Reading for Oct 1: John 12:1-11

 1 Then, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was who had been dead, whom He had raised from the dead. 2 There they made Him a supper; and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with Him. 3 Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.
4 But one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, who would betray Him, said, 5 "Why was this fragrant oil not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?" 6 This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the money box; and he used to take what was put in it.
7 But Jesus said, "Let her alone; she has kept this for the day of My burial. 8 For the poor you have with you always, but Me you do not have always."
9 Now a great many of the Jews knew that He was there; and they came, not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead. 10 But the chief priests plotted to put Lazarus to death also, 11 because on account of him many of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus.

My Comments:

Today we start Chapter 12, which is a transition chapter in John. Up to this point Jesus' teachings have been in public; now all of His teaching will be done in private with His followers. In these remaining chapters we are going to get instruction on what it means to be a true disciple of Christ.

In today's passage we see a contrast between a true follow of Christ, someone who has turned over everything she has to Him versus a "follower" of Jesus who was with Him only for personal gain. Mary had been through quit an ordeal with her brother's sickness then death, a period of confusion over why Jesus had let her brother die, and then she witnessed Lazarus being raised from the dead to sit and eat with them. The test of her faith and the display of God's power had given her devotion to Jesus that was unmatched by anyone else in that room at that time.

On the other end of the spectrum was Judas, who was indeed a follower of Jesus, but his following was only a physical following. Judas was always with Jesus but he had never really given himself sacrificially in his entirety to Jesus a true follower. Instead, Judas was with Jesus only for selfish reasons. He was only with Jesus because of what he thought he could get from Him. He was not a man of God, he was a man of the world. To prove it, look at how he responded to Mary's act of devotion. Mary seen the perfume as a way to please Christ, Judas seen the perfume as way to please himself.