Six days before the Passover, Jesus therefore came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. So they gave a dinner for him there. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at table. Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was about to betray him), said, Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor? He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it. Jesus said, Leave her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of my burial. For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me. (John 12:1-8 ESV)
What was Mary thinking here? I mean really, using this perfume that costs more than a years wages for a normal person to clean the feet of Jesus and then she wipes it with her hair! That is very intimate. And very lavish.
We can speculate why she did this. Maybe she was over come with joy and wonder at Jesus just bringing her brother back to life and she wanted to give Him something to repay Him. Maybe she saw what Jesus could do and wanted Him to do something more for her. But the point is not Mary. You see John doesn’t tell us what Mary is thinking or what she hopes to get out of it.
Maybe it’s Judas, who in my opinion gets a really bad wrap in John, but I don’t think it is Judas either. Who is Jesus talking to when He says you will always have the poor? Yes I know He is speaking to Judas, but in John things aren’t always what they first appear to be. He is taking to Judas, but He is also taking to you.
When you first discovered the amount the perfume cost did you not judge Mary’s decision? Would you also have judged Jesus’ decision to wash His disciples feet in the next chapter? What difference does the cost of the perfume make? Mary did something for someone she cared for in the name of God and to show forth God’s love. Why are we not more like Mary? Freely willing to give up our most precious things for the other? The comment about the poor always being with us is not to down play the poor, but to help us see we can not save things or money to save the poor. We need to not worry about tomorrow and lavishly use what we have today.
Are you ready to break open your life and pour it on the feet of your savior by serving the other, by being there for the last, the lost, the least, the little?
aSacredRebel 