In John 12:1-31Then Jesus six days before the passover came to Bethany, where Lazarus was which had been dead, whom he raised from the dead. 2There they made him a supper; and Martha served: but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with him. 3Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odor of the ointment. (John 12:1‑3), we read of a woman who came to anoint the Lord Jesus. She did not come to hear a sermon, although the first of teachers was there, nor did she come to sit at His feet and hear His word (Luke 10:3939And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word. (Luke 10:39)). She did not come to make her requests known to Him, although there was a time when, in deepest submission to His will, she had fallen at His feet, saying, “Lord, if Thou hadst been here, my brother had not died” (John 11:3232Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. (John 11:32)). Nor did she come to pour out her supplications to Him, for her brother was seated at the table. She did not come to meet the saints, though precious saints were there, for “Jesus loved Martha ... and Lazarus.” Fellowship with them was blessed and of frequent occurrence, but that was not her object now. She did not come after the weariness of a week’s battling with the world to be refreshed from Him, though like every saint she had learned the trials of the wilderness and knew the blessed springs of refreshment in Him.
But at the moment when the world was expressing its deepest hatred of Him, she came to pour out what she had treasured up, the most valuable thing she had on earth, upon the person of the One whose love had captivated her heart and absorbed her affections. “Jesus only” filled her soul; her heart beat true to Him, and she “anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair.” Adoration, homage, worship and blessing were her thought, in honor of the One who was all in all to her. Surely such worship refreshed Him! The nonspiritual might murmur, but He upheld her cause and appreciated the grateful tribute of a heart that knew His worth and preciousness. Thus a lasting record is preserved of what worship really is! If every eye were on the Lord alone, every heart true to Him, each determined to see “no man save Jesus only,” what full praise there would be! Not with alabaster boxes now, but our bodies filled with the Holy Spirit, a stream of thanksgiving and highest worship would ascend in honor of the blessed One who now adorns the glory, as He once adorned the earth. It is also our privilege thus to worship Him in Spirit and in truth.
D. T. Grimston, adapted