“Then Mary took a pound of perfume, pure and expensive nard, anointed Jesus’s feet, and wiped his feet with her hair. So the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.” (CSB)
When many read this verse, they focus on Judas’ reaction on the waste of the perfume that Mary had just done, since that is the main narrative after verse 3. We also see that Jesus notes that the perfume was being saved for His burial, so why did Mary use it then when Jesus had not yet died, nor did His death seem imminent to those around Him?
For this I think we need to look at Luke 10:38-42,
38 While they were traveling, he entered a village, and a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. 39 She had a sister named Mary, who also sat at the Lord’s feet and was listening to what he said. 40 But Martha was distracted by her many tasks, and she came up and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to serve alone? So tell her to give me a hand.”[d
41 The Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, 42 but one thing is necessary. Mary has made the right choice,[g and it will not be taken away from her.”
In Luke we see that Mary was focused on learning from Jesus while Martha was busy serving. Now in John, in verse two, we see that, “… they gave a dinner for him [Jesus] there; Martha was serving them, “
Once again we see Martha busy serving, and Mary was tuned in to Jesus and what was to come. She knew that she was to anoint Jesus that evening for what was to come. Mary may not have known specifically what was about to happen, but she knew what God wanted her to do.
It is easy to get caught up with “life”, with “ministry”, with serving, that we neglect to take time to sit at the feet of Jesus and learn, to be in tune with what God would have us to do.
This week as we prepare for Palm Sunday and Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, may we be more attune to what this upcoming week signifies and how it impacts our lives.
Discussion Questions
- How do you think you would react if you saw someone wipe another person’s feet with their hair?
- Have you ever seen someone do something for God that seemed odd? If so, what was it?
- Have you ever heard God tell you to do something?
End in prayer asking God to help you focus more on Him and less on doing things. Emphasize that serving God is important, but we must also take time to “sit at His feet” and learn so we grow closer to Him.
