The Alabaster Box

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“Then Mary took about 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 12:3 All four of the Gospels relate the story of Mary of Bethany. If I am not mistaken, this is the same Mary who was the sister of Martha and Lazarus. So we already know that she is a woman who loved Jesus and loved to learn from Jesus and worship Him. But to understand the verse, we need to understand what is going on in this passage. The disciples were giving a dinner in honor of Jesus. I am just guessing with this statement, but they were probably being obnoxious and telling NOT funny jokes like a group of guys do when they get together. lol. Then again, it could have been more serious moments where they reflecting on the on the miracles and teachings of Jesus. I don’t really know. But what I do know is all these men were gathered together and they had the honor of fellowshipping and celebrating Jesus. Then in comes Mary. And she kneels down with an extremely expensive bottle of perfume and pours it all over the feet of Jesus and she begins to weep and she cries so many tears that she is able to wash his feet with them. The fragrance of the mixture of her tears and the perfume permeates the whole room. Then she dries His feet with her hair. She is so humbled and thankful for who Jesus is and what He has done that she pours out everything she is and everything she has to show her love and gratitude. The Bible says the disciples become indignant and begin to rebuke her. And I believe it was Judas Iscariot, in his self-righteousness, who scolds Mary telling her how wasteful she is and how that perfume could have been sold and used for better purposes like feeding the poor. But Mary did not allow them to stop her. She knew what Jesus had done for her and for her loving Jesus was worth more than any amount of money. Jesus rebukes the disciples and says, “Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me. When she poured this perfume on my body, she did so to prepare me for burial. I tell you the truth, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will be told, in memory of her.” Those of us who have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus owe Him our all. All of our stories are different. The lives Jesus saved us from is our victory story. It is our restoration story. And we can do nothing but pour our praise on Him. It will cost us different things because our stories are different. For some, like this Mary of Bethany, she saw Jesus raise her brother from the dead and heal him from the disease that had taken his life. For some, like Mary Magdeline, He redeemed her from a life of immorality and shame when all the other men in her life had treated her like trash and threw her away when they were done. For Zaccheus, Jesus redeemed him from a life of deceit and theft. For Peter, he redeemed him from self-righteousness and for Paul it was pride and control. For SOME OF US, it is fear. It is fear that if we don’t steer the ship it will crash and the ones we love will be destroyed. And for some of us, He has to remind us that we are to worship Him alone and not the beautiful blessings He gives us. And redemption doesn’t just stop with initial salvation. Every day He continues to love us and forgive us. For me, it is that learning curve of fear and control. It is that holding on so tight to His blessings that I begin to worship them. And when I break open my alabaster box, I have to completely pour those blessings out at His feet and say “God, you take them.” And then the hard part is to say “Lord, if I am keeping them from You or interfering in any way with them being who You created them to be, remove me from their lives”. For me, I have to pour out that need to control everything and make sure everything goes right for everyone. I have to embrace hopelessness and helplessness so I can realize that Jesus is the only hope. Maybe Jesus has redeemed you from an addiction that became your identity. Maybe He redeemed you from a life of immorality that had become your only source of love. Maybe He redeemed you from anger and bitterness resulting from continual betrayals. Maybe you are just rebellious and want to do things your way and have disdain for authority, including God’s. Wherever you find yourself, if God has redeemed you, be like Mary. Pour out your everything on Him. Hold nothing back from Him, and get ready to be ridiculed by the world (even family and friends). But like Mary, don’t let them shame you, because you know what Jesus has done for you. If you have not yet accepted Jesus as your Savior and allowed Him to change you, please allow Him to be your Savior. I say it all the time, if you are not saved, the only thing you need to worry about is death, because without Jesus, you are going to hell. What is going on in this life doesn’t even matter if you don’t have Jesus. If you have a redemption story, don't forget to give Jesus all your praise, thanks, and surrender. This is a beautiful song that expresses how I feel about Jesus. Of what does this song make you think? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Ls8ZfeBmHA