There they made him a supper; and Martha served: but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with him. Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment. John 12:2-3

We have been meditating on the above-mentioned passage for the past two weeks. Let us recount the lessons learnt. Firstly, we are to open our house willingly for the Lord’s use. Secondly, we can serve the Lord and His people by cooking good food for them. Thirdly, we can serve the Lord by helping to bring food to others who are busy ministering to visitors or brethren. Lastly, we are to spend time with the Lord and His people. In other words, we must read our Bible daily and come together for worship services and fellowship meetings.

Today, we will consider the action of Mary. She took a pound of spikenard and anointed Jesus. This act of hers was commended by the Lord Jesus; He even affirmed that she had done a good work on Him and rebuked those who criticised her. Let us learn from Mary; how we can do things for Jesus that will receive His commendation.

Mary gave her all to Jesus. She anointed Jesus with a pound of very costly spikenard (cf. John 12:3). Spikenard is perfume made from an aromatic Indian plant. The word “aromatic” means having a pleasing scent or odour.

This alabaster box of spikenard was Mary’s treasured possession. She must have bought it for her personal use. We know that it was worth three hundred pence (cf. John 12:5). This could have been a big amount of money! If a penny was a day’s wages, three hundred pence would mean three hundred days’ wages. It is almost equivalent to ten months of salary today! This means that it must have taken Mary a long time to save up such an amount of money to buy that pound of spikenard, and she willingly gave it all for Jesus’ sake.

Mary’s action may seem ridiculous or even wasteful to others. We read, “Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor?” (John 12:5). But the Lord Jesus defended her actions, He said, “Let her alone; why trouble her? She hath wrought a good work on me” (Mark 14:6). She had done something good for Jesus! Her action was good because she gave Jesus her best and all.

When Gethsemane Bible-Presbyterian Church was raising funds to purchase the Church Resource Centre, there were children who gave all of their school bursaries or scholarships towards the fund. They gave them willingly for their Lord Jesus’ sake. Their action may seem to be foolish to others, but it is definitely not so with the Lord Jesus! He will surely recognise their deeds.

As the Lord Jesus had recognised Mary’s action and commended her, He would surely commend the children for their effort too. When we do something for the Lord, it should be done with the fullest of our abilities. Only such deeds will receive His approval and commendation. Do something worthy of the Lord Jesus’ commendation today!