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Two days before the Passover, the Lord
came to the house of Simon the leper. Lazarus reclined at the table with
him, Martha was serving. And Mary? Mary came out holding an alabaster vial
containing just enough liquid for one application. That small amount of
liquid was pure nard, a costly perfume worth 300 denarii - a year’s
wages. Mary must have saved up for over a year to buy it. It was her sweat
and blood, and very, very precious. Coming to Jesus, she broke the vial
and generously poured out its contents onto Jesus’ head and feet. The
fragrance filled the room.
The cost of the perfume meant nothing to her if she could just give it to
the Lord. But it did mean something to one whose devotion to Christ was
non-existant - Judas, Jesus’ own disciple - for he condemned her act. It
must have been a great sacrifice for Mary to give something so valuable to
the Lord, but she did so unbidden and willingly. Those around her did not
understand. They thought it a waste. But she cared not. Jesus was
deserving of more than pure nard. Oh, they mocked her as the vial went
dry, even though they too enjoyed its fragrance. They scolded her as she
wiped his feet with her hair like a lowly servant while they sat at their
seats. They did not understand, and she did not speak out for herself. It
was the Lord who spoke for her, and he vindicated her in words that she
could never have matched: "Truly I say to you, wherever this
gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also
be spoken of in memory of her." He gave her a permanent place in
the Bible, that wherever Christ is named, so shall she.
Oh, the world will never understand the sacrifices of the disciple. But it
matters not to them. The Lord understands, and they know they have his
approval. Christ is worth it - and worthy of more.
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