Lessons From Mary's Anointing of Jesus

Most everyone familiar with the Bible knows the story of John 12:3-8 in which Judas chastises Mary for using expensive oil to anoint Jesus' head. Reading that passage again this morning gave me new insight to a few things we might have missed in the past.

THE SCRIPTURE:

 3Then Mary took a twelve-ounce jar12:3 Greek took 1 litra [327 grams]. of expensive perfume made from essence of nard, and she anointed Jesus’ feet with it, wiping his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance.

4But Judas Iscariot, the disciple who would soon betray him, said, 5“That perfume was worth a year’s wages.12:5 Greek worth 300 denarii. A denarius was equivalent to a laborer’s full day’s wage. It should have been sold and the money given to the poor.” 6Not that he cared for the poor—he was a thief, and since he was in charge of the disciples’ money, he often stole some for himself.  7Jesus replied, “Leave her alone. She did this in preparation for my burial. 8You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.”(NLT)

We all know of course Judas' motivation here because John explains he was a thief and his love of money is later exposed when he betrays Jesus for 30 silver pieces and we see Mary's pure love. What was revealed to me were just a couple simple thoughts:

1. Jesus knows our hearts and our true intentions, and He will reveal them to us or publicly as recognition or for correction.
2. Judas relied on worldly wisdom which would indeed seem to make sense of his comments but with true wisdom we see Jesus destroy the thought in 1 simple sentence. Simple as this verse is, "you will always have the poor, but you will not always have me" it is so profoundly deep in symbolism, prophecy, hope and truth.
3. This reinforces Luke 12:34 in which we are reminded where our treasures are, also is our heart. Be cautious of what you hold dear and pursue.
4. Mary's motivations were out of love and adoration so Jesus receives it and acknowledges her service and devotion. Judas, as Jesus knows, is all about how he can enrich himself riding on the coat tails of this upstart religious movement. For this reason, Jesus gently rebukes him in public and I suggest this shames him because he does not open his mouth again. Perhaps this pushed him to betray Jesus because he did not get to steal anything from the sale of the perfume. That could be an interesting topic of conversation. 

The lessons Jesus give us here spoke to me about Cain and Abel's offerings to the LORD in which Abel held back nothing and gave his best while Cain foolishly held back the best for himself. He then has the pride and audacity to be up set with his brother when he himself failed to be obedient. That's weird; just like his dad who failed to obey the LORD and protect his wife and to not eat of the tree. The nut does not fall far from the tree.

The takeaway should be for each of us to pray to the Lord to reveal what we hold dear in our heart and if it is not pure to please help me remove it. Just because we go to church does not mean we are a believer or are right with God any more than my hanging out in a garage makes me a mechanic. YOUR walk is between you and God. What is the Holy Spirit saying to you?