March 19: Courageous, Memorable, Extravagant Love
♫ Music:
WEEK FIVE INTRODUCTION
TITLE: THE CONCLUSION OF CHRIST’S PUBLIC MINISTRY & THE LAST SUPPER
(JOHN 12 & 13)
March 19–March 25
The gospel of John is the gospel of love. Love abounds in both words and actions in this section of the text. John relays key scenes that shock and jolt the reader into new ways of thinking about what it might mean to love God fully with heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mark 12:30).
The countdown to Christ’s passion begins in John 12 with Mary of Bethany anointing the feet of Jesus with a pound of the most fragrant, rare, and costly perfume. It might have been a love offering for bringing her brother back to life. Mary’s norm-shattering action puts everyone on edge. Judas speaks for the bewildered disciples, “Why on earth wasn’t this perfume sold? It’s worth thirty pounds, which could have been given to the poor!” But Jesus interprets Mary’s act as a royal anointing. Mary realizes something that the men don’t seem to grasp: she has just anointed the King of Glory for his impending death. Mary has poured out her heart and Jesus has accepted her gift.
The day following the dinner at Bethany, Christ rides into Jerusalem as Israel’s king. Large throngs of people surround Jesus as they give him the royal treatment. Anxious Pharisees complain that the “whole world is running after him.” For one triumphant moment, the masses conclude that Christ must be the promised messianic deliverer who will lead them in a revolt against Roman oppression. John poignantly contrasts the pure love of Christ and his followers with the fickle, transient adulation of the public, as well as the false love of his betrayer and supposed friend, Judas.
In John 13, Christ demonstrates what it means to be the servant of all by performing another unsettling action. A respected rabbi and great teacher would never have stooped to wash the dirt-stained feet of his disciples. Jesus’ radical, sacrificial act becomes a viscerally charged symbol of God’s unconditional love. This deed also foreshadows what Christ is about to do in laying down his life for the world as the sinless Lamb of God.
Following the foot washing, Christ gives his band of followers a new commandment, “love one another. Just as I have loved you, so you must love one another. This is how all men will know that you are my disciples, because you have such love for one another” (John 13:34–35). Living selfless lives of loving generosity is to characterize all believers, revealing the true nature of Christ to those who do not believe.
Day 26 - Sunday, March 19
Title: EXTRAVAGANT LOVE
Scripture: John 12:1–11
Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, the village of Lazarus whom he had raised from the dead. They gave a supper for him there, and Martha waited on the party while Lazarus took his place at table with Jesus. Then Mary took a whole pound of very expensive perfume and anointed Jesus’ feet and then wiped them with her hair. The entire house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot (the man who was going to betray Jesus), burst out, “Why on earth wasn’t this perfume sold? It’s worth thirty pounds, which could have been given to the poor!”
He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was dishonest, and when he was in charge of the purse used to help himself to the contents.
But Jesus replied to this outburst, “Let her alone, let her keep this for the day of my burial. You have the poor with you always—you will not always have me!”
The large crowd of Jews discovered that he was there and came to the scene—not only because of Jesus but to catch sight of Lazarus, the man whom he had raised from the dead. Then the chief priests planned to kill Lazarus as well, because he was the reason for many of the Jews’ going away and putting their faith in Jesus.
Poetry & Poet:
“The Alabaster Box”
by HF Gould
And, who is she that, bearing
The Alabaster Box,
Is thus, neglected, wearing
Her long and silken locks?
Her form is fair, but o'er her
A shade of grief is cast,
That speaks of wo before her,
Or bitterness that's past.
Oh! whither is she going?
And what is it to seek,
With sorrow's fountains flowing
On either pallid cheek?
Behold! her steps are tending
To him who sits at meat.
'T is Mary! see her bending
To weep at Jesus' feet!
And while her tears bestrew them,
As pearls that scatter there,
Her lips she presses to them,
And wipes them with her hair.
And, of a heart that's broken
For sin that she forsakes,
She gives the precious token—
The alabaster breaks.
COURAGEOUS, MEMORABLE, EXTRAVAGANT LOVE
No one soon forgot Jesus’ extraordinary summons of Lazarus from the tomb. The Bethany family is eager to honor Jesus upon his return through town. These two scenes are intertwined as Mary’s gesture expresses gratitude to Jesus for restoring her brother to life. But this anointing conveys more. Today as you engage with the passage, with Stevns’ oil on canvas, alongside the instrumental notes of “By Night,” I invite you to let your imagination stroll through the surprising scene as it unfolds.
Right away we notice how Jesus links this anointing to his coming burial. Have you ever observed the remarkable reversal of smells that hovers over the themes of death and life? Recall how Lazarus emerged to life from the stench of death (11:39), while here Mary anoints Jesus for his death with fragrance (12:3). Smells are silent, overlooked, and undetectable in words and paintings. But smells are potent: they waft into our olfactory neurons and connect to the region of our brains related to memory and emotion. Have you ever encountered a nostalgic scent which generated a strong emotion? Mary’s perfume is not only significant because of its cost, but its copious amount creates a deafening fragrant memory. Are those present poised to forever remember this scene whenever they smell such a fragrance? Situated six days before Passover, one wonders how long these residual smells lingered in Mary’s hair and on Jesus’ body. Would this furnish soothing memories to carry them through the excruciating events barely a week later?
In addition to Jesus’ burial, many have rightly wondered if this was a royal, messianic anointing. Those who are unsure remind us that kings were typically anointed on their heads, not their feet. Only servants grasp feet, as Mary does here (and as Jesus will do with his disciples shortly). But Jesus is no “ordinary” king—his coming enthronement will be up on a cross, his crown made of thorns. And this fragrance which “filled the house” (12:3) is perhaps reminiscent of the glory of the LORD filling the temple (Exod 40:34–35; 1 Kgs 8:10–11).
