Choose Right Priorities

KEY VERSE: “Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.” —Luke 10:41,42

SELECTED SCRIPTURE: Luke 10:38-42; John 12:1-8

THE TWO SISTERS, Mary and Martha, each loved Jesus very much, but showed their appreciation for him in different ways. Martha was diligently preparing the meals and other comforts to provide for the Lord’s physical needs. But it was Mary who took every opportunity to sit at his feet to listen and learn those gems of truth that came from the Master’s mouth. The Key Verse addresses this matter in Jesus’ own words as he points out Martha’s overanxious manner in connection with material things, whereas he commends Mary for having chosen the more important matters concerning his sojourn on earth.

On another occasion, near the end of our Lord’s earthly ministry, he was in the home of Martha and Mary, together with their brother, Lazarus, whom he had recently resurrected from the grave. The two sisters were again seen in their respective roles—Mary learning at Jesus’ feet. While Martha was busy preparing a sumptuous feast for Jesus, her sister, Mary, set about to perform a special act of reverence and dedication on behalf of her Master. As the nearness of his death was approaching, she was prepared to do something extra-special for the one she loved so much.

Mary’s tenderness and devotion are truly manifest in her actions. “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 12:3) The ointment was a very precious perfume which she had procured for this particular occasion. We are told that it was valued at three hundred pence. (vs. 5) A pence was a day’s wages. (Matt. 20:2) Mary’s gift of the precious spikenard, therefore, was the equivalent of a full year’s wages at that time.

The depth of Mary’s love is further shown using her hair to wipe our Lord’s feet. A woman’s hair is universally recognized as a special treasure to her. It is a woman’s crowning glory’. To use her hair in such a way suggests an added dimension of her devotion for the Master. The scene suggests the true sense of esteem and reverence that Mary felt for Jesus. The whole house was subsequently filled with the delightful aroma of her self-sacrificing act, which serves as a memorial to her love for the Lord of glory.

Within a week of the time of this incident, Jesus had been put to death, and his tomb was sealed and guarded by Roman soldiers. Had Mary not seized the opportunity to perform this act of self-sacrificing love for the Lord she could never have done it again. She would only have been able to pour out her precious perfume upon Jesus’ dead body.

There seems to be a lesson for all of the Lord’s people who are now living at the end of the age—the ‘feet’ members of the household of faith. Let us also pour out the sweet perfume of love and devotion, especially upon our brethren. We never know when it may be too late to do an act of kindness, or to offer a word of encouragement to those who may be undergoing particularly difficult experiences in their lives, common to us all, at times.

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