1,983 years ago the closing scenes in the life of Jesus Christ were taking place. Just prior to His triumphal entry into the Jerusalem, Jesus had raised up His dear friend Lazarus from the grave. Through our Heavenly Father's guidance Jesus became very close to Lazarus and his family. "Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus." Jn.11:5.

     These words declaring Christ's special affection for this family are not found anywhere else in His relationships. Throughout the short three and a half years of Christ's ministry, Jesus had special moments of repose in the presence of Lazarus, Martha and Mary. And at the death of Lazarus is recorded the shortest verse in all of Scripture: "Jesus wept." Jn.11:35.

     But in the death of Lazarus is seen the greatest miracle ever witnessed in the public ministry of Christ to draw people's faith in Him as the Savior of all men:

“Then when Jesus came, he found that he [Lazarus] had lain in the grave four days already. Now Bethany was nigh unto Jerusalem, about fifteen furlongs off: And many of the Jews came to Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother. Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met him: but Mary sat still in the house. Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee. Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again. Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day. Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world. And when she had so said, she went her way, and called Mary her sister secretly, saying, The Master is come, and calleth for thee. As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly, and came unto him. Now Jesus was not yet come into the town, but was in that place where Martha met him. The Jews then which were with her in the house, and comforted her, when they saw Mary, that she rose up hastily and went out, followed her, saying, She goeth unto the grave to weep there. Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled, And said, Where have ye laid him? They said unto him, Lord, come and see. Jesus wept. Then said the Jews, Behold how he loved him! And some of them said, Could not this man, which opened the eyes of the blind, have caused that even this man should not have died? Jesus therefore again groaning in himself cometh to the grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it. Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days. Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God? Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me. And when he thus had spoken , he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go. Then many of the Jews which came to Mary, and had seen the things which Jesus did, believed on him.” Jn.11:17-45.

     After this supreme display of the power of Christ to save came Simon’s feast. Jesus had healed Simon the Pharisee from leprosy. And after raising Lazarus from the dead, Simon held a feast in honor of Jesus. All were there, including Mary Magdalene, Lazarus’ sister. Among all of Christ’s followers, including the apostles themselves, none was more steadfast in their faith in Jesus than Mary Magdalene. She was the only one who believed the Savior’s words when He said He was going to die (Lu.9:44; Matt.26:6-13). Even Peter refused the words of Jesus on this (Mk.8:33) in which the LORD had to chide the Devil for leading Peter to reject the Savior’s own words concerning His crucifixion.

     But it was Mary's faith in Christ's words, regardless of the popular views that were misleading everyone (including Christ’s disciples) that led to the final scene where Jesus commended her before them all. In the following passages we will now learn the lessons of faith, ignorance and betrayal that sprang from this closing scene of Christ's ministry, just preceding His Last Supper, arrest and crucifixion. To understand the complete story we will unite the testimonies of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John to obtain a full understanding of Christ's commendation of Mary.

"And one of the Pharisees desired him that he would eat with him. And he went into the Pharisee's house, and sat down to meat." "Now when Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper, There came unto him a woman having an alabaster box of very precious ointment, and poured it on his head, as he sat at meat." "And stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment. Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him: for she is a sinner. And Jesus answering said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And he saith, Master, say on. There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty. And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most? Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged. And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head. Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet. My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment. Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little. And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven. And they that sat at meat with him began to say within themselves, Who is this that forgiveth sins also? And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace." "Then saith one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, which should betray him, Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor? This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein. Then said Jesus, Let her alone: against the day of my burying hath she kept this." "And Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, went unto the chief priests, to betray him unto them. And when they heard it, they were glad, and promised to give him money. And he sought how he might conveniently betray him." Lu.7:38-50; Matt.26:6,7; Jn.12:1-7; Mk.14:10,11.

     It is a sobering example showing just how frail our human nature is that after Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, and a joyful feast was provided to the Savior in honor of His masterpiece of miracles, that this pitiful situation should suddenly appear and overrule the whole tenor of the gathering. The old historians tell the story of how Simon the Pharisee was the one who originally led Mary into the sin of adultery when she was a child. It was this sin among others that led to Simon's leprosy. But the glory of Christ would overrule by healing Simon of the bitter disease caused by his sin, giving him opportunity to reform his character into the similitude of Christ and receive the peace and joy associated with that direction for one's life: the life of wise benevolence. And so, when Simon murmured in his heart against Jesus for allowing this 'ungodly woman' to lavish such affectionate devotion, the LORD did not humiliate Simon for his role of introducing Mary into the sin of adultery, dishonoring her womanhood, whose sense of shame and disgrace over time led her into prostitution. Jesus shielded Simon from all humiliation by telling him a simple story of forgiveness, in which any reasonable man would say, Amen!

