12 Six days before the Passover, Jesus went to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom He had raised from the dead. 2 So they gave a supper for Him there. Martha was serving, and Lazarus was one of those reclining at the table with Him. 3 Then [a]Mary took a pound of very expensive perfume of pure [b]nard, and she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped His feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4 But Judas Iscariot, one of His disciples, the one who was going to betray Him, said, 5 “Why was this perfume not sold for [c]three hundred denarii and [the money] given to the poor?” 6 Now he said this, not because he cared about the poor [for he had never cared about them], but because he was a thief; and since he had the money box [serving as treasurer for the twelve disciples], he used to pilfer what was put into it. 7 So Jesus said, “Let her alone, so that she may keep [the rest of] it for the day of My burial. 8 You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have Me.”
This is a biblical passage that we have read many times but today we will go deeper into this story, the bottles containing this type of perfume were made of plaster, or aljez which is a mineral composed of hydrated calcium sulfate whose form is compact.
Its name comes from the Greek word αλάϐαστρος which means alabaster, this word was used to refer to the bottles which contained perfume.
The perfume has been very famous since antiquity in its production was used a variety of plants such as cinnamon, aloe, myrrh, nard, many of these plants were grown on the banks of the Jordan ,its use was varied either to prepare a bath as a medicinal use or for the preparation of the dead to be buried.
In the Old Testament, when God gave Moses the specifications for erecting the tabernacle, He instructed him to make a special oil with the best aromatic plants using the official weights and measures in the sanctuary.
Exodus 30:22-33
The Anointing Oil
22 Moreover, the Lord said to Moses, 23 “Take for yourself the best spices: five hundred shekels of liquid myrrh, half as much—two hundred and fifty—of sweet-scented cinnamon, and two hundred and fifty of fragrant cane, 24 and five hundred shekels of cinnamon blossom according to the sanctuary shekel, and a hin of olive oil. 25 You shall make of these a holy anointing oil, a perfume mixture, the work of a perfumer; it shall be a sacred anointing oil. 26 You shall anoint the Tent of Meeting with it, and the ark of the Testimony, 27 and the table [for the bread] and all its utensils, and the lampstand and its utensils, and the altar of incense, 28 and the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the basin [for cleansing] and its base. 29 You shall consecrate them, that they may be most holy; whatever touches them must be holy (set apart for God). 30 You shall anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may serve as priests to Me. 31 You shall say to the Israelites, ‘This shall be a holy and sacred anointing oil, to Me [alone] throughout your generations. 32 It shall not be poured on anyone’s body, nor shall you make any like it in the same composition. It is holy, and it shall be sacred to you. 33 Whoever prepares any like it or puts any of it on a layman shall be cut off from his people [excluding him from the atonement made for them].’”
This woman who poured the perfume at the feet of the master was Mary the sister of Lazarus, they were at a meal as the verse tells it may have been something formal there because at the table were the disciples and Lazarus his brother but she did not care about the public that was present that place.
I can imagine Mary walking to the place where she had kept this expensive perfume for herself, then going to where my beloved Jesus was leaning ; in that time they did not use tables to eat as we do today the Israelites had recliners or simply placed mats on the floor and lay down on the left side leaving their feet out and their right hand to eat.
She didn't care who was at the table, people's criticism didn't stop her from giving the best of herself to Jesus how many times we limited our worship for fear of what they might say, it's a tolerably absurd argument because limiting my worship to what they would say if Jesus didn't care what the world said about how he was reviled.
Mary wanted to give him adoration, the desire of her heart was to give herself completely without reserve ,without keeping anything to herself ,only Jesus her beloved ,had put his loving hands in to take her out of the deep hole where she was, his love had saved her, he gave her a new life, he took away her shame, he forgave her, no one did this for her before, that's why he needed with all his being to give her everything she was.
The bottle that contained the nard perfume had a narrow neck, the mouthpiece where the perfume came out was minimal, this is because this fragrance was so pure that only a small drop was enough to impregnate everything with perfume, this aromatic oil was very thick and therefore took time to reach the surface of the hole to get out this explains why Maria broke the alabaster alabaster, because she did not want to spill its perfume in small and spaced quantities, on the contrary, she longed to give herself totally, that's why it