Six days before the Passover began, Jesus went back to Bethany, the town where he raised Lazarus from the dead. They had prepared a supper for Jesus. Martha served, and Lazarus and Mary were among those at the table. Mary picked up an alabaster jar filled with nearly a liter of extremely rare and costly perfume—the purest extract of nard, and she anointed Jesus’ feet. Then she wiped them dry with her long hair. And the fragrance of the costly oil filled the house. But Judas … the betrayer, spoke up and said, “What a waste! We could have sold this perfume for a fortune and given the money to the poor!”……Jesus said to Judas, “Leave her alone! She has saved it for the time of my burial. John 12:1-7
As I began to prepare for the Awaken: Women in Worship night, the Lord led me to the story of Mary and her alabaster box. Her action that night was from a place of total love and devotion to Jesus. And to fully realize the depth and impact of Mary’s action, we need to look at the significance of that box and what it contained.
The alabaster box was made of a hard marble stone which was very difficult to break open. It was designed to be opened only once, by breaking the box itself. It required intentionality.
The alabaster box was filled with a precious, perfumed ointment called nard … a sweet-smelling ointment from a plant in India, carried over land to the Middle East. Scripture says it cost more than a year’s wages…that would have been thousands of dollars to us. It was costly!
Its value was not only because of the cost, but because of how it was used. Scholars tell us that a young girl would be given this box by her family when she reached marrying age. Then, she would give it to her husband as a sign of her commitment and devotion to him. In a sense it was her inheritance, a type of dowry. It was also a common practice among the Jews to prepare a body for burial with this fragrant ointment…no one in that room but Jesus knew what would take place within a week.
Mary had no idea that she was prophetically preparing Jesus for his burial.
Imagine the scene with me:
The table is laden with food and surrounded by her brother, Lazarus, the twelve disciples, and Jesus. Martha is probably in the kitchen doing what Martha did so well.
Mary, overwhelmed by her love for Jesus, takes the one thing that she owns that has any value, any worth, and once again she comes and sits at Jesus’ feet.
She takes down her hair, laying aside her traditions, her pride, her own glory, and takes the place of a servant at His feet. Weeping, she forcefully breaks open her alabaster box filled with this rare, fragrant, precious oil. Immediately the sweet fragrance fills the room…fills the entire house! She pours it on His feet. And then, kneeling there, she begins to wipe His feet with her hair.
I wonder what the immediate response was…I can imagine at first a shocked silence … before Judas speaks up. What did Lazarus and Martha think of her action? Did they understand her actions…her motivation? It’s possible that this alabaster box was her inheritance…and she just poured it out on Jesus’ feet.
But Mary was acting out of her intense love and devotion to Jesus – this was her act of worship!
True, Pure, Intentional worship.
And Judas called it a waste…
Matthew 26:13 records Jesus saying, “wherever the gospel is preached, this story will be told.” Why?
I believe Mary’s story is an example to us that true worship… in response to all Jesus has done for us…is costly, it may go against our traditions, it will cause us to lay down our pride. It’s intentional!
It is NOT…a waste!
My study Bible noted that as Mary wiped the feet of Jesus with her hair, the fragrance, blessing and sweetness were transferred back onto her own head…Jesus responds to our worship. He meets us there!
As you consider Mary’s story of giving her most valued treasure in response to Jesus, ask yourself…
“How do I respond to the One who gave His life for me?”
‘Lena
(c)2021
