Matthew 26:6-13
Now when Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper, There came unto him a woman having an alabaster box of very precious ointment, and poured it on his head, as he sat at meat. But when his disciples saw it, they had indignation, saying, To what purpose is this waste? For this ointment might have been sold for much, and given to the poor. When Jesus understood it, he said unto them, Why trouble ye the woman? for she hath wrought a good work upon me. For ye have the poor always with you; but me ye have not always. For in that she hath poured this ointment on my body, she did it for my burial. Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, there shall also this, that this woman hath done, be told for a memorial of her.

What does Jesus honor? What is important to Him? Why did this moment have such significance that Jesus promised it would be part of the gospel? Mary, it seemed, had a singular devotion to Jesus. She was the one at His feet, learning of Him and hearing His Word. She was the one trusting Him in the difficult moments of life. And here she brings a gift, an offering, some way to honor her Lord while recognizing His imminent sacrifice.

Yes, it was important to care about the poor and to help meet needs. Yes, we should be good stewards of what we have. But the highest purpose of all that we have should be to honor and glorify the Lord, to demonstrate our love for Him with all of our heart, mind, and soul. All that we have should be His first of all before it is ever ours to do with as we please. And what we should strive for is this kind of total devotion to Jesus Christ that holds nothing back.

The disciples saw this act of Mary’s as a waste. They imagined a different purpose for this precious ointment. They didn’t recognize that the most precious thing here was Jesus in their midst. What they missed was what He had been telling them all along, that His death was nigh. Here was Christ, the anointed one, come from God to die for our sins. And here is Mary anointing Him for His burial in a moment that was meaningful and special to Him. So what is my heart? What is my desire? What is my level of devotion to Jesus Christ? And will I choose to give Him my best and to give all that I have for His sake?