Mary's costly gift shows what love is willing to give.
“Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment.”John 12:3 (KJV)
What does “Poured out” mean in John 12:3?
Spikenard was a rare, expensive perfume imported from far away. Judas says it could have been sold for three hundred pence, close to a year's wages for a laborer.
Going deeper
Six days before the Passover, Jesus was at a dinner in Bethany. Mary took a pound of very costly ointment, anointed His feet, and wiped them with her hair. The whole house was filled with the fragrance. It was an extravagant, unhesitating act of love. Some in the room, including Judas, called it a waste. Jesus defended her and said she had kept it for the day of His burial. She gave what she had, and she gave it freely.
Love does not always calculate. There are times when a costly, generous gift is exactly right, and no one else may understand it. This is the last Saturday before Holy Week. It is a fitting moment to ask what you could pour out for Jesus. It might be time, attention, money, or a hidden act of kindness. Whatever it is, give it freely. He notices, and the fragrance of a loving gift reaches farther than we expect.
Reflect
What could you pour out for Jesus this week as a freely given gift?
Pray
Lord Jesus, You are worthy of my very best. Show me what to pour out for You, and let me give it freely and with love. In Jesus' name, amen.
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