     Now in the case Judas Iscariot [who, by the way, was the son of Simon the pharisee (Jn.12:4)], he publicly humiliated Mary before the whole company at Simon's feast. He shamed the actions of Mary as being sinful and wasteful to proper stewardship for the service of GOD. Even the disciples said amen to Judas in his public humiliation of Mary: "And they murmured against her." Here was a most profound moment of the Savior's work among sinful men. And the result led to Christ's betrayal, torture and crucifixion, for Judas had used his high position among the Apostles as a license for evil. Once again, the Savior was called to deliver Mary from the threat of men, just as He did when she was caught in the act of adultery and brought before Christ. (Yes, it is this Mary, whose name was shielded from that humiliation.) And on this, Christ stood faithful to the valiant vindication of Mary, even though He knew that to defend Mary, the outcome would usher Him to the Crucifix. But this is as the Father ordained it to be, and Jesus would never go against the path marked out by the Father to the blessing of Mary whose honor includes the whole of mankind. Facing Judas "Jesus said, Let her alone; why trouble ye her? she hath wrought a good work on me...She hath done what she could: she is come aforehand to anoint my body to the burying...And Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, went unto the chief priests, to betray him unto them." John 14:6-10.

     It should be noted that ministers in the pulpit forget to mention how male chauvinism played the leading role in the betrayal of Jesus Christ. Not only did the sting of humiliation cut deep into Judas' pride and arrogance but he was humiliated over a 'mere woman,' and "a sinner." But Mary was the only one at Simon's feast led of the Holy Spirit to bless the LORD. She was no longer trapped in prostitution, for Jesus delivered Mary, "out of whom he had cast seven devils" (Mk.16;9.). And her heart was now fastened to the LORD Jesus Christ and no one could shake her faith.

     Now came the time for the Passover Week. This single greatest event of the Jewish economy pointed to the coming sacrifice of Jesus to pour out His Life’s Blood to atone as the “Everlasting Father” of man for the sins of His children. As all men were "in Adam" to condemnation, now all men are “in Christ” to justification! The LORD had-and-will fulfill every significance of the sanctuary service of Moses’ Law. On the Sunday, which we celebrate as Palm or Passion Sunday, Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies of Genesis 49:10-12 and Zechariah 9:9: “Rejoice heart and soul, daughter of Zion! Shout for joy, daughter of Jerusalem! Look, your king is approaching, he is vindicated and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” This Galilean rabbi rode in triumphal procession into Jerusalem. His followers claimed He was the heir to David’s throne and the promised Messiah. Jesus riding into the holy city on a donkey recalled to those knowledgeable among the people the historical event when King David's son, Solomon, rode into Jerusalem on his coronation day (I Kings 1:28-40). This scene recalling Solomon's triumphal ride, encouraged the people to shout out just as their ancestors had hailed Solomon, "Hosannah! Blessed is he who is coming in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of David our father! Hosannah in the highest heavens" (Mat 21:9).

“And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this? And the multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee. And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves, And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves." Matt.21:10-13.

     This is the second time Jesus cleansed the Temple of Jerusalem. The first time was at the beginning of His ministry (Jn 2:13-17). But in this moment is seen a profound and lovely example contrasting those whose hearts are sensitive to love’s leading vs. those who despise its display. It should be noted that the poor, the blind and the lame did not flee with all the con men professing GOD’S service. All those who only lived to serve their own bellies were scared far beyond a normal fear. The Divinity of Christ flashed through humanity and these religious leaders with their business cohorts truly panicked in terror for their lives. But those who felt they were being exploited by their own religion as browbeaten, oppressed and demoralized, these remained and stood still, watching this event unfold before their eyes; with each being drawn to the heart’s cry: “Is Jesus doing this for me? Is Jesus defending me from my accusers who tell me I am cursed of God?” After the swindlers were gone and only the blind and the lame remained, trembling they came to Jesus. And as usual with GOD’S character of love drawing love, Jesus said with tears for their good future, “Fear not.” "And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple; and he healed them. And when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying in the temple, and saying, Hosanna to the Son of David; they were sore displeased, And said unto him, Hearest thou what these say? And Jesus saith unto them, Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise?" Matt.21:14-16.

     He was to cleanse the temple one last time on Wednesday.