Taken from The Oil That Makes Glad by A. B. Saint
Taken from John chapter 12 verses 1-8
As is often the case in the life of a believer, many a time the Holy Spirit will press through something He wants us to think about. He will find a way to do this. For me, this is often through the night or at the point of wakening in the morning. The last time this happened the Lord centred my thoughts upon the subject of worship and when I arose I found myself in a season or a time of reflection, looking at that heart -warming story found in John’s Gospel chapter 12, where Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair. There was no doubt about it, this was an act of worship and Mary was indeed a worshipper.
The question laid upon me was this, what exactly is worship? Today we hear of worship songs and worship groups and worship leaders in the church, but where does it all begin? True worship always, always, always begins in the heart surely. If it is just outward and fleshy and pretence, it doesn’t count for anything. Remember how in Matthew’s Gospel chapter 15 and verse 8, citing from the book of Isaiah the prophet, the Lord Jesus said,
“This people draweth nigh unto Me with their mouth and honoureth Me with their lips; but their heart is far from Me.”
This declaration certainly gives us the indication that the Lord recognises when praise and worship is real and when it is pretence. True worship is a life which has been given over to God. It is a life which recognises Him with the highest regard. It is a life lived in submission to His Sovereign Will and therefore is a life of self- sacrifice. It is a life which is lived in constant praise and adoration, not only in Church and not only at times when things are going well. It is a life which is wholly devoted to Christ and His Cause, It is a life which hungers and thirsts after righteousness in the pursuance of God and that not in the flesh but in the spirit.
It is a life devoted to Him. I think it is safe to say that Mary was a devotee of Christ, and this is clearly seen in her act of devotion. As we look again at John’s account, let us thrust in the sickle of the field of God’s Holy Word and reap what the Lord has for us.
Moved by love alone, I believe the Holy Spirit prompted her and inspired her to this action. John clearly states that our Lord and His disciples were in Bethany, and it was six days before the Passover. Martha, Mary’s sister was serving the meal and the others, including Lazarus their brother, were seated with the Lord around the table. Everyone had apparently eaten when Mary took a very bold step. Who knows but that her heart might have been beating quickly, not only for the love she had for her Saviour and Lord, but because of what others might say about this action.
Without anymore ado Mary seized the moment and taking a pound of ointment of spikenard, she anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair. Who amongst us could fail to realise that the offering of this gift was going to be costly and later it proved so in more ways than one. As the seal was broken so the sweet perfume was released and filled the room where they were all sitting, but alas, something else was released which was far less pleasant. The voice of a man at the table broke the silence and the one who would prove to be traitor to our Lord soon after, spoke out in indignation and horror.
“Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence and given to the poor?”
He might seem to have been justified in thinking of the poor, but did he really have a heart for the poor? The bible says not, rather he was a lover of money and more than that, he was a thief! How different these two characters were, not only in that one was male and the other female, but one had a heart which had been melted by the beauty and sweetness of the Lord and the other evidently with a heart which was more interested in things material than spiritual.
One with a life of devotion the other living a life of duplicity and with only an outward show of loyalty. The true Iscariot had not been clearly seen yet, excepting of course by the Saviour. At that precise moment when he spoke Mary’s heart must have sunk. Imagine her embarrassment for this was the last thing she wanted. She hadn’t opened the flask of oil or the box of precious ointment of nard to receive any accolades of men but neither had she opened it to be admonished by men either.
This offering had not been made to be seen of men but only between her and the Lord. This action in its entirety had been an act of devotional worship unto Him alone. Her eyes had been only on her Messiah and her heart only for Him.
It has to be said however that in the Torah there was a law against wastefulness, and we would agree that wastefulness is a terrible thing. Nevertheless, any indignation on that day was made by those who had missed the point entirely. There was anger in the room and the Greek verb suggested here is that of an anger which sounds like the snorting of horses.
