“She hath done what she could: she is come aforehand to anoint my body to the burying.”
My Notes
What Does Mark 14:8 Mean?
"She hath done what she could: she is come aforehand to anoint my body to the burying." A woman (identified as Mary of Bethany in John's account) pours expensive ointment on Jesus, and the disciples criticize the waste. Jesus defends her with one of the most tender commendations in Scripture: "She hath done what she could." She didn't do everything. She didn't solve world hunger. She did what was within her power, and Jesus called it enough.
The phrase "aforehand to anoint my body to the burying" reveals that this woman understood, consciously or intuitively, what the disciples couldn't grasp: Jesus was about to die. Her act of devotion was prophetically timed, and Jesus recognizes it as such. While the disciples were arguing about money, she was preparing his body for burial.
Reflection Questions
- 1.What would change if you stopped measuring your devotion by what others expect and started measuring it by 'what you could'?
- 2.Why were the disciples focused on efficiency while Jesus valued devotion?
- 3.What is your 'expensive perfume' — the offering that might look wasteful to others but is actually worship?
- 4.How does Jesus' defense of this woman challenge the guilt you carry about not doing enough?
Devotional
"She hath done what she could." Six words that should release every woman who's ever felt like she wasn't doing enough.
The disciples saw waste. They calculated the cost and decided it wasn't worth it. They could have sold this perfume and done something practical, something efficient, something measurable. And Jesus said: she did what she could, and it's beautiful.
Not what she should have done. Not what others expected. Not what was strategic or optimal. What she could. With what she had. In the moment she was in. And Jesus called it not just acceptable but worthy of being remembered wherever the gospel is preached.
If you're carrying guilt about not doing enough — not enough for your family, your church, your community, God — listen to what Jesus says about this woman. He doesn't measure devotion by scale. He measures it by the wholeness of the offering. She gave what she had. All of it. The expensive perfume, the social embarrassment, the criticism from men who thought they knew better. She poured it all out on Jesus, and he said: this is enough.
You don't have to do everything. You have to do what you can — fully, generously, without apology. And the one who matters most will say it's enough.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
She hath done what she could,.... What she had in her heart, and in the power of her hands to do; she hath done…
See this passage explained in the notes at Mat. 26:1-16. Mar 14:1 And of unleavened bread - So called because at that…
To anoint my body to the burying - Εις τον ενταφιασμον, against, or in reference to, its embalmment, thus pointing out…
We have here instances,
I. Of the kindness of Christ's friends, and the provision made of respect and honour for him.…
she is come aforehand The word thus rendered only occurs three times in the New Testament. (1) Here; (2) 1Co 11:21, "for…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture