|
“And Mary took a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair” (John 12:3).
“Joseph of Arimathaea…besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus…And there came also Nicodemus…and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pound weight” (John 19:38-39).
I have no doubt that the Lord Jesus appreciated what Mary did, and what Joseph and Nicodemus did. Mary gave only one pound of ointment, while Nicodemus, who was probably a wealthy man, brought one hundred pounds of myrrh and aloes. However, Mary anointed the Lord Jesus while He was alive, and it does not seem that she went either to the cross, or to the tomb. No. he knew the Lord Jesus would rise again, and she anointed Him while He was alive. Joseph and Nicodemus expected the Lord to remain in the grave, so they brought a large amount of spices. God saw to it that His Son received a rich man’s burial. But He rose again, so the spices were not really necessary.
Again, Mary, and also Joseph and Nicodemus, did what they could, and all was appreciated and recorded in God’s Word.
|
