Why This Waste?

Now when Jesus was in Bethany, at the home of Simon the leper, a woman came to Him with an alabaster vial of very costly perfume, and she poured it on His head as He reclined at the table. But the disciples were indignant when they saw this, and said, “Why this waste? For this perfume might have been sold for a high price and the money given to the poor.” But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why do you bother the woman? For she has done a good deed to Me. For you always have the poor with you; but you do not always have Me. For when she poured this perfume on My body, she did it to prepare Me for burial. Truly I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be spoken of in memory of her.” Matthew 26:6-13 (See also Mark 14:3-9; John 12:1-8).

We know from John 11:1 that this woman was Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus.

In Matthew’s account it was the disciples who were indignant, Mark simply says that “some” were indignant, while John singles out Judas Iscariot as asking why the perfume was not sold and the money given to the poor - John then gives us insight into Judas’s motive, “Now he said this, not because he was concerned about the poor, but because he was a thief, and as he had the money box, he used to pilfer what was put into it.”

Since Jesus was who Jesus is, Jesus would have known about Judas’s thievery - I simply point this out as something to ponder. Judas sold Jesus to the religious leaders - the love of money really is the root of all evil; see the role it played in “the son of perdition”.

I have chosen Matthew’s account because Matthew doesn’t let himself and his fellow disciples off the hook, it wasn’t just Judas who was indignant, it was - it appears - all of them, or most of them, it was “the disciples”.

They considered Mary’s action a “waste”. There was no pragmatic value in what she was doing, there was no return on investment, there was no direct benefit that someone could “see” - she was wasting a product that could have been sold, that could have been turned into money,  how impractical!

This is the Mary who sat at the feet of Jesus while her sister Martha served (Luke 10:38 - 42) and was criticized for it. This time Mary is not criticized by Martha, she is criticized by the disciples.

Jesus says, “Why do you bother the woman? For she has done a good deed to Me.”

Worship seems so impractical, there is no return on our investment, no practical use for it - and yet we were created to worship God. Is God worthy to be loved and worshipped for who He is? Is His Person, His essence, His character - Himself, is He worthy to be worshipped and loved? If we are not worshipping and loving God we are not fulfilling our purpose, our destiny. I may awake in the morning not being sure just what the day holds for me, but one thing I must make certain, one thing I must purpose in my heart and mind, one thing I must begin the day with - and that is the worship of God.

The world may ask, “Why this waste?” The church may ask, “Why this waste?” Other disciples may ask, “Why this waste?” Family and friends may ask, “Why this waste?” Satan may temp with the words, “Why this waste?” And my response must be, “Because He is worthy of my worship, my love, my all in all.”

Just as Mary, we are not to give Jesus our throwaways, we are to give Him our best. We are not to give Jesus leftovers; our leftover time, our leftover talent, our leftover money, our leftover resources - we are to give the our best.

Mark points out that Mary broke the vessel the ointment was in, and John mentions that the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. I don’t think it is too much to say that those things which we hold precious must be broken in our service to Jesus, in our worship of Jesus, in our love to Jesus. They must all pass through the Cross of Jesus.

People respond differently to the aroma of the perfume, to some it is sweet, to others it is putrid.

As Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 2:14 - 16, “But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; to the one an aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life.”

We ought not to be surprised at varied responses to the worship of Jesus. The big question is, what is our worship? What is our response to Him? Am I surrendering myself to Christ at the Cross to be broken and reformed into His image?

Shall I ask, “Why this waste?” Or will it be said of me, “He wasted his life on Jesus”?