“And being in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard very precious; and she brake the box, and poured it on his head.”
My Notes
What Does Mark 14:3 Mean?
"She brake the box, and poured it on his head." A woman at Simon the leper's house breaks an alabaster jar of pure spikenard — one of the most expensive perfumes in the ancient world — and pours it on Jesus' head. The breaking of the container means nothing is held back. The perfume can't be saved for later. The gesture is total, irreversible, and extravagant.
The value of the ointment — over 300 denarii (verse 5), roughly a year's wages — makes the act economically absurd. A year's salary poured on someone's head in a single moment. The some who "had indignation" (verse 4) have a point: from any rational perspective, this is waste.
Jesus' defense of the woman is absolute: "She hath done what she could" (verse 8). She did what was available to her. She used what she had. And the result — "wheresoever this gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world, this also that she hath done shall be spoken of" (verse 9) — gives her act a permanence that no other person in the Gospels receives.
Reflection Questions
- 1.What would you break for Jesus — what irreversible act of devotion would you make?
- 2.How do you distinguish between waste and worship?
- 3.What does 'she hath done what she could' mean for your own resources and devotion?
- 4.What would it look like to hold nothing back?
Devotional
She broke the jar. A year's wages in perfume, poured out in one gesture. The jar is broken — the perfume can't be put back. The act is irreversible. Total. Absurdly extravagant.
The people watching call it waste. Jesus calls it beautiful. The difference between waste and worship depends entirely on who's evaluating. From the perspective of efficiency, a year's salary in perfume is ridiculous. From the perspective of devotion, nothing less would do.
The breaking of the jar is the detail that matters most. She didn't pour carefully, saving some for later. She broke the container. The expensive nard flowed out completely, and the shattered alabaster meant it couldn't be recovered. When you break the jar, you've made a decision you can't undo.
Jesus' defense is the most beautiful sentence spoken about any person in the Gospels: "She hath done what she could." Not what she should have done. Not what others expected. What she could. She assessed her resources — one expensive jar of perfume — and deployed them completely. She did what was available to her, and she held nothing back.
And then: this will be told wherever the gospel is preached. In the whole world. Forever. No other person receives this promise. Not Peter. Not Paul. Not any apostle. The woman with the broken jar.
What would you break for Jesus? What would you pour out completely, irreversibly, with no possibility of recovery?
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
And being in Bethany,.... A place about two miles from Jerusalem, whither he retired after he had took his leave of the…
See this passage explained in the notes at Mat. 26:1-16. Mar 14:1 And of unleavened bread - So called because at that…
Alabaster box - Among critics and learned men there are various conjectures concerning the alabaster mentioned by the…
We have here instances,
I. Of the kindness of Christ's friends, and the provision made of respect and honour for him.…
The Feast in Simon's House. The Anointing by Mary
3. And being in Bethany Meanwhile circumstances had occurred which in…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture