GREAT THINGS ENTERPRISE
CLAUDE BLACK
Mark 14:3
No Few Drops for Her
Sometimes a person feels the inner desire to do something that exceeds the ordinary, often in secret. Mark records an event of this nature: “And while he was in Bethany reclining in the house of Simon the leper, a woman having an alabaster jar of extremely expensive pure nard perfume came, and after breaking the alabaster jar, she poured it on his head.” (Mark 14:3) Neither Matthew (26:6-13) nor Mark (14:3-9) records the name of the woman. Luke records a different event (7:36-50), and John records Mary of Bethany anointing Jesus’ feet (12:1-8).
Jesus was in Bethany dining with Simon the leper, who was perhaps providing a banquet for Jesus and his disciples in gratitude for Simon’s healing. While Jesus reclined at the table, as was customary at the time, leaning on the left arm and eating with his right hand, a woman with very expensive perfume came up behind Jesus, broke the perfume container, and poured the fragrant oil on Jesus’ head.
This perfume came from a plant found in India, and it was very expensive. Mark says that it was “pure,” for there was imitation perfume called “pseudo-nard.” Most likely, this was a treasure for the woman, but she felt the urge to do something out of the ordinary. It was a custom for a host to anoint the head of a guest with a few drops of perfume when the guest arrived or reclined at a meal. This unnamed woman did not use a few drops; she broke the container and let the contents flow onto Jesus’ head.
Writers draw many lessons from this scene, but one stands out: the woman held nothing back in her gift to Jesus. One message is that a commitment to Jesus cannot consist of just a few drops; there’s no such thing as a “few drops Christian.” No, she gave everything, which is the way to become a follower of Christ.
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