Pure Motives (John 11:45 - 12:10)

Today we see many people who make decisions based off hidden motives or underlying intentions. And it was no different at the time of Christ. In this section of Scripture, we will see how some Jews will hand Jesus over to the Pharisees, to try and get Him in trouble for raising Lazarus from the dead. Others in power will be scared to lose the temple, their nation and their hold of power and so will look to kill Jesus. Judas, whose hidden intention is to steal from the money bag, even gives a good reason why more money should go into that bag - for the poor! Hidden agendas and secret motives destroy communities and make us partial and biased when we make decisions. And so, as Christians we must keep far away from this. Here in John chapter 12, we meet the woman, Mary, who with pure intention, wipes Jesus feet with expensive perfume and cleans it with her hair. What a wonderful picture of someone who just has a profound, humble faith in Jesus! And so, we look to good examples as we reject bad ones.