Someone once said that worship is the act of sacrificially giving to Jesus something that is precious to us. What would that be for you? Your money? Your time? Your job? For the Mary of Bethany, it was a container of perfume.
First of all, the alabaster jar of ointment contained something that was very precious, but as long as it stayed in the container, it didn’t benefit anyone. But when the perfume was poured out upon Jesus its fragrance filled the house. God has given each one of us a spiritual gift. It may be great faith, acts of service, hospitality, teaching, or some other gift. But if you keep that gift to yourself, it benefits no one. It is your responsibility as a Christian to figure out what your gift is, and then to use it for the glory of God and the benefit of those around you.
When Mary wiped Jesus’ feet with her hair, she walked away smelling like Jesus did. When we use what we have for Jesus, others can sense that we have been with Him. If your gift is mercy, you display the mercy that Jesus showed to us when He died in our place. If your gift is evangelism, then you display the love that Jesus has for sinners. The use of our spiritual gifts causes others to sense Jesus’ presence in our lives.
Mary couldn’t do much, but she did what she could. Mary couldn’t keep the Jewish leaders from falsely accusing Jesus. She couldn’t keep the soldiers from crucifying Him, or the crowds from mocking Him. But she could show her love and devotion by sacrificing the most precious thing that she possessed. You may be thinking, I can’t teach, I can’t sing, but too often we focus on what we can’t do instead of what we can. So what if you can’t teach? Not everyone is meant to be a teacher. Can you call someone on the phone and invite them to church? Can you go and visit someone who is in the hospital? For us to accomplish great things in God’s Kingdom, we must all work together, doing whatever we have the ability to do.
Jesus told the disciples to leave Mary alone and to stop criticizing her. We must never disregard or devalue anyone else’s acts of service. The sad thing is that I see Christians do that all the time. The people who do these things are just like the disciples in the story…too busy complaining about others to worship their Lord and Savior.
Some believe that Mary’s act of devotion was the thing that caused Judas to decide to switch teams. Judas was the most vocal of the disciples in criticizing Mary for what she had done, but it wasn’t because he was concerned for the poor; it was because he was the treasurer of the group and had taken some of their money for himself. Judas wanted to get his hands on that money. So when Jesus condemns the disciples for criticizing Mary, Judas decides to get his money another way…by betraying Him. Judas went to the religious leaders and promised to hand over Jesus for 30 pieces of silver.
What is Jesus worth to you? To Mary, He was worth everything that she had. To Judas He was worth 30 pieces of silver. (SHAWN ROSE)