Introduction
Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus, appears in different contexts in all four Gospel accounts and although the focus for this discussion centres on the reference in Mark 14:1-9 the Overview below relies on each Gospel account.
Given that the context of our focus on Mary is on the account of her anointing Yeshua, I will lightly touch upon the issue of whether Luke’s account of a woman anointing Yeshua with oil in chapter 7 is the same account of the anointing in the other Gospel accounts. There is also the aspect concerning the apparent differences in timing between the Matthew, Mark, and John’s account from that in Luke’s account. Respected Bible teachers and commentators disagree on whether Luke’s account also refers to Mary of Bethany. I am persuaded the accounts in Matthew, Mark, and John place the anointing of Yeshua by Mary in the correct period, rather than that which appears to be an earlier one in Luke’s account. This is because in these three accounts Yeshua refers to His burial and therefore I believe it would be reasonable to say that it took place fairly near to His death. Considering the similarities between the facts in all four Gospel accounts of an anointing of Yeshua by a woman, particularly concerning the high value ointment, it is understandable why some may view them all as referring to the same event. I have changed my mind several times about this over the years but currently, my view is that these are referring to different events at different times by two different women.
Overview on Mary
Readings: Luke 10:38-42 (Mary sits at Yeshua’s feet while Martha serves)
John 11:1-5; 28-33 (Mary & Martha – Lazarus’ sickness, death, and resurrection)
John 12:1-8; Matthew 26:1-16; Mark 14:1-9 (Mary anointing Yeshua not long before His arrest, ‘trial’ and crucifixion)
From the above readings we learn concerning Mary:
- Mary had two siblings, Martha, and Lazarus, and all three were loved by Yeshua the Messiah (John 11:1-5);
- She lived in a village in the town of Bethany in Judah, Israel (Luke 10:38; John 11:1);
- She may have been unmarried at the point of record in the Scriptures. If so, at least at that point, she would not have had any children as would have been the norm for an unmarried Jewish woman;
- She sat at Yeshua’s feet to hear His words (Luke 10:39);
- She was a witness to the amazing miracle of her brother being raised from the dead, having been dead and buried in a tomb for four days! (see John 11:1-44);
- She was a woman who appears not to have always acted as others may have expected her to. Note that she chose to sit at Yeshua’s feet rather than help Martha as expected (Luke 10:40). Also note the timing of when Mary anointed Yeshua – in the middle of a dinner gathering (while Martha was – again – busy serving (John 12:2) – although it is possible that this was led by the Spirit of God (consider John 12:7). To my mind, she had some guts!;
- She was a woman whose love for Lord Yeshua was so tenderly expressed in the manner of her anointing Him, an act of genuine worship at His feet (John 12:3).
We should also note that her real name was Miriam, a popular Jewish name among Jewish woman in her day. The name ‘Mary’ has so stuck in the minds of most Gentile believers (at least in the West) that for the purposes of this discussion, this is the name used.
Breaking the above down a little further, we might consider the following:
At Yeshua’s Feet – Hearing (Luke 10:38-42)
We learn in this passage that Mary’s sister Martha had welcomed Yeshua into her home and was anxious to ensure the preparations were just so, to the comfort of her chief Guest. Understandably, there was a desire to make everything appear effortlessly trouble-free for guests as is usually part of that comfortable welcome so characteristic of the gift of hospitality, especially among Middle-Easterners. Unfortunately, Martha ends up a bit flustered with serving, a familiar occurrence especially when we find ourselves not having the time we would like to also spend with our guests! Help is naturally often welcomed at these times, and I am sure most of us would also have found ourselves somewhat irritated if this were pretty obvious but not forthcoming. Martha, therefore, unable to keep back the sense of frustration appealed to the Lord Yeshua who gently assured her that Mary was right where she should be – hearing the word of God. Could it be that this is where the seeds of that final act of worship later of recorded were initially sown?
Perhaps nothing could be seen yet externally other than a woman sitting at Yeshua’s feet – when she might be helping her busy sister – but as we are told at Hebrews 4:12:
‘..the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword,
piercing even to the division of soul and spirit,
and of joints and marrow, and
is a discerner of the thoughts and
intents of the heart.’
In a heart opened to the truth of and in the One True God, it is powerful and living to do a mighty work in its time. Consider that this may have been one of the earliest of encounters Mary had with Yeshua recorded for us, yet God was at work in her as we see later. This raises an interesting question: when does God begin His work in us? It is a mystery to us, but God knows – He knows when He began His handiwork in everyone who comes to be adopted as His child by repentance and faith in the Beloved Son, Yeshua the Lord.
