14:1 After two days it was the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might take Him by trickery and put Him to death. 14:2 But they said, "Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar of the people." 14:3 And being in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, as He sat at the table, a woman came having an alabaster flask of very costly oil of spikenard. Then she broke the flask and poured it on His head. 14:4 But there were some who were indignant among themselves, and said, "Why was this fragrant oil wasted? 14:5 "For it might have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor." And they criticized her sharply. 14:6 But Jesus said, "Let her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a good work for Me. 14:7 "For you have the poor with you always, and whenever you wish you may do them good; but Me you do not have always. 14:8 "She has done what she could. She has come beforehand to anoint My body for burial. 14:9 "Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her."

Have you ever watched the I-MAX cinema at Balboa Park? The audience sits in reclining seats and watches movies projected on the inside of the doom. I have watched the same kind of movie in Fortworth, Texas for the first time. I felt as if I were flying over a high mountain in an airplane. I even felt a little motion sick at the time. This is called "virtual reality" which has become very popular. This kind of technology has made rapid progress, but there is one area that technology has never reached. What it cannot deliver is "scent." While watching seashore scene you can sense the scent of the sea breeze. While you are observing a party at the park, you can sniff the aroma of a BBQ. - It's a dream that the cinema theater has never achieved.

"Perfume oil of nard" is the main topic of today's passage. I cannot deliver the perfume or odor of this "oil of nard" through a verbal message. Please just imagine the perfume. This perfume oil is made of stems of nard that grow naturally in the sub-Himalayan area. This oil was brought to Israel through India. As a result, this oil was very expensive. Most kinds of perfume remain expensive even today, but in those days this oil was over 300 denarri for a 12-oz bottle. One denarri equaled one-day's wage. A small bottle of oil was more than a year's wage! I don't know whether we can obtain the same oil today. If we could get it, it probably would not be affordable for most of us.

Mary poured this expensive oil over Jesus' head. We have many "Marys" in the Bible. This "Mary" was a sister of Martha. We have already learned in Luke 10:38-42 that she sat down at Jesus' feet, and listened to his teachings. We find her name again in John 12:1-3. When you compare the passage in Mark to that in John, you will find that each account is written differently. In John, Mary poured the oil on Jesus on the sixth day prior to the Passover, but in Mark, she performed this deed on the second day prior to the feast. These may seem contradictory to each other. However, when Mark said, "After two days it was the Passover" he pointed out the plotting of the chief priests and scribes and of the betrayal of Judas. Mark inserted the story of Mary here to explain Judas' motivation for betrayal. In Mark, Mary poured the oil on Jesus' head, but in John she sprinkled it on his feet. These passages may seem to conflict with each other. However Mary poured the oil on both Jesus' head and feet. It was the custom to pour fragrant oil on the head of the main guest during big feast like the Passover. It was also the custom to wash the feet of guests before a dinner party. Mary washed Jesus' feet with oil instead of water.

Mary was very quiet compared to her sister, Martha, who was very active and out-going. But she was bold enough to anoint Jesus with precious oil. Why was she able to do so? I'd like to suggest you three reasons.

Mary understood who Jesus was

One of the reasons why she could do this was that she knew Jesus was the Lord and the Son of God. This dinner party was held at the house of Simon the leper. People were very afraid of leprosy because most lepers died in those days. But Jesus healed Simon's leprosy. Jesus even raised the dead back to life. Then there was Lazarus who had died and Jesus raised him from the dead three days afterwards. Mary believed the resurrection in the last days, but at that moment she never imagined that Jesus could raise her brother back to life. However, Jesus gave Lazarus life again, and showed himself to be the Creator of life.

Mary thought Jesus was a great teacher, but that he was still human. But after seeing Lazarus raised, she could understand that He was more than a teacher or a prophet, He was the Son of the living God, the Creator of all. When she understood how precious Jesus was, she wanted to give her most precious thing to the Lord. For her, the most precious thing was the perfume oil of nard. Her father may very well have given this to Mary for her marriage. Its cost was the same as a whole year's income. It had been saved for her marriage, but she gave it to Jesus freely. She never regretted her action. She thought that the gift of the oil of nard was suitable for precious Jesus. It's most important for us to know how precious Jesus is when we give something to the Lord.

Some persons criticized Mary sharply and said, "Why was this fragrant oil wasted? For it might have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor." Did they say so because of love for the poor people? No, they did not understand how precious Jesus was. Since they did not understand the value of Jesus, they thought anything for Jesus was simply wasted. They believed only what they could calculate and convert to a monetary value. They could calculate the value of the perfume oil as 300 denarii, and the dinner also to be a certain value. They completely overlooked the un-measurable value of Jesus. We cannot convert every thing to a monetary standard. There are many valuable things that we cannot measure by that standard. If we forget this fact, we may be overcome by materialism and become slaves of money. But, when we come to know how precious Jesus is and valuable to us, we can gain true happiness that does not depend on material things.

