Maria Braga
“Six days before the Passover celebration began, Jesus arrived in Bethany, the home of Lazarus—the man he had raised from the dead. A dinner was prepared in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, and Lazarus was among those who ate with him. Then Mary took a twelve-ounce jar of expensive perfume made from essence of nard, and she anointed Jesus’ feet with it, wiping his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance. But Judas Iscariot, the disciple who would soon betray him, said, “That perfume was worth a year’s wages. It should have been sold and the money given to the poor.” Not that he cared for the poor—he was a thief, and since he was in charge of the disciples’ money, he often stole some for himself. Jesus replied, “Leave her alone. She did this in preparation for my burial. You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.” –John 12:1-8
Jesus had performed this amazing miracle of raising Lazarus from the dead; now Lazarus sits down to dinner with Jesus. His two sisters, Mary and Martha, are also present. Martha is busy serving, as she always is, while her sister, Mary, anoints Jesus’ feet with an extremely expensive perfume. Martha always strives to be the best, while Mary gives her best. This story is one of worship and inspiration…
Mary flows with the moment, careful never to miss an opportunity to be with her Jesus.
In biblical times, when a young woman reached marriageable age, families who could afford it would purchase an alabaster box and fill it with expensive, precious oil to be used on her wedding night, the young woman would demonstrate her devotion to her husband by breaking the alabaster box and pouring out the precious oil on his feet, as a sign of honor, purity, and her total commitment to him.
Whether male or female, we all have an alabaster box filled with precious oil. It is the oil of our suffering, produced by the crushing we endure in life. We ought to value and protect our oil. Sadly, too often, we break open our alabaster box way too soon, pouring it at the feet of someone or something without God’s direction.
God’s plan for something so precious is that we never waste our oil senselessly, breaking our jar open before one undeserving of it, what it cost us, then try to put it back together with gorilla glue.
Our oil is extremely valuable and necessary.
The oil from our alabaster boxes is to be poured at Jesus’ feet, the Lover of our souls, not some stranger’s feet. Your alabaster box carries your essence; it tells the story of who you are, your trials and victories.
God knew and deeply valued Mary’s heart; Mary understood what it was like to give her all to her Master.
My alabaster box is personal to me. In it, I carry forgiveness, love, joy, reconciliation, restoration, my worship, my time with Jesus; the essence of the new creation God has made me. God transformed the old me into a new person. Unforgiveness, bitterness, sorrow, and pain were exchanged for this fragrant, new oil I now carry.
My perfume fills my surroundings, my fragrance is powerful, and my fragrance in God’s hands will encourage, heal, bless, and instruct others.
Only you, God, and I know the cost of our oil.
Breaking open your box at Jesus’ feet symbolizes pouring your all into Him; He, in turn, turns your mess into a message of love. God desires that you surrender your trials and tests into His care so that He can turn them and your life into an amazing testimony of devotion and love.
Each of us carries a unique fragrance, God alone knows. Our unique spiritual DNA fragrance is the result of our crushing. It is our unique essence, a fragrance God will use to reach another, drawing them to Himself. Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” God’s plan for your life is precious; you must therefore recognize the value of your oil and guard it, releasing it only in obedience and humility, according to God’s plans. Carefully guard your oil so it doesn’t break recklessly.
Judas was concerned with Mary’s gesture. All he saw was dollar signs. Judas didn’t understand the principle of worship and submission, like many of us don’t. He was looking at Mary and her sacrifice through natural eyes, eyes of greed, so he missed entirely the spiritual lesson being carried out right in front of him. Judas was only interested in the “one year’s salary” he saw being poured over Jesus’ feet. But Jesus was interested in Mary’s heart, a heart filled with humility, benevolence, and generosity. 1 Samuel 16:7 says: “For man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
Jesus said, “Judas cared less about the poor.” He had no interest in helping anyone; he just wanted to acquire more money. Judas had a greed issue.
The alabaster box is a test for each of us. What kind of test? A test to reveal the nature of your heart. A test of trust. When we can break our Alabaster box at the feet of Jesus, as Mary did, it indicates we trust Him as Mary did.
How do we do this?
Remember that the box is not physical; it is a spiritual precept.
You break open your alabaster box when you come before Jesus as you are, and lay your burdens at His feet. When you pray with expectancy, when you cry out to Him, knowing and believing that He’s the only help you have. When you call His name, knowing He is the God who sees you, “El Roi.” Exchanging your will for His and surrendering all you carry at His feet, and leaving it there. And by trusting Him to direct your ways, by reading His Word, knowing that when you do this, you can experience true freedom Jesus promised!
Matt 22:37: Jesus replied,” ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.” This is how we break our alabaster box at His feet. A person can be wonderful and well-intentioned, like Martha, yet not fully surrendered. But being fully surrendered is what Jesus desires; surrender pleases God; it holds greater spiritual value.
You must understand that there is a significant difference, spiritually speaking, between being well-intended and fully surrendered.
I pray that, like Mary, you desire to be fully surrendered. If so, pray this short prayer with me: Father, come into my heart today and make me new. Help me let go of my old ways so I can have new oil and become a new creation in You. Today, I open my heart to you and pray in the name of Jesus that you help me guard my alabaster box, my life, and heart. Amen.
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