Luke 7:36 -38 (NKJV) Then one of the Pharisees (Simon) asked Him to eat with him. And He went to the Pharisee’s house, and sat down to eat. And behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil, and stood at His feet behind Him weeping; and she began to wash His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil.
Mark 14:4-6, 9 (NKJV) [emphasis added] But there were some (His disciples [Matthew 26:7], Judas Iscariot Simon’s son [John 12:4], and the Pharisee who had invited Him [Luke 7:39]) who were indignant among themselves, and said, “Why was this fragrant oil wasted? For it might have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor.” And they criticized her sharply. But Jesus said, “Let her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a good work for Me…Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her.
It is first interesting to note and understand the significance of where Mary was on her journey to where Jesus was. I believe it to be significant to the journey your heart has taken. Simon’s name means “listening, to be heard, reputation. His home was in Bethany (which means “house of dates” or “house of misery“) and Bethany was right at the Mount of Olives. The Mount of Olives was and still is one of the most well-known Jewish cemeteries in Israel. Bethany was next to the road that led from Jericho (means “Place of Fragrance“) to Jerusalem (means “foundation/possession of peace“…a place of completeness and wholeness).
You see, Mary was traveling on the road from a place of fragrance carrying the only costly, valuable thing she had left: the alabaster flask with precious oil. Traditionally, Jewish parents gave their daughters this precious, costly flask as a dowry for their wedding night before the marriage was consummated. With her well known reputation preceding her, she came to Simon’s home with every intent of facing those who judged and ridiculed her the worst so that she could reach and pour out her worship to the One she had been searching for.
She reaches the home of Simon, and sees the men gathered around Jesus: Simon (a Pharisee), Judas, and the disciples. These were those who were closest to Him, or at least professed to be, and her eyes met theirs. She walked in the room with their eyes likely casting glances that spit disgust, body language that slapped her with utter disapproval, and mocked her with their whisperings and groans of religious rhetoric. The quiet yet resounding judgment was like a beating that sought to crush what she had left: her spirit and her worship.
But through much trembling and tears, Mary walks to Jesus, bows before Him, and begins to worship Him with her tears and by breaking open likely the most precious thing she possesses. Remember, it’s very possible this was her dowry. Mary, on her wedding night, would have poured this out upon her husband’s feet at the time of the marriage consummation. It was similar to the act of submission performed by Ruth at the instruction of Naomi to Boaz at the threshing floor. Mary’s giving of her very own dowry was a statement of complete love and devotion, submission and obedience to Jesus her Beloved and eternal Husband.
As the oil is poured out and the fragrance fills the room, Judas and the others remark sharply that she has wasted the oil and they could’ve sold it for a considerable profit. Wasted (apoleia) in the Greek means utter destruction, perishing, ruin, and destruction that consists of eternal misery in hell. So, not only did they cast their judgment on her, they sharply and bitterly remark that her costly fragrance (her worship) used to anoint Jesus was a waste likened to eternal misery in hell. Why? Because Judas sought to steal her precious offering and use for his own profit and gain.
Beloved, Mary’s journey mirrors yours. You are traveling from a Place of Fragrance where the road has developed and shaped your worship despite whatever struggle or past issue tries to tell you that you are. This road has created a precious oil within you that you carry and guard because you understand the cost that has come with it. You are on your way to Wholeness and Completeness that possesses a foundation of shalom, but you must first go to the House of Misery at the Mount of Olives to bury once and for all the House of Dates that people continually use to remind you of who you used to be.
As you have entered the Place of Listening and Reputation so that your worship may be heard, you have had to face those who have ridiculed, criticized, judged, mocked, slapped, and beaten you down with their words, looks, actions, or the lack thereof. But your focus has always been to the one you have always sought and worshiped.
Mary’s fragrant offering was and is her worship and adoration poured out in a priestly ministry upon Jesus. This is yours as well: a precious, priestly ministry of high adoration and worship with what has cost you everything to the One who laid down His life for you and that cost Him everything. And just like Mary, the testimony and cost of what you do and have done to minister to Jesus Himself, will be a legacy and testimony for generations to come and a sweet smelling fragrance continually before Him.
Your life parallels the fruit of the olive tree. First the tree must age before the fruit (the olives) are able to be harvested. Then the fruit must be crushed to bring forth the precious oil. The beauty comes forth from the crushing.