Good morning and happy Thursday. I had a great birthday yesterday, turning 47. Age has never bothered me, I just don’t know what to think about being 47. I do know one thing, the older I get the faster time passes and the more I realize how important it is to spend every day in a quality way. Life is about purpose. For me its loving God and loving others and spending quality time with both. (Matt 22:27-39)
I got to take a nice long walk yesterday and just be quiet. I do some of my deepest thinking on long walks and I always relish the opportunity to go for a walk. Later in the day Margie took me to see a movie, The new Jurassic World. I love dinosaurs and anytime they can fight each other while a volcano explodes in the background, I’m in. Then onto church last night for another small group study. We’re attending 2 small groups a week, what a great opportunity to connect with different brothers and sisters to encourage, laugh and share the world’s struggles. I encourage you to seek out this support structure in a local church if you don’t already. It’s Gods plan.. (check me and look these up! 1 Thess 5:11, Heb 10:25, Eccl 4:9-12, Prov 27:17, Gal 6:2, 1 Peter 3:8)
In my 5MC this morning on the heels of Jesus raising Lazarus yesterday, I came across Mary anointing Jesus with the perfume. Because of my trusty McGee bible commentary set, I picked up a lot of details on this beautiful story so I thought I’d share. As they say in theater, let’s set the scene.
In the last few verses of chapter 11 it closes with the chief priests planning Jesus’ death but in the first few verses of chapter 12, Jesus’ friends are having a dinner party for Him. We’re ushered into the home of Mary, Martha and Lazarus in the town of Bethany. Lazarus, newly raised, is reclining at the table in fellowship with the Lord, simply being with Him, spending time and enjoying Him. When Jesus addressed Martha yesterday He said to her in 11:25, “Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.” This is true of Lazarus in a physical sense as he is newly alive, and it’s also true of us today in a spiritual sense. We shall never die spiritually but have eternal life through Jesus when we repent and call upon Him as the Lord of our lives. What a promise!
It’s a beautiful scene in this home that parallels what a body of believers should strive for. Martha has the gift of service and she is exercising it, putting on a meal for them. Mary is sitting at Jesus’ feet honoring Him and loving Him, she is showing the gift of worship. Lazarus is newly alive and spending time with Jesus, He is an example of newness in Christ. You have 3 essential gifts of the church here…new life in Christ, worship and service. What a beautiful picture we have here in this home! You know, the church was started in the home and it could very well end in the home. I saw something interesting the other day in a reference to the book by Gibbons, The Decline and Fall of Roman Empire, that studies why Rome fell as great civilization. He gives 5 major reasons for the fall and the #1 reason is? The breakdown of the family unit and the home. God planned for the family and the home to be the backbone of our society, a place where the worship and honor of God is learned and grown throughout a lifetime. The attack on the home and on families in our world today is no accident. I believe it’s a clever tactic by satan to slowly deconstruct our society just as in Rome. We must protect the family as we see it here in this story, with Jesus at the center of all the attention.
But back to Mary, she is in verse 12:3 now going to anoint Jesus’ feet with “one pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard.” (this is not the unnamed sinful woman in Luke 7 that annoints Jesus feet with her tears and perfume, different story) To better understand the story, let’s look at the ointment and its purpose.
The ointment was indeed rare and expensive. It was out of India, made from herbs that grow high in the Himalayas. It cost about three hundred pence (v12:5) which was the average annual wage of the day. (The average US wage in 2017 was $55, 516!...that was some really expensive perfume!) So why would Mary even have this super expensive stuff around? So when she died it could be poured out to cover her dead body.
Now let’s look at the picture of her there, on her knees, at Jesus’ feet a bit closer. Here she kneels, adoring Jesus, and one of the few people I think at that moment that fully understands the sacrifice He is about to undertake, dying for the sins of man. As she is gazing up at the face of Jesus she is realizing the value that He has in her life and to the entire world. She thinks of the costliest thing in her life…the ointment. I can see her rise, walking over to get it, willing to sacrifice her greatest and most coveted possession. Willing to sacrifice that which will cover her body in death and make it more presentable. She knows Jesus will now cover her body in death and make her fully presentable. He will cover her sin. She knows what must be done. She breaks open the rare alabaster jar and She pours it ALL out onto Jesus’ feet and wipes it in with her hair. The aroma fills the entire house. Wow.
Jesus is so worthy of our absolute best and most precious. He went to the Cross, innocent and sinless and died for the sins of you and me so that one day we can be in the presence of God. I constantly need this picture of Mary at His feet, sacrificing her most valuable Earthly possession to simply worship & honor Him. He is so worthy.
Have a sweet day in the Lord, I hope the aroma of Him fills your house today.
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