Day 31: Mary and Jesus Both Wash Feet

Reading both of these chapters together was sort of interesting because I noticed for the first time that the beginning of chapter 12, Mary anoints Jesus' feet, and in chapter 13, Jesus washes his disciples' feet.  When Mary anoints Jesus' feet, she is at home with her sister and brother, Martha and Lazarus.  Imagine -- just a chapter ago, Jesus has raised Lazarus from the dead, and now, they are having dinner together.  Judas is the only disciple to complain about the waste (and he is named as a thief, so his motives are questioned right away).

It's after this scene that Jesus enters Jerusalem to the cheering crowds.  (Bethany, where Mary, Martha and Lazarus live, is just outside Jerusalem, by the way).  Some of the cheering crowds are there because they heard about Lazarus' raising, actually.  Jesus takes the opportunity to teach about his death (unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies....).  Also, it's interesting that some Greeks want to be introduced to Jesus.  There are only a couple of references in John to followers of Jesus who are not Jewish.  This is one of them.  (The Samaritan woman in Chapter 4 is the other one.)

Though there is a lot of language in John about "The Jews", it is important to notice that all of the followers of Jesus are Jewish. 

Finally, in chapter 13, Jesus begins his final teaching of his disciples before his crucifixion.  He begins with an object lesson.  He washes their feet.  And then he tells them the most important thing he wants them to know:  "Love one another as I have loved you."

Seems simple, right?  Then why is it so hard to do?