“Six days before the Passover celebration began, Jesus arrived in Bethany at the home of Lazarus-the man He had raised from the dead.  A dinner was prepared in Jesus’ honor.  Martha served and Lazarus was among those who ate with Him.  Then Mary took a 12 ounce jar of expensive perfume made from the essence of nard, and she anointed Jesus’ feet with it, wiping His feet with her hair.  The house was filled with the fragrance.  But Judas Iscariot, the disciple who would betray Him, said ‘that perfume was worth a year’s wages.  It should have been sold and the money given to the poor.’  Not that he cared for the poor-he was a thief, and since he was in charge of the disciples’ money, he often stole some for himself.  Jesus replied, ‘Leave her alone.  She did this in preparation for my burial.  You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.’

John 12:1-8 (NLT)

I have had reason in recent days to study this portion of scripture in depth and in doing so have found some new truths that I had never understood before.

First of all, this event is the kickoff for Passion Week.  His return to Bethany to see his friends set in motion the events that would lead to his arrest and death on the cross.  He knew his life was in danger in this area of the world but He returned anyway when He was called back to raise Lazarus from the dead.  At that time the disciples reminded Him that the last time he was in Judea, His life was threatened.  I’m sure they assumed it was the call of His sick friend that lured Him back but really He walked knowingly into His final days.  He had a purpose to fulfill for us. 

Jesus came to the home of Lazarus with his disciples where Martha had prepared a meal in His honor.  Here is what I recently learned about the dining practices of Middle Eastern Jews at this time.  The custom was for the men to gather around a low lying table and to recline on their left side, propped on one elbow.  They would then use their right hand to eat.  This positioned their head close to the table and their feet toward the wall.  Where were the women you ask?  They were not customarily permitted to eat around the table with the men.  They would sometimes eat the food by the wall around the perimeter of the room or they would have to wait to eat until the men were done so they would be available to serve if needed.

Imagine the men lounging around the table with Mary and Martha at the ready near the wall in case they were needed.  Then suddenly Mary disappears from the room and returns moments later with a jar of pure nard.  This scent is extracted from the roots of a plant similar to honeysuckle and then mixed with olive oil.  It was extremely expensive at the time as it was the main ingredient for perfumes used by the rich and also in some oils used to mask the scent of death before burial.  

Mary moved toward Jesus uninvited and knelt and at His feet.  What was she doing?!  Didn’t she know her place?  She belonged by the wall.  She broke open the seal on the jar and began pouring it over Jesus’ feet.  The oil dripped onto the earthen floor as she smoothed the oil over his feet that would have been recently washed by his host when he arrived at the house.  When her hands were covered in the oil and she could no longer wipe the excess oil away she let down her hair and used it as a towel to wipe away the extra oil from His feet.  

At the time, women were required to cover their hair at all times unless she was alone with her husband.  A woman’s hair was considered sacred and precious only to be shared between a husband and wife but here we see an unmarried woman unfurling her hair in the presence of a room full of men to use it as a towel to clean the feet of her Messiah.

In spite of all the ways Mary broke protocol, it seems that the only rebuke she received was from Judas Iscariot with regard to him not being able to access the money that could have been made from selling her offering.  I believe she faced no rebuke because the others in the room recognized her action as that of gratitude and praise.  Martha, Lazarus and 11 of the disciples viewed Jesus as the Son of the living God, Messiah, and Savior while Judas only saw Him as a means to promote himself and feed his own ambition.  

Not very long before this visit there was another.  The last time Jesus arrived at this home He found Mary and Martha devastated.  Their brother was dead and their whole world was falling apart.  You see, as unmarried women they relied on male relatives to care for them.  Women could not own property or even work to make a living.  Since Mary and Martha lived with Lazarus, we must assume that their father was dead.  Lazarus would have inherited all of his father’s estate and his sisters would have no claim except what they had access to through him.  With Lazarus dead, the home and land and all the money would transfer to the nearest male heir.  Mary and Martha would lose everything and possibly become homeless and destitute.  They did not just miss their brother.  They feared for their lives.

Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead that day restoring not only the brother that they loved but also their safety, their security and their home.  Mary had so much more to thank Jesus for than any of the disciples.  She did not worry herself with the opinions of the others present.  She did not ask permission or forgiveness for her gratitude and her sacrifice.  She gave all she had to give to Jesus.  This is audacious praise.

And in return, Jesus defended her yet again.  He told Judas to leave her alone and he honored her sacrifice.  He honored her praise.  He honored her.  He acknowledged her act as preparation for his burial.  

Even though all of these people were familiar with the prophecies of the Messiah dying and rising again the disciples seem to repeatedly try to avoid those who plotted to kill Jesus.  They did not even want Him to return to Bethany when Lazarus was sick because the Pharisees were trying to kill Him.  When Jesus acknowledged Mary’s anointing as a preparation of His body for burial, He again reminded them all of what He came there to do.

He had healed their family members, raised people from the dead, set demons to flee but none of this was the reason He came.  He came to save His people.  In spite of the prophecies, many believed He was there to begin a political movement to overthrow Roman rule but His plan was so much bigger than the enemy they were able to see in front of them at the time.  His plan was for their eternal salvation.

I wonder how things would have been different if Mary had just stayed by the wall?  If she had not stepped out with audacious faith and audacious praise, who then would have been the one to set this Passion Week in motion?  I don’t know but I’m so glad she stepped away from that wall.  I am so glad she didn’t allow the opinions of those around her or the expectations of polite society to quiet her praise.

Lord, help us to follow the example of Mary and to praise you like no one else is watching, or better yet, like no one else matters; to praise you audaciously.  Help us to place you so much higher than anything else in our lives that we would step out of what was expected of us to show you our gratitude.  And above all, accept our deepest thanks that you did come to save us from bondage, to die for our healing and to rise again for our victory.  You are our Savior, Messiah and King!  We love you.

Amen.

Stephanie Sharp is a teacher, a writer, a musician and an ordained minister.  She is also a divorced, single mother of 3 teenagers.  She writes for the South Texas Women’s Ministries Blog and founded a ministry for ladies walking through divorce and single motherhood called The Well.  You can contact Stephanie at thewellwm@gmail.com.