Mary Anoints Jesus

Westhill Community Church

18^th June 2023

Mary Anoints Jesus

Reading: John 12: 1-10

I think those of us living in the West don’t find it very easy to relate to this story involving an alabaster jar full of aromatic oil. It doesn’t ring many bells with us. For one thing we tend to use glass jars to store oils and lotions, not alabaster. And for another few of us are familiar with Nardostachys Jatamansi, which is the botanical name for the spikenard plant. For example, if we hear the siren of a fire engine or ambulance in the distance we can immediately relate to it and comprehend the kind of scenario that is being played out. But if someone were to suddenly come in, take out a jar of perfume, open it and pour it over another person’s head or feet, to us that would be very peculiar indeed! But to the various people observing in this story it wasn’t nearly as strange as it would be to us. So their first thought was not, “What on earth is going on?” Rather it seems to have been, “That’s very expensive perfume,” followed quickly by, “What a waste of money!”

The regular application of aromatic oils, perfumes and ointments was part of normal life for the average Jewish citizen. The Jewish Encyclopaedia tells us that oil was regularly applied to exposed parts of the body after washing or bathing, especially the face. Psalm 104 tells us that God gave us plants not just for food but also to produce oil that can be applied to our faces and make them shine (Ps 104: 14-15). The wise advice of KIng Solomon was

Always be clothed in white, and always anoint your head with oil. (Ecc 9: 8)

When fasting the people typically would not apply any oil. So when Daniel fasted for three weeks he said

I ate no choice food; no meat or wine touched my lips; and I used no lotions at all until the three weeks were over. (Dan 10: 3)

But of course Jesus taught that this practice must not be ostentatious so as to look good in front of others. He said

When you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen. (Matt 6: 17-18)

Maintain a normal outward appearance when you are fasting, Jesus said, and in particular apply oil to your head as you normally would.

Oil was also used when welcoming guests into the home, especially for celebrations and banquets. Typically a servant or younger member of the family would wash your feet when you arrived, to remove the dust and freshen the skin. Into the water very often a few drops of aromatic oil would first be added. And also your head would be anointed with oil. Psalm 23 describes this very process happening as the Lord welcomes his faithful follower to his banqueting table.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. (Ps 23: 5)

David paints this wonderful picture of the Lord, the Good Shepherd, welcoming him joyfully to the feast, placing in his hand a glass of wine filled to the brim, and massaging his head with soothing oil. Meanwhile those who seek to harm him look on helplessly, consumed with frustration or regret.

Now of course there are different types of plant-derived oil, with varying fragrances and properties. And some are much more expensive than others. Olive oil would have been readily and cheaply available to those living in Israel. Much more expensive would have been myrrh oil and frankincense oil, and perhaps most expensive of all spikenard oil, coming from the far off Himalayas. Our reading said that there was about half a litre in Mary’s jar, worth about a year’s wages. Nowadays it is much cheaper, typically £1 per ml. That means you could buy half a litre for about £500. The spikenard oil I bought allegedly: restores your sanity and vanity; puts stress-inducing thoughts to rest; fills spaces with its calming, woody scent for instant relaxation; and blends well with other fortifying oils for longer, voluminous hair growth. In actual fact in 2012 a paper published in the Journal of Natural Science, Biology and Medicine concluded that spikenard extract is able to help prevent stress-induced impairments in learning and memory[1]. Before you all come rushing to get some from me, just bear in mind that their experiments were carried out on rats!

Each of the four gospels gives an account of a woman anointing Jesus with expensive oil. Matthew, Mark and John describe an event that took place in the village of Bethany, near Jerusalem, a few days before the Passover festival when Jesus was crucified. On the other hand Luke’s account is within a section of his gospel that mostly relates to Jesus’ ministry at an earlier time in the Galilee region.

When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them. When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, ‘If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is – that she is a sinner.’ Jesus answered him, ‘Simon, I have something to tell you.’ ‘Tell me, teacher,’ he said. ‘Two people owed money to a certain money-lender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?’ Simon replied, ‘I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.’ ‘You have judged correctly,’ Jesus said. Then he turned towards the woman and said to Simon, ‘Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven – as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.’ Then Jesus said to her, ‘Your sins are forgiven.’ The other guests began to say among themselves, ‘Who is this who even forgives sins?’ Jesus said to the woman, ‘Your faith has saved you; go in peace.’ (Luke 7: 36-50)

Some conclude that Luke was describing a different event, in other words that Jesus was anointed with oil poured from an alabaster jar on two completely separate occasions, once near the beginning of his ministry, as Luke describes here, and the second time right at the end, as we read in John’s gospel earlier in the service. However we need to bear in mind that the gospel writers, like many from their tradition, did not necessarily adhere strictly to a chronological sequence of events. They very often wrote thematically, sometimes linking events together from different times and places to emphasise the point being made. For example just before the passage we read Luke was making the point that unlike tax collectors and other sinners the Pharisees did not respond positively to what God was saying to them. This story of the sinful woman anointing Jesus served as an illustration of this point. The woman showed much love because she had been forgiven much. The Pharisee on the other hand showed little love, and this revealed how little he believed he needed forgiveness himself. Whether or not Luke was describing the same event as John (and Matthew and Mark) we may never know for certain, but this in no way affects the lessons God wants to teach us from these passages.

