Make My Life A Fragrant Offering

Mark 14:1-11

Jesus Anointed at Bethany

It was two days before Passover. The chief priests and the scribes were plotting to arrest and kill Jesus but they were afraid to do so during the feast because such actions may cause the crowd to riot. But Jesus withdrew from the city and had a meal in the house of Simon the leper (vv. 1-3).

During the feast, a woman came forward with an alabaster jar containing very costly perfume of pure nard. Without saying a word, she shattered her jar and poured the perfume over Jesus’ head (v. 3).

Both Gospels according to Matthew and Mark placed this event happened at the time of Passover, just before the Last Supper, to indicate that Jesus’ anointing foreshadowed His death. And Gospel according to John tells us that this woman is Mary of Bethany (John 12:3).

The container of the perfume was an alabaster jar and because it had a small opening, the ointment could only be obtained drop by drop in small quantities. Obviously, when she shattered the jar, her intention was to pour out all its content.

Pure nard was very costly. Thus, those who watched what just transpired said, “Why was the ointment wasted like that? For this ointment could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor” (vv. 4-5).

Previously, in the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand, the disciples questioned Jesus, “Are we really to spend two hundred denarii worth of bread and give it to them to eat (Mark 6:37)?”

Two hundred denarii worth eight months of wages while three hundred denarii worth a year of wages. Thus, the ointment seems costing more than feeding five thousand people.

But Jesus replied, “Leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you want, you can do good for them. But you will not always have me. She has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand for burial. And truly, I say to you, wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her” (Mark 14:6-9).

Although Mary, quietly and rightly, offered up her most precious ointment, yet she was criticised by others. A person who is fully committed to her faith will cause others to feel uncomfortable. But Jesus knew her sacrifice. He spoke out in her defence and praised her publicly.

Jesus was always compassionate to the poor. Jesus did not deny the importance of helping the poor but He challenged the disciples, do not only do a good deed, but do it in the right time, and also do a beautiful thing for Him.

The disciples were thinking of how to bring change to others and their surroundings but Jesus wanted them to first change themselves by drawing closer to His heart, which means to regard Him with utmost love, respect, and devotion and to be willing to sacrifice to Him what is most precious.

In the Old Testament, we read of kings, priests, and prophets being anointed. Mary’s anointing of Jesus depicts Him as king, priest, and prophet. But Jesus’ anointing as the Christ (meaning, the “Anointed One”) was not so that He would seize power but that He would die on the cross to save sinners.

If we look at the structure of our text, we will see that the story of what Mary did is sandwiched between the narratives of the Jewish religious leaders’ plan to kill Jesus and Judas’ betrayal of the Lord.

Religious leaders plan to arrest Jesus and kill him	Verses1-2
Mary anoints Jesus at Bethany	Verses 3-9
Judas betrays Jesus	Verses 10-11

When placed in between these two narratives where the main characters plot to harm Jesus, this story of a lowly woman’s love for Jesus is all the more striking. Mary’s action contrasts against the actions of the Jewish leaders and Judas. This challenges us, as readers, to choose whom we would emulate.

Will we change our hearts to be closer to His heart as Mary did?

Love without Reservation

Mary did not hesitate even though the alabaster jar and the ointment were costly. Rather, she shattered the jar and unreservedly poured out the precious ointment upon Jesus’ head. This also means that she would not be able to use this flask of ointment again.

Mary offered up without reservation. This echoes an earlier text where a poor widow offered up two small copper coins, in Mark 12:41-44:

And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny. And he called his disciples to him and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”

Both were women, and both quietly offered up everything and were commended as examples for those who are disciples of the Lord. The difference is between precious ointment and two small copper coins. Both women poured out all her offering to the Lord. How is your offering to Jesus?

Mary was not troubled by the cost. She was not afraid of the criticism from others. She humbly and lovingly served Jesus. What should be our attitude when we serve the Lord? It is easy for us to dream, have a vision, and be touched. But why is that so hard for these not to translate into action?

Perhaps our love for Jesus has faded or gone cold. Perhaps we are no longer responsive to the Word of God and have lost the enthusiasm for worship. Perhaps we are dissatisfied with the pastor and church leadership. Or, perhaps we are those who complain angrily, “Why this waste?”

We have so much reservation. We are unwilling to shatter our “alabaster jar.” What is your “alabaster jar” that has a constraint on you?

Is it time or financial constraint? Or a mentality that is unwilling to pay the price? Or is it our overreliance on others?  Or is it our reluctance to leave our comfort zone?

Love is unreserved! May the Lord help us to change our hearts to be more attuned to the heart of Jesus, which is to “shatter the jar” and offer up to the Lord that which is most precious to us.

Doing a Beautiful Thing to Jesus

Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing to me…” Why is this beautiful?

When Israel had their first Passover, they were saved by applying the blood of the lamb on their door frames and were led by God out of slavery in Egypt. Jesus is the Lamb of God who bled and sacrificed His life to save the world from the bondage of sin (1 Cor. 5:7).

Mary’s anointing of Jesus is to prepare Him to be the sacrificial Lamb that substitutes for sin. He will be killed and be buried. On the morning of the resurrection, a group of women rushed to the tomb to anoint the body of Jesus but the tomb was already empty. Mary had seized the opportunity to anoint Jesus’ body while He was still alive. Surely this was a beautiful thing!

Mary did not delay in seizing the opportunity to accomplish a beautiful thing for Jesus. Thus, Jesus did not allow anyone to chide her.

Let us not be hesitant, indifferent or keeping ourselves from getting involved. Let us change our hearts and draw closer to Jesus through seizing the opportunity to sacrifice for the kingdom of God. Otherwise, in the future, we will sigh with regret and say, “Alas, if only I had done such and such…”

Jesus Himself said, “Wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her” (Mark 14:9).

The gospel is not only an abstract concept or a manifesto, such as, “God loves you; Christ died for you.” The gospel is woven with real and concrete stories of countless lowly and nameless people who met Jesus and offered themselves up for Him.

The Lord knows of Mary’s quiet sacrifice and He also knows of the quiet sacrifices that each and every one of us made. When you and I offer up our all to Jesus and draw near to His heart, we take on the role of the characters in the gospel story. This surely is a beautiful thing!

Mary’s action of shattering the jar and anointing Jesus echoes Jesus’ sacrifice of His own body to bring salvation to humanity. Later on, when Jesus was having supper with the disciples, He took bread and, having given thanks, broke it and said, “This is My body… (v. 22)” Earlier on, Jesus took five loaves and two fish, gave thanks, broke the loaves, and distributed them to feed five thousand people (6:41).

Mary’s act of shattering the alabaster jar and anointing Jesus, seem to remind and to urge Jesus to go to the cross to die and have His body “broken”. From this perspective, Mary’s action of shattering her jar and anointing Jesus is certainly a beautiful thing.

We remember what Mary and Jesus did: “shatter, break, and distribute.” How shall this be remembered?

Let us, likewise, “shatter, break, and distribute” to accomplish a beautiful thing for the Lord.

All of us have an “alabaster jar” that needs to be shattered. When the jar is shattered, the ointment is poured out and its aroma fills and permeates the place. This symbolises our lives being a channel of God’s blessing so that everyone around us is blessed.

May the love of God inspire us once more and may the Holy Spirit give us strength. Whether we are serving in the church, at our workplaces, at home, or at school, we ought to fulfil our responsibilities as good and faithful servants of the Lord by offering our talents, money, and time to extend the kingdom of God and be a witness to the Lord’s holy name!