Then said Jesus, Let her alone: against the day of my burying hath she kept this.
Jesus defended Mary against criticism by declaring her costly anointing a good work of loving service done beforehand for His burial. She had kept very costly ointment at great personal sacrifice for His burial and poured it on His head and feet out of grateful love for His forgiveness, compassion, and raising of her brother. She longed to honor Him while He was alive so He could receive her faith and love, though she expected Him to be lifted to kingly authority at Jerusalem rather than to die. Judas valued the spikenard at three hundred pence and condemned the act as waste, not from care for the poor but from covetousness and theft, and stung by Christ's rebuke he went on to sell Him for thirty pieces of silver. Her gift honors Christ with the best of our substance without measuring its worth, and by His word it is joined to the gospel to be told throughout the world to the end of time.
Supper at Bethany
The words were spoken at Bethany six days before the Passover, just before His betrayal and death. On His way from Jericho to Jerusalem to attend the feast He stopped at the house of Lazarus for rest and refreshment. He sat at a supper made in His honor by Simon of Bethany, whom He had healed of leprosy, with Simon on one side and Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead, on the other, while Martha served at the table and Mary listened earnestly to every word from His lips.
He permitted His friends to hold that supper in honor of Himself and His disciples, though critics censured His conduct for it. His acceptance of their hospitality was not worldly conformity.
Mary had bought very costly ointment in an alabaster box at great personal sacrifice to anoint the body of Jesus at His death, and had kept it for that burial. She poured the kept ointment on Him beforehand, anointing His head and His feet and then wiping His feet with her long, flowing hair, seeking to avoid notice and wanting to be the first to honor Him. She did this because she heard many say He would be raised to kingly authority and enthroned at Jerusalem, readily believed it, and rejoiced that He would no longer be despised and rejected and forced to flee for His life. She believed He was about to be lifted to a throne, not that He was about to die. He explained that her act had served to anoint Him for burial.
She had also heard of His approaching death and wanted to honor Him while He was alive, before His death, when He could receive her faith and love and be comforted by it. The anointing was an offering of grateful love for the One who had forgiven her many sins, shown her compassion, and transformed her life, and for raising her much-loved brother from the dead. She felt nothing was too dear to bestow upon her Saviour, and the more costly and precious the ointment the better it expressed her gratitude, appreciation, faith, and love. Mary, once controlled by demons and regarded as hopeless, had been restored by Christ and learned from Him. Her devotion included anointing Him, staying near the cross, and seeking Him at the tomb.
Christ Defends, Judas Falls
“Let her alone” was a defense of Mary against criticism, justifying her deed as a good work of loving service that was not to be condemned or reproved and about which objections were not to be entertained. Her costly anointing was done beforehand for burial, a prophetic anticipation of death and burial, and her loving act would stand as evidence when it was needed. The ointment poured on Him was precious spikenard which Judas valued at three hundred pence, and it became the occasion for his angry complaint that it was wasteful extravagance that might have been sold and given to the poor. He calculated the money he might have controlled if it had been sold, while those who have received pardoning love were set in contrast with his measuring of the worth of the alabaster ointment.
His objection came not from any care for the poor but from covetousness and selfishness, for his heart was carnal, close, covetous and selfish and he loved money. He had not been attentive to the comforts and wants of Jesus, and he often appropriated to his own use what was entrusted to his care to be given to the poor and stole from the shared funds. He often referred to the poor to excuse his covetousness, and if he had been controlled by the Holy Spirit he would not have made that accusation, so his reaction shows how indulged greed distorted his judgment. Mary’s act of generosity was a most cutting rebuke of his covetous disposition, and Jesus rebuked him for his covetousness. The word was a more direct reproof than he had received before, rebuking him and the disciples for condemning her, and the costly ointment occasioned this implied rebuke.
The rebuke annoyed and vexed him and provoked him and wounded his pride, and resentment after being reproved publicly with desire for revenge strengthened the greed he had long indulged. A door was opened for Satan to enter and control his thoughts while avarice poisoned the life-current of his spirituality, showing that unresisted sin makes a person vulnerable to Satan’s temptation and leads the soul captive until he yielded to temptation. His selfishness grew until he valued Jesus so little that he betrayed Him for a small sum, selling Him for a few pieces of silver. His resentment and desire for revenge led him to sell Jesus for thirty pieces of silver.
Love's Offering Endures
Jesus defended Mary's anointing as a good work and joined it to His coming burial. The deed teaches that Christ is to be honored by giving Him the best of our substance, and care for the poor must not become a reason for neglecting the cause of Christ. In contrast to covetous Judas, who calculated the value of the alabaster ointment, those who have received Christ's pardoning love do not stop to measure the worth of an offering made to Him. When Christ is the object of their affection, their only regret is that their offering was not richer and more precious.
Her act was a demonstration of love for Christ, and by His words concerning it she is joined to Him and to the gospel throughout all time. As a prophetic anticipation of His death and burial, its record will be repeated to the ends of the earth and throughout the world. Her precious gift inspires loving service, and she will rejoice when she sees the good her deed has brought about.
In rebuking Judas He did not forsake him or drop him and set him aside. He kept working with him still in order that his character might be more thoroughly developed. This gives the pattern that an erring worker who has confessed is to be accepted, encouraged, and set to work rather than left to drop out.
