Anointing His Feet

          

          Six days before the Passover, Jesus went to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, the man he had raised from death. They prepared a dinner for him there, which Martha helped serve; Lazarus was one of those who were sitting at the table with Jesus. Then Mary took a whole pint of a very expensive perfume made of pure nard, poured it on Jesus' feet, and wiped them with her hair. The sweet smell of the perfume filled the whole house.

One of Jesus' disciples, Judas Iscariot—the one who was going to betray him—said, “Why wasn't this perfume sold for three hundred silver coins and the money given to the poor?” He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief. He carried the money bag and would help himself from it.

But Jesus said, “Leave her alone! Let her keep what she has for the day of my burial. You will always have poor people with you, but you will not always have me.” (John 12:1-8, Good News Translation) 

From these verses, you might take away that Mary had given this gift to Jesus – He already has everything, so what other gifts could He receive? Or you might think only of that scoundrel Judas, knowing what he is going to do next by turning Jesus over to the authorities. Or you might think about this perfume being used to prepare Jesus for His burial a week before His death.

I looked up references to these verses on different websites and in my study Bible. You can find all the nuances in those places as well. But it was in my “Children’s Bible in 365 Stories” that I found what I wanted to say today.

When Judas rebuked Mary for wasting so much money – a year’s worth of wages by some estimates – her face fell. She had wanted to show her love for Jesus by this generous gift and the humble act of washing His feet. She might have thought, “Oh, no, I messed this all up for my Lord, and now His disciples think I’m wasteful.”

But Jesus immediately jumped to her defense. Today, I’m going to remember that Jesus will always jump to my defense as well. There is nothing I can screw up so badly that I can’t turn to Him with tears in my eyes and an apology on my lips.

He will always smile at me and reassure me. He will always love me.