Lazarus, a friend of Jesus, became sick to the point of death. Martha and Mary believed that if anyone could help their brother, it would be Jesus. They made sure to get the word out, and they did not understand why Jesus was not there. Things worsened, days passed by, and Jesus was not there. Finally, Lazarus dies, and still no Jesus!

The man who could bring sound to the deaf, strengthen the weak, and open the eyes of the blind, was not there to save a FRIEND. In fact, Jesus does not show up until four days later, and they do not understand why. Folks that are grieving do not get it. Even his own disciples do not get it. But Jesus was using this moment to teach everyone there a couple of things about who He is.

First, Jesus teaches them that He is the resurrection and the life. Secondly, Jesus teaches that if they would believe, Jesus would transform their faith, and they would see something amazing.

One of the things I love about Bible is the fact that God does not dismiss our grief. He does not say, “I’m here now, it’s all going to get better.” No! He enters their pain. He dives into Martha and Mary’s grief, and he ministers to them exactly where they are.

Even in their disappointment, even with all these things they are experiencing, they see how much Jesus loved them. One of the most powerful verses in the entire bible are these words: “Jesus wept.” Lazarus’ family, the disciples, and those who are grieving, they all witness this. This shows Jesus’ humanity, Jesus who was fully God, but He grieves the loss of His friend; even though He knows that He is going to raise him from the grave.

“Jesus wept” is a phrase we need to hold on to when we go through out times of great sadness. They got to see Jesus’ step into their humanity and step into their pain. I am glad that we worship our Savior who is not afraid of our pain and grief.

This all sets up what happens in today’s text, the anointing of Jesus’ feet by Mary. The Bible tells us that this event took place six days before Passover. That means that Jesus is in His last six days of life. Mary, out of gratitude, gave Jesus a rather weird gift: pure nard. Pure nard was a fragrant oil, prepared from the roots and stems of an aromatic herb in Northern India. It was expensive, it was sealed in an alabaster jar that was opened only on special occasions. Mary’s gift was about a pound, the value of that would have been a life’s savings to her. Not exactly something you would pick up at Walmart to visit someone at their home. Not exactly a stocking stuffer. We are talking about a life investment.

Mary brings this expensive perfume and pours it on Jesus’ feet, then wipes it off with her hair. In verse 3 John concludes by saying, “The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.” John wants us to know that there was not a place in the house where it was not noticed.

Is it not interesting how certain smells can bring back memories that resonate with you? When I smell Kolaches (a Czech pastry) I always think of my grandma’s house. She would always have them on hand every time we visited. There are certain smells that take you back to a simpler time.

When John says that the smell filled the room, I believe that describes the significance of her offering. It was such an act that everyone noticed. From that moment on, when people smelled that perfume, they automatically thought of Mary and her gift of praise. This perfume was extravagant, lavish, even excessive. The question jumps out at us; does this go too far? Was it too much? I mean this is Jesus we are talking about here; He is not impressed with fashion. Could she not just give him a little jar and say, “I want you to have this.” Does she have to waste her life’s savings? The question that needs to be answered is: was it Wasted, or was it Worth it?

I heard a story about a woman who was asked to work on the Lord’s Day, on Sunday. She said to her boss, "I’d rather not do that, because this is our Lord’s Day. I want to teach my children that they need this one day in seven to feed their spirits, just like they need to feed their bodies." Wasted or Worth it?

Her boss said, "Are you going to work for me or for God?" She smiled and said, "Well, I guess I’m working for God." He said, "Is He going to pay you as much as I pay you?" She said, "He may not pay as much, but the retirement plan is a lot better." 

Was it Wasted? Or Worth it? Back to our scripture lesson that is exactly what Judas wondered. Judas says that the perfume was worth 300 Denarii, which is a lot of money. Of course, the Bible tells us that Judas was also secretly stealing form the group’s bank account. He did not recognize what this action was all about, and neither did the other disciples.

Matthew 26 tells us that it was not only Judas who had a problem with this, but the rest of the disciples too. They thought, “We are living hand to mouth, trying to make it, and she has wasted this expensive perfume. We could have used this. This could have been invested into the ministry. What are you doing Mary? You have gone too far.”

But, what does Jesus say? They are all jumping on Mary, criticizing her and Jesus says, “Leave her alone, she has brought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial. You always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me.”

What Judas considered a waste, Jesus accepted as worship. Suppose she had hesitated, debated, and halted? Suppose she had said, “Okay, this is silly, just a passing thought.” Suppose she just came to her senses and said, “Maybe I got caught up. Let me rethink this.” She did not do that, she was willing to put herself in a position to be made fun of, to be considered a waste.

I love the contrast between Mary’s gift and Judas’ heart. What she did openly, Judas does in the dark. In essence Mary’s heart exposed Judas’ heart. It offends him because he can’t take the top half of this gift for himself. But it goes even further than that: it shows exactly where his heart is. It never occurred to Judas, who had spent three years with Jesus, to himself give such a gift! In addition to that we find out latter that Judas betrayed Jesus for far less than what Mary gave. Only 30 pieces of silver we are told, not that much. In Exodus 21:32, we are told that 30 pieces of silver was the exact price for a wounded slave.

Think about that: to Judas Jesus was next to nothing, and he considered Mary’s worship as a waste. Jesus said, “What she has done for Me will be known throughout eternity.” She will be known for her extravagant gift. The price is not what made the gift so special; what made it special was that it came from the heart.

This is the main point, that when we give to God, do we give out of obligation? OR do we give from the heart? Think about what Mary is doing here, she seized the moment. Jesus told His disciples several times that he was going to the cross and that He was going to beaten, abused, and then pinned to a cross. Mary was the only one who got it. She saw this as an opportunity to give her Lord one last gift.

You could still look at this gift and say it’s wasted, because when they were beating Jesus and He was covered in blood, spit, and sweat, that expensive perfume you could not be smelled then. One could look at that and say, “He’s a dead man walking, and you just laid your life’s savings at His feet.” Or you can see this as an investment, that will last throughout eternity. Was it Wasted? OR Worth it? You decide.