A little leaven leavens the whole lump. John tells us that Judas found fault with Mary’s act. Mark says that there were “some,” and Matthew that the Lord’s “disciples” had indignation, saying, “To what purpose is this waste?” John discovers the root of the defection in the covetous heart of Judas, and it would seem that his affected piety and concern for the poor influenced all the disciples. What a contrast! The odor of Mary’s ointment filled the house; the evil thought of Judas spread its malign influence over the hearts of all the disciples! We are thus on the one hand encouraged, and on the other admonished. The wickedness, however, of Judas only brought out the expression of the Lord’s appreciation of what Mary had done. To gain his own ends, or rather disappointed because he could not, he speciously assumed the mask of a philanthropist, and would have it believed that the benefit of the poor should occupy the first place in the hearts of the Lord’s disciples. It was simple hypocrisy, as John tells us, “Not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein.” What a solemn warning! An evil tendency nursed may so develop as to overmaster us entirely, and lead to the commission of the most appalling sins, as in the case of this man. Covetousness, the love of money which is the root of all evil, led Judas on from step to step, blinding his soul, until he consummated his frightful iniquity in betraying his Lord for thirty pieces of silver. By transgression he fell, that he might go to his own place.
In verse 6 we have the veil removed from the heart of Judas, that we might see the inner workings of his evil spirit. In the next verse the Lord answers the question of Judas as given in verse 5: “Let her alone: against the day of My burying hath she kept this. For the poor always ye have with you; but Me ye have not always.” The Lord thus tenderly shielded Mary from reproach, and proclaimed to all who had ears to hear, that she, however taught, had divined the secret of His death, and that in communion with His own mind about it, she had identified herself with it. It was therefore a supreme moment to her, and she seized the opportunity, for it would never recur, to anoint that holy body for His burying. Whether she understood all this, we know not, but the Lord attributed this significance to her act. She would not have the Lord always, after this manner, and she thus eagerly poured out this tribute of her deep affection at His feet, while He sat at the table six days before the Passover. The Lord added another thing, as recorded by Matthew and Mark: “Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, there shall also this, that this woman hath done, be told for a memorial of her.” We learn from this how pleasing to the heart of the Lord this act of Mary’s had been, and what an unspeakable recompense He attached to it. As long as the gospels exist, Mary’s act will be celebrated and also enshrined in the hearts of God’s people, and in this sense also the house will be forever filled with the odor of the ointment.