John 12:8 Kommentar

It was a melancholy account which we had in the close of the foregoing chapter of the dishonour done to our Lord Jesus, when the scribes and Pharisees proclaimed him a traitor to their church, and put upon him all the marks of ignominy they could: but the story of this chapter balances that, by giving us an account of the honour done to the Redeemer, notwithstanding all that reproach thrown upon him. Thus the one was set over against the other. Let us see what honours were heaped on the head of the Lord Jesus, even in the depths of his humiliation. I. Mary did him honour, by anointing his feet at the supper in Bethany (Joh 12:1-11). II. The common people did him honour, with their acclamations of joy, when he rode in triumph into Jerusalem (Joh 12:12-19). III. The Greeks did him honour, by enquiring after him with a longing desire to see him (Joh 12:20-26). IV. God the Father did him honour, by a voice from heaven, bearing testimony to him (Joh 12:27-36). V. He had honour done him by the Old Testament prophets, who foretold the infidelity of those that heard the report of him (Joh 12:37-41). VI. He had honour done him by some of the chief rulers, whose consciences witnessed for him, though they had not courage to own it (Joh 12:42, Joh 12:43. VII. He claimed honour to himself, by asserting his divine mission, and the account he gave of his errand into the world (Joh 12:44-50).

Then Jesus, six days before the passover,.... Or "before the six days of the passover"; not as designing the days of that feast, for they were seven; but as reckoning so many days back from it, that is, before the sixth day from the ensuing passover: if there were six complete days between this and the passover, as this way of speaking seems to imply; then this must be the day before the Jewish sabbath, and this is more likely, than that Christ should travel on the sabbath day: but if this was the sixth day before it, it was their sabbath day, and so at the going out of it in the evening, a supper was made for him, which with the Jews on that night, was a plentiful one; for they remembered the sabbath in its going out, as well as in its coming in (e), and this was to prevent grief at the going out of it: so some days before the passover, the lamb was separated from the flock, and kept up till the fourteenth day, Exo 12:3 particularly it may be observed, that seven days before the day of atonement, the high priest was separated from his own house, and had to the chamber Palhedrin (f); and much such a space of time there was, between the day of the great atonement by Christ, and his unction by Mary; which is said to be against the day of his burial, which being the same day with his sufferings, was the great day of atonement: at this time Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, which had been dead; the last clause is left out in the Syriac, Persic, and Ethiopic versions: whom he raised from the dead; that is, "Jesus", as the Alexandrian copy, the Vulgate Latin, and all the Oriental versions express; and the Ethiopic version adds, "in Bethany". This was the town of Lazarus; here he lived, and here he died, and here he was raised from the dead; and here he continued and dwelt, after his resurrection; and hither Christ came to see him, and the rest of the family, though he knew he exposed himself to danger in so doing. (e) Maimon. Hilchot Sabbat. c. 29. sect. 1. 11, 12, 29. (f) Misn. Yoma, c. 1. sect. 1.

For the poor always ye have with you,.... And so would not want opportunities of showing a regard to them, which Christ always recommended; nor does he here in the least discourage an industrious and affectionate concern for them: the words seem to be a sort of prophecy, that there would be always poor persons in the churches of Christ, to be taken care of and provided for; See Gill on Mat 26:11; and yet the Jews suppose cases, in which the collectors of alms may have no poor to distribute to, and direct what they shall do in such cases (l): but me ye have not always; meaning, with respect to his corporeal presence, which would be quickly withdrawn from them, when there would be no more an opportunity of showing him personal respect, in such a way. (l) T. Bab. Pesachim, fol. 13. 1. & Bava Metzia, fol. 38. 1. & Bava Bathra, fol. 8. 2.

So powerful is the praise of a good work of this kind that it exhorts all of us to fill the Lord’s head with fragrant and rich works so that it may be said also of us that we have done a good work on his head. Because as long as we are in this life we will always have the poor with us, and those who have advanced in word and have become rich in the wisdom of God need to care for them, but [this] cannot be equal to having always with them, by night and day, the Son of God, the Word and Wisdom of God, and whatever also the Lord our Savior is.

What then saith Christ? "She hath done a good work for My burying." But why did He not expose the disciple in the case of the woman, nor say to him what the Evangelist hath declared, that on account of his own thieving he rebuked her? In His abundant longsuffering He wished to bring him to a better mind. For because He knew that he was a traitor, He from the beginning often rebuked him, saying, "Not all believe," and, "One of you is a devil." He showed them that He knew him to be a traitor, yet He did not openly rebuke him, but bare with him, desiring to recall him.

