Mary Of Bethany

Excerpts from Mary of Bethany: Template for the Bride

Simon’s Dinner Celebrating Jesus and Lazarus

There is busyness in the house this evening, yet the hour “when the Son of Man will be betrayed” is nearing.  Amidst all the activity of the dinner, the noise of conversation, and lurking deception, Jesus has other thoughts pressing him, for within hours, he will be betrayed, within days he will be dead.  Betwixt the crushing knowledge of His death and the bantering house “noise” the Lord resides.  Who of all his friends and disciples would realize the deep and piercing ponderings of His spirit, His needs?  

Here Comes the One…. Away from the clamor of the supper, there is one who has been discerning enough to realize the beckoning need of her Savior, and respond in kind.  She senses the imperative to go and minister, for her needs are all bound up in His.  “Go, bring your alabaster and find Him, for whom your heart longs.”  So here comes the one. Mary arrives with her alabaster box of pure spikenard, that costly perfumed oil.  Beyond the faces and comments of guests, she proceeds with singular resolve: reaching the place of Jesus.  Through the dinner guests she weaves her way. No prior discussion of her plan, or permission is sought.  Her ministry is not open for endorsement.  Called alone, she ministers alone.  She needs to unburden her heart and lavishly pour out her all: the all of her person,  the all of her possessions, with nothing withheld.

Mary’s arrival dominates the account.  She has no need to partake in Simon’s feast, pause for fellowship, or join Martha’s serving.  She responds to the call and cannot be diverted.  For Mary, in the midst of this celebratory supper, there is only Jesus.  Her ministry would constitute the preparation for the tragic and mounting events of the forthcoming week. With no hint of arrogance or diversion, a carefully plotted profile of singular determination is painted.

How must the Lord’s heart have stirred with entrance of one who is able to assuage the crushing thoughts of His heart, as his earthly journey reaches its climactic end.  Mary provides a reprieve in the onslaught of momentous events, the horrifying betrayal and crucifixion, so soon to close upon the Savior of the world. She becomes that respite amid the house clamor at Simon’s. This need far surpasses His need for natural food or conversation, for His food has never been of this world: He is the food of the world.  And He, the Great Physician, now needs a balm for His own heart.  For the nearness of the hour has come, the spiraling onset of events which initiate His passion week.  If ever there was need for a salve for His own broken heart and some solace on this earthly plane, it is NOW.

The Anointing Begins…. With Jesus at table, Mary commences her anointing. With her costly oil, Mary ministers with all liberality. John states, “Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume: she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair.” Jn. 12:3 Mary’s ministry centers exclusively on the Lord and His needs, forming a firsthand encounter from her heart to His. There is a focus and continuity from the time Mary reaches the place of Jesus, until the anointing is completed.   He is the sole object of her desire, and it is as natural for her to stay in this undivided state of devotion now, as it earlier had been for her to sit at the listening post of his feet.  

Despite the extravagance of her gift, Mary performs her anointing in utter simplicity, with no prescribed structure or fanfare.  What intertwining of simplicity and extravagance are bound together, as Mary’s ministry forms one continuous strand. With loving abandon, she administers her costly alabaster’s contents on the Lord, both head and feet.     Mary has the need to minister, and Jesus the need for anointing. When the two meet, all heaven must have broken loose! Mary merely recedes as He is magnified. So as Mary empties her vessel, she in turn is filled to overflowing.  In her concluding act, Mary’s own tresses transform to the towel used to wipe her precious Savior’s un-sandaled feet. What began as a dinner party, culminates in a vibrant and unforgettable worship service.               To be continued…

MARY’S MINISTRY

As Mary’s ministry, let mine be

Unfettered, bold, at liberty.

Inflame my heart with love so sure,

That worldly gain holds no allure.

And fear of man withholds its trace

While Your love seeks its resting place

Then flow my tears like hers with ease,

As this frail heart by YOU is seized.

                                                  Instead

Instead of me, He was betrayed; His tears, not mine a garden stained.

Deserted by His very own, betrayed and smitten, left alone,

Dragged through angry mobs of men, falsely accused and beaten, then,

The soldiers through the colonnade led my precious Lord away.

Silence and suffering, those were His, yet it was I deserving this.

His patience held, not mine that day, when charged a criminal none could sway.

As soldiers pressed their thorny vine, His crown of thorns replaced mine.

Then strewn upon a rough-hewn tree, in view of all humanity,

HE, not I, called out to God, before a jeering, angry mob.

What darkness held as His life’s blood, poured out for me through God’s own Son.

All this endured, all this He knew, that my judged life would be made new.

This sinless Lamb for me was bled, IN MY STEAD, yes, IN MY STEAD.

I  SEE

I see Him there upon the tree,

Between two thieves on Calvary;

I see His hands, His feet, His face,

Then realize with shamed disgrace.

The figure there upon that tree

Should have been me!

Last Supper Table Talk

As we ponder the magnitude of the Last Supper, may we adjust our view away from familiar framed masterpieces with soft expressions and flowing robe images, and let the Scriptures speak truth to our sober remembrances.  May we ponder the Lord of Glory at His last gathering of the twelve, considering the pressures, the passion of His love, and look afresh for insights through Scripture.

What precious words initiate Jesus speaking to his twelve, as they begin to celebrate what would be their last Passover meal with their beloved teacher.  The Lord begins with these words.  “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover meal with you before I suffer.”  The first emphasis is Jesus’ longing to share the feast and fellowship with the twelve, knowing it would be their last meal together. His eagerness includes a communion celebration so sacred it would serve as an ongoing proclamation of His death.

Yet there was the last triad of words, which possibly escaped their full attention “…before I suffer.” How could they ever realize the impact of these three monumental words! The simplicity of them almost mask His monstrous suffering to find fulfillment within hours.  How fitting that the Lord first reminded them of His bonding, then the pronouncement of His soon suffering.  The meal was the backdrop for all of this and more.

There is more to this meal than the offering of the precious bread and wine, and their sacred remembrance for the future. The Lord would likewise bring to the table the horrifying revelation and exposure of one among them who would betray Him. One after another the apostles responded to the shocking news, “Surely not I, Lord?”  Now the meal is wrought with shock and confusion as the betrayer is named.

Now enters the discussion as to who among them would be considered greatest.  Perhaps to quell this, the Lord describes and models the necessity of servitude.  This is followed by conferring a kingdom on those present, prophesying of their future roles seated on thrones judging.

Confrontation with Peter now comes to the fore, as he is warned that Satan has asked to sift him as wheat. Impulsively, Peter contends his readiness to go to prison and death with the Lord.  Yet over these prophetic words, Peter is told that even this very night, he will deny His beloved Lord.

A shaking enters that upper room where we view the seismic shift from the beauty of communion to the sidebars of contention and confusion.  We see the Lord standing solitary betwixt two at the table: the upcoming betrayal of one, and denials of another.  Yet this night, He still leads in lessons of servitude, of correction, in prophesying, and exposing.  All of this while He, Himself, was about to undergo the crisis of His lifetime.  Ever the Shepherd looking out for His sheep first. All this was to prepare them for the days ahead.  Yes, the Great Shepherd still leading, but headed alone to the cross.  Alone is He in His thoughts, headed out to the garden. Yet Incredibly, this sacred supper concludes with conversation of swords.

The Great Shepherd is the focal point here, the center of the meal, of His apostles and of His church. Obeying the Father to the finality of his earthly days, yet ever preparing his beloved apostles.  As the Great Shepherd leaves the room, He leads to the garden: anticipation has transitioned to apprehension, devotion to dispersion.  And the night has just begun.