Power of Gratitude
“Meanwhile, Jesus was in Bethany at the home of Simon, a man who had leprosy. During supper, a woman came in with a beautiful jar of expensive perfume. She broke the seal and poured the perfume over his head. Some of those at the table were indignant. ‘Why was this expensive perfume wasted?’ they asked. ‘She could have sold it for a small fortune and given the money to the poor!’ And they scolded her harshly. But Jesus replied, ‘Leave her alone. Why berate her for doing such a good thing to me? You will always have the poor among you, and you can help them whenever you want to. But I will not be here with you much longer. She has done what she could and has anointed my body for burial ahead of time. I assure you, wherever the Good News is preached throughout the world, this woman’s deed will be talked about in her memory’” – Mark 14:3-9 (New Living Translation).
The other day I watched a television show about how some rich people in America spend their money. One rich man profiled on the show spent nearly $50,000 on a motorcycle. Another would spend up to $100,000 to get a stain out of a dress. Oprah Winfrey, who makes 210 million dollars a year, spends $2,500 on bed sheets. When I hear these things I just shake my head at the waste. And even though these rich people may give away money too, some of the things they buy seem incredibly frivolous and wasteful in a world where so many poor people are starving.
That was the viewpoint of many in our story (above) when a woman poured out an expensive jar of perfume on Jesus. In fact, John tells us that the perfume was a twelve-ounce jar of nard worth 300 denarii (See John 12:1-7). A denarius (plural is denarii) was a days wage, so the entire bottle would have been worth nearly a year’s wages! Today, if you made $25,000 in a year, this would be the equivalent of spending around $20,000 on one bottle of perfume or cologne! Now that’s expensive aftershave! Who would do such a thing? Not me. So I find myself asking, “Why would this woman do this?” Why would she spend so much money on perfume only to pour it out on Jesus?
To answer these questions we need a few details that Mark’s version of this story does not provide. We find those details in John’s version of this story (See John 12:1-7).
First, John tells us that the woman who poured out the perfume on Jesus was Mary. And she not only poured out the perfume on his head but also on his feet. Further, John tells us that Mary wiped Jesus feet with her hair. But who is this Mary? She is none other than the sister of Lazarus, the man that Jesus had only recently raised from the dead by calling him out from his tomb four days after his burial (See John 11:1-43). The miracle was dramatic and moving.
You remember the scene from John 11. Lazarus, a close friend of Jesus, had been sick. Mark tells us he had leprosy. Whether the sickness Mark mentions is related to the leprosy or not, we don’t know. But we do know that Lazarus’ family, including Mary and Martha, sent word to Jesus asking him to come heal Lazarus. But Jesus deliberately waited and allowed Lazarus to die. When he arrived, Mary was upset with Jesus that he had not come earlier. She told him that if he had been there Lazarus would not have died. Everyone was in shock and crying and wailing over Lazarus’ death. It is in this chapter that we read the words “Jesus wept” (See John 11:35). Jesus loved these people and their grief made him cry. But then, he called Lazarus from his tomb, and out walked Lazarus still wrapped in burial cloths. What an incredible experience! What a dramatic, heart-stopping, faith-inspiring, jaw-dropping miracle! It changed Mary’s life forever.
She became a thankful person. The power of gratitude filled her! And look at the wonderful fruit that it produced in her life. It led her to seek Jesus. It led her to worship him. It led her to be generous - she spent a year’s wages on a bottle of perfume for Jesus. It produced humility in her heart - she wiped Jesus’ feet with her hair. But the bottom line is that she was a grateful person and it showed.
The funny part is that Judas and some others sitting in the room actually “scolded her harshly” for her thankful generosity. Why? Well it wasn’t because they were concerned about the poor. John tells us that Judas was one of the critics and that he wanted for himself the money the perfume could bring.
Understand. First, if you don’t give very much to God of your time or service or money, it is because you’re not very thankful. Generosity flows out of gratitude. Second, when you do serve God or give generously of your time or treasure to his causes, there will always be critics. You will pour yourself into Jesus and his purposes, but instead of people applauding and encouraging, some will berate and belittle you for your effort. Their motives will always be selfish ones. Learn to ignore them and press on. God will come to your defense just as he did for Mary. He told her critics to take a hike! He made it clear that he, the Son of God, was worth what Mary had given, for soon he would die for the sins of the world.
Jesus is worth all we can give him. He is worth our presence, our attention, our money, our time, and our devotion. Why? Because he has saved us, and we should be grateful! If he never did another thing for us in this life, just snatching us from hell should be enough to fill us with gratitude every day for the rest of our lives. But when we sit down and begin counting all the blessings he has given us, our gratitude should go off the charts! We are called to be banks of thanks, not saints of complaints!
Which are you?