Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Romans 12:1 NIV
Mary of Bethany’s story has a lasting capstone. The week before Passover, six days before Jesus met with His disciples for His last evening with them, Mary had an evening meal with Jesus. She and her brother Lazarus and sister Martha had developed close relationships with Jesus. Their home was open to Him, and He and His disciples were there as a sort of “home and headquarters” when He was in Bethany. In fact, they were so close that the next week, the last week before the cross, He spent Monday through Wednesday with them and then was captured in the Garden of Gethsemane on Thursday evening.
But back to this night. They were serving Jesus and quite a number of guests for a dinner prepared in Jesus’ honor. In the middle of the evening, Mary came to Jesus, knelt at His feet in total humility, and poured out a jar of pure nard over His feet. Then she wiped His feet with her hair. This expensive perfume was worth about a year’s wage at the time, and probably was her inheritance from deceased parents. According to information from the traditions of the time, it was likely her most prized possession. The fragrance was so potent it filled the whole house. Certainly, wonder and disbelief filled everyone there. Judas expressed his critical evaluation. “What a waste! How irresponsible! If she didn’t want this treasure, she should have sold it and given the money to the poor!”
Before anything else could be said, Jesus clarified her action as He told what was in her heart and how much it mattered. Nothing is wrong with giving to the poor. In fact, it is right and godly. But there’s a higher priority – acknowledging Jesus. Willing surrender to Him as Lord and King. That is what Mary had done. Judas had not surrendered and never did. Mary had given her complete love, life, and loyalty to Jesus. She did not protect her reputation. She did not concern herself about “what people would say” or how her financial needs would be supplied in the future. Giving her most valuable tangible possession was symbolically big, but incidental to and only made possible by her prior complete surrender of her whole self to Jesus. Jesus said (recorded in Matthew 26 and Mark 14) that for all of time wherever the gospel is preached, her surrender will be shared and emulated. Surrender of ourselves makes victory through surrender possible in every situation and leads to victory and legacy.
- Whenever we run into a surrender that seems unreasonable or unthinkable, it is clear evidence that the ultimate surrender has not yet been made. Jesus, help me recognize that naming You “Lord” requires full surrender of all I am and have. It leads to my greatest victory and joy.