Picture: Mary Anoints Jesus 3TC 356.1
This chapter is based on Matthew 26:6-13; Mark 14:3-11; Luke 7:36-50; John 11:55-57; 12:1-11.
Simon of Bethany was one of the few Pharisees who had openly joined Christ’s followers. He hoped that Jesus might be the Messiah, but had not accepted Him as a Savior. His character was not transformed. His principles were unchanged. 3TC 356.2
Jesus had healed Simon of leprosy, and Simon wanted to show his gratitude. At the time of Christ’s last visit to Bethany, he made a feast for the Savior and His disciples. This feast brought together many of the Jews, who watched His movements closely, some with unfriendly eyes. 3TC 356.3
As He usually did, the Savior had sought rest at the home of Lazarus. Many of the people flocked to Bethany, some out of sympathy with Jesus, and others from curiosity to see Lazarus, who had been raised from the dead. With assurance and power, Lazarus declared that Jesus was the Son of God. 3TC 356.4
The people were eager to see whether Lazarus would go with Jesus to Jerusalem and whether the Prophet would be crowned king at the Passover. The priests and rulers could hardly wait for the opportunity to remove Him forever from their way. They remembered how often He had evaded their murderous plots, and they were afraid that He would remain away. They questioned among themselves, “What do you think—that He will not come to the feast?” 3TC 356.5
They called a council. Since the raising of Lazarus the people were so favorable to Christ that it would be dangerous to arrest Him openly. So the authorities decided to take Him secretly and carry out the trial as quietly as possible. They hoped that when people heard about His condemnation, the fickle tide of public opinion would turn in their favor. 3TC 356.6
But as long as Lazarus lived, the priests and rabbis knew they were not secure. The existence of a man who had been in the grave four days and had been restored by a word from Jesus would cause a reaction. The people would avenge themselves on their leaders for taking the life of One who could perform such a miracle. The Sanhedrin therefore decided that Lazarus also must die. 3TC 356.7
While this plotting was going on at Jerusalem, Jesus and His friends were invited to Simon’s feast. At the table, Simon sat on one side of the Savior and Lazarus on the other. Martha served, but Mary was earnestly listening to every word from the lips of Jesus. In His mercy, Jesus had pardoned her sins and called her brother from the grave, and gratitude filled Mary’s heart. She had heard Jesus speak of His approaching death, and she had longed to honor Him in some special way. 3TC 356.8
At great personal sacrifice she had purchased an alabaster box of “ointment of spikenard, very costly,” with which to anoint His body. But now many were declaring that He was about to be crowned king. Her grief was turned to joy, and she was eager to be the first to honor her Lord. Breaking her box of ointment, she poured its contents on the head and feet of Jesus. Then, as she knelt weeping, moistening them with her tears, she wiped His feet with her long, flowing hair. Her movements might have gone unnoticed, but the ointment filled the room with its fragrance and announced her act to everyone there. 3TC 357.1
Judas witnessed this act with great displeasure. He began to whisper his complaints to those near him, blaming Christ for allowing such waste. Judas, the treasurer for the disciples, had secretly taken funds for his own use from their little supply of money, in this way reducing their resources to almost nothing. He was eager to put into the moneybag all that he could get. When one of their group bought something that he did not think was essential, he would say, “Why was not the cost of this put into the bag that I carry for the poor?” 3TC 357.2
Mary’s act was in such dramatic contrast to his selfishness that he was put to shame. He tried to claim a worthy motive for objecting to her gift: “‘Why was this fragrant oil not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?’ This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief.” If Mary’s ointment had been sold and the proceeds come into his possession, the poor would have received no benefit. 3TC 357.3
As a financier, Judas thought of himself as far above his fellow disciples, and he had gained a strong influence over them. His professed sympathy for the poor deceived them. The murmur went round the table, “Why this waste? For this fragrant oil might have been sold for much and given to the poor.” 3TC 357.4
Mary heard the criticism. Her heart trembled within her. She was afraid that her sister would criticize her for extravagance. The Master, too, might think her wasteful. She was about to shrink away, when she heard the voice of her Lord, “Let her alone. Why do you trouble her?” He knew that in this act she had expressed her gratitude for the forgiveness of her sins. Lifting His voice above the rumblings of criticism, He said, “She has done a good work for Me. For you have the poor with you always, and whenever you wish you may do them good; but Me you do not have always. She has done what she could. She has come beforehand to anoint My body for burial.” 3TC 357.5
