Mark 14:3-5 “And being in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard very precious; and she brake the box, and poured it on his head. And there were some that had indignation within themselves, and said, Why was this waste of the ointment made? For it might have been sold for more than three hundred pence, and have been given to the poor. And they murmured against her.”

Having watched as Mary broke with the customary religious etiquette of the day; an apathetic audience breaks forth in a unified anthem of sarcastic criticism; “Why was this waste?” While I don’t know the exact ratio; I can safely say that Mary was in the minority! In what seems to be but a single tick on the timeline of eternity; Mary broke and poured out the sum total of her entire being and humanity cried, “waste!” While that may not be vocalized by the lips; thiscancerous criticism is being visualized in the lives of most. “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God”(Romans 12:1) is perceived as a suggestion rather than a divine standard for the redeemed!

Mary’s Motive

Yet, their criticism was met with an unshakeable confidence! It’s never a waste when one considers Mary’s motive. There was but one driving force in Mary’s life and it was an all-consuming love for her Lord. When contrasting the motivation of Mary to that of men, Mary’s objective in her actions was giving and not gaining; the object of her affection was the Saviour and not self.

Mary’s Ministry

It’s never a waste when one considers Mary’s ministry; “she hath wrought a good work on me” (vs.6). Mary chose to get involved in the ministry. From what Jesus said about it, we learn that it was a good work. The word “good” has the idea of expressing beauty in a harmonious completeness. She not only started, but she completed the task she undertook. He had comforted Mary at her brother’s tomb and she would comfort the Master at His tomb. Secondly, it was a godly work; “on me.” Mary took the opportunity to not just minister for and with God, but to God. In a time when He was standing in the shadow of the cross, Mary offered herself to the Lord in the form of a broken, consecrated and devoted heart. 

Mary’s Memorial

It’s never a waste when one considers Mary’s memorial; “that she hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her” (vs.9). When men saw waste, the master saw worth and setup a memorial in Mary’s honor. The word “memorial” means to remind, record, to be mindful and comes from a word meaning to exercise the memory or to rehearse. As long as there is a message to be preached, there is a memorial to be present.

That evening, when the box was broken and the ointment dispersed; Mary offered the container and its contents; she gave it all! Men cried, “Why was this waste”; and a waste it could have been had it not been for the motive, the ministry, and the memorial. In light of those things, “It’s Never a Waste!”

About Bob Sanders

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