And being in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, as He sat at the table, a woman came having a alabaster flask of very costly oil of spikenard. Then she broke the flask and poured it on His head. But there were some there who were indignant among themselves, and said, “Why was this fragrant oil wasted ? For it might have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor.” And they criticized her sharply. But Jesus said, “Let her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a good work for Me. For you have the poor with you always, and whenever you wish you may do them good; but Me you do not have always. She has done what she could. She has come beforehand to anoint My body for burial. Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her.” Mark 14:3-9
As you may already know, the gospel writers did not write what they saw as things were taking place, but wrote from their perspective of what they already seen take place. And here is a good example, The incident in our text occurred the previous Saturday as it is mentioned in John’s gospel chapter 12, verse 1. Now this man, Simon the leper is mentioned only in the New Testament only in connection with this narrative. And since a leper was an outcast in Jewish society, he was probably one who was miraculously cleansed of his leprosy by Jesus, and may have offered his home and this meal in gratitude of his healing. A woman—In John’s gospel he identifies her as Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus, who were also present at this meal. Alabaster flask was probably a long necked bottle that was usually brought from India. It was made from a special variety of marble, and proved to be the very best vessel container for it’s costly contents. Now it was custom that if you were a guest in someone’s house, that the host would dab a little of this beautiful smelling and very costly perfume and just dab it on you as way of honoring your visit. But this woman broke this container before Jesus and just poured it out before Him. Being so costly, you just didn’t ever see anyone do this. But this wasn’t just anyone visiting. When you ask Jesus into your home, Is He welcomed with this kind of hospitality? I mean do we hold back from ever giving Him our very best in what we own?
Some were indignant—Always remember that our work for the Lord will not always be admired or welcomed by others. In John’s gospel account 12:4-5; says, that Judas was the instigator behind these unkind remarks even to the point that it influenced the other disciples to view Mary’s actions as such a waste. In ministry, there is a fine line between service to the Lord, which is feeding His flock, and tending to His sheep, that also gets looked at by others in the body who if not being discerning or Spirit lead, may make comments about the way you do things. Often to the extent that it can look like jealousy, and can cause strive and division within the body of Christ. There is nothing more then what Satan would like to see, then bitterness between brethren serving the Lord. Since a denarius was a day’s wage, three hundred denarii represented almost a years wage for a person to earn. While the eleven disciples would have agreed to use this money for the needy, the fact was, that they might not ever have seen it anyway because Judas was in charge of the treasury.
You have the poor with you always—Opportunities to minister to the poor are “always “ available, but Jesus would be in their presence only a little while longer. Indicating to them, that this was not the time to be worried about the poor, but rather, it was a time for sacrificial worship of the One who would soon suffer and be crucified. He was revealing to them that there was a higher priority than any earthly ministry, and that is worship rendered to Him. This would be utter blasphemy to any other person less than God Himself, Jesus here, is implicitly affirming His deity. While Mary was probably without ever realizing what she was doing “anointing My body for burial,” her actions was used as preparation for Jesus’ anticipated death and burial.
Beloved friend, By the pure act of whole-hearted worship, which was unfeigned and not moved by emotions only, but rather Spirit filled, and Spirit lead, Mary worshiped at the feet of Jesus, her heart having been moved by God to perform such a sacrificial and symbolic act, the full significance she probably could have not known. Yet, she faithfully loved her Savior and was given special recognized honor by God by the guarantee of her actions would be declared in this gospel. As a memorial to her, which indicates God’s awareness of what we do for Him. Be that it may look to be small and insignificant in your eyes, when we do it unto the Lord, we shall have a just reward. Let us therefore encourage one another to use the gifts and talents bestowed upon us by the Lord, and never use them for anything nor anyone but to glorify God with. Let us not be willing to let them lay wasted and buried in the ground, or watered down in mediocrity by the this world’s compromised standards. For the Scripture says: “A man’s gift makes room for him, and brings him before great men.” (Proverbs 18:16) May whatever we do or say, and may it also be a standard of blessing to our families, find favor with others and be well received and respected. But most of all, I pray the gifts and talents You, Lord, have placed in us, will be released to find their fullest expression in glorifying You. In Jesus name, Amen.
May the Lord bless your walk with Him today!
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