Tuesday, March 25, 2025
While he was in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, as he was reclining at the table, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured it on his head. But some were expressing indignation to one another: “Why has this perfume been wasted For this perfume might have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor.” And they began to scold her. Jesus replied, “Leave her alone. Why are you bothering her? She has done a noble thing for me. You always have the poor with you, and you can do what is good for them whenever you want, but you do not always have me. She has done what she could; she has anointed my body in advance for burial. Truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.” Mark 14:3-9
What does Jesus’ encounter with a woman on Wednesday teach us about risking everything for Him?
The scene is Bethany, just a few miles from Jerusalem; the time is Wednesday of Holy Week. Soon Jesus will be arrested, tried, convicted, and crucified. Tonight he and the disciples are having dinner with Simon, the Leper. As Jesus is reclining at the table along with His disciples, a woman named Mary who was a friend of Jesus, takes an alabaster jar containing very expensive perfume, breaks the container and uses all the precious perfume to anoint the head and feet of Jesus. Some believed this to be a great waste because the money would bring a lot of money to give to the poor.
Jesus defends the woman telling them to leave her alone. He says she has done a noble thing for me and is preparing my body for burial. He told them that they have would always have the poor with them to do good things for them when they wanted to, but they would not always have him.
Mary’s extravagant behavior shows her commitment and love for Jesus. The nard was very expensive, equal to $10-20,000 today. It was all she had. She knew he was worth everything and she didn’t care about the risk. She knew she had limited time – and limited resources even though she was pouring very expensive oil on him. It was a huge sacrifice on her part all the way around. It didn’t matter to her that everyone else in the room (besides Jesus) thought may have felt like she didn’t belong there. It didn’t matter to her that everyone else (besides Jesus) thought she was wasting this extravagance she poured out for her savior.
She was confident in what she was doing because she was confident in who he was. Mary acted in confidence and love in what she did for Jesus, in spite of being judged by the disciples, because she knew Jesus. She knew Him in a personal, face to face way. He came to her house, He ate at her table, He visited with her and her family in their living room, and He stayed at their house when He was passing through and needed a place to rest. She had sat at His feet on more than one occasion, and she knew He was the Messiah. She knew He was the chosen one and that His words were true, and if He said that the time was coming that He would be put to death, it was true. She knew him well.
We can obey with reckless abandon, risking everything and stepping out in faith because we know that God is faithful, trustworthy, and he keeps his promises. He knew that Mary gave all she could, and he said that she had done a noble thing for him. Jesus calls us to give him everything. There is nothing that we need to hold back from him. We can have complete faith in him, risking all to step out in obedience knowing that he is there with us all the way.
What are you holding back? He wants us to surrender all to him.
What are you avoiding because you are afraid to take the risk to step out in faith?