"Let her alone," He saith, "for against the day of My burying hath she done this." Again, He maketh mention of the traitor in speaking of His burial. But him the reproof reacheth not, nor doth the expression soften him, though sufficient to inspire him with pity: as if He had said, "I am burdensome and troublesome, but wait a little while, and I shall depart." This too he intended in saying, "But Me ye have not always."

But none of these things turned back that savage madman; yet in truth Jesus said and did far more than this, He washed his feet that night, made him a sharer in the table and the salt, a thing which is wont to restrain even the souls of robbers, and spake other words, enough to melt a stone, and this, not long before, but on the very day, in order that not even time might cause it to be forgotten. But he stood out against all.

(Tr. l. 13) He was speaking of His bodily presence; for in respect of His majesty, providence, ineffable and invisible grace, those words are fulfilled, Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. (Mat. 28:20) (c. 12.). Or thus: In the person of Judas are represented the wicked in the Church; for if thou art a good man, thou hast Christ now by faith, and the Sacrament, and thou shalt have Him always, for when thou hast departed hence, thou shalt go to Him who said to the thief, To-day shalt thou be with Me in paradise. (Luke 23:43) But if thou art wicked, thou seemest to have Christ, because thou art baptized with the baptism of Christ, because thou approachest to the altar of Christ: but by reason of thy wicked life, thou shalt not have Him alway. It is not thou hast, but ye have, the whole body of wicked men being addressed in Judas.

"For the poor ye have always with you, but me ye will not have always." We can certainly understand, "the poor ye have always;" what He has thus said is true. When were the poor wanting in the Church? "But me ye will not have always;" what does He mean by this? How are we to understand, "Me ye will not have always"? Don't be alarmed: it was addressed to Judas. Why, then, did He not say, thou wilt have, but, ye will have? Because Judas is not here a unit. One wicked man represents the whole body of the wicked; in the same way as Peter, the whole body of the good, yea, the body of the Church, but in respect to the good.

And the Savior also brings forward an argument that convinces us that nothing is better than devotion toward him. For, he says, love for the poor is very praiseworthy, only let it be put after veneration of God. And what he says amounts to this: The time, he says, that has been appointed for my being honored, that is to say, the time of my sojourn on earth, does not require that the poor should be honored before me. And this he said with reference to the incarnation. He does not, however, in any way forbid the sympathetic person to exercise love toward the poor. Therefore, when there is need of service or of singing, these must be honored before love toward the poor. For it is possible to do good after the spiritual services are over. He says therefore that it is not necessary always without intermission to devote our time to honoring himself or to spend everything on the priestly service but to lay out the greatest part on the poor. Or think of it this way: As he asks his disciples to fast after he had ascended to the Father, so also he says that then they may more freely give attention to the care of the poor and exercise their love for the poor with less disturbance and more time, which indeed was the case. For after the ascension of the Savior, when they were no longer following their Master on his journeys but had leisure, then they eagerly spent all the offerings that were brought to them on the poor.

If, he says, you are really sincere in your mercy for the poor, there is much time left for you to benefit them. There will never be a shortage of them in this world. But it will not always be easy for you to perform a service for me: I am staying with you for a short time, and then I will leave. First he purified the woman from the blame with these words by modestly saying that a greater honor had to be attributed to him than to the poor because he was staying with them for a short time. Then he reproved the intention of Judas because Judas did not care about the poor at all, nor should the woman be reproached because of the perfume she had poured.

Therefore He mentions the burial as well, striking at his senseless heart so that he might be corrected, and the addition has this meaning: "You always have the poor with you," He says, "but you do not always have Me; yet a little while, and I will depart, since you have prepared death for Me. Therefore, if I am disagreeable to you and the honor done to Me is burdensome to you, endure a little longer, and you will be rid of Me; and then it will be revealed whether it is for the sake of the poor that you are concerned about the sale of the myrrh."

Then when he says, the poor you always have with you, he rejects the spiritual reason which Judas feigned when he said: "Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor." Our Lord answered, the poor you always have with you. Here it might be remarked that sometimes one should do what is less needful if the opportunity remains for doing what is more needful. Thus, although it was more needful that this ointment be given to the poor rather than having it used to anoint the Lord's feet, nevertheless, because there was still opportunity to do the former, since we always have the poor with us, our Lord allowed what was less needful. In the statement that the poor you always have with you, we are led to understand the fellowship the rich should have toward the poor: "Make yourself companionable to the poor" (Si 4:7). But you do not always have me. Yet we read in Matthew (28:20): "I am with you always, to the close of the age." Augustine gives this reply. When our Lord said, but you do not always have me, he was speaking of his bodily presence, that is, as he appeared and in the form in which he would ascend into heaven: "Again, I am leaving the world" (16:28). But he is always with us as present in his divinity; and he is also present sacramentally in the Church. Another explanation would be this. When our Lord said this he was thinking of the presence of his divinity. Now some seem to possess Christ spiritually, either in the sacrament or in professing the faith; yet they will not always possess him because they belong to the Church only nominally, and not by merit. These are the servants. But the children will always possess him because "the son continues for ever" (8:35). Thus he said to Judas, but you do not always have me, because you have made yourself unworthy of this. As Chrysostom says, our Lord was rebuking Judas when he said this: for by being annoyed that this respect was shown to Christ, he seemed to consider Christ's presence as a burden. So Christ said, you do not always have me. This was like saying: I am a burden to you; but wait awhile, and I will be leaving.

