Joel M Bradshaw

 3Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.–John 12

There is no evidence in the text that Mary (or any of the disciples) knew Jesus was going to soon die and be buried. So this would have just been a very expensive gift. Now Jesus interpreted it in terms of His burial, but there is no evidence that anyone else did.

What might Mary have been feeling? If I was in her sandals I would be feeling gratefulness and thanksgiving. Jesus had just raised their brother from the dead. Their family was whole again. And they were having a dinner party to celebrate. Martha was tending the food and Mary was spending time with Jesus.

If Mary knew Jesus was going to die, then this would have made a little more sense. Even frugal people then were known to spend lots of money at funerals. But Mary most likely didn’t know. This therefore became a costly act of devotion and worship. Her using her hair meant that she got to carry the memory of that smell with her. I wonder how long that fragrance lasted? Maybe her hair still carried that fragrance by the end of that week when Jesus actually died.

What are you grateful to Jesus for? If you are like me, church worship services are emotional experiences. Certain worship songs regularly bring tears of gratefulness and thanksgiving on my face. We celebrate Jesus who died in our place. He is our substitute who paid the penalty for our sins. God’s wrath against me was satisfied as He instead poured out that wrath on Jesus in my place.

Just like with Caiaphas unwittingly prophesying last chapter about it being better for one man to die for the nation, Mary’s act also speaks better than she knew. She was anointing Jesus before his burial, but she just didn’t know it. She was just responding with costly devotion and gratitude. Like a very expensive ‘just because’ gift. Wow.–JMB