Mary Did A Beautiful Thing Pt4

Then Mary took an alabaster jar containing one half a litre of very costly perfume, made of pure spikenard. She broke the flask and poured the perfume on Jesus’ head and feet as He reclined at the table and then wiped His feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But when His disciples saw it, along with Judas Iscariot (who was later to betray him), they said among themselves, “Why was this fragrant perfume wasted? For it might have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor.” And they criticized her sharply. Judas said this, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, had the money box; and used to take what was put in it.

But when Jesus was aware of it, He said to them, “Leave her alone. Why do you trouble this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to 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 did what she could. For in pouring this fragrant oil on My body. She has kept this for the day of My burial and came beforehand to anoint My body for burial. 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.” (Combined Gospel Reading)
1. Mary didn’t care what people thought

Some people worry too much about what people think, when it comes to choosing between obedience and worrying that someone might not like you doing that thing for God. Jesus said in Matthew 10 and verse 32 “Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven.³³ But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven." Mary was not afraid of confessing her Lord in front of the crowd with her actions. Mary let down her hair in front of the crowd in Lazarus' house even when this was considered a shameful thing to be done in public. 

Mary even suffered rebukes at the hand of Jesus’ disciples which was probably led at this moment by the one who would ultimately betray Him, Judas, the treasurer. Her heart was right and she did it out of a heart full of love, not worrying what the consequences might be. She could have used it for herself by selling it and spending on her own things, but chose to use it for Jesus. The paralysis of analysis could have stopped her from doing it, but she did it from and in love.

The scrooge and the thief now comes to the scene and shows his heart in things. I heard a story about an old scrooge. There was a hobo who walked up to the front door of a big farmhouse, and knocked on the door until the owner answered. The hobo said, “Sir, could I please have something to eat ? I haven’t had a meal in days.” The well-to-do owner of the house said, “I have made my fortune in the world by never giving anything away for free. If you go around to the back of the house, you’ll fine a fresh gallon of paint and a clean brush. Paint my porch and I’ll give you a good meal.”

The hobo headed off to the back of the house. About an hour later he knocked on the front door. The homeowner was surprised. “You’re finished already? That was quick! Come on in and sit down, and I’ll have the cook bring you a meal.” “Thank you, sir!” the hobo said. “I must tell you though, you really don’t know your cars. That’s not a Porch back there. It’s a BMW."
Well, here comes Judas, the scrooge, the treasurer, the betrayer, entering into the scene again and this is the beginning of the end for Judas. The anointed preacher and evangelist, who had walked with Jesus is now about to enter into a pact with the Devil as the next few verses in the stories of the Gospel show us that “Satan entered into Judas”. Jesus rebuked Judas and the disciples. Whether Judas there and then resented Jesus for His rebuke and harboured a root of bitterness, giving way to the dark side and Satan or whether it was that Judas was unable to forgive Him for what He did we are not sure. All we know is that soon after this incidence Satan entered him. His sin was greed, though as John 12.5 points out, calling him a thief, who took money for himself from the money bag. He just thought of himself when he was thinking about the money and where it could have gone. The disciples thought the perfume could have been sold and the proceeds given to the poor, but they failed to see the significance of the whole event.

2. Mary did what she could (Mk 14.8)

Some people do nothing and work very hard at doing nothing, some avoid work like the plague. They avoid the very things they should be doing. Lord don’t let me don't do this, or that is not my gifting, or I am too busy to do that. Often people's perspective of busy is so different. As a church planter I found it difficult at times to give things to people to do who were lazy and not doing much in their lives as they were not used to doing much anyway. I seemed to get more work and action out of many who were already busy in their lives. I am not an advocate of putting more and more work on people in the church but what I am saying is that the busier the person was, the more these people were capable of doing. It may be that these already busy people were better at prioritisation, planning and had better organisational skills anyway to get things done more efficiently and better.
Mary wanted to do something for the Lord and it seemed like a spur of the moment decision. Mary used means, she used what she had. You can only use your giftings, you can only use what you have got you can't use someone else's gifts or giftings. Probably if she had thought about it too long she would not have done it. Often the heart is a better judge of what is right than the mind.

3. Mary did a beautiful thing (Mk 14.6)

The horrified disciples were there troubling themselves and doing their mental gymnastics as to the costs and the waste of all of this Jesus cut straight across the bow of their thoughts and said Leave her alone. Why do you trouble this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to Me.  Jesus was in effect saying why are you all concerning yourselves about the money, the cost and what you could have done with this, and how it could have gone to the poor. Why are you pestering her and troubling her. She has done a good thing, she has "done a beautiful thing to Me". Well I am sure that shut them up. They probably looked at him with puzzled faces as Jesus continued and said "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 did what she could." For in pouring this fragrant oil on My body. She has kept this for the day of My burial and came beforehand to anoint My body for burial. 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.”
It was a beautiful thing done to Jesus and no doubt cheered up Jesus. It was medicine that He especially needed that night. She anointed His head and feet, sealed His body with the smell of the precious perfumed oil for the rest of His life and for His burial. This was a truly wonderful thing that she did. If you don’t understand the agony you won’t understand His ecstasy here. The disciples probably did not realise the significance of this event until after Jesus crucifixion and resurrection.

A pastor of a church related this story once. Years ago, a student pastor, one of my church members really caught me off guard. One night after Bible study, she stopped me on the front steps of the church and said, “I want to give you some flowers”. I was puzzled because I did not see any flowers. Of course, she was not talking about real flowers. She was talking about telling me how she felt about me. She wanted me to know how much I had meant to her because it was not long before I was going to go to another church. It was all I could do to choke back the tears. Why? Because her flowers---her expression of love was genuine and from the heart. I have never forgotten the flowers that elderly widow by the name of Vernie Stokes gave me. I still treasure the flowers of her compliment even to this day, some 8 years later.

Here Jesus received a beautiful bunch of flowers from Mary. Around Him everything appeared ugly, but here, here, here, was something beautiful. Mary gave these flowers to Jesus, and He took them with Him for the rest of His life on earth until that cruel death on the cross.

The delicious fragrance ran down over his shining hair. It enfolded His body with its delightful aroma. Even his tunic and flowing undergarment were drenched with its enduring pungency. Wherever he moved during the ensuing days, the perfume would go with Him. The perfume lingered and followed with Him into the Passover; into the Garden of Gethsemane; into the courts of the Sanhedrin, into Herod’s hall; into Pilate’s patio; each crack of the whip, Mary’s gift was remembered, down the long painful road to the cross, even into the cruel hands of those who cast lots for his clothing” Mary’s gift was remembered. With each nail driven in, with every taunt from the crowd, until He gave up his soul to be with His Father in Heaven, her love, her actions and the smell of the perfume lingered with Jesus and it still lingers to today as we hear this story that was commanded by Jesus to be told to the world until Jesus comes back.

Her demonstration of love and her fragrance of love with which she loved her Lord stands as a testimony to her love for her Lord Jesus that lasts forever. Go and do the same for Jesus.
see also:
Mary Did A Beautiful Thing Pt1
Mary Did A Beautiful Thing Pt2
Mary Did A Beautiful Thing Pt3