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Humble Hero
four days and had been restored by a word from Jesus would cause
a reaction. The people would avenge themselves on their leaders
for taking the life of One who could perform such a miracle. The
Sanhedrin therefore decided that Lazarus also must die.
While this plotting was going on at Jerusalem, Jesus and His
friends were invited to Simon’s feast. At the table, Simon sat on one
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side of the Savior and Lazarus on the other. Martha served, but Mary
was earnestly listening to every word from the lips of Jesus. In His
mercy, Jesus had pardoned her sins and called her brother from the
grave, and gratitude filled Mary’s heart. She had heard Jesus speak
of His approaching death, and she had longed to honor Him in some
special way.
At great personal sacrifice she had purchased an alabaster box of
“ointment of spikenard, very costly,” with which to anoint His body.
But now many were declaring that He was about to be crowned king.
Her grief was turned to joy, and she was eager to be the first to honor
her Lord. Breaking her box of ointment, she poured its contents on
the head and feet of Jesus. Then, as she knelt weeping, moistening
them with her tears, she wiped His feet with her long, flowing hair.
Her movements might have gone unnoticed, but the ointment filled
the room with its fragrance and announced her act to everyone there.
Why Judas Was Annoyed
Judas witnessed this act with great displeasure. He began to
whisper his complaints to those near him, blaming Christ for allow-
ing such waste. Judas, the treasurer for the disciples, had secretly
taken funds for his own use from their little supply of money, in this
way reducing their resources to almost nothing. He was eager to put
into the moneybag all that he could get. When one of their group
bought something that he did not think was essential, he would say,
“Why was not the cost of this put into the bag that I carry for the
poor?”
Mary’s act was in such dramatic contrast to his selfishness that
he was put to shame. He tried to claim a worthy motive for objecting
to her gift: “‘Why was this fragrant oil not sold for three hundred
denarii and given to the poor?’ This he said, not that he cared for
the poor, but because he was a thief.” If Mary’s ointment had been