Mark 14:8-9

“She has done what she could. She has come beforehand to anoint My body for burial. Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her.”

Jesus is standing up for this woman who was scolded by others there for wasting this expensive perfume. How could it possibly be a waste to honor Jesus? We should take a lesson from this woman and honor Jesus in everything that we say and do.

Jesus said, “She has done what she could. She has come beforehand to anoint My body for burial.” This woman clearly had her eyes on target. She didn’t care what the others thought, she brought in this very expensive bottle of fragrant oil and she was going to use it all on Jesus. In Matthew chapter 20 Jesus talks about vineyard workers being paid one denarius per day for work. Mark 14:5 suggests this oil might have been worth 300 denarii. That’s an amazing 300 days of labor! How hard would it be for us to give up something worth 300 days of labor? This woman was really fixated on Jesus.

What would we then do to keep our eyes on the target of Jesus? Would we make worship our number one priority on Sunday and maybe stay a little longer to attend Bible study? What if we could give up a little of our time to sit with an aging friend or relative? Or could we volunteer some time to help at an organization that helps less fortunate people? What about just reading and meditating on the Word of God daily?

Dear Jesus, we thank and praise you for being our Servant King. We pray that You would help us to stay focused on the love that You gave us and to love one another as ourselves. Amen.

Contributed by Paul Obermann