Lessons from Mary's Anointing of Jesus

7:36 Now one of the Pharisees was requesting Him to dine with him, and He entered the Pharisee's house and reclined at the table. 7:37 And there was a woman in the city who was a sinner; and when she learned that He was reclining at the table in the Pharisee's house, she brought an alabaster vial of perfume,             

7:38 and standing behind Him at His feet, weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears, and kept wiping them with the hair of her head, and kissing His feet and anointing them with the perfume.  (Lucas 7:36-38)

The week before Jesus’ crucifixion, He spent time in Bethany, a village near Jerusalem. At a supper honoring Him, He and the disciples feasted on a home-cooked meal. Present at the banquet was Lazarus, the man who Jesus had raised from the dead (John 11:43-44).

As Jesus reclined at the table, a woman anointed Jesus’ head with an expensive perfume that cost the equivalent of what a working man would earn in a year (Matt. 26:7; John 12:6). John 11:2 identifies the woman as Mary, the sister of Lazarus. Mary had been a prostitute (Luke 7:37), but she made a break with her past in order to follow Jesus. We can learn several things from her touching act:

1. Even though someone has a checkered past, Jesus offers forgiveness

And He said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace” (Luke 7:50).

2. To follow Jesus, we must make a break with the wickedness of our past

Mary used her expensive perfume in her profession as a prostitute, and most likely she had purchased it with the earnings from her less than honorable profession. By pouring all of the perfume on Jesus’ head, essentially she was declaring that she would never return to her previous lifestyle. To follow Jesus, we must purpose to burn the bridges to our sinful past with no intention of never returning.

3. Jesus is worthy of our best

The most expensive item that Mary owned was her perfume. By pouring it on Jesus’ head, she declared that He was worthy of the best that she had to offer. Jesus is worthy of our very best as well, which means that we cannot half-heartedly follow Him if we seek to please Him. Following Jesus is an “all or nothing” proposition.

Mary’s story is so powerful that God chose to preserve her act of adoration in all four of the Gospel accounts. Jesus truly is worthy of our worship as well as our complete devotion!