But there were some who were indignant among themselves, and said, “Why was this fragrant oil wasted? For it might have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor.” And they criticized her sharply.(Mark 14:4-5)
A few days before Jesus would be crucified, He ate dinner in Bethany. While they were eating, a woman came and broke a precious, expensive bottle of perfumed oil and poured it on the head of Jesus.
When this happened, there were some who were indignant. John 12:1-8 tells us that it was specifically Judas who was indignant about the expense. His indignation was entirely self-serving. John 12:6 says, this he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the money box; and he used to take what was put in it.
Judas may have started the criticism, but he wasn’t alone for long. Mark made it clear that they criticized her sharply. Each one looked at the oil on Jesus’ head and considered it wasted. It’s easy to criticize those who show more love to Jesus than we do. We sometimes want to define a fanatic as someone who is more devoted to Jesus than we are. Mary probably started to wonder if she did something wrong.
In his criticism, Judas noted that the value of the perfumed oil was worth more than three hundred denarii – that’s worth a year’s wages of a working man. At this point of the story, we should thank Judas for this sharp word. If he hadn’t said this, we would have never known the value of the gift the woman gave to Jesus. Now we know – that alabaster bottle filled with perfumed oil was worth a lot of money!
The disciples thought that this extravagant anointing with oil was a waste, but Jesus told them “Leave her alone,” and He received it as a good work (Mark 14:6). With her simple love and devotion to Jesus, Mary understood what the disciples did not – that Jesus was about to die, and she intended this gift as a preparation for his burial (Mark 14:8).
In the following verses, Jesus gave this woman a high compliment, saying she has done what she could (Mark 14:8). God expects no more from us than what we can do; but beware of setting your sights so low that you believe that doing nothing is doing what you can.
The disciples (especially Judas) criticized the woman, saying she wasted the perfumed oil, but she didn’t waste it at all. She did the best thing someone could: she gave it to Jesus. The same word translated wasted in Mark 14:4 is translated perdition in John 17:12 – and is used to describe Judas as the son of perdition.
What the woman gave was not wasted, not at all – but Judas, the self-superior critic – he was a complete waste.
Don’t let your life be a waste – give it to Jesus every day.