An Act of Obedience

Matthew 26: 6-7,12-13 ESV
“Now when Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper,  a woman came up to him with an alabaster flask of very expensive ointment, and she poured it on his head as he reclined at table.  In pouring this ointment on my body, she has done it to prepare me for burial.  Truly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.”

We are not given any details about Mary, how she knew to do this for Jesus. We can only assume it was the prompting of the Holy Spirit. We knew from passages connecting her family with Jesus, that they were close friends of Jesus and Mary seemed to hang on his every word.

That connection, her love for the Master and this devotion she has seems to be part of her character. She obviously believed what Jesus said about his suffering and death, because Jesus said that Mary did this in anointing Jesus for his burial. 

This was a very expensive perfume used in burials, so Mary also gave out of her abundance. It appears that she believed even beyond that of the disciples. The disciples thought that it was a waste to use the perfume. Mary was there at Jesus’s crucifixion and she was there at his burial. Where were the other disciples at these times, except for John at the crucifixion.

My question is simple for this occasion; Given the opportunity and the finances involved, would we be as bold as Mary? Would we be as obedient to the prompting of the Holy Spirit to interrupt a dinner party, in order to anoint the Master before His great suffering and sacrifice?

Prayer:
Lord, I pray we are always ready, willing and able to answer the call and even give out of our substance in order to be obedient to the Holy Spirit. In Your name Lord we pray, Amen.