LIVING WATERS
For the proclamation of the Gospel and the edification of the Body of Christ
The Perfume
Anatomy of a Waste
John 12:1-5.
The episode in Bethany, with Lazarus and his sisters once again around the table, with Jesus as the guest of honor, has very special importance. Here Mary is the one to give a sample of the finest spiritual sensibility, just like the scene in which, sitting at Jesus’ feet, she listened to him speak (Luke 10:38-42), and when Lazarus died (John 11:32-35). There, Martha's occupations were left opaque by this woman's example who chose “what is better”; and here, Mary’s groan touched Jesus' heart and moved him to tears.
But now it is the perfume. It is the pure nard, of a great price that is poured on the Lord’s feet. Now it is her perfume that fills the whole house with a pleasing aroma.
A broken jar
Mark refers us to the fact that Mary broke the alabaster jar in order to pour it on Jesus. (Mark 14:3). This breaking of the jar must have a spiritual meaning, for if not, it would not have happened in this way, nor have been recorded. There is no reason for breaking a jar that could have been opened.
A jar, in the Scriptures, is the body and is also the soul, that is to say, all that essentially forms our “Self”, our complex psychosomatic personality. (See 2 Corinthians 4:7-10). A broken jar is, therefore, a broken soul, offered to the Lord on His altar. The pleasing aroma of the pure nard is, consequently, that of the human spirit which is liberated as a result of the previous breaking.
A short time before, the Lord had prophesied: –He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces... (Matthew 21:44).
This stone is Christ, and the one that falls on Him is he who comes to Him to be His disciple. For a disciple, there is only that one option, because the other that appears in the second part of the same passage, is for the reproached: –...but he on whom it falls will be crushed.
Therefore this is the obligatory road for the one who wants to serve Him. We will be broken now, or we will be crushed later. Of course, that person on whom the Stone falls, will not serve for anything.
So Mary illustrates very graphically here the way to spiritual service.
The broken jar is the poured out soul
The alabaster jar then, is the soul that pours out onto the Lord’s feet. Mary didn't just offer her perfume; in that perfume she poured out all her soul before the Lord. Were there tears? Was there sobbing? Was this scene similar to that in the home of Simon the Pharisee? (Luke 7:36-50) Or did the tears of that woman come from an indignity that Mary didn't feel?
If there were tears, they would be no less than those of the woman in Luke 7. If there was gratitude there, there must have been more here, because Lazarus who had died, was now seated at the table with them. This scene has not been described to us in all its brilliance, but what is told is enough to attract our heart to the Master's feet.
The disciples are opposed
Judas was the first that opposed Mary in her actions (John 12:4), then “some” of the disciples (Mark 14:4), and finally, they all opposed her (Matthew 26:8). They all used the same reasoning: that it was a waste; that the perfume could have been better invested. The poor had been, in their opinion, more worthy recipients of such an investment.
Regrettably, in that moment there was nobody (apart from the Lord and Mary) that had the anointed eyes to see things spiritually. It would have been worthy, if at least one had said what the Lord had to say in order to explain the meaning of these things.
Nobody raised their voice to vindicate the Lord in that moment. For all of them, it was a waste, which they underappreciated even to the offense of Him that was seated with them.
When the Lord speaks, he comes out in the woman's defense; not for himself. –Leave her alone? - he says, as if wasn’t important that He Himself was offended.
The disciple’s opposition has continued repeating itself every time that a soul offers such a valuable offering at the Lord’s feet. They all consider how it would have been better invested. They give one location or another, but always referring to something on the earth. Perhaps an attractive career or a sure path toward success in the university classrooms. But the One on whom the pure nard is being poured out is not usually taken into account.
Perfume for the house
As well as being an offering to the Lord, the broken soul is also a blessing for the House. All those that were present that night in Bethany could experience how exquisite the perfume was, and how high its price must have been (1).
The house’s aroma changed; the atmosphere became refined, it became what it could not before. Christ was present, but there was also the pleasing aroma of Mary’s perfume.
In the church today, every time there is a meeting, Christ is present. His presence removes death and introduces life. Yet when nard is poured out, the church also knows it, because it offers a touch of excellence, the atmosphere is worthy of so august a Presence.
If Christ is in Bethany, it must have individuals like Mary that give a real mark to that glorious scene. If Christ is in His church (and we know that He is), the jars of nard cannot be kept as if looking for a better occasion, because there won't be one. To leave it for later will be an irreparable loss. The pleasing aroma of the perfume poured on Him must flood the whole house.
Today's nards
In God’s house today, the perfume of pure nard is scare. If it is the case that there is perfume, it is a watery nard, or it is an alternative nard. When there is some offering, the offering is inconsistent. They don't offer souls for Him, but rather they offer to a "cause", to a "work", to the "gospel", all of which are something different from Him.
God’s work begins with Christ. So, it is better for the servants to offer to Him, or offer nothing at all. To start off contrary to this is to make a terrible investment that won't glorify the Lord, and nor will it perfume the house.
To offer to Christ is something too ethereal for the carnal soul. On the other hand, to offer to a "cause" is something clear and palpable, with clear goals and defined chronogram.
May the Lord enable us to have Mary’s anointed eyes, to offer our pure nard, of a high price, in the right moment and to Him to whom it corresponds; completely, putting our whole soul into it. Even though others are opposed, and the devil roars.
So that His Name receives glory, and His house is perfumed, as is worthy of Him.
(1) Three hundred denarii is about one thousand five hundred American dollars.