How then could she be at Martha’s side helping with the preparations, however much it may have been expected of her, when she could be sitting at Yeshua’s feet, being fed with ‘heavenly food’ – perhaps recognising a hunger in her soul as she listened. How many times have we ourselves recognised that sense of being ‘fed’ by the Spirit of God through His mighty word, the Holy Scriptures! Is it not also the case with us in those times that there is no other place we would rather be, whatever else may be occurring around us and in our lives?
This time – at the feet of Yeshua – was needful for Mary, much more than doing anything else.
Here is an ever-timely reminder for us. There are times when we may just have to say ‘No’ – even to getting involved in a work going on for God’s kingdom. This may be especially so when we can discern a ‘spiritual dryness’ within or a ‘drift’ in our heart from that ‘first love’ ( consider The Revelation of Jesus Christ 2:4) – one of the sure signs of needing to be ‘fed’ through the Spirit of God. Sometimes we, especially us women, can get so caught up with the needs of others we mistakenly believe that is where we should be involved – but the need is not always the same as ‘the call’ from God as it were, to meet it. It could be that the need identified is a prayer opportunity to pray that Lord Yeshua would raise up the right person rather than ‘a call’ to fulfil it personally. If it is, the Lord will show us as we seek Him in prayer. If it concerns a particular work, the Lord will enable that work which He has begun to be completed without us – if there is another place which God wills us to be at. Sometimes it is obvious, but it may also come by way of sensing a need to seek the heavenly Father more deeply for discernment or through the discernment of others in the Body of Messiah.
At Yeshua’s Feet – Grieving (John 11:1-11; 18-33)
We are told here that Mary and Martha experienced the anxiety of seeing their brother suffer serious illness, prompting their sending an urgent message about Lazarus’ sickness to Yeshua. This anxiety did not end as they hoped –namely banished by the presence of Yeshua and the certainty of their brother’s healing, bringing with it the desired relief. Mary experienced her anxiety turning into the agony of grief as she witnessed the death of her brother, bringing it with it the death of all hope of his healing. Her brother was dead and together with her sister, Mary entered into the darkness of grief. This account might be read too quickly, by-passing the grief lived out by the two sisters moment-by-agonizing-moment in the rush to get to the glory of Lazarus being raised from the dead. Let’s consider more slowly what part of that lived experience for Mary might have included. Yeshua was not there. They had sent word to Him, and Yeshua had not come. What thoughts must have passed through Mary’s mind: ‘Where is Yeshua?’ ‘Why the delay?’ ‘Why has He not come?’ ‘Why is He not here?’ Have you ever asked those questions in a time of deep distress? Consider – they did not know in that moment that not only had their message reached Yeshua, but He had indeed given the answer. Consider too when He gave that answer – it was the moment He received the message though unknown to Martha and Mary. John 11:4 states that ‘When Jesus heard that, He said, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”
The passage tells us that it was nevertheless four days later when Yeshua came into Bethany at which time Martha and Mary were in deep mourning, surrounded with others condoling with them in their loss. The sisters responded differently to the news of Yeshua’s arrival. Martha went to Yeshua as soon as she heard of His arrival, but Mary remained in the house (John 11:20). Perhaps it was the weight of her grief, nevertheless it was when she heard that Yeshua was calling for her, that Mary immediately arose and went to Him (John 11:28-29). In the depth of her grief she responded to Yeshua’s call. Consider for a moment this thought: at that very moment of Martha telling her of Yeshua calling for her personally, even knowing the He could have prevented the death of her beloved brother, Mary immediately obeyed His call. Grieving still, she went. In her grief, she fell at Yeshua’s feet, pouring out of her heart – not an accusation, just her heart – the words, ‘Lord, if You had been here, by brother would not have died.’ (John 11:32). She wept at His feet. She grieved at His feet.
At Yeshua’s Feet – The Anointing (John 12:1-9; Matthew 26:1-16; Mark 14:1-9)
Let’s consider a third snapshot of Mary which reveals her weeping having been turned into a unique form of full-hearted whole worship. We are told that the anointing of Yeshua by Mary took place following the miraculous resurrection of her brother Lazarus. This was the greatest ‘sign’ Yeshua gave of who He truly is prior to the ultimate ‘sign’ of His resurrection from the dead on the third day following His crucifixion. From John’s account, we learn that a supper had been laid on for Yeshua, that His disciples were there as was Lazarus who had been raised from the dead along with some Jewish religious leaders (John 12:9). Martha was amongst those serving – of course!
