Daily Archives: February 22, 2023

“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 

This verse has weighed heavily on my heart as I have tried to put myself in Mary’s shoes as she broke the alabaster jar in adoration of Jesus. What would my alabaster jar look like today, and if I had it at hand would I fall to my knees and break it in adorning worship of my savior?

It was no secret that Mary broke the jar and poured it over Jesus’ feet, because the scent would have permeated the house quickly. Even though we can confirm her actions were of sincere and humble servitude to worship God through Jesus’ defense in verse 7, that didn’t stop Judas from criticizing her actions. The alabaster jar that Mary broke was worth a years wages, and Judas made sure she knew that by questioning why the jar wasn’t sold so the money could be given to the poor. 

From the outside looking in, the eyes of the world would see selling the jar to serve the poor as the right and practical thing to do. Even though Judas’ rebuttal didn’t come from his concern over the poor, his words could easily convince people who are looking at the physical sacrifice as opposed to the spiritual offering. 

Not every situation is black and white leading me to believe that the right thing to do isn’t always practical. For a God that is more precious than silver, more costly than Gold, and more beautiful than diamonds what is a years wages in the form of an alabaster jar of perfume? It wasn’t the cost of the perfume that glorified God, it was the pure love of Jesus within Mary’s heart that captivated Him. 

We don’t own anything of enough value to glorify God as everything already belongs to him. Our belongings are only temporarily held in our care and given on an as needed basis so that God’s plan can be lived out. What God desires is our heart, “for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:21)

My alabaster jar isn’t anything that I own, it’s the offering of a pure heart covered by the blood of the lamb in worship. I believe that Mary’s situation was circumstantial as in her focus of worship with a clean and pure heart she broke the jar. I believe this flows over to our own lives as our actions need to be completed daily with a clean and pure heart of worship. It didn’t matter if the alabaster jar of perfume was sold for the poor or broke in adoration, what mattered is that Mary sought Jesus to create in her a pure heart and the intentions of her actions reflected that. 

I pray that God would create in me a clean and pure heart of worship, so that whether I am praising in song or scrubbing the kitchen floor, I will remember that my life is in the palm of his hand and that my actions will permeate an incense of praise satisfying my savior.