Beautiful Devotion: Encouragement by Karen Pulley
Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil. (John 12:3 NKJV)
Ohhh the love that pours out all!
Three times in the Gospel accounts we come across Mary of Bethany. Each time she is at her Master’s feet.
We first meet her in Luke 10 where we read, "Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word.”
Next in John 11, we see her mourning her brother Lazarus’ death, and she carries her grief to the feet of Jesus. She fell down, saying, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died."
The third and final time we see her is in John 12, six days before our Lord's crucifixion. With beautiful devotion, she breaks the precious alabaster jar at His feet, anointing and wiping His feet with her hair.
From these three quick glances, we can learn much from Mary:
- She sat at His feet to learn (Luke 10:39)
- She took to His feet, her grief (John 11:32)
- She gave at His feet, her best (John 12:3)
It is in the 12th chapter of John, where we see Mary bending with her costly gift at the Lord's feet, that we have an exquisite illustration of consecration to Christ.
In this account, there are five prominent figures: Martha, Lazarus, Mary, Judas, and the Lord Jesus. Busy Martha typifies service. Lazarus, who is feasting, typifies communion. Through Mary’s actions, we have a picture of consecration. Through Judas we see the world's attitude to consecration and the propensity toward being devoted to self. He had an attitude of condemnation and viewed her devotion as a waste. His objection (she should have given to the poor) was false and hypocritical, because he did not care for the poor but rather only for himself. In fact, consecration to Christ has done more for the poor and the suffering than any worldly treasure bag ever has, as His followers follow in their Lord’s example of His care for the poor. Finally, our Lord represents the divine attitude of total sacrifice.
Mary's offering of the precious ointment at the feet of her Lord illustrates consecration in the following ways: 1) it was very costly, 2) it involved being broken, 3) its fragrance filled the house, 4) it was discerning as she knew Jesus was going to the cross to die for our sins, 5) it was misunderstood by others, and 6) it was praised as a good work and was blessed by the Lord. In fact, He said wherever this Gospel is preached, what she has done will be told in her memory.
Aren’t we inspired by Mary's act of devotion? May this be a lesson for us to pour out our love to Jesus in such a way that all might enjoy its fragrance!
And knowing the fragrance was so powerful it may have lasted up to a month, could it be this beautiful scent brought Jesus comfort as He remembered Mary's devotion in His hour of greatest suffering?
We would see Jesus,
Karen Pulley
(Excerpts taken from Awake My Heart by J. Sidlow Baxter)
PS - Be sure to check out the events page for information on our upcoming fall dessert night and Bible study! We can’t wait to see you there!