Mar 14:3 And being in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard very precious; and she brake the box, and poured it on his head.
Mar 14:4 And there were some that had indignation within themselves, and said, Why was this waste of the ointment made?
Mar 14:5 For it might have been sold for more than three hundred pence, and have been given to the poor. And they murmured against her.
Mar 14:6 And Jesus said, Let her alone; why trouble ye her? she hath wrought a good work on me.
Mar 14:7 For ye have the poor with you always, and whensoever ye will ye may do them good: but me ye have not always.
Mar 14:8 She hath done what she could: she is come aforehand to anoint my body to the burying.
Mar 14:9 Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world, this also that she hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her.
Mar 14:4 And there were some that had indignation within themselves, and said, Why was this waste of the ointment made?
Mar 14:5 For it might have been sold for more than three hundred pence, and have been given to the poor. And they murmured against her.
Mar 14:6 And Jesus said, Let her alone; why trouble ye her? she hath wrought a good work on me.
Mar 14:7 For ye have the poor with you always, and whensoever ye will ye may do them good: but me ye have not always.
Mar 14:8 She hath done what she could: she is come aforehand to anoint my body to the burying.
Mar 14:9 Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world, this also that she hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her.
An Offering of Love
This beautiful incident took place on the Tuesday evening of Passion Week, while the chief priests were gathered in the house of Caiaphas to plot the Lord’s death, Mat_26:3-5. Simon had probably been healed by Jesus, and the feast was held in his house, as being larger than Martha’s. Jesus was intimate with Lazarus and his sisters, and this unnamed woman was Mary, Joh_12:2-3. Alabaster resembled white marble, and the perfume was carefully sealed to preserve it. Its cost would amount to about fifty dollars, and would represent the work of three hundred days, Mat_20:2. Loveless hearts cannot understand the expenditure of love-they count it waste; but how quickly Jesus steps in to vindicate His own! Probably, of all His followers, Mary alone had understood His references to His death, and as she could not be present to perform the last offices of love, she rendered them in advance. Judas, who led the murmuring, seems to have been goaded to this act by the contrast of Mary’s spirit with his own, and by Christ’s gentle rebuke.
The two sent to prepare the Passover were Peter and John, Luk_22:8. We may often be guided by very trivial incidents-let us look out for them. A straw may indicate the direction of the current. The owner of the room was probably a secret disciple of Jesus, like him who lent the ass. The R.V. says, “my guest-chamber.” It is very beautiful when the Master feels free to put His hand on our possessions, and claim their use. Does he not ask for the guest chamber of our inner life? Is it at His disposal? F.B. Meyer
The two sent to prepare the Passover were Peter and John, Luk_22:8. We may often be guided by very trivial incidents-let us look out for them. A straw may indicate the direction of the current. The owner of the room was probably a secret disciple of Jesus, like him who lent the ass. The R.V. says, “my guest-chamber.” It is very beautiful when the Master feels free to put His hand on our possessions, and claim their use. Does he not ask for the guest chamber of our inner life? Is it at His disposal? F.B. Meyer
| And she brake the box, and poured it on his head “and anointed,” adds John (Joh_12:3), “the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odor of the ointment.” The only use of this was to refresh and exhilarate - a grateful compliment in the East, amid the closeness of a heated atmosphere, with many guests at a feast. Such was the form in which Mary’s love to Christ, at so much cost to herself, poured itself out. |  |
LOVE’S FRAGRANT GIFT
There was no value in the spikenard except to refresh and comfort, but this was sufficient to warrant Mary’s act. We must not always be considering the utilitarian side of service. There are hours of holy ecstasy when we are lifted out of ourselves, in the expression of our love to Jesus, in ways that to cold and calculating onlookers seem mere extravagance. In her absorption in Him whom she loved, Mary has incited myriads to similar acts. But her love stirred up the evil in the heart of Judas, as summer’s lovely sunshine extracts poison from stagnant ponds. Our Advocate will screen us from our dread accuser. He interpreted Mary’s motive. She knew that her Lord would be crucified, and as she thought that there would be no opportunity for love to perform the last offices, she beforehand anointed Him for the burial.
F.B. Meyer
F.B. Meyer