Jesus sups at the house of Lazarus, and Mary anoints his feet, Joh 12:1-3. Judas Iscariot finds fault, and reproves her, Joh 12:4-6. Jesus vindicates Mary and reproves Judas, Joh 12:7, Joh 12:8. The chief priests consult to put Lazarus to death, because that through him many believed on Jesus, Joh 12:9-11. He enters Jerusalem in triumph; the people meet him, and the Pharisees are troubled, Joh 12:12-19. Greeks inquire after Jesus, Joh 12:20-22. Our Lord's discourse on the subject, Joh 12:23-26. Speaks of his passion, and is answered by a voice from heaven, Joh 12:27, Joh 12:28. The people are astonished at the voice, and Jesus explains it to them, and foretells his death, Joh 12:29-33. They question him concerning the perpetuity of the Messiah, and he instructs them, Joh 12:34-36. Many believe not; and in them the saying of Isaiah is fulfilled, Joh 12:37-41. Some of the chief rulers believe, but are afraid to confess him, Joh 12:42, Joh 12:43. He proclaims himself the light of the world, and shows the danger of rejecting his words, Joh 12:44-50.

THE ANOINTING AT BETHANY. (Joh 12:1-11) six days before the passover--that is, on the sixth day before it; probably after sunset on Friday evening, or the commencement of the Jewish sabbath preceding the passover.

the poor always . . . with you--referring to Deu 15:11. but me . . . not always--a gentle hint of His approaching departure. He adds (Mar 14:8), "She hath done what she could," a noble testimony, embodying a principle of immense importance. "Verily, I say unto you, Wheresoever this Gospel shall be preached in the whole world, there shall also this, that this woman hath done, be told for a memorial of her" (Mat 26:13; Mar 14:9). "In the act of love done to Him she had erected to herself an eternal monument, as lasting as the Gospel, the eternal word of God. From generation to generation this remarkable prophecy of the Lord has been fulfilled; and even we, in explaining this saying of the Redeemer, of necessity contribute to its accomplishment" [OLSHAUSEN]. "Who but Himself had the power to ensure to any work of man, even if resounding in his own time through the whole earth, an imperishable remembrance in the stream of history? Behold once more here, the majesty of His royal judicial supremacy in the government of the world, in this, Verily I say unto you" [STIER]. Beautiful are the lessons here: (1) Love to Christ transfigures the humblest services. All, indeed, who have themselves a heart value its least outgoings beyond the most costly mechanical performances; but how does it endear the Saviour to us to find Him endorsing the principle as His own standard in judging of character and deeds! What though in poor and humble guise Thou here didst sojourn, cottage-born, Yet from Thy glory in the skies Our earthly gold Thou didst not scorn. For Love delights to bring her best, And where Love is, that offering evermore is blest. Love on the Saviour's dying head Her spikenard drops unblam'd may pour, May mount His cross, and wrap Him dead In spices from the golden shore. KEBLE. (2) Works of utility should never be set in opposition to the promptings of self-sacrificing love, and the sincerity of those who do so is to be suspected. Under the mask of concern for the poor at home, how many excuse themselves from all care of the perishing heathen abroad. (3) Amidst conflicting duties, that which our "hand (presently) findeth to do" is to be preferred, and even a less duty only to be done now to a greater that can be done at any time. (4) "If there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not" (Co2 8:12). --"She hath done what she could" (Mar 14:8). (5) As Jesus beheld in spirit the universal diffusion of His Gospel, while His lowest depth of humiliation was only approaching, so He regards the facts of His earthly history as constituting the substance of this Gospel, and the relation of them as just the "preaching of this Gospel." Not that preachers are to confine themselves to a bare narration of these facts, but that they are to make their whole preaching turn upon them as its grand center, and derive from them its proper vitality; all that goes before this in the Bible being but the preparation for them, and all that follows but the sequel.