Basic HTML Version
Jes us. Proximity to the source of
power in any human organization is
always a subject of contention.
Scramble for Power
On occasion the disciples' own fam–
ilies became involved in the petty
bickering. At such times, there was
ample opportunity for a spate of
self-pity: They complained of how
much they had "sutfered" and how
long they had endured; the hard–
ships they had undergone; the fact
that Jesus didn ' t seem to be paying
them enough attention. Attitudes of
fie rce family loyalties and mutual
commiseration at these alleged
slights finally became so intense
that, on at least two occasions, there
was open conftict about which dis–
ciple would "sit on His right hand
and which on His left hand" when
Jesus would set up His Kingdom.
Though the disciples were mature
men possibly well along in t.)leir
twenties or even older, one of their
mo th ers approached Jesus and
besought Him to bring an end to the
agony of doubt and curiosity by
naming then and there which disci–
ples would be His chief üeutenants
in the Kingdom. (See Matthew
20:21-28.)
Jesus exclaimed: " l'm sorry! That
is not my decision. lt is not my
choice or my place to appoint who is
going to be at my right hand or my
left hand in the Kingdom, but my
Father's!"
Jesus gave the striking example
concerning the giving up of family
ties, homes, and human roots to
settle this argument about the lead–
ership in the Kingdom. He reas–
sured His disciples in the strongest
terms that anyone who had given up
homes, families, lands, positions,
businesses, personal wealth or even
as much as üfe itself would "inherit
an hundredfold" in the Kingdom.
Jesus wanted to get across the les–
son that when one is truly con–
verted, even though his own family
and friends might turn against him,
h e immedia tely beco mes the
"adopted son" of every member of
the body of Christ (the Church) and,
in that sense, immediately inherits
hundreds of "fathers and mothers,
brothers and sisters" in Christ. In
the ultimate sense, of course, his lit–
era l kinship with the family of God
The
PLAIN TRUTH March 1978
after the resurrection will yield an
infinite increase- of joy, power,
wealth, and brethren!
Gradually, though, Judas became
Jesus' chief critic. Jesus knew it,
even though on a day-to-day basis
in their "love-hate" relationship
(Jesus doing all the loving, Judas
doing all the hating) there were
pleasant enough exchanges and
greetings.
Not only did Jesus know Judas
was stealing, but Judas also began
to suspect that Jesus knew it, and
this further exacerbated his anx–
ieties. It even brought open criticism
from him in public meetings near
the last ofChrist's ministry.
Mary's Mlsunderstood Glft
Mary of Bethany understood even
more vividly than sorne of Christ's
own disciples that Jesus literally
meant what He said about His im–
pending persecution, crucifixion and
burial.
Thus, Mary privately bought a
very expensive ointment she was go–
ing to keep until the time of His
death so she could ensure that He
had the finest funeral possible.
Mary had heard the tale of the town
prostitute who had wiped.Jesus' feet
with her hair, splashing her own
tears on His feet and totally humili–
ating herself in abject worship be–
cause of the weight of her sins and
her deepest desire for Christ's for–
giveness.
During a large public dinner in
Simon the leper's house in Bethany,
not long before Christ's last twenty–
four hours on earth as a man, Mary
was overcome with emotion and grief
as a result ofthe heaviness she saw in
Jesus' face and in His demeanor. She
then knelt at His feet , and producing
this box ofvery expensive spikenard,
began to anoint His feet with it,
crying, and using the ha ir of her own
head to wipe them.
Judas probably looked around at
the two or three disciples he had
inftuenced the most, and, nudging
one with his elbow, said: "Look at
that! There is another example of
terrible extravagance! Why in the
world doesn't Jesus tell the woman
to get up, and save that expensive
ointment.
lt
could be sold for a
great deal of money, and we could
give it to the poor (Mark 14:4-5].
That would be a far greater example
of the compassion Jesus so readily
preaches than allowing Mary to
waste all of that expensive ointment
on Him- especially at this time
when we are in such financia!
trouble."
Judas was pleased to observe that
severa! of the other disciples were
equally as outraged as he pretended
to be. Judas had fostered this atti–
tude in them by a long process of
insidious innuendo. John later re–
called and wrote that Judas said,
"Why wasn't this ointment sold for
300 pence and given to the poor?"
But John added, "Judas said this
not because he really cared for the
poor, but because he happened to
be a thief, and, having control of the
common treasury, was constantly
skimming from it" (John 12:6, para–
phrased).
Jesus then made another of His
unexpected statements, neither un–
derstood by many of His disciples
then nor understood today by many
who believe in a false Jesus: "What
are you bothering this woman for?
She has performed a fine thing for
me. There will always be poor
people in every society and, hope–
fully, whenever you find opportu–
nity, you should do good to them.
But you will not a lways have me
with you! She understands what
sorne of you don't seem to under–
stand, and is anointing the hair of
my head and my body in advance
for my burial.
" lndeed, where.ver the gospel is
preached throughout the whole
world, what this woman is doing for
me bere tonight will be spoken of
her as a memorial."
Judas became terribly angry at
this stinging public rebuke, and his
guilt, rising up like bile in his
mouth, beFame so intense he simply
had to choke it down. The only
method to quiet his own guilt was to
pretend Jesus could not have known
about
it,
and to nurse feelings of
righteous indignation against Christ,
hardening his resolve to "get Him"
if the opportunity ever presented it–
self.
Chrlst In Hls Own lmage
Judas didn't like the real Jesus very
much. He would have far preferred
(Continued on page 36)
5