And Jesus said, Let her alone; why trouble ye her? she hath wrought a good work on me.
Jesus defended Mary when her anointing of Him with costly ointment was condemned as waste, calling it a good work done for Him and commanding the critics to leave her alone and not trouble her. She acted from love and gratitude for forgiveness of her many sins and for being lifted from shame and bondage to purity and fellowship, having bought the ointment at great sacrifice to honor Him first. She kept it to anoint His body at His death yet expected Him to be enthroned as king, so Jesus Himself connected her act with His coming death and burial as an anticipation of it. The complaint that it should have been sold for the poor came from Judas and was joined by the disciples, but it was not genuine charity, rather an excuse for covetousness and measuring devotion by money value. His generous devotion stands against calculating what is given, for pardoned love regrets only that its offering is not richer, while Judas valued Jesus only enough to sell Him. Christ's defense rebuked that greedy spirit and wounded Judas's pride until greed took control and opened him to Satan for the betrayal, warning that unresisted depravity leads captive at his will, and teaching that the best of one's substance belongs to Christ first without neglecting the poor.
Mary's Anointing Explained
The words were spoken at a feast prepared for Jesus in the home of Simon at Bethany during His last visit there, when attention to Him and His mission was growing, and Simon himself had been healed of leprosy. There Mary poured costly ointment upon both His head and His feet. The reproof that followed exposed the hidden disagreement that Judas had until then concealed without open opposition.
Mary acted from love and gratitude for the forgiveness of her many sins. She was grateful for His compassion in lifting her from a life of shame to purity, from despair and the control of demons to victory over sin and to close fellowship and service with Him. Her gratitude also embraced the restoration of her brother Lazarus to life.
She had purchased the ointment at great personal sacrifice and had kept it to anoint His body at His death, intending above all to honor Him first. Yet she believed He was about to be welcomed in Jerusalem and enthroned as king, and would no longer be rejected and forced to flee, rather than suffer. She therefore did not understand the full meaning of what she did.
Jesus connected her act instead with His coming death and burial, showing that it anticipated that burial. Though others judged her by her sinful past, He knew the circumstances of her life and saw the good she could become.
By calling the anointing a good work done for Him rather than waste, He defended her offering against condemnation. He told the others to let her alone and not trouble her for it. His words relieved the distress and embarrassment that criticism of her costly act had caused her, and affirmed that her loving service was fitting.
Her anointing was one expression of a devotion that also led her to follow Him to the cross and to the tomb and to proclaim His resurrection.
Generosity Versus Covetousness
The cry of waste over the ointment that should have been sold for the poor began with Judas, and the other disciples joined him in condemning the act, yet that professed concern for the poor was not genuine but a cover for covetousness and greed. The scene set Mary's generous devotion against the measuring of the gift by its money value, for those who have received pardoning love do not stop to calculate what they give but regret only that their offering is not richer and more precious, and her generosity rebuked covetousness while Judas valued Jesus only highly enough to sell Him for money. Until that hour Judas had hidden his disagreement with Christ without open opposition or murmur, but the anointing exposed his covetous disposition, and the defense of Mary was a reproof and implied rebuke of that spirit that left Judas vexed and annoyed.
That reproof wounded his pride and turned him to bitterness, and wounded pride with desire for revenge broke down his restraint so that long-indulged greed took control. In his annoyance he yielded to the tempter and gave Satan easy access to his mind, and his love of money perverted his nobler nature and made him a fit agent for Satan in the betrayal. When he resolved to sell his Master to the murderous priests and rulers, he had no thought that Jesus would permit Himself to be taken, but expected the priests to be cheated of their bribe while he secured the money for his own use and Jesus would gain a new opportunity to display divine power in delivering Himself from His enemies. This warns that everyone who keeps tampering with sin will have the same experience, because elements of depravity that are not resisted and overcome answer Satan's temptation until the soul is led captive at his will.
The verse teaches honoring Christ by consecrating the best of one's substance and means to Him, with His cause first, so that care for the poor must not become a reason to neglect God's cause, and faithful stewardship can provide for both. Mary's loving service, remembered through the broken alabaster box, became like seed whose influence multiplied over the centuries, inspiring others to serve and prompting countless further deeds of love and gifts for the Saviour's cause, and she will rejoice when she sees the good her gift has brought about.