Mary understood when Jesus gave his life

The second reason why Mary performed such a bold action is that she felt something would happen to Jesus. Jesus rebuked the people who criticized Mary and said, "Let her alone. Why do you trouble her? 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." When Martha complained to Jesus about Mary, he protected Mary. Here Jesus protected Mary again. Jesus praised her saying, "She has done what she could." What is love? Love means to do whatever we can for others. Mary really loved Jesus, and so she did the best that she could. Even if we do the best we can for Jesus, some may misunderstand our efforts and criticize us. But Jesus always accepts what we do from a sincere heart and because of our love for Him. We should follow this example and do what we can without fear of criticism.

However, what did Jesus mean when He said, "She has come beforehand to anoint My body for burial." I don't know how many people who heard this took it seriously. But Mary apparently understood that Jesus was going to give his life. If so, this time might be her last chance to honor Him. She understood the situation, and poured the perfume oil. Actually, Jesus never returned to Mary's home after he entered Jerusalem. He stayed over night somewhere in the Mt. Olive with his disciples. He participated in the Passover supper with only his twelve disciples. No female disciples joined Him at the Last Supper. After Jesus crucified, there were no opportunities for the female disciples to anoint his body. Because He was killed as a criminal, and people had to bury him since only a few hours were left of the Sabbath. Women did try to anoint His body Sunday morning after the Sabbath. They went to His grave with perfume oil, but it was in vain. Jesus had already risen. Only Mary was able to anoint him for his burial.

Timing is important in doing something for Jesus. If your timing is faulty, your efforts may be in vain, or they may bring but little result. When we hear His call to serve, we may try to postpone to answer His request by saying, "Lord, please wait. I'll serve you when my children become of school age. The Lord would wait for you. When your children began to attend school he may call you again. How do you answer him? Would you answer, "Lord, please wait again. After they graduate, I'll serve you." "After my husband retires... When I pay off my mortgage... and so on?" We cannot serve the Lord in that manner or dedicate ourselves to him forever. It may be too late to serve him, if you've been offering excuses or fail to answer His call. Let us learn to understand His timing, and answer His call by giving our best to Him.

Mary understood what Jesus said

The third reason why Mary applied costly perfume oil to Jesus in such a bold manner was that she understood the will of Jesus through listening to His words. I don't think that Mary did this accidentally. She had been thinking about how she could do her best, and she had been planning to do it this manner. I think that listening to the words of the Lord led her to dedicate her treasure - the oil of nard. You know that Mary always sat at Jesus' feet and listening to His words as written in Luke 10:38-42.

Mary understood the Lord's plan - He was about to die. It was extremely difficult for the disciples to accept His death. If Jesus was only a teacher or prophet, they might understand that He might die. But they knew that Jesus was the Son of God. They could not connect these two facts; His nature and His death. Mary saw that He raised her brother from the dead. Mary believed that Jesus was the Resurrection. Mary could not accept the fact that the Lord of Life would die. However, she finally accepted what He said. She always listened to His words. What does "listening" mean? "Listening" does not mean just analyzing His teaching, discussing them, or studying about them. "Listening" meant for Mary that she accepted His words as they were. In Luke 2:51, we read that another Mary, mother of Jesus, "kept all these things in her heart." The mother of Jesus could not understand what happened to her twelve-year-old son, but she accepted the fact and stored them in her mind. Women are good for keeping things in their hearts. I think that God gave women this precious ability. Though it will take time, the Words stored in the heart lead us to understanding, enlightenment, and action.

I think her action in breaking the bottle, and pouring the oil on Jesus expressed her belief that Jesus was about to pour out His life. Since the oil of nard was brought from a faraway country, it was kept in an alabaster flask, and the flask was sealed with alabaster. Therefore, when Mary used the oil, she had to break the flask. And, once the flask was broken, the fragrance filled the room. Like the flask that had to be broken for the fragrance to escape, Jesus had to be broken for His grace to fill the world. When Mary broke the flask, she may have remembered Isaiah 53:5 which says, "But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed."

Let us sit at the Lord's feet and listen to His words like Mary did. Then let us rise and give Him our confession and praise to represent our gift of perfume oil to Him. Let us break ourselves and follow Him who broke Himself for us. Let us serve the Lord like Mary who gave her best to Him.

Prayer

Dear Heavenly Father, we learned that Mary poured her costly perfume on the Lord Jesus, which causes us to think about the reasons why she could so boldly do this. We also learned that the Lord Jesus protected her from sharp criticism. The Lord is willing to use us. Not only use us, but also to protect us, support us, and to praise us. We are thankful to You. We are just like a small flask. When it is broken, the fragrance of Christ will fill our neighbors. Break us and use us. We pray these things in Jesus' name.