A Waste?

“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?” Mark 14:3-4

In John chapter 11, we learn that this woman was Mary, the sister of Lazarus. Not long before this meal took place, Jesus had raised her brother from the dead. Mary was obviously grateful, and that alone would have been reason enough for her to want to do something special for Jesus. The Lord had already told His disciples plainly that He was going to be killed and that He would rise again from the dead. The disciples never seemed to comprehend Jesus’ words regarding His imminent death, but Mary had been listening and she wanted to do something about it. When Mary was rebuked for wasting such a valuable treasure, Jesus said that Mary was anointing Him beforehand in preparation for His death.

Often in the Bible our prayers are likened to incense, a pleasant aroma to God. He enjoys hearing us pray. But prayer requires effort. Most Christians struggle to find time to pray. Some fail to pray because they don’t believe it is worth the effort. Is prayer a waste of time? Jesus didn’t think so. He was obviously pleased with what Mary did, and He said that her deeds would always be spoken of as a testimony to her devotion.