Day 41 : Mark 14:1-11
She has done a beautiful thing
In this encounter, an un-named woman appears whilst Jesus and his companions are at a meal. She takes her jar of expensive perfume and pours it on Jesus’s head.
Sometimes hosts would anoint honoured guests with oil, as an act of hospitality but anointing with oil was also something done to prophets, priests and Kings in Israel. Whilst the woman may have simply intended her action to be a way of honouring Jesus, Mark’s inclusion of this event points to Jesus being the ‘Anointed One’ – the promised King who would save his people.
The woman’s actions attract criticism from some of the guests who focus on the cost of the perfume and see it as ‘wasted’ being poured on Jesus, rather than being sold to generate money to give to the poor. Jesus’s first reaction is to protect her. In the face of combined voices criticising her harshly, Jesus gives a strong command ‘leave her alone.’ (NIVUK) In her vulnerability, Jesus defends her, and goes further than that – He questions those who had rebuked her – ‘why are you bothering her?’ (NIVUK) They have been quick to scold her and judge her and speculate about what she ‘should’ have done, but Jesus rebukes them.
Jesus’s second reaction is to affirm her: ‘she has done a beautiful thing to me.’ (NIVUK) Far from condemning her, Jesus praises her.
Some of the words of Jesus in this passage which are easy to overlook are some of the most profound: ‘She did what she could.’ (NIVUK). As a woman in the culture of the time, there were limits to what she was able to do, and yet she takes what she has and uses it to express her devotion to Jesus. Many of us, faced with the enormity of the injustices of the world or our own circumstances locally can feel helpless and wonder ‘what can I do?’ Do what you can. It is what Jesus commends the woman for. He does not focus on what she can’t do or hasn’t done – He praises her for doing ‘what she could’ to honour him.