NEVER FORGOTTEN!

‘Leave her alone,’ said Jesus. ‘Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me. She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial. Truly. I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.’ (Mark 14: 6-9).

What a contrast between the generous and scandalously wasteful gift this woman poured on the head of Jesus and the cruel criticism of the skinflints who had no intention of giving to the poor anyway. And just as lavish as her gift, so also was the praise Jesus heaped on her for her devotion. He read into her action far more than she even intended.

When she awoke that morning, did she have one thought in her mind? “Today I will give to Jesus the very best I have to show Him how much I love Him”; or was it a spontaneous gesture when she heard that He was in Bethany? Was she one of those who had received His forgiveness for the way she had lived? Was the alabaster jar of precious perfume the result of her soliciting to make ends meet? Had she invested some of her earnings in the one thing that had great value, or was it a gift from her beloved father to ensure that his child would be cared for by a loving husband?

Perhaps things had not worked out for her as she had hoped. No man would have her now. She was soiled beyond hope, according to Luke’s story, a woman of the street whom people despised. As for the religious leaders – they were out front in their contempt for this woman of the night, albeit some of them were also her customers, but incognito because never let it be told that they went to her house for their pleasure.

But she saw something in Jesus that she had never seen in any other man. He did not look at her lustfully or undress her with His eyes. There was genuine compassion and acceptance in His glance. Never a word of condemnation did He speak or look at her with the contempt she knew she deserved. He treated her with courtesy and dignity as a daughter of God, created in His image with the potential to reflect Him in her life. All she needed was to be set free from her shackles of shame and guilt, and be reinstated in His family as a beloved daughter.

She felt special and loved when she was near Him. When she heard that He was in the home of Lazarus and his sisters, she searched her house for a gift worthy of the man who had set her free. Her eyes fell on her alabaster jar on the shelf. There was nothing more valuable in her home than that. She didn’t care that it was irreplaceable. Never again would she do what she did to purchase her prize if that was the way she had acquired it.

Snatching it from the shelf, she hid it under her cloak and hurried off to the place where the feast was being held. Slipping in unobtrusively among the guests, she fell at His feet, broke open the fragile jar and deluged His head with the costly perfume. Its delicate fragrance began to waft through the room, overtaking the odours of cooking and food until everyone was aware of the perfume.

The nasty ones, of course, were immediately hit by the enormity of this wasteful act. “She’s crazy!” they muttered. “What was she thinking? Why didn’t she sell it, if she was really feeling that generous, and give the money to the poor?” Since when did the poor matter to them so much? If they really cared, why hadn’t they been as lavishly generous to the poor out of their abundance as they wanted her to be?

Jesus turned on them indignantly. He knew what they were muttering. He was always aware of thoughts and attitudes that hit Him in the solar plexus. He faced their mean-spirited criticism full on. “One thing is for sure,” He exploded, “This woman’s action, her devotion for me, which you so despise, is not only preparation for my burial, but also a memorial to her. You will be remembered for your mean and ugly hearts – exposed by your words; but her love and sacrifice for me will never be forgotten. Every person who reads my story, throughout the generations until the end of time, will know what she did for me.”

How would you like to hear words of praise like that from the lips of Jesus?

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

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