Mary compounds the surprise of this exchange by using her hair to wipe off the ointment. In her eagerness to anoint Jesus did she forget a towel? There is much speculation surrounding the propriety (or impropriety) of letting down one’s hair, but Mary doesn’t seem to care. Notice how the painting bears this out: as Jesus defends her to those in protest, she appears completely oblivious to their criticism. More likely, letting down her glory (1 Cor 11:15) is exactly her intention: alongside her perfume, Mary takes the softest, most treasured thing she owns to express her devotion and affection for this messianic king. She isn’t concerned about appearances. To me, Mary is an exemplar; in courage she holds nothing back in expressing her love to Jesus. As we seek to respond to all we have in Christ, may we do so with the boldness and abandon of Mary.
Prayer:
Jesus. You are the Resurrection and the Life, summoning us from death into new life with you. We live in a world broken by the stench of sin and death and tinged with anxiety, loneliness, despair, and injustice. Would you touch these broken places in our own hearts with the fragrance of your love? Would you grant us courage to live this day in bold response to this love? Give us Mary’s audacity; may we hold nothing back. Help us articulate Your love in word and deed to those who desperately need the fragrance of your life. We are grateful for you.
Amen.
Dr. Jeannine Hanger
Assistant Professor
Talbot School of Theology
Biola University
For more information about the artwork, music, and poetry selected for this day, we have provided resources under the “About” tab located next to the “Devotional” tab
About the Translation of the Bible for the 2023 Lent Project:
J.B. Phillips New Testament Translation of the Bible
J.B. Phillips (1906-1982) was well-known within the Church of England for his commitment to making the message of truth relevant to today's world. Phillips' translation of the New Testament brings home the full force of the original message. The New Testament in Modern English was originally written for the benefit of Phillips' youth group; it was later published more widely in response to popular demand. The language is up-to-date and forceful, involving the reader in the dramatic events and powerful teaching of the New Testament. It brings home the message of Good News as it was first heard two thousand years ago.
https://www.biblegateway.com/
About the Artwork:
Mary Anoints Christ’s Feet
Niels Larsen Stevns
1907
142.4 x 250.0 cm
Kunsten Museum of Modern Art
Aalborg, Denmark
Danish artist Niels Larsen Stevns paints a dinner gathering honoring Jesus in which Mary of Bethany anoints the feet of Jesus with precious perfume, and then lovingly wipes his feet with her long hair. The artist paints the reaction of disciples who are shocked by this costly and intimate act—one disciple, presumably Judas, jolts from the table in protest of Mary’s expression of extravagant worship. Stevns focuses on the tension created by Jesus’ rebuke of the disciples by painting the anxious expressions and body language of the disciples. It is Mary alone who realizes something that the disciples don’t seem to comprehend—her anointing is a memorial act intended for Christ’s impending death and burial.
About the Artist:
Niels Larsen Stevns (1864–1941) was a Danish painter and sculptor. Stevns left Denmark in 1895 and then he visited Italy, Austria, and Germany in subsequent years. Stevns was fascinated by the strong southern light, which he perceived as God's very presence in the world. These foreign journeys heralded a new period of his career marked with a bolder color vision and a free monumentality. In 1928, through an expatriate Dane, Stevns received a commission for an altarpiece in a parish in Cascallares, Argentina. Although he did not himself travel there, he finally realized the dream of his youth in painting historical pictures.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niels_Larsen_Stevns
https://kunsten.dk/en/work-of-art/mary-anoints-christs-feet-1780
About the Music: “By Night” from the album Infinity
Lyrics: Instrumental with choral accents
About the Composer: Sophie Hutchings arranged by Lawson
Sophie Hutchings is an Australian pianist/composer. Moving seamlessly from the soothing, idyllic, and melancholy to the urgent and tempestuous, her music sits comfortably alongside that of Max Richter, Peter Broderick, Johann Johannsson, Dustin O'Halloran, and the seminal post-classical group Rachel's. Hutchings’ compositions sway from the disarmingly spare and elegant to the romantic and epic, with a fragility that manages to be both calm and exquisite but always pushing forward. https://www.sophiehutchings.com/
About the Performers:
Formed in 2005, VOCES8, an a cappella octet from the United Kingdom, has a diverse repertoire ranging from early English and European Renaissance choral works to their own original arrangements. The ensemble is dedicated to supporting promising young singers and awards eight annual choral scholarships through the VOCES8 Scholars Initiative every year, at which amateur singers of all ages are invited to work and perform with the ensemble. VOCES8 tours extensively throughout Europe, North America, and Asia, and their artistic collaborations have included the Philharmonia Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, period ensemble Les Inventions, violinist Hugo Ticciati, and cellist Matthew Sharp.
http://www.voces8.com/
About the Poetry and Poet:
Hannah Flagg Gould (1789–1865) was an American poet, the daughter of Benjamin Gould, who fought in the American Revolutionary War. She began writing poetry in her thirties, often with attention to themes of patriotism, war, youth, and domesticity. Her poetry became popular during her lifetime—her work was often memorized by students in public schools, where some of her poetry was occasionally misattributed to other popular authors, like Charles Dickens.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hannah_Flagg_Gould
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/hannah-f-gould
About Devotion Author:
Dr. Jeannine Hanger
Assistant Professor
Talbot School of Theology
Biola University
Jeannine teaches at Biola in the area of undergraduate Biblical Studies (NT). Her research and writing interests focus on John's Gospel, and more specifically on the sensory aspects of texts. She and her husband Garrick live in the South Bay, where Garrick pastors (Coastline Covenant), and where they love spending time with their kids, Bella, Emery and Garrison. Jeannine also enjoys rainy days, good books, and strong coffee, preferably all three at once.