Jesus defended Mary against criticism by declaring her costly anointing a good work of loving service done beforehand for His burial. She had kept very costly ointment at great personal sacrifice for His burial and poured it on His head and feet out of grateful love for His forgiveness, compassion, and raising of her brother. She longed to honor Him while He was alive so He could receive her faith and love, though she expected Him to be lifted to kingly authority at Jerusalem rather than to die. Judas valued the spikenard at three hundred pence and condemned the act as waste, not from care for the poor but from covetousness and theft, and stung by Christ's rebuke he went on to sell Him for thirty pieces of silver. Her gift honors Christ with the best of our substance without measuring its worth, and by His word it is joined to the gospel to be told throughout the world to the end of time.
Supper at Bethany
The words were spoken at Bethany six days before the Passover, just before His betrayal and death. On His way from Jericho to Jerusalem to attend the feast He stopped at the house of Lazarus for rest and refreshment. He sat at a supper made in His honor by Simon of Bethany, whom He had healed of leprosy, with Simon on one side and Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead, on the other, while Martha served at the table and Mary listened earnestly to every word from His lips.
He permitted His friends to hold that supper in honor of Himself and His disciples, though critics censured His conduct for it. His acceptance of their hospitality was not worldly conformity.
Mary had bought very costly ointment in an alabaster box at great personal sacrifice to anoint the body of Jesus at His death, and had kept it for that burial. She poured the kept ointment on Him beforehand, anointing His head and His feet and then wiping His feet with her long, flowing hair, seeking to avoid notice and wanting to be the first to honor Him. She did this because she heard many say He would be raised to kingly authority and enthroned at Jerusalem, readily believed it, and rejoiced that He would no longer be despised and rejected and forced to flee for His life. She believed He was about to be lifted to a throne, not that He was about to die. He explained that her act had served to anoint Him for burial.
She had also heard of His approaching death and wanted to honor Him while He was alive, before His death, when He could receive her faith and love and be comforted by it. The anointing was an offering of grateful love for the One who had forgiven her many sins, shown her compassion, and transformed her life, and for raising her much-loved brother from the dead. She felt nothing was too dear to bestow upon her Saviour, and the more costly and precious the ointment the better it expressed her gratitude, appreciation, faith, and love. Mary, once controlled by demons and regarded as hopeless, had been restored by Christ and learned from Him. Her devotion included anointing Him, staying near the cross, and seeking Him at the tomb.
Christ Defends, Judas Falls
“Let her alone” was a defense of Mary against criticism, justifying her deed as a good work of loving service that was not to be condemned or reproved and about which objections were not to be entertained. Her costly anointing was done beforehand for burial, a prophetic anticipation of death and burial, and her loving act would stand as evidence when it was needed. The ointment poured on Him was precious spikenard which Judas valued at three hundred pence, and it became the occasion for his angry complaint that it was wasteful extravagance that might have been sold and given to the poor. He calculated the money he might have controlled if it had been sold, while those who have received pardoning love were set in contrast with his measuring of the worth of the alabaster ointment.
His objection came not from any care for the poor but from covetousness and selfishness, for his heart was carnal, close, covetous and selfish and he loved money. He had not been attentive to the comforts and wants of Jesus, and he often appropriated to his own use what was entrusted to his care to be given to the poor and stole from the shared funds. He often referred to the poor to excuse his covetousness, and if he had been controlled by the Holy Spirit he would not have made that accusation, so his reaction shows how indulged greed distorted his judgment. Mary’s act of generosity was a most cutting rebuke of his covetous disposition, and Jesus rebuked him for his covetousness. The word was a more direct reproof than he had received before, rebuking him and the disciples for condemning her, and the costly ointment occasioned this implied rebuke.
The rebuke annoyed and vexed him and provoked him and wounded his pride, and resentment after being reproved publicly with desire for revenge strengthened the greed he had long indulged. A door was opened for Satan to enter and control his thoughts while avarice poisoned the life-current of his spirituality, showing that unresisted sin makes a person vulnerable to Satan’s temptation and leads the soul captive until he yielded to temptation. His selfishness grew until he valued Jesus so little that he betrayed Him for a small sum, selling Him for a few pieces of silver. His resentment and desire for revenge led him to sell Jesus for thirty pieces of silver.
Love's Offering Endures
Jesus defended Mary's anointing as a good work and joined it to His coming burial. The deed teaches that Christ is to be honored by giving Him the best of our substance, and care for the poor must not become a reason for neglecting the cause of Christ. In contrast to covetous Judas, who calculated the value of the alabaster ointment, those who have received Christ's pardoning love do not stop to measure the worth of an offering made to Him. When Christ is the object of their affection, their only regret is that their offering was not richer and more precious.
Her act was a demonstration of love for Christ, and by His words concerning it she is joined to Him and to the gospel throughout all time. As a prophetic anticipation of His death and burial, its record will be repeated to the ends of the earth and throughout the world. Her precious gift inspires loving service, and she will rejoice when she sees the good her deed has brought about.
In rebuking Judas He did not forsake him or drop him and set him aside. He kept working with him still in order that his character might be more thoroughly developed. This gives the pattern that an erring worker who has confessed is to be accepted, encouraged, and set to work rather than left to drop out.