The Aroma of Christ

With less than a week to live, Christ visited friends in Bethany. I cannot imagine the weight and pressure He felt knowing Calvary was near. Of course, Christ had already displayed His power over death by raising one of His best friends, Lazarus, from the dead in John 11. When we come to Chapter 12, He is with Lazarus and his two sisters, Martha, and Mary. According to Mark 14, Mary takes an alabaster jar of pure nard. This was a highly expensive ointment and was commonly used at times of burial. Mark 14 gives us some added details. Mark explains that the ointment was equivalent to one year’s wage.

According to both Mark and John’s account, Judas Iscariot became angry when she used the costly perfume to anoint Jesus. Judas said in Mark 14:4, “…Why was the ointment wasted like that?” Perhaps this is what pushed Judas to make the final decision to betray Jesus for a mere twenty-five pieces of silver. I believe this is how he justified his wicked plan.

The way Judas Iscariot saw the act of worship from Mary as a waste is the way an unbelieving world sees the life of a Christ-follower. Jesus called the sacrifice Mary made “a beautiful thing” in Mark 14:6, yet Judas called it a waste. I am friends with a young couple who graduated from an SEC university with a degree in chemistry. Rather than living the American dream, they now live in West Africa for the joy of sharing the Gospel with the least. So many would look at their lives, shake their heads, and say “what a waste.” I think Jesus would call it beautiful.

I find it so interesting that John 12:3 says, “…the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.” It reminds me of Paul writing, “For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing” (2 Corinthians 2:15). Just as the fragrance filled the house, I believe an aroma fills this world from the lives of people who forsake all to follow Christ. The world may see it as a waste, but the Lord Jesus sees it as a beautiful act of worship.

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