Mark 14:4-9 4But there were some people being angry among themselves, “For what reason was this ointment wasted? 5For this ointment could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor.” And they scolded her. 6But Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Why are you causing her trouble? She has done a beautiful thing to me. 7For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you want, you can do good for them, but you will not always have me. 8She has she has done; she has anointed my body beforehand in preparation for burial. 9And truly I say to you, wherever the gospel is preached in the whole world, what she has done will be told in her memory.”
Those present in Simon’s house must have been scandalized by what the woman (Mary) had just done. She had wasted almost an entire year’s worth of perfume, let alone destroyed her precious heirloom and possible future. The some people (tines, a generic term in Greek) included Judas, according to John 12:4. Mark does not seem concerned or know about that small detail, but Judas does appear in the next passage. Putting the accounts from the Synoptic Gospels and John together, one interpretation suggests that this episode in Simon’s house sent Judas over the edge and convinced him to act on the temptation stirring in his heart about rejecting Jesus. He was the treasurer of the group, and as many treasurers, he knew the value of money and how difficult it is to come and go. Mark’s version suggests that others were involved in the rebuking of Mary. They basically put her in her place socially with the outcome of emotional shaming.
Jesus turned the issue around and rebuked the criticizers of Mary with a strong Leave her alone. His rhetorical question about causing her trouble should have caused them to question the whole situation because it did not make sense in their cultural interpretation of what had just happened. The word trouble (kopous) can also mean burden or heavy work. They were putting on Mary their own cultural expectations, and this was a heavy burden that missed the whole purpose of why she did what she did. Culture dictated one thing, but she surpassed social expectations and gave her most precious possession to Jesus. Discipleship is not about being comfortable and conforming to cultural expectations and practices but about giving oneself to Jesus. This moment may have been Mary’s entire sanctification experience that changed her life forever.
Verse 7 may seem odd and pose a challenge for interpretation. Jesus was saying here that taking care of the poor is not important but more about highlighting the significance of Mary’s commitment. The logic of the critics makes sense. That was a lot of money to waste. Thousands of people could have been fed with three hundred denarii. Jesus’ logic functions at a different level. Basically, he was giving those gathered in the house the opportunity to express their devotion by giving to the poor. They would have plenty of opportunity in the future to give from their resources, but were they willing to follow him to the cross? Mary probably had no idea that her sacrifice would have deeper meaning. As with much of what God calls us to do, when we obey, we may not see the outcome, but God can cause our commitment, big or small, to become a beautiful [good, excellent] thing.
The beginning of verse 8 is put in an interesting way in the Greek. The literal translation is awkward, but I have preserved it because it implies that Mary did to Jesus she had at her possession. It could be paraphrased as she gave to Jesus all she had. The disciples missed the meaning of Mary’s great sacrifice and thought only of the value of the perfume. Mary saw Jesus as more valuable than her most precious possession.
The whole group likely missed the significance of Mary’s actions being a preparation for Jesus’ burial. They still did not understand his predictions about the cross or the betrayal that was just about to happen. By this anointing, Jesus’ body was already prepared because his hasty burial would not give time for those closest to him to care for it. According to John 19:38-40, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus did anoint Jesus’ body with seventy-five pounds of myrrh and aloes, but it appears that Jesus’ closest followers were not present.
As Jesus predicted, Mary’s act of commitment and sacrifice became part of the gospel record and is mentioned in all four Gospels, though with some challenging differences to reconcile. Her gift has become a model of sacrificial love. What she did is the opposite of how the rich man of 10:17-31 responded to Jesus. Mary gives us a model for what discipleship should be about.
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