It is in the midst of this group that Mary – very publicly – anoints Yeshua and I personally believe she may well have been led to do this by the prompting of God, though she may not have known it at the time. In Matthew and Mark’s account of this it says that Mary anointed Yeshua’s head and in John’s account it says Mary anointed Yeshua’s feet. It is possible that Mary did both. It is possible that different aspects of the anointing of Yeshua had more emphasis for the disciples in a room filled with what was quite likely several people. For some of His disciples it may have been Lord’s head, for others it was the Lord’s feet and for one, the focus was on the money that he was not going to be able to dip into from the missed opportunity to sell the oil (John 12:6)! Mark’s account says this:
After two days it was the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might take Him by trickery and put Him to death. But they said, “Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar of the people.” And being in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, as He sat at the table, a woman came having an alabaster flask of very costly oil of spikenard. Then she broke the flask and poured it on His head. But there were some who were indignant among themselves, and said, “Why was this fragrant oil wasted? For it might have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor.” And they criticized her sharply. But Jesus said, “Let her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a good work for Me. For you have the poor with you always, and whenever you wish you may do them good; but Me you do not have always. 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.” (Mark 14:1-9)
It is interesting that in Mark’s account Lord Yeshua is recorded as having said, “She has come beforehand to anoint My body for burial ” (underlined added for emphasis). We see the reason unfolded later in the accounts of the Lord’s death and burial. After Yeshua had been confirmed dead by the Roman soldiers, His body was attended to by Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus with mixed spices as they bound His body with the linen strips (John 19:38-42). In Luke’s account of Yeshua’s death and burial, we are told that some of the women who ministered to the Lord, having seen Yeshua’s body being laid in the tomb (and no doubt the preparations of Joseph and Nicodemus), went back home and ‘prepared spices and fragrant oils’ ready to anoint Him (Luke 23:55-Luke 24:1; Mark 16:1). They did not get the chance to do so as when they went to the tomb after the Sabbath Yeshua had arisen from the dead! Hallelujah! What was needed ‘beforehand’ was attended to by Mary with her anointing of Yeshua with the costly fragrant spikenard oil.
Dr Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum, a Messianic Jewish Bible scholar wrote this interesting point on spikenard:
‘Spikenard, a perfume for royalty and commoners alike, was so expensive that a woman would have to save her money and use it only on her wedding night, as did Shulamit, the bride in Song of Solomon. Yet Miriam [Mary] willingly used all of hers on Yeshua.’ (‘Yeshua The Life of Messiah From a Messianic Jewish Perspective’ (The Abridged Version), Dr Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum, p.489)
Dr Arnold in the above book (p.490) says of Miriam’s anointing of Lord Yeshua:
‘Miriam understood something that Yeshua’s own apostles did not yet comprehend: The Messiah was going to die…….While Martha was busy meeting Yeshua’s physical needs, Miriam met His spiritual needs by listening to Him, fellowshipping with Him, and learning from His while sitting at His feet.’
I believe this may well be the truth concerning Mary and that all these things led to the point where, at that dinner in Bethany, she did what she could for Yeshua.
She was a woman who heard the words of God in listening to Yeshua and it may well be there was some sense of this being last chance for her to do the best she could do. In the eyes of His disciples, it was the wrong choice, a waste. In the eyes of Lord Yeshua the Messiah it was commendable. I am persuaded that it is likely, those words of commendation were worth infinitely more to Mary than many such jars of expensive oil! To be commended by one you love must be a precious thing, but to be commended by the Lord Yeshua the Messiah, Son of the Living God, whom you love, is everything.
Mary’s Legacy
The precious ‘jewels’ left to us in the accounts of Mary in Scripture are beautiful and valuable, if we will receive them and use them well, as intended. Let’s share of few glimpses of these together, outlined briefly below.
At Yeshua’s feet – hearing:
In the account of Yeshua being hosted in the home of Martha and Mary, I am often struck by the introduction of Mary at Luke 10:39, ‘And she [Martha] had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word.’
The word which strikes me deepest is ‘heard’ – it is a good opportunity to revisit what it means to hear God’s word according to the Scriptures. As we saw from Luke 10:38-42, Mary was not distracted, was giving her attention to Lord Yeshua in listening and was taking in the words of Yeshua. There are so many passages in Scripture which instruct and give examples of what it means to truly hear, and I stress the word ‘truly’ for obvious reasons. James, for example, tells us what it is and what it is not at James 1:22-25:
‘But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror,
for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.
