IT IS A WASTE

Mark 14:3-9

Morning Meditations 6/26/17

I want us to look at this passage along with what Matthew has to say about it. Mark 14:3-9 says, “And being in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard very precious; and she brake the box, and poured it on his head. And there were some that had indignation within themselves, and said, Why was this waste of the ointment made? For it might have been sold for more than three hundred pence, and have been given to the poor. And they murmured against her. And Jesus said, Let her alone; why trouble ye her? she hath wrought a good work on me. For ye have the poor with you always, and whensoever ye will ye may do them good: but me ye have not always. She hath done what she could: she is come aforehand to anoint my body to the burying.”

The importance of the sacrificial act of Mary is seen in our Lord’s statement: “Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world, this also that she hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her.” This has to be a reason for some great lessons.

First of all, there is the cost of the ointment. It could have been sold for “more than three hundred pence,” v 5. John 12:3 says that this ointment was “very costly.” It was like water spilled on the ground that could not be gathered up again. If it were sold, it could buy food for the poor. It could buy some lasting gift for the needy. But to pour it on the head of Jesus was a once for all act and it would be gone with no lasting good obtained.

This is how Judas thought. Judas was a lost member of the church. We might make Judas to typify a lost world in general. This would not be a wrong application. If a person is unsaved, he is unsaved no matter where you find him. The reasoning of the unsaved is never spiritual. The only spirit he has is the spirit of the world and the spirit of Satan. This is not being hard, it is just stating it as the Scripture teaches. An unsaved man has a natural mind that cannot receive the things of the Spirit of God (1Cor 2:14). All Judas had to work with was his natural mind. You cannot blame him for the way he thought on that occasion. He did not have the capacity to think otherwise. I am not saying he was not responsible for his condition. He was responsible and without excuse. If anyone had the opportunity for salvation, it was Judas. Judas said in John 12:4: “Then saith one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, which should betray him, Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor?” Even a lost person can be benevolent. But the real reason for Judas’ complaint is stated in verse 6: “This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein.” Judas said it was a waste because of the cost.

The disciples said it was a waste because of the cost. Matthew 26:8 says, “But when his disciples saw it, they had indignation, saying, To what purpose is this waste?” Notice the words “disciples” and “indignation.” It was not just Judas. The disciples thought just like Judas on this point. The word “indignation” (aganakteo) means “to be indignant, moved with indignation, be very displeased.” It is an aorist active indicative verb. This means they were seized with indignation. We might call it a flush of frustration and anger. It is His own born again disciples who felt this way. Can the saved think like the unsaved? Here you have a classic case. Do I ever think like the unsaved around me? I am ashamed to admit it, but far too often. Why did Paul say to the church in Rome, “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God,” (Rom 12:2). This world will control us if they can. And they do it by reasoning. Judas said this gift was a waste and his reasoning made sense to the other disciples.

It was not a waste for Mary. It represented a very costly gift. But she did not offer it like it was costly. She broke it and poured it upon the head of Jesus (Mark 14:3) and His feet (John 12:3). She poured it out like it was nothing at all. While it was a costly sacrifice, it was not a costly sacrifice. The value she placed on Jesus was so great, the monetary value was not even a consideration. The value you place on Jesus will determine your perceived value of the offering you make to Him.

It was not a waste in the eyes of Jesus. In fact, it was a gift so important that He said in Matt. 26:13 “Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, there shall also this, that this woman hath done, be told for a memorial of her.” When Matthew began to write his gospel, he remembered what Jesus said. We are still using this as a lesson that this woman taught us by her sacrifice. What Jesus said of this woman and her gift is being fulfilled just as He said.

The ointment was not wasted on Jesus. The scent still exists. I smell the aroma. John says, “...and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment.” Take a deep breath, I believe you will be able to smell it to.

Jim Elliot broke his box and anointed the head of Jesus. He poured it out and it was like water spilled on the ground. He could not gather it up again. The world said, “what a waste.” Some of the disciples said, “It would have been better if he had proceeded with more caution. He had so much to offer. We could have learned so much from him. His sacrifice was such a waste.” Jesus did not think Jim Elliot wasted his life. Do you smell the ointment that he poured over the head and feet of Jesus? I smell it and it is “precious ointment.”

Adoniram Judson went to Burma and spent his life getting the gospel to the Burmese and other people groups. When he told his father (his father was a preacher) he was going out to be a missionary, his father was so disappointed he could not answer. Judson turned down a well paying, coveted position in the largest church in Boston to go to the mission field. He made unbelievable sacrifices to translate a dictionary and Bible in the language of the Burmese. He was finally buried at sea so that there is no place one can go today and say, “here are the remains of Adoniram Judson. His life was poured out. He broke his box of spikenard and poured it over the head and feet of Jesus. Take a deep breath. Do you smell it? It is filling my room from which I am writing this meditation. Excuse me while I have a camp meeting spell.

When my love for Jesus, my estimation of His value is what Mary’s was, there is no sacrifice that I will make for Him that will seem costly. The money I give will not be wasted. The cross I bear will not seem costly. What I do will not seem a waste to me. When others say, “Why this waste?” I will say, “What waste?” It is nothing.

In Christ

Earl White, Gal. 2:20.