The Aroma of Life

At Bible study last night our group briefly discussed John 12:1-3 which took place after Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead:  "Then, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was who had been dead, whom He had raised from the dead. ² There they made Him a supper; and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with Him. ³ Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil."  People flocked to Bethany to see Jesus and Lazarus who had been dead four days before he walked alive out of the tomb at the call of Christ.

On His way to Jerusalem Jesus enjoyed a meal at the home of Lazarus, Martha and Mary.  Mary shocked many when she went far beyond the usual hospitality in ancient Israel when she anointed the feet of Jesus with spikenard--an oil so precious the value was equal to the wages of a labourer for a full year.  It was typical to wash the feet of guests with water and she used fragrant oil; instead of using a towel Mary used her own hair.  What struck me last night is how Mary had chosen not to use the oil (typically used for burial) to anoint her deceased brother.  She reserved the box of oil for herself.  But when her eyes were opened to see Jesus as the Resurrection and the Life who was heading towards crucifixion, she chose to anoint Jesus in anticipation of His burial.

Judas Iscariot, the apostle who would betray Jesus, resented the "waste" of the oil.  He suggested it would have been better to sell the oil and give the money to the poor rather than pouring it out on Jesus.  John tells us in John 12:6:  "This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the money box; and he used to take what was put in it."  What a contrast is seen here:  Judas dipped into the money box to benefit himself whilst Mary broke the box of oil to pour it all upon Jesus who was worthy of this act of worship and adoration.  Nothing is wasted that is freely offered to Jesus, for He is King and Christ and LORD of all, our risen Saviour.  May we who call Christ Saviour be those who cause the sweet aroma of His love and life to spread through us to all the world as 2 Corinthians 2:14-16 says:  "Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. ¹⁵ For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. ¹⁶ To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life. And who is sufficient for these things?"