Costly Devotion

Costly Devotion

She gladly gave up her most valuable possession.

THE YEAR was A.D. 33, and the Feast of Passover was approaching when every Jewish male was required to come to Jerusalem. Six days before the Passover, Jesus arrived in Bethany, the hometown of Lazarus, the friend he had raised from the dead only a short time before. On the far side of the Mount of Olives, Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem and an easy walk to the temple.

That night, March 28, A.D. 33, a dinner was prepared in Jesus’ honor at the home of Simon the leper (Mark 14:3). Martha, the sister of Lazarus, served the food, and Lazarus, of course, was among the guests (John 12:2).

The custom was for the Jewish men to eat together, reclining on thin mats around a low table and leaning on their left arms with their feet radiating out from the table.

As they reclined around the table that evening, Mary, the other sister of Lazarus, brought out a twelve-ounce jar of extremely expensive perfume made from essence of nard and imported from India. Breaking open the jar, she went over to Jesus and anointed him. The whole house was filled with the wonderful fragrance.

Judas Iscariot immediately objected, “That perfume was worth a small fortune. It should have been sold and the money given to the poor” (12:4). The perfume was, in fact, very costly—worth three hundred denarii, the equivalent of a year’s wages for the average working man of Jesus’ day.

The ugly truth was that Judas was not burdened for the poor but had an ulterior motive. Serving as treasurer for Jesus and his disciples, Judas was in charge of the disciples’ funds and often took some for himself (12:6). He was no doubt thinking, If we can get some big contributions like this coming in, I can make myself rich.

How did Jesus react? “Leave her alone,” he replied. “She did it in preparation for my burial. You will always have the poor among you, but I will not be here with you much longer” (12:7-8).

Mary did not know that Jesus was about to die, yet her act symbolized more than she knew. In the culture of Jesus’ day it was not thought inappropriate to spend extravagant amounts on a funeral, especially for expensive perfumes that would mask the smell of decay. Mary lavishly anointed Jesus while he was still alive, just as Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus would six days later after his death (19:38-40). Her act of amazing devotion was both appropriate and timely. Jesus knew that his death and burial were imminent and that, as God the Son, he was due the same honor as God the Father (5:23). He knew that in six days he would become the perfect Passover Lamb, removing the power of sin forever by his sacrificial death—something all previous Passover lambs had been unable to do.

Reflection

The perfume Mary used to anoint Jesus undoubtedly represented a significant portion of her net worth. Yet in her complete devotion to Jesus, she never questioned that this was the obvious thing to do. How great is your devotion to Jesus? How much are you willing to give to him?

Wherever your treasure is, there your heart and thoughts will also be.

Matthew 6:21