But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work,
this one will be blessed in what he does.’
This ties in with every place in Scripture where we are instructed on truly hearing the word of God. To be mere hearers, that is, to listen without hearing and to hear without listening, and thus be unfruitful – not doing that which is consistent to having heard and understood, is not truly hearing.
Two well-known portions of Scripture which points to this conclusion about hearing record the words of Lord Yeshua Himself on this. Firstly, at the end of the portion of Scripture commonly understood as ‘The Sermon on the Mount’ (Matthew chapters 5-7), Lord Yeshua, as recorded. says this at Matthew 7:24-27:
“Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”
Secondly, consider the Scripture text on the Parable of the Sower which Yeshua gave. I have chosen the account in Luke’s Gospel, ch. 8:4-15 (this always refreshes my memory concerning persevering in fruitfulness!) and it is the explanation given by Lord Yeshua verses 11-15 we consider here:
“Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. But the ones on the rock are those who when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away. Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity. But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.” (underlined for emphasis).
It is submitted that a biblical understanding of what it means to truly hear God’s word is more than hearing and listening: the former involves the hearing of any sound, and the latter is giving focus/attention to the sound(s) you want to hear. The Scriptures, such as in the two examples above, point to both hearing and listening to a certain degree and that degree is to the word gaining entrance within us, taking root inwardly and which, being made alive, brings forth the right action/response, namely voluntary obedience. There is a mysterious working together of our will and the Spirit of God in this, the outworking of which is something of what Lord Yeshua spoke concerning His sheep: “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me” (John 10:27) (underlined for emphasis). This is the kind of hearing Mary’s legacy beckons us to consider deeply, by the grace of God helping us, leaving no area untouched. As she sat at the feet of Yeshua hearing, her heart and will was doing something – receiving and inwardly saying ‘Yes Lord.’ That inward ‘yes’ showed itself in outward conduct – ‘faith working through love’ (Galatians 5:6), according to the will of God.
At Yeshua’s feet – praying
Let us again consider Mary, in her time of deep distress as she grieved and mourned the death of her brother. It is possible that this deep distress may at first have been compounded by dashed hopes of Yeshua coming to heal Lazarus before death took him. Whatever the case may be, the Scriptures record the initial reactions of the two sisters, deep in grief and distress, to Yeshua coming to Bethany. At John 11:20-21, we read: ‘Now Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met Him, but Mary was sitting in the house. Now Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here my brother would not have died.”
Now consider, John 11:28-29, 32:
‘And when she had said these things, she went her way and secretly called Mary her sister, saying, “The Teacher has come and is calling for you.” As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly and came to Him……..Then when Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
Both sisters poured out their hearts to Yeshua – Mary did so at His feet! To pour out your heart to God is prayer – a deep form of prayer, whether for your own distress or the distress of others. Think of Hannah for example, at Shiloh during an annual feast and time of worship of the LORD (see 1 Samuel 1:1-18). To be at the feet of Yeshua, as it were, pouring out prayer in times of distress and acute need seems to speak of something akin to every particle of that which is truly you, being in every pang of every utterance. The word concerning Yeshua at Hebrews 5:7-8 comes to mind as I consider this point. Such deep hearted faith-fuelled cries to the Lord is something I know to be often lacking in my own prayer petitions! How about you? Something for you and me to consider, perhaps?
At Yeshua’s feet – serving
Moving on from that highlighted above we come to ‘the jewel in the crown.’ Let’s linger over this that we may consider deeply.
It seems likely that each account of Mary prior to the anointing played a role in leading her to serve Lord Yeshua in such an outward expression of authentic whole-hearted worship. There are several things Mary’s act leaves for us to consider here:
- She gave her best. The spikenard was no eau de toilette! It was real perfume and a significant amount, of great cost (see John 12:3). It is reasonable to suppose that she was unlikely to come by such an item easily, if at all again.
- She thought nothing of abasing herself before God publicly. After anointing the feet of Yeshua with this costly oil, she wiped His feet with her hair. As I considered this the words of John the Baptiser concerning Yeshua at Matthew 3:11 came immediately to mind, ‘………whose sandals I am not worthy to carry…’ One could almost imagine Mary perhaps thinking that even her hair – ‘…a glory to her’ (consider 1 Corinthians 11:15) – was unworthy to touch Yeshua’s feet! A striking point has been made that ‘[i]t would have been against Jewish convention for a woman to appear in the presence of men with her hair untied, but in Mary’s case love was stronger than convention’ (New Bible Commentary, p.1051). Consider – you cannot wipe someone’s feet with your hair without bowing your head extremely low. For Mary however, the feet of Yeshua were not a place with which she was unfamiliar.
