What is the significance of Jesus being anointed (Mark 14:3-9)?

Her act of devotedness was directed toward the Lord Himself. It was in the nature of intelligent worship, but it provoked the hostility of the disciples. To them it was a “waste.” They said that it should have been sold for three hundred pence and given to the poor. To them worship so pure and elevated seemed superfluous.

But the blessed Master viewed it otherwise, and placed upon it his own gracious interpretation. What they called a “waste” He recognized as heartfelt worship. What they considered as so much loss to “the poor,” in that He saw an apprehension on her part of His coming death—an appreciation of His sufferings—which marked her as being in possession of the truth in a way unknown to them. “Against the day of My burying has she kept this,” were His words; just as though He gave her credit for anticipating and preparing for His burial; just as though it had been the leading thought in her mind, whilst His kingdom and glory had occupied those of the disciples. But the glory is reached through death. She was right, and they were wrong; and, therefore, He gently screens her from their cruel censures. He will not allow her to suffer under their aspersion. He spreads His sheltering wing around her, and firmly says, “Let her alone.” If none can value her devotedness, He can, and does; and that is enough for Mary. Her Master’s smile suffices. The sense of giving Him pleasure compensates for the misunderstanding of man. Blessed experience!

(Vv. 3-9). With this brief reference to the leaders we pass to the beautiful scene in the home at Bethany. As the Lord sat at meat, in the house of Simon the leper, a woman, who we know from other accounts was Mary the sister of Martha, brought an alabaster flask of very precious ointment of spikenard and poured the contents on the Lord's head. Mary thus expresses her appreciation of Christ, her affection for Christ, and her spiritual insight. At the moment her intelligence appears to have exceeded that of the other disciples. Won by grace and attracted by love, she had, in other days, sat at His feet to hear His word. As one has said, "The grace and love of Jesus had produced love for Him, and His word had produced spiritual intelligence."

Her love to Christ made her sensible of the increasing hatred of the Jews. Her act was the witness of love's appreciation of Christ at the very moment when the plottings of men expressed their hatred of Christ. Alas! Mary's act of homage brings to light the avarice of some who were present. We know, from the account in the Gospel of John, that Judas was the leader of those who were indignant with Mary. That which was gain to Christ was loss to Judas. Men can appreciate beneficent acts for men, but can see little, if any, value in an act of homage that has only Christ as the object. In like spirit are we not, as Christians, in danger of being rightly active in preaching to sinners and in care of saints, while showing little appreciation for an act of worship that makes everything of Christ? Let us not forget that those who murmur at the devotedness of Mary, in reality put a light upon Christ. If Mary's act is mere waste, then Christ is not worthy of the homage of His people.

If, however, Man's act calls forth the indignation of men, it draws out the appreciation of Christ. The Lord delights to say, "She has wrought a good work on Me." In Luke 10, we read that Mary chose "that good part". Here, we learn, that she does "a good work." The good part is to sit at His feet and hear His word, the good work is work which has Christ for its motive. There may be much activity in service, but if Christ is not the motive it will have little value in the day to come. Moreover, the Lord not only commends Man's work on account of its pure motive, but also because she had done "what she could." In service for Christ it is not possible to overlook an opportunity for some comparatively small and obscure act of service, and aim rather at a great public work which, after all, may have the false motive of exalting self. Does not this fine scene encourage us to do what we can, however small the service, with the pure motive of exalting Christ?

Very blessedly, the Lord gives us the true spiritual significance of her act. She had come aforehand to anoint His body to the burying. Others, indeed, will come when it is too late with their sweet spices to express their true, but unintelligent appreciation of Christ. Mary, with greater spiritual intelligence expresses her love before the burial. So great is the value that the Lord sets upon Mary's act that He says, "Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world, this also that she has done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her." Her act of love is to be used for all time as a beautiful example of the true and proper result of the gospel. Not only does the gospel bring to us the knowledge of salvation and the forgiveness of sins, but it wins the heart to Christ, so that He becomes the supreme object of life. We know that the Lord's Supper which has been celebrated throughout the ages is a continual memorial of the perfect Saviour and His infinite love to His people; but the one supper that took place at Bethany has become the lasting memorial of a devoted saint and her love to Christ.

She might indeed have had many an opportunity to sell the ointment for the benefit of the poor, or ere this to pour it upon Christ. But, says the Lord, "She (has) kept this" for this supreme moment. The Lord lets every one know that the ointment was kept for the day of His preparation for burial. It was an expression of love for Christ which becomes a witness to the fact that the One Who had just raised a man from the dead was Himself going into death. The Lord, indeed, is not unmindful of the poor, for, He says, the poor are always with us: but, with touching tenderness, He adds, "Me ye have not always". He is conscious of His approaching departure, and the spiritual instincts of Mary tell her that the shadow of death is closing round her Lord. Lazarus was a witness to the resurrection power of Christ, but Mary's act witnessed that the One Who had the power of resurrection life was going into death. As so often, devoted love gives divine intelligence. Thus she seemed to be the only one that entered into the mind of the Lord, and realised that death was before Him.

