In John 12:3 we are told that, “Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.” Now what might not be immediately apparent is that this was an act of worship. That pound of costly oil in the alabaster box was her dowry and as she willingly sacrificed it at the feet of Jesus and it mixed with her tears as she was worshiping. Isn’t it interesting that we don’t see her singing instead we see her sacrificing that which was precious and her weeping and wiping at His feet? She hadn’t used that costly oil to anoint her brother’s body at his burial and she didn’t wait to use it for Jesus’ burial either.
Mary was showing her devotion to Jesus before it was too late while the other two Marys did so afterward. She was giving the roses of her love while Jesus was still alive instead of placing them over His coffin after He was dead. For which Jesus both commended her and defended her. There are three Marys that were close to Jesus, Mary His mother, Mary Magdalene and this Mary of Bethany. And of those three the only one that wasn’t at the cross or the tomb the next day was Mary of Bethany. Isn’t that interesting as we always see her at the feet of Jesus but not at those two times? Could it be that all her time at the feet of Jesus worshipping Him she understood something that the other Marys didn’t, and that was that He wasn’t going to stay on that cross and His body didn’t need to be prepared for burial because it wasn’t going to stay in the tomb.
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