Mensa Otabil - Jesus' Response (10/22/2025)
John chapter 12, verses 7 and 8. But Jesus said, «Let her alone; for she has kept this for the day of my burial. For the poor you have with you always, but me you do not have always.»
After Judas had shown his sanctimonious disdain for what Mary had done, Mary’s worship, the Lord responded to Judas, and the statement of the Lord Jesus Christ carried several messages at several levels. First was the rebuke; the Lord Jesus rebuked Judas, and the rebuke was very sharp and very public. He said to Judas, «Let her alone,» and this sharp rebuke was enough to embarrass Judas in the community.
The reason was that the Lord knew Judas was a hypocrite. If there is anything Jesus Christ has shown throughout his ministry, it is his dislike for hypocrisy, and that’s why he went against some of the religious rulers of his day who were hypocritical. When he saw Judas showing hypocrisy, he rebuked him. Why? Because he knew Judas’s character; he knew the guy didn’t have the moral authority, the moral right, to talk about what he was discussing, and he was saying it for his own personal gain.
So that’s the first thing we note: the rebuke. The second thing is that Jesus commanded Mary because he understood the sincerity of Mary’s heart. He understood what it cost her to do what she had done, and Jesus commended it. He knew what it took for her to do what had been done. Jesus set a table just a week before his death, and people were having fun; nobody was considering him. He had been talking about his death; he had said when he went to Jerusalem he was going to die, but people didn’t really pay attention. The only one who paid attention was Mary. He understood the Lord was about to die, and so she decided to do something significant for Jesus Christ because of how her heart was connected to his mission. Then Jesus, after rebuking Judas and commending Mary, now gives his perspective on what has happened, and he says something very interesting: «The poor you always have with you.»
Now, what did Jesus Christ mean? Did he mean you shouldn’t take care of poor people? Far from that, Jesus Christ spent much of his life with the poor; he healed their sicknesses, he spoke the word of God to them, and on occasion, he even fed them. So Jesus was very committed to the poor; he related to them, he loved them. But Jesus also knew that there is another side of worship, which is not just showing concern for people but showing devotion to God.
So Jesus is saying devotion to God is superior to just taking care of the needs of people. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take care of the needs of people- in terms of hierarchy, devotion to God is more important. So he said what Mary has done was more important. Apart from that, it had a prophetic significance about his death and his resurrection. What we take from it is that we shouldn’t substitute good works with spiritual devotion to God.
We cannot say, «Oh, I will just do good to people, but I don’t really want to go to church and worship; I don’t want to praise God; I don’t want to serve God; I just want to help people.» That’s not how it works. Your heart must be for God, and you must also do things to help poor people. At this time, a heart for God was the superior one, and that’s what Mary chose: a heart for God, devotion, worship that was expressed to the Lord Jesus Christ. I hope that our heart for God will also be expressed in such generous ways.
Let’s pray. Say with me, «Heavenly Father, help me to always make you my priority. I choose to give my best in worship to you. In Jesus' name, amen.» Well, I’ll catch you again tomorrow; I’m Pastor Mensa Otabil. Shalom, peace, and life to you.