The woman who anointed Him for His burial gives us an expression of faith in the same mystery. She believed that He would die and be buried, but that He would pass through death and the grave as a Conqueror, and by that very process be introduced to His anointing or His glories. She understood the mystery of victorious death, or of resurrection from the dead, on which great fact the gospel hangs. Therefore it is that the Lord says of her, that wheresoever the gospel should be preached, her deed, her faith, should be had in remembrance. He made it a pattern faith, as Abraham's had been.

Mary came and anointed the feet of the Lord, in the power of love, and the house was filled with the sweet savour of the ointment. There was something very peculiar about the time and hour of her doing it. Her habit had been to sit at His feet, Martha's to be full of active bustling service. Mary takes her wonted place, and anoints His feet. Judas thinks "What a quantity of money has slipped through my hands!" The disciples too are thinking about the bag. But Jesus turns to them, saying, "Let her alone, against the day of my burying hath she kept this. She is in the current of my Father's mind and knows my Father's secrets."

There is a bright spot in this dark cloud; turn your eye upon it for a moment: Jesus vindicates her. How blessed! The eye under which this act was performed discerned its value, and the heart that had caused to spring up affections so suited to Himself her Lord, measures out its appreciation of all that was expended on Himself; and He lets every one know what He felt and thought of this manifestation of this devotedness to His Person. "Let her alone, she hath wrought a good work on Me; she hath done what she could; she is come aforehand to anoint my body to the burying. Verily, I say unto you, wheresoever this Gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world, this also that she hath done, shall be spoken of for a memorial of her." Oh, the joy of being vindicated by Jesus, and the satisfaction of knowing that, however feebly, we have truly ministered to the longings of His heart?

The woman is not mentioned by Mark. It was Mary of Bethany , who sat at His feet when He had come to her house and who wept at His feet when Lazarus had died. She alone had grasped the meaning of the Lord's announcement concerning His death and resurrection. She did not go to the grave as others did. She anointed His body for the burial. What love there was in her heart! How it must have delighted His heart when she did this act of faith and love.

Mark the result. See how immediately the blessed Lord comes to her defense and shields her from the indignation and scorn of those who ought to have known better. “When Jesus understood it, He said to them, Why trouble ye the woman? for she has wrought a good work upon Me. For ye have the poor always with you, but Me ye have not always. For in that she has poured this ointment on My body, she did it for My burial. Verily, I say to you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, there shall also this, that this woman has done, be told for a memorial of her.”

Here was a glorious vindication in the presence of which all human indignation, scorn and misunderstanding must pass away like the vapor of the morning before the beams of the rising sun. “Why trouble ye the woman? for she has wrought a good work upon Me.” It was this that stamped the act — “a good work upon Me.” This marked it off from all else. Everything must be valued according to its connection with Christ. A man may traverse the wide world to carry out the noble objects of philanthropy; he may scatter with a princely hand the fruits of a large-hearted benevolence; he may give all his goods to feed the poor; he may go to the utmost possible length in the wide range of religiousness and morality and yet never do one single thing of which Christ can say, “It is a good work upon Me.”

The indignation of the disciples is a sad comment on their lack of discernment. It was evidently Judas who began this agitation (Jn.12:4) because of his own greed, but the others too speak of this action of Mary as a waste. The Lord's defense of her stands in precious contrast to their unholy criticism. What she had done was a good work. All the ointment, expensive as it was, was expended on the Lord Himself, not on others, nor even on the Lord's work. He valued such affection for Him. This was virtually her last opportunity of anointing Him, for within two days He would be crucified, and the women who came afterward with their anointing spices and ointments were too late (Lk.23:56; 24:1-3).

The Lord credits the women who had anointed Him with her doing this in view of His burial, whether she fully understood this or not. The disciples could do good to the poor at any time; but they missed the blessing that was hers in giving Him the comfort of true affection at the time of His deepest suffering. In verse 13 He adds a most striking prophecy that wherever the Gospel would be preached in all the world this would be told for a memorial of her. Its importance is impressed on us by the fact that all four Gospel writers record it, and this record is eternal.

The Saviour's death drew near, and feelings of affection and of iniquity developed themselves on one side and the other. Here we see Mary, who used to sit at Jesus' feet to listen to Him and to understand His words. There her heart had drunk in the instruction which flowed from Jesus' heart; and Jesus, the source of all blessings, was the object which had fixed her heart, and she had felt it in her affections. The grace and love of Jesus had produced love for Him, and His word had produced spiritual intelligence. Now this love for the Saviour made her sensible of the increasing hatred of the Jews. The disciples knew that these sought to kill Him, but Mary felt it; not that she was a prophetess, but her heart felt the presentiment of that which man's hatred desired, and she did what she could as a witness of her contrary sentiment; and the Lord makes this act of love speak wherever the gospel is announced in the world.