Luke tells us that what motivated this woman as she approached Jesus with her anointing oil was a deep and intense emotion. As she came near to Jesus she was weeping, weeping so much that the tears were pouring down and dripping from her face. What caused this outburst of emotion do you think? Well we are told quite clearly that she was a sinner. We don’t know precisely what her sinful acts were, but the Pharisee certainly knew her reputation, and Jesus himself spoke of “her many sins” (Lu 7: 47). So was she weeping because she had been so bad? Like Peter, perhaps, who when he realised that he had denied Jesus three times went outside and wept bitterly? No, we are not told that it was bitterness and sorrow for her actions that stirred her heart. Jesus said it was her great love that moved her, and that great love sprang from her awareness of how much she had been forgiven. Yes the awareness of the extent of her sin was part of this, but it was the awareness of God’s forgiveness that now moved her so greatly. Merely being aware of how sinful you are will only lead to desolation and despair. Being aware of how much God has forgiven your sin will stir your heart with the deepest love and devotion.

So how deep is your love for Jesus this morning? How much does your heart bound with thanksgiving for the extent of his forgiveness for you?

Now John’s account, which is amplified by Matthew and Mark, adds much more detail to the story. If they were describing the same event as Luke then they don’t contradict each other, rather they complement each other. We are told who the woman was who anointed Jesus’ feet – Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus. At first sight it might appear that the meal was in their house, but the very fact that John is careful to say that Lazarus was also at the meal and Martha was one of those serving suggests that it was actually held in someone else’s house. And indeed Matthew and Mark tell us that it was in the house of Simon the Leper.

Now John, or rather Jesus, tells us that something else stirred up the love in Mary’s heart. Jesus said,

“It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial.” (John 12: 7)

Do you hear what he was saying. This wasn’t a long-term investment to be sold when other money ran out. It wasn’t just one of a range of valuable keepsakes that could be sold if desired to give something to those in need. She had reserved this expensive alabaster jar of oil explicitly and exclusively to anoint the body of Jesus after his death. I say she, but I have no doubt that this alabaster jar belonged to Lazarus and Martha as well. And here is the puzzling thing. If she had reserved this ointment specifically for Jesus’ burial, why on earth did she break the jar and pour out the ointment here at this celebration meal while Jesus was still very much alive?

Both Matthew and Mark give us the answer, again by recording what Jesus himself said.

“She has done a beautiful thing to 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)

So that’s what we are doing this morning – telling the story in memory of her.

What did Jesus say here? Mary did what she could; she poured perfume on his body beforehand – beforehand – to prepare for his burial.

Alone amongst all of the disciples, it seems, Mary understood with crystal clarity what Jesus had been sharing time and time again, but that Peter and the others refused to accept or believe. Jesus had come this last time to Jerusalem in order to die; to lay down his life as a ransom for many. O yes, Mary’s emotions were deeply stirred by the wonderful knowledge of God’s forgiveness for all of her sin. But what stirred her to love from the depths of her heart was the price God’s Son, Jesus her Lord, her teacher and friend, was about to pay to secure that forgiveness. I am quite sure that in the days leading up to this event she had been pondering and meditating not just the words of Jesus but also those of the prophet Isaiah written hundreds of years before:

But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. (Isa 53: 5-6)

Nobody else but Jesus understood her, understood both these women if in fact these were two separate events. Simon the Pharisee said to himself

If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is – that she is a sinner. (Lu 7: 39)

But Jesus did know that she was a sinner, and the weeping woman knew that he knew. And she reached out to touch him, because through him she received forgiveness and pardon.

Have you reached out to touch him?

Judas criticised and condemned Mary. But it was not just Judas. Matthew tells us it was all the disciples. Mark says they

were saying indignantly to one another, ‘Why this waste of perfume? It could have been sold for more than a year’s wages and the money given to the poor.’ And they rebuked her harshly. (Mark 14: 4-5)

But Mary was undeterred by the criticism and misunderstanding. Her heart was stirred not by the opinions of others but by the love of the Saviour for her, and the love that now persuaded her to give all that she was and had to him.

As the words of the familiar hymn remind us

When I survey the wondrous cross,

On which the Prince of Glory died,

My richest gain I count but loss,

And pour contempt on all my pride.

I asked earlier, “How deep is your love for Jesus this morning? How much does your heart bound with thanksgiving for the extent of his forgiveness for you?”

And if you find it difficult to express much love for him, then remember that our hearts will never be stirred to love him as they should until we have understood the extent of his love for us. At the start of the twentieth century Lucy Ann Bennett wrote the wonderful words of the hymn “O Teach Me What it Meaneth.”

O teach me what it meaneth,

That cross uplifted high,

With One, the Man of Sorrows,

Condemned to bleed and die!

O teach me what it cost Thee

To make a sinner whole;

And teach me, Savior, teach me

The value of a soul!

If you find it difficult to stir up love within your heart for Jesus then let the words of Lucy Ann Bennett show you the way. The third verse of her hymn says

O teach me what it meaneth,

Thy love beyond compare,

The love that reacheth deeper

Than depths of self-despair!

Yes, teach me, till there gloweth

In this cold heart of mine

Some feeble, pale reflection

Of that pure love of Thine.

Ask the Lord to teach you, to show you the extent of his forgiveness for you and the depths to which he descended in order to secure that forgiveness. Ask him to light the fire of love for him in your heart and fan it to an intense flame.

But there is another lesson for us to learn in these passages, and it concerns how we view others and respond to their actions. The Pharisee saw only the woman’s sinful life; Jesus saw the love that sprang from the transforming power of his forgiveness and grace. We need to look on others with the eyes of Jesus. People look on the outward appearance, God said to Samuel; God looks on the heart. But the Pharisee comes out of these accounts better than the disciples. He, at least, kept his negative thoughts to himself. The disciples shared their views with each other and consequently treated Mary harshly. The Lord bids us treat one another in ways that will build up and encourage, not tear down and discourage. Let us all seek and pray for the eyes of Jesus as we view and watch out for one another.