Extravagant Worship
Six days before the Passover, Jesus arrived at Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honour. Martha served while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. Then Mary took a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. John 12:1-3
‘Six days before the Passover, Jesus arrived at Bethany.’ Like many others, He was making His way to Jerusalem for Passover. On the way He came to Bethany, now described as the place ‘where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.’ Not surprisingly, ‘Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honour.’ Martha is predictably serving. Lazarus, who is now a symbol of the divine authority over Jesus’ ministry, is a special guest.
Everyone is ‘reclining at the table.’ The custom of the day would have been to lie on the floor leaning on your left elbow with your head toward the low table and your feet facing away from the table.
‘Then Mary took a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet.’ The table was traditionally U-shaped which allowed guests to be served from the gap in the middle. This allowed Mary to come around the outside and pour her perfume over Jesus’ feet. She anointed His feet with ‘a pint of pure nard.’ The NIV has chosen to convert the more literal weight of the perfume (a Roman ‘pound’ or 326 grams) into an equivalent volume measure (‘pint’). It was an enormous amount.
Nard is an extract from a Nepalese plant. The perfume was expensive because it was imported from a great distance, as well as having to be extracted from plant material. Great amounts of plant material were needed for a relatively small amount of aromatic oil. Anointing Jesus’ feet with such expensive oil was an extraordinary act of devotion.
‘She poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair.’ Our phrase “to let your hair down” means to go wild, be free, to throw caution to the wind. Flouting the cultural mores of the day Mary did all this and more. To wipe Jesus’ feet with her hair she would have had to let her hair hang loose. In polite society, this just wasn’t done. Mary would have faced social shame for her actions.
‘And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.’ The power of any perfume was measured by how far the scent carried. Here it filled the whole house. The aroma from nard was not only extremely strong; it was equally extremely long lasting. That smell would have remained on Jesus for a long time. When, in the days to follow, they spat on Jesus, the smell would still be there. When He was nailed to the cross, you could probably still smell the aroma … even when they laid Him in the tomb.
Mary was shameless, worshipping Jesus with everything she had, risking the anger of her own sister and even her resurrected brother. The men watching would have disapproved, including Jesus’ own disciples.
It might be too much to ask: are you a Mary? But it’s not too much to ask: how did Jesus feel about being treated like this? Read the next part of the chapter.
If extravagant worship pleases Jesus, and it certainly did here, shouldn’t we be acting more like that? How can you show Him extravagant worship?
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