Text: Mark 14:3-11, Matthew 26:14-16, Luke 22:3-6, Zechariah 11:12-13
Today is the fourth day of the portion of the church calendar commonly known as Holy Week.
In the coming days, we will slow our pace, walking through the events that took place between Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday. Rather than offer personal, written responses to each day’s Scripture reading, we’ve asked our friend, Pastor Russ Ramsey, to provide a real-time summary of the week’s events. Our prayer is that this more descriptive approach will usher you into the narrative and allow space for you to fully engage the beauty and ache of Holy Week.
Take this week slowly and reverently. It is a somber time, but let us never forget: Sunday is coming.
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On the Wednesday before His death, Jesus was still. Though Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday of Holy Week were filled with harrowing experiences that seemed to be drawing Him ever nearer to His death, on Wednesday Jesus stayed out of the public eye.
On this day, Jesus and His disciples had gone to the home of a man in Bethany known as Simon the leper (Matthew 26:6). Simon belonged to a growing part of the population known not for their accomplishments, but for what was wrong with them. It was a difficult life, but it must also have been strangely liberating since the first thing people learned about Simon was his broken past. Simon lived among the few who did not have to pretend to be what they were not. He was Simon, the leper. People could choose his company or reject it, but that was who he was.
In Simon’s home, during their meal together, Mary of Bethany, Lazarus’ sister, came to Jesus with an alabaster flask of perfume (Mark 14:3). She had been saving this perfume, worth a year’s wages, to perform this very act.
She began to pour the perfume on Jesus’ head and feet, which required breaking open its container. Like popping the cork on a $20,000 bottle of champagne, Mary intentionally and deliberately offered Jesus everything she had. By giving Him her most valuable possession, Mary was expressing that she knew what Jesus was about to give of Himself was for her.
The disciples reacted like many men often do. They considered the value of her perfume and regarded her actions as though she might as well have been burning a year’s wages in a bread oven. But they dressed their indignation up in the noble auspices of concern for the poor: Think of the poor people who could have benefited from the sale of this perfume (Mark 14:4-5).
But this was not how her actions hit Jesus. He came to her aid. What Mary is doing is beautiful, He said to them (Mark 14:6).
Appreciate the doctrinal principle here. The perfume could have been sold for a year’s wages, but what is perfume for? Is it merely a commodity Mary should have held on to in the event that she needed to cash it in? Is this how God would expect her to regard this valuable resource?
Apparently not. Perfume is meant to be poured out, released into the air until it is gone, in order to fill the room with its beautiful and startling aroma. So Mary breaks open the jar and the scent electrifies the senses of everyone present, and Jesus says it is beautiful.
Everything in creation testifies to a Creator who delights in beauty for beauty’s sake. So many things that are beautiful didn’t need to be. And it was God who elected to make them that way. He opted to make autumn a season saturated with bold, changing color. He didn’t have to make the setting sun the spectacle that it is. But He did. Why?
One reason must be because beauty pleases Him. And another may simply be to arrest people by their senses when they’re otherwise just plodding along, heads down, living within the economy of pragmatism.
What Mary did that day was beautiful and Jesus wanted everyone to know it. She was preparing Him for burial. There was honor and kindness in her gesture. He returned the honor by saying history would never forget her act of beauty (Mark 14:8-9). And we haven’t.
written by Russ Ramsey
adapted from Behold the King of Glory
Wow. What an act that Mary took that is still talked about generations later. Amazing to think about how much significance a bottle of perfume had.
http://www.in-due-time.com
Thankful for the comments today. This is a wonderful picture. Jesus gave everything for us. Mary placed everything at his feet. How reluctant I am to give everything, especially when you get hurt over and over. May the God that created all things beautiful strengthen me, so I can be a sweet savor.
Love that! Amen.
Give it up remember He will exchange it for a beautiful thing
One amazing thing to think about is that amount of perfume would’ve been very potent and lasted for days and days! Think about it. As he is brought before pilot. Perfume! As he is whipped and mocked. Perfume! As he is nailed to that tree. Perfume! The smell and sweet aroma of worship was with him the whole way through, even in the darkest and ugliest hours. That smell must’ve been a small blessing to him, reminding him of why he came. And it must’ve stopped many in their tracks, forcing them to ask again, who is this man??
Beautiful thought, Elizabeth.
Thank you so much for sharing this beautiful thought, Elisabeth. I never thought of the amount of perfume being poured onto Jesus and how that would last for days. That would last for what many thought of as his “last” days. I can only imagine the comfort He felt when He would get a wave of that smell, reminding Him of why and who He was sacrificing Himself for. Not only comfort, but reassurance of the people who do love Him, those who will come to know Him and those wanting to offer up all they have in thanksgiving. Thank you, Jesus, for your presence that serves as a strong perfume for us as a reminder that we are your children and that our relationship with you is everlasting.
Wow
How lovely. I enjoyed and will be thinking about this today.
I’ve heard teaching on this passage before that says that Mary’s jar of perfume was actually her dowry. Amazing to to think of the implications of her pouring that treasure, her hopes for her marriage and future life, out at Jesus’ feet!
Perfume is not meant to be hoarded but to be poured out, released.
My faith in Jesus my Savior is not meant to be hoarded but to be poured out, released. That the whole world, those in my little world, would know. May I be about my Father’s business today. Amen.
Amen my dear Sister! Let me go about our Father’s business as well.
How beautiful! Faith poured out and influencing all who are near.
I am constantly amazed how a very familiar verse can speak new things to me – the Word is living and active. Something I caught that I had never thought about before was Jesus’ comment, “The poor will always be with you and you can help them any time you want” The indignant ones who said this was a waste thought they were being very pious by being willing to sell the perfume and give it to the poor, an act all could see. I see Jesus’ response as a subtle reminder that we should be doing this any way and with humility.
Just yesterday the staff at our church was discussing this passage at our staff meeting. Our pastor brought to our attention the placement of this story in the events of Holy week. It comes before the suffering and crucifixion, before the Passover and their last supper together. This act of love Mary displayed really should be a echoed in our hearts this Easter season. If we miss loving Jesus and worshipping Him with all that we are and all that we have, we miss the heart of what Easter is all about. Romans 5:8 says “but God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Let’s remember to love Jesus above all. It’s our natural response to the amazing and lavish love poured out on us on the cross. Praying that we truly engage in worship this weekend and pour out ourselves as Mary did for our beautiful Saviour.
Thank you for this comment. Well said. I hope it settles in my heart.