Do you know that at times it costs to be a true worshipper of Jesus? Many in our world today suffer awful persecution over this very thing and Mary herself on that occasion was criticised, frowned upon, berated and taken to task. I sometimes wonder just how many people in Church, how many saints of God, are held back week after week unable to let themselves go in God’s Presence in order to truly worship Him? Those whose spirits are never released to pour out their love for Christ publicly simply because of others sitting nearby.
Notice now that Mary was not moved by this for she had learned not to live unto man but unto God. The bible tells us the fear of man brings a snare, but Christ is the great Liberator! Hers was a liberality of spirit. She did not focus upon man but on Jesus and the oil she poured was one of depth of character, rare and precious. She gave the best of what she had and kept nothing back. She seemed to understand things that others maybe did not fully understand at that time. She seemed to understand that Messiah was to die.
She saw Him as Prophet, Priest and Servant King. I encourage myself often to be more like Mary and be as a broken vessel before the Lord and give Him all the praise I have for He alone is worthy. I say also to you, do not be concerned about those around you, they did not die for you, and they do not have the power to keep you. Good as they might be, they are not your Shield, your Rock and your High Tower. They are not your Fountain of Living Waters or the Bread of Heaven to you.
Holding the Lord in the highest regard and entering into the release of the Spirit, the Lord’s revelation was then given. God speaks to us whether corporately or individually if we will allow Him to! The time of worship and adoration is often the time when He chooses to do just this, and something of heaven comes down, something from heaven is released upon us. Something of Glory fills the room. The spirit of worship is not self-contained, and it rests not only upon the worshipper but fills the entire room as did the sweet perfume.
Worshippers are usually more intuitive and move on the wings of the Spirit. The anointing upon each saint of God recognises the anointing which is upon another, this is the joy of it. Only those out of step with God would condemn this and find something wrong with it. In what would have been an awkward moment for Mary, Jesus saved the day.
He said, “Let her alone: against the day of My burying hath she kept this, for the poor ye always have with you; but Me ye have not always.”
What did He mean by this? Simply this, this act of devotion was not to be seen as a celebratory act but the very opposite. This very expensive perfume had been saved for a very special occasion, for the day of Christ’s burial in fact. Unknowingly Mary had been led in the Will of God to keep this alabaster casket of precious ointment for this very day! Surely there is a lesson here for us all. Do not hold back but rather do what you can when you can.
Unfailing worship and devotion unto God bring their own reward. Hers was a brokenness of spirit before Him and as the vial was broken so was the life. Someone I know said this and I now bring it to mind. “As Mary wiped the feet of Jesus with her hair so something of that fragrance clung to her hair and for some time remained upon her.” Time spent with Jesus is often telling, always significant and unfailingly rewarding. Reminds me of Proverbs 11 and verse 25, “He that watereth shall be watered also.”
The generous spirit, my friends, never loses out. Phillips Brooks made an interesting comment one time when he said this, “The effective life and the receptive life are one. No sweep of arm that does some work for God but harvests also some more of the truth of God and sweeps it into the treasury of life.”
Years ago, I knew well an elderly Christian lady who would in her eccentricity often make this statement. “Give me flowers now whilst I am still alive, do not wait until I am dead.” Her words have never left me. Perhaps in saying this she wasn’t speaking out of her eccentricity at all. Mary I think, on looking back would have been glad that she did what she did when she had the opportunity to do it.
Henry Ward Beecher was said to have visited Paris. He told how he used to rise early and sit at an open window. He said, “I always knew when the stores beneath me were open; for one was a flower store, and from its numberless roses and heaps of mignonette, arose such sweet, sweet fragrance that it proclaimed what was done. It seems to me that Christians should be as a flower store, and that the odour of sanctity should betray them wherever they are. Not that they should go about obtruding themselves and their actions to others, with the cant of usefulness, but that they should live the purity and joy of religion, so that men might see the desirable-ness of it, both for the sake of nobleness, and for the enjoyment both of this world and that which is to come.”
So be it Lord.
LIFE ON THE ALTAR 