Jesus head with costly ointment. Luke also records an incident that has similarities, i.e. a woman bathing Jesus feet with her tears and wiping them with her hair. Marsh suggests that John was acquainted with all these synoptic traditions and seems to follow the Marcan account, but gives it its theological intention because, as always in John’s case, he wants to give his readers the meaning of the event. Placing the event after the death and Resurrection of Lazarus and before the entry into Jerusalem sets the scene for the death and Resurrection of Jesus himself. When greeting Mary at the tomb of Lazarus earlier, Jesus had comforted her by saying: “‘I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?’” Mary does believe this and so (possibly) recalling the earlier incident when Jesus’ feet had been anointed with the sinner woman’s tears, decides to do something similar, but this time with costly perfume. Marsh suggests that John sees this and ‘… skilfully blended [all this] into an act which marks Jesus as, at once the triumphant Messiah and yet one who is about to die for the sins of men …’ I believe Mary made this link herself before John! (Mary would have known about the earlier incident because the sinful woman who bathed Jesus’ feet with her tears took place at the home of Simon the Leper who also lived at Bethany, which was a small village within walking distance of Jerusalem. The news of this significant incident would certainly have been known in the area – and beyond).

Jesus arrived in Bethany on the Sabbath before the last Passover in which he was to share.  This, in itself, was a brave thing to do because it was Lazarus being raised from the dead that was the final straw and (as 11.53 records) ‘… from that day on [the Jewish authorities] planned to put him to death.’

It is assumed by the translators of the NRSV and NIV that this dinner took place at the home of Lazarus, but Marsh suggests (and I checked the Greek text) the exact location is not clear; it could have been at the home of Simon the Leper where everyone had gathered. The RSV follows the Greek text more closely and states:

Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. There they made him a supper …

It is not absolutely clear, and for John, the precise location is not of significance. But for me it is, because it can mean justifying my earlier assumption that Mary’s action hearkened back to the earlier incident at Simon’s house.

Martha is being typically Martha, practical, busy, preparing food and serving at table. This is a wonderful thing to do. It is always a privilege to be invited for a meal and to see the care and love that goes into the preparation even of the simplest fare. Mary (as is typically Mary) needs to express her love and devotion differently, especially as a result of her new-found understanding. Both sisters are serving the Lord in the best way they know how. Martha seems to have come to terms with the fact that Mary is different, and that that it is fine for her not to be doing the traditionally domestic thing which caused the earlier ill-feeling between the sisters, that is recorded in Luke 10 when Martha had complained that Mary was not doing her bit.

Mary takes a large quantity of expensive ointment and anoints Jesus’ feet. As you pointed out, Brother, anointing in the Ancient Middle, was a great honour, but this usually meant anointing a person’s head; Mary is not so presumptuous, she anoints Jesus’ feet. Could this be because she has learnt something profound and significant from the sinner who had bathed Jesus’ feet with her tears? In fact, William Temple suggests that it was the Mary Magdalene who had done this first with her tears and now with expensive nard and not the sister of Lazarus at all. Mary Magdalene had  been forgiven so much and wanted to do something costly and special for her Lord while there was still time … a simple extravagance for someone special … I do not think it matters who did it.

I love your reference, Mark, to the fact that because of this beautiful act the whole Church is filled with the scent of Mary’s deed – in your words:

“A lovely deed becomes the possession of the whole world. It adds something to the beauty of life in general. A lovely deed brings into the world something permanently precious, which time cannot ever take away. The love stories are the immortal stories of the world.”

William Temple writes: “So should every Church and every home be filled with the fragrance of devoted love. May this be daily more true.”

This act was criticised by: ‘some’ in Mark, the ‘disciples’ in Matthew or ‘Judas’ in John. This is not untypical. And on the surface there seems to be a really significant point being made here. “Why was not the perfume sold for a relative fortune, and the proceeds given to the poor?” There can be no doubt that the sale of this perfume would have raised a significant sum! But as J C Ryle points out, many of those who object to expense being incurred for extravagances for the Gospel never really give anything of significance for the poor anyway. He writes:

“They never give a farthing to such objects as these, and count as fools who do. Worst of all, they often cover over their own backwardness to help purely Christian objects, by a pretending concern for the poor at home. Yet they find it convenient to forget the notorious fact that those who do most for the cause of Christ, are precisely those who do most for the poor.”

Ryle continues to suggest that we should not be put off by those who are unkind to us when we show extravagance for our Lord. Jesus himself exhorts: “Leave her alone …”

What matters is that what we do, in worship, in study, in relationships – in all we do and are – is beautiful for the Lord – as Mother Teresa of Calcutta used to say “Do something beautiful for God …” and this is a fitting conclusion because her example meant linking the two together as we find Jesus in each other and especially the least – the poor, the hungry, the cold, the weak – for in these we find our Lord.