Mark 14:6: “But Jesus said, ‘Let her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a good work for Me.'”

February 9th, 2022 by Pastor Ed in devotional

John 12:1–8 tells us this woman who poured expensive oil over Jesus was Mary, the sister of Lazarus, who Jesus had raised from the dead. When she was rebuked for what she did, Jesus said, “Let her alone. She has done a good work for Me.” This could be better translated, “She has done a beautiful thing to me,” since the Greek word kalos describes something that is not only good but also intrinsically beautiful. The Greeks had a common word, agathos, which was used to describe something that is ethically and morally good but could also be difficult and even spartan. But something that is kalos is perfect, fitting, winsome, and attractive.

We again find more information in John 12; it was Judas who accused Mary of wasting an enormous amount of money when she poured the ointment on Jesus. But as costly as the oil was, she did not spare any of it, breaking the flask and pouring the entirety of it over Jesus. Extravagant love moved her to extravagant worship, and the beauty of it lay in its very extravagance.

Jesus said it was a perfectly timed act because He was about to go to the cross. There are rare moments that come into our lives, when we have the opportunity do something that can only be done in that one moment. Jesus had told His disciples many times that He was going to die. But Mary seems to have believed, understood, and acted on what He had been saying, seizing that moment to offer the gift of anointing His body for burial, a moment in time that would not come again. In fact, they were not even able to find His body later to anoint, because He had already risen from the dead!

“LORD, don’t let us miss any opportunities to serve You this day. Give us the spiritual sensitivity to grasp the moment, letting our service be an act of worship of You.”