Optimist Roundtable
By Martha Sykes
Jesus is on His way to the cross. It is just a few days before Passover. The chief priest and scribes are plotting against Him. Judas is about ready to betray Him. The crucifixion is less than a week away and Jesus knows it.
Jesus and his disciples stop at Bethany where just a few days before, Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead. Now, as they are having dinner, a woman comes to Jesus and does a beautiful, but extravagant thing for our Lord. The gospel of John tells us that the woman was Mary. What she does is brings an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume. She breaks open the jar and pours the costly perfume oil on Jesus’ head.
As people have read this scripture, some wonder why she would do that. Some scholars say it was an act of gratitude in which she was thanking Jesus for raising her brother Lazarus from the dead. Some say it might’ve been an act of consecration as she was encouraging Jesus to go in to the holy city. Others have said that it was a foreshadowing, an act of preparation, in which she was anointing Jesus’ body for his death, which was coming a few days later. One thing most people agree on is that it certainly was an act of love and kindness toward this man that she loved.
This story reminds us that sometimes it is okay to be extravagant. It was a beautiful act of sacrifice and generosity on Mary‘s part. On that day in Bethany, Mary was expressing her gratitude to her Lord for all that He had done for them. Can you imagine how Mary and her sister Martha felt when Jesus raised their brother, Lazarus, from the dead? She probably felt the need in her heart to thank Him.
In the story, Mary gave an extravagant gift to honor Jesus. This reminds us that there are opportunities all around us to open our hearts and do something extraordinary. It’s the kind of gift that not only honors our God, when we can give extravagantly, but it also reminds us of the most extravagant of gifts to us; that is His Son Jesus Christ!
We are approaching Holy Week, so think about being thankful for Jesus and the sacrifice He made for each of us on that cross!
