Articles
Mary’s Memorial Day
May 31, 2010
Several days before Passover, the disciples sharply criticized Mary for behavior that implied neither immorality nor immodesty. While Jesus reclined at the table, she broke her alabaster flask containing a pound of very expensive perfume. As she poured it on the head and feet of Jesus, the scent of spikenard filled the house of Simon the leper.
They interrogated with indignation, “Why this waste?” (Matt.26:8). “Why was this fragrant oil wasted?” (Mark 14:4). Even Judas joined, “Why was this fragrant oil not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” (John 12:5). They hurled questions of rebuke rather than an honest inquiry for information. In doing so, they revealed their imprudent evaluation of her deed. She wasted a working man’s annual salary in one single moment and they resented it. “Wasted…wasted…wasted.” They thought she had squandered something of great value that would vanish in a short amount of time. The disciples were wrong. Jesus foretold that it would become a memorial wherever the gospel would be preached in the whole word.
Scripture does not reveal Mary’s specific thoughts or her reasons for this lavish anointing. Yet, Jesus defended her. “Let her alone. Do not trouble her. She has done a good work for Me. She has done what she could.” He would be crucified and buried in a matter of days. Yet, the disciples seemed oblivious to His clear warnings about His impending fate. Mary’s grief regarding the death and burial of her brother Lazarus still echoed in her mind. She knew the bitterness of burial. What could she do? Maybe her gift was an expression of thankfulness for raising Lazarus. I believe her anointing suggests a deeper significance.
Mary initiated the burial procession for her king. The disciples failed to recognize it but Jesus did. He would have known the passage in Song of Solomon 1:12 that said, “While the king is at his table, my spikenard sends forth its fragrance.” His kingship would be sorely tested and challenged during the next several days. Her anointing prepared Him and served as a reminder that He is, in fact, the King.
On the following day, the crowd waved palm branches and cried out that He was the King of Israel. Their praise soon vanished but the anointing lingered. After His betrayal, Pilate asked, “Are You the king of the Jews?” He did not look like a king but He smelled like one. Jesus responded, “It is as you say.” The crowds that hailed Jesus as He entered Jerusalem now cried, “Crucify Him.” Nevertheless, the anointing remained. The soldiers scourged Him and placed a crown of thorns on His perfumed head. They mocked Him, “Hail, King of the Jews!” If He began to doubt His royal position, the anointing of His feet assured Him. An iron spike now held the feet that Mary’s hair had wiped with spikenard. During the crucifixion, they taunted the Jews with the sign above His head which read, “THE KING OF THE JEWS.” The fragrance of the precious oil, mixed with His blood soaked sweat, helped remind Him. Yes, I am the King.
What the disciples saw as waste, Jesus saw as anointing the King. May we be careful not to criticize what others pour out and waste on Jesus? How many missionaries have been told by church members that they are wasting their lives in that foreign land? How many gifts or offerings have been made where another person freely disclosed their own ideas of more suitable uses for it? How many evangelical efforts on a lost sinner have been thwarted because someone said, “Don’t waste your time with them?” How much time have people spent in prayer meetings, while others consider it wasted time and effort? Please do not discourage others from serving Jesus with complete devotion. It may not make sense to us; but remember, they may be pouring themselves out for the King.
The fragrant memorial of Mary still lingers. What have you wasted on the King?
To God be the Glory,
David J. Fisher