Jesus defended Mary when her anointing of Him with costly ointment was condemned as waste, calling it a good work done for Him and commanding the critics to leave her alone and not trouble her. She acted from love and gratitude for forgiveness of her many sins and for being lifted from shame and bondage to purity and fellowship, having bought the ointment at great sacrifice to honor Him first. She kept it to anoint His body at His death yet expected Him to be enthroned as king, so Jesus Himself connected her act with His coming death and burial as an anticipation of it. The complaint that it should have been sold for the poor came from Judas and was joined by the disciples, but it was not genuine charity, rather an excuse for covetousness and measuring devotion by money value. His generous devotion stands against calculating what is given, for pardoned love regrets only that its offering is not richer, while Judas valued Jesus only enough to sell Him. Christ's defense rebuked that greedy spirit and wounded Judas's pride until greed took control and opened him to Satan for the betrayal, warning that unresisted depravity leads captive at his will, and teaching that the best of one's substance belongs to Christ first without neglecting the poor.
Mary's Anointing Explained
The words were spoken at a feast prepared for Jesus in the home of Simon at Bethany during His last visit there, when attention to Him and His mission was growing, and Simon himself had been healed of leprosy. There Mary poured costly ointment upon both His head and His feet. The reproof that followed exposed the hidden disagreement that Judas had until then concealed without open opposition.
Mary acted from love and gratitude for the forgiveness of her many sins. She was grateful for His compassion in lifting her from a life of shame to purity, from despair and the control of demons to victory over sin and to close fellowship and service with Him. Her gratitude also embraced the restoration of her brother Lazarus to life.
She had purchased the ointment at great personal sacrifice and had kept it to anoint His body at His death, intending above all to honor Him first. Yet she believed He was about to be welcomed in Jerusalem and enthroned as king, and would no longer be rejected and forced to flee, rather than suffer. She therefore did not understand the full meaning of what she did.
Jesus connected her act instead with His coming death and burial, showing that it anticipated that burial. Though others judged her by her sinful past, He knew the circumstances of her life and saw the good she could become.
By calling the anointing a good work done for Him rather than waste, He defended her offering against condemnation. He told the others to let her alone and not trouble her for it. His words relieved the distress and embarrassment that criticism of her costly act had caused her, and affirmed that her loving service was fitting.
Her anointing was one expression of a devotion that also led her to follow Him to the cross and to the tomb and to proclaim His resurrection.
Generosity Versus Covetousness
The cry of waste over the ointment that should have been sold for the poor began with Judas, and the other disciples joined him in condemning the act, yet that professed concern for the poor was not genuine but a cover for covetousness and greed. The scene set Mary's generous devotion against the measuring of the gift by its money value, for those who have received pardoning love do not stop to calculate what they give but regret only that their offering is not richer and more precious, and her generosity rebuked covetousness while Judas valued Jesus only highly enough to sell Him for money. Until that hour Judas had hidden his disagreement with Christ without open opposition or murmur, but the anointing exposed his covetous disposition, and the defense of Mary was a reproof and implied rebuke of that spirit that left Judas vexed and annoyed.
That reproof wounded his pride and turned him to bitterness, and wounded pride with desire for revenge broke down his restraint so that long-indulged greed took control. In his annoyance he yielded to the tempter and gave Satan easy access to his mind, and his love of money perverted his nobler nature and made him a fit agent for Satan in the betrayal. When he resolved to sell his Master to the murderous priests and rulers, he had no thought that Jesus would permit Himself to be taken, but expected the priests to be cheated of their bribe while he secured the money for his own use and Jesus would gain a new opportunity to display divine power in delivering Himself from His enemies. This warns that everyone who keeps tampering with sin will have the same experience, because elements of depravity that are not resisted and overcome answer Satan's temptation until the soul is led captive at his will.
The verse teaches honoring Christ by consecrating the best of one's substance and means to Him, with His cause first, so that care for the poor must not become a reason to neglect God's cause, and faithful stewardship can provide for both. Mary's loving service, remembered through the broken alabaster box, became like seed whose influence multiplied over the centuries, inspiring others to serve and prompting countless further deeds of love and gifts for the Saviour's cause, and she will rejoice when she sees the good her gift has brought about.