| “Mary, which also sat at Jesus’ feet, and heard His word” (Luke 10:39). |
| “Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odor of the ointment” (John 12:3). |
| We find an incident in Luke 10 concerning the home of Martha and Mary which is very instructive for us. The Lord Jesus had come, and they were preparing a meal for Him and for others who were there. Evidently Mary had been helping, but then went and sat down at Jesus’ feet to hear His word. Martha was upset about this. She asked the Lord Jesus to tell Mary to come and help her get the meal ready. But the Lord Jesus commended Mary, telling Martha that Mary had chosen rightly, and that sometimes it was better to listen to the Word of God than to fuss too much over food preparation. Martha was the kind of person who wanted everything just right, and there is nothing wrong with that, but if it interferes with our hearing the Lord’s word, then we have to remember what is most important. |
| We notice too that the same person — Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and heard His word, was the one who later anointed His feet with some very expensive ointment. She understood that His feet would carry Him to the cross, and she used this expensive ointment to show how much she loved Him. That ointment came from plants that grow up in the Himalayan mountains in India, and it probably was worth about a year’s salary in those days. Yet she gladly anointed the Lord Jesus with it, because He meant so much to her. In those days it was customary to wash the feet of guests that came to the house, but to anoint their feet was extra-special. The Lord Jesus really appreciated it. |
| We cannot actually anoint the feet of the Lord Jesus today, but when we come together to remember Him, we too are pouring ointment on Him, and He values it very highly. Others objected to what Mary did, but the Lord Jesus defended her, for she loved Him very much. If we know the Lord Jesus as our Savior, we too love Him. He values it if we remember Him, and all that He did for us. |
