Giving Him Everything (John 12:1-8)

Today's scripture: John 12:1-8

What would you give to Jesus to show your love for Him? Would you be willing to shower Him with the best you have?

Not too long ago, we read of Jesus' raising Lazarus from the dead. We read of His love and compassion for Martha and Mary. Not too long after this, Jesus came again to spend time with these friends He dearly loved. Martha was serving, and Lazarus was reclining with Him. This scene seems a mirror image of another visit Jesus had with these siblings.

John's gospel doesn't describe this previous visit, but Luke tells the story. You're probably familiar with it. Jesus comes to visit. Martha is running around trying to get dinner on the table, but Mary is sitting at Jesus' feet. Martha complains, and Jesus gently reminds her that "Mary has chosen what is best ..." (Luke 10:38-42, CEV).

Now Jesus is with His friend again. Again, Martha is serving, and Mary is at Jesus' feet. But there is a key difference in today's story. Mary isn't just sitting at her Savior's feet. No, she's anointing His feet with a "pound of very costly perfume of pure nard" and wiping His feet with her hair.

We can learn two things about Mary's act.

First, a pound of "pure nard" would have been worth about one year's salary. She wanted to show how much she honored Him and gave Him what may have been her life's saving. The money didn't matter; she just wanted to worship Him. Think about what you gross each year? Would you be willing to lavish an entire year's salary to show honor to Him?

Second, not only was Mary willing to give of her material possessions, she was willing to give of herself. Letting her hair down in the presence of men may have been scandalous. Dr. Leila Leah Bronner in an article entitled, "To Cover or Not to Cover: That is the Question," writes:

The Bible presents hair as an ornament, enhancing the appearance of a woman. The attraction of a woman's hair is poetically expressed in the Song of Songs: "Your hair is like a flock of goats from Gilead" (6:5). However, hair may have been covered in biblical times, since there is some evidence that the unmarried girl, like her married counterpart, may have covered her hair. The Song of Songs reads: "Your eyes are like doves behind your veil" (4:1). The verse indicates that the maiden kept a veil over her hair, even though she appears to be unmarried. Similarly, the betrothed Rebecca demurely covers herself upon first sight of her intended husband (Genesis 24:65). Because the evidence is sparse, we do not know precisely if, or how this custom of hair covering was observed.

However, whether it was required or not, Mary's willingness to expose herself illustrated something very important: She didn't care about rules and regulations. She didn't care about perceptions. She only wanted to show her devotion to Jesus. She wanted to lavish Him with her love, wiping His feet with her "crowning glory."

How can we apply Mary's actions? We can be willing to give everything—everything—to Jesus. If He asks, will we give up our jobs, our homes, our things? And are we willing to risk the ridicule of others by "letting down our hair" to serve Him?

Mary gave everything to Him to worship and honor Him. Will we do the same?