What then is Mary’s legacy to us as Spirit-born believing women today and also for any who even now are in the process of being drawn into the light of Yeshua? Adding all the above points together is there not something of a portrait of self-forgetful service and whole-hearted worship wrapped in humility left for us. In other words of ‘faith working through love.’
May those who feel the weight of weariness be encouraged to come with a renewed heart of worship before the Lord. May we all be enabled to not allow ourselves to be distracted by how any within or without Lord Yeshua’s Kingdom may perceive us – who may see only ‘waste’ rather than a genuine service unto the Lord Yeshua. Mary’s story also invites us to consider deeply where her expression of loving worship in the anointing of Yeshua came from – with the eyes of understanding opened by God’s grace through the Holy Spirit and not by our fleshly minds. Mary’s act of worship was not about fleshly manifestations of emotionalism under the influence of moving music or sentimental words weakly professed to be “worship.” Surely true worship is that which comes from hearts regenerated by the Holy Spirit and inscribed with truth by the Spirit of Truth, working in us living faith in Lord Yeshua, according with the will of God our Father (see John 4:23-24). The expressions of this accords with the measure of grace apportioned to each one of us, in the differing circumstances of our individual lives in accordance with the same continuing work of transformation by the Spirit until we are called Home. I may not be able to do what you have been enabled to do – because I am not you. You may not be able to do what I have been enabled to do – because you are not me. But do you know what? – by grace through faith, like Mary, we too can do what we can to the praise and glory of God our Father and Lord Yeshua the Messiah.
There may be some reading this who may think they are too busy right now to serve the Lord, perhaps thinking when a more opportune time comes, then there will be time to serve. Mmm! – do we really find ourselves that busy in our lives these days that we no longer make the time to just sit at the feet of Yeshua as it were – as when we first came to believe upon know Him? Only you and I can answer that one, however consider – could it be that this is the very place where the seeds of Mary’s act of service and true worship began? At the feet of the Lord? Wherever you are right now – as a busy mum, housewife, over-burdened handmaiden in full-time ministry in the Lord, employee, businesswoman, student, caregiver etc – the feet of the Lord is right there where you are!
May the Lord grant us grace to help us to fence off for ourselves a regular time of reading, ‘feeding’ and studying the word of God as we continually seek His grace to live it out in obedience and faith. We may not have lots of time to spend – but, like Mary, we can be enabled to genuinely do what we can, the grace of God helping us. How much in these days of darkness we have need of times apart in the presence of the Father to allow/give room to the Holy Spirit to impart, instruct, correct, edify, encourage, and comfort us in Lord Yeshua? It is too true that life today is driven by many forces, particularly for us as women which have claims on our time and attention, good and necessary even, yet let it is possible that our names could easily be put in the place of Martha’s?
“ ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things.
But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part,
which will not be taken from her.’ “
(Luke 10:41-42)
May the Holy Spirit guide our thoughts into His will concerning this point and help us to remember that His voice to those who belong to Lord Yeshua will be one of conviction and not condemnation.
Conclusion
For Mary, having heard the word of God through Yeshua and received them inwardly together with the revelation knowledge they brought; having experienced the deep love of Yeshua not only for her and her siblings but others; having seen and heard of His mighty works – above all at this point the resurrection from the dead of her beloved own brother; having experienced the grace of Almighty God, the anointing of Yeshua was her reasonable response. In this act we can see a glimpse of what the Apostle Paul through the Spirit exhorted at Romans 12:1, saying: ‘I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service’ (underlined for emphasis). How reasonable that Mary who we are first introduced to sitting at the feet of Yeshua, hearing His word (Luke 10:38) came to receive such a commendation from the Lord for the good work she did for Him (Mark 14:6). And what was it that she did? She was a woman who did what she could for Yeshua the Lord.
May we be encouraged to persevere in serving the Lord, doing all we can, pressing towards that goal of one day hearing form our Lord and Saviour the precious words, “Well done, good and faithful servant………Enter the joy of your Lord” (see Matthew 25:14-29, specifically verse 21).
May Almighty God the Father in Heaven bless you through Yeshua the Messiah, the Son God. Amen.
Leave a Reply