“She has done what she could; she has anointed My body beforehand for the burial. Truly I say to you, wherever the gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be spoken of in memory of her.”

                                                                                                                    Mark 14:8-9 

The scene is the home of Simon the leper. Jesus knows that the cross is approaching. A woman takes a vial of perfume, breaking it, and pouring it over Jesus’ head. She begins to anoint Him with the perfume. While this behavior may seem a bit strange to our modern world, the woman’s actions demonstrate her love and devotion to Christ.

When I read about this woman’s devotion, I can’t help but evaluate my own devotion to Jesus. Tragically, we seem to live in a culture that promotes participation in everything but a true, single-focused devotion to God. Jesus identifies that the two most important functions that we as human beings are to engage in are to love God with all of our heart, with all of our soul, with all of our mind, and with all of our strength and to love our neighbor as ourselves (Mark 12:28-31). Consider Jesus’ response to a man asking about these two commandments:

The scribe said to Him, “Right, Teacher; You have truly stated that He is One, and there is no one else besides Him; and to love Him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as himself, is much more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” When Jesus saw that he had answered intelligently, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” 

                                                                                                                 Mark 12:32-34

Jesus pronounced this man as being “not far from the kingdom of God.” Recognizing that Jesus is the Lord and that there is no other beside Him is the foundation for loving God with our entire being. The woman in today’s passage, by anointing Christ with the perfume, acknowledged this truth and demonstrated her understanding of His importance. Her devotion reminds me of another passage in which one woman made the choice to simply enjoy the presence of Christ. Consider the following account:

Now as they were traveling along, He entered a village; and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. She had a sister called Mary, who was seated at the Lord’s feet, listening to His word. But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me.” But the Lord answered and said to her “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”

                                                                                                             Luke 10:38-42 

Martha was busy making preparations. After all she was attempting to be a good hostess as Jesus had come into her home. But Mary chose to simply sit at the feet of Jesus and listen to Him. Jesus acknowledges Mary’s actions by saying to Martha, “only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part.” The woman with the perfume, through the simplicity of her actions, chose to honor Jesus, as did Mary, who also made a decision to make Him the priority of her life.

But these decisions did not come without criticism. For the woman with the perfume, scripture tells us that there were some present that were indignantly pointing out that the perfume could have been sold and the money used to feed the poor. They believed that this woman’s choice to make Jesus a priority was in reality a waste of the perfume. Jesus responded to them by saying, “Let her alone; why do you bother her? She has done a good deed to Me. For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you wish you can do good to them; but you do not always have Me.” He affirmed her decision to make His anointing a priority.

Likewise, in the situation with Mary and Martha, there was criticism. Martha, busy with her preparations, says to Jesus, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me.” Jesus responded, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.” Again, Jesus addresses the criticism by affirming the one who had chosen to make Him the priority.

What about your life? Are you making Jesus the priority of your life? Do you acknowledge that Jesus is the only way by which we are saved? Do you love Him with your entire being (heart, soul, mind, and strength)? Yes, it is important for us to feed the poor, love our neighbors, and to preach the gospel to all creation, but all of those actions are secondary to a single-focused, personal devotion to Jesus Christ. How is your relationship with the King of Kings and Lord of Lords?

If you are a born again believer in Jesus and feel that your devotion to Christ has slipped a bit through all of the distractions available in this world, let me encourage you to set aside some time each day to talk to God and, more importantly, listen to Him. God speaks to us through the pages of scripture. When we fail to spend time in His word, we have effectively limited hearing His voice and have opted to listen to the only voice left, that of the world. Neglecting to spend time with God is a sure indicator that our love for Him has been affected. Today, why not spend time with Him in prayer and Bible study as a testimony of your love for Jesus!