The fragrant gift that Mary had thought to lavish on the dead body of the Savior she poured on His living form. At His burial its sweetness could only have filled the tomb; now it gladdened His heart. She was pouring out her love while the Savior was conscious of her devotion, even as she was anointing Him for the burial. When He went down into the darkness of His great trial, He carried with Him the memory of that deed, a foretaste of the love that would be His from His redeemed ones forever. 3TC 357.6
Mary did not know the full significance of her deed of love. She could not explain why she had chosen that occasion to anoint Jesus. The Holy Spirit had planned for her, and she had obeyed His promptings. Inspiration is not obligated to give its reasons. An unseen presence, it moves the heart to action. It is its own justification. 3TC 358.1
Christ told Mary the meaning of her act: “In pouring this fragrant oil on My body, she did it for My burial.” As the alabaster box was broken and filled the house with fragrance, so Christ’s body was to be broken; but He was to rise from the tomb, and the fragrance of His life was to fill the earth. “Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.” Ephesians 5:2. 3TC 358.2
“Assuredly, I say to you,” Christ declared, “wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her.” The Savior spoke with certainty about His gospel that was to be preached throughout the world. And as far as the gospel extended, Mary’s gift would spread its fragrance, and hearts would be blessed through her generous, spontaneous act. Kingdoms would rise and fall, the names of conquerors would be forgotten, but this woman’s deed would live forever on the pages of sacred history. Until time is no more, that broken alabaster box will tell the story of God’s abundant love for a fallen race. 3TC 358.3
What a sharp lesson Christ could have given to Judas! He who reads the motives of every heart might have revealed to those at the feast the dark chapters in Judas’s experience. Instead of sympathizing with the poor, he was robbing them of the money intended for their relief. But if Christ had unmasked Judas, this would have seemed like a reason for the betrayal. Judas would have gained sympathy, even among the disciples. The Savior avoided giving him an excuse for his evil bargain. 3TC 358.4
But the look that Jesus gave Judas convinced him that the Savior saw through his hypocrisy and read his corrupt character. And in praising Mary’s action, Christ rebuked Judas. The reproof stirred up resentment in his heart, and he went directly to the palace of the high priest and offered to betray Jesus into their hands. 3TC 358.5
The leaders of Israel had been given the privilege of receiving Christ as their Savior, without money and without price. But they refused the precious Gift and bought their Lord for thirty pieces of silver. 3TC 358.6
Judas resented Mary’s gift of costly ointment to Jesus. His heart burned with envy that the Savior received a gift suitable for the kings of the earth. For an amount far less than the ointment cost, he betrayed his Lord. 3TC 359.1
The disciples were not like Judas. They loved the Savior but did not rightly understand His character. The wise men from the East, who knew so little of Jesus, had shown that they understood more truly the honor due Him. 3TC 359.2
Christ values acts of heartfelt courtesy. He did not refuse the simplest flower that a child plucked and offered to Him in love. He accepted the offerings of children, and He blessed the givers. The Scriptures mention Mary’s anointing of Jesus as a way to distinguish her from the other Marys. Acts of love and reverence for Jesus are an evidence of faith in Him as the Son of God. 3TC 359.3
Christ accepted Mary’s wealth of pure affection which His disciples did not, would not, understand. It was the love of Christ that drove her to action. That ointment was a symbol of the giver’s heart, the outward demonstration of a love fed by heavenly streams until it overflowed. 3TC 359.4
The disciples never appreciated, as they should have, the loneliness of Christ in living the life of humanity. He was often sad because He knew that if they were under the influence of the heavenly angels that accompanied Him, they too would think no offering to be valuable enough to declare their hearts’ affection. 3TC 359.5
When Jesus was no longer with them and they felt like sheep without a shepherd, they began to see how they could have brought gladness to His heart. They no longer heaped blame on Mary, but on themselves. Oh, if they could have taken back their criticism, presenting the poor as more worthy of the gift than Christ! They felt the reproof keenly as they took the bruised body of their Lord from the cross. 3TC 359.6
Today, few appreciate all that Christ is to them. If they did, they would express the great love of Mary. They would think that nothing was too costly to give for Christ, no self-denial or self-sacrifice too great to endure for His sake. 3TC 359.7
The words spoken in indignation, “Why this waste?” brought vividly before Christ the greatest sacrifice ever made—the gift of Himself as the atoning sacrifice for a lost world. From a human point of view, the plan of salvation is a reckless waste of mercies and resources. The heavenly universe properly looks with amazement on the human family who refuse the riches of the boundless love expressed in Christ. Well may they exclaim, “Why this great waste?” 3TC 359.8
But the atonement for a lost world was to be full, abundant, and complete. Christ’s offering could not be restricted to just the number of people who would accept the Gift. The plan of redemption is not a waste because it does not accomplish all that its liberality has provided for. There must be enough, and more than enough. 3TC 359.9
Simon the host was surprised at Jesus’ response, and he said in his heart, “This man, if He were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman this is who is touching Him, for she is a sinner.” 3TC 359.10
Because Christ allowed this woman to approach Him, because He did not reject her indignantly as someone whose sins were too great to be forgiven, because He did not show that He realized she had fallen, Simon was tempted to think that Christ was not a prophet. But it was Simon’s ignorance of God and of Christ that led him to think as he did. 3TC 360.1
Simon did not realize that God’s Son must act in God’s way, with compassion, tenderness, and mercy. Simon’s way was to ignore Mary’s repentant service. Her act of kissing Christ’s feet and anointing them with ointment was exasperating to his hardheartedness. He thought that Christ should recognize sinners and rebuke them. 3TC 360.2
To this unspoken thought, the Savior answered, “‘Simon, I have something to say to you. ... There was a certain creditor who had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. And when they had nothing with which to repay, he freely forgave them both. Tell Me, therefore, which of them will love him more?’ Simon answered and said, ‘I suppose the one whom he forgave more.’ And He said to him, ‘You have rightly judged.’” 3TC 360.3
As Nathan did with David (2 Samuel 12:1-7), Christ gave His host the burden of pronouncing sentence on himself. Simon had led into sin the woman he now despised. He had deeply wronged her. By the two debtors of the parable, Jesus represented Simon and the woman. Jesus did not intend to teach that the two of them should feel different degrees of obligation, for each owed a debt of gratitude that they could never repay. But Jesus wanted to show Simon that his sin was as much greater than hers as a debt of five hundred denarii exceeds a debt of fifty. 3TC 360.4
Simon now began to see himself in a new light. He saw how Jesus, who was more than a prophet, regarded Mary. Shame overcame him, and he realized that he was in the presence of One superior to himself. 3TC 360.5
“I entered your house,” Christ continued, “you gave Me no water for My feet, [but with tears of repentance Mary has washed My feet and wiped them with the hair of her head.] You gave Me no kiss, but this woman, [whom you despise,] has not ceased to kiss My feet since the time I came in.” Christ recounted the opportunities Simon had had to show his appreciation for what his Lord had done for him. 3TC 360.6
The Heart Searcher read the motive that led to Mary’s action; He also saw the spirit that prompted Simon’s words. “Do you see this woman?” He said to him. “I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.” 3TC 360.7
Simon had thought he honored Jesus by inviting Him to his house. But now he saw himself as he really was. He saw that his religion had been a robe of Pharisaism. He had despised the compassion of Jesus. He had not recognized Him as God’s representative. Mary was a sinner pardoned; he was a sinner unpardoned. 3TC 360.8
Simon was touched by Jesus’ kindness in not openly rebuking him in front of his guests. Jesus had not treated him as he desired Mary to be treated. He saw that Jesus had tried by pitying kindness to subdue his heart. Stern denunciation would have hardened him against repentance, but patient correction convinced him of his error. He saw how large was the debt he owed his Lord. He repented, and the proud Pharisee became a humble, self-sacrificing disciple. 3TC 361.1
Christ knew the circumstances that had shaped Mary’s life. He could have extinguished every spark of hope in her soul, but He did not. He had lifted her from despair and ruin. Seven times she had heard Him rebuke the demons that controlled her heart and mind. She had heard His strong cries to the Father in her behalf. She knew how offensive sin is to His unblemished purity, and in His strength she had overcome. 3TC 361.2
When her case seemed hopeless to human eyes, Christ saw capabilities for good in Mary. The plan of redemption has granted great possibilities to humanity, and these would be realized in Mary. Through His grace she became a partaker of the divine nature. The one who had fallen, whose mind had been a home for demons, came near to the Savior in fellowship and ministry. Mary sat at His feet and learned from Him. Mary poured the precious anointing oil on His head and bathed His feet with her tears. Mary stood beside the cross and followed Him to the sepulchre. Mary was first at the tomb after His resurrection. Mary first proclaimed a risen Savior. 3TC 361.3
Jesus knows the circumstances of every person. You may say, “I am sinful, very sinful.” You may be; but the worse you are, the more you need Jesus. He turns no weeping, repentant one away. He freely pardons everyone who comes to Him for forgiveness and restoration. 3TC 361.4
Those who turn to Him for refuge, Christ unites to His own divine-human nature. No human being or evil angel can condemn them. They stand beside the great Sin Bearer in the light streaming from the throne of God. “Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.” Romans 8:33, 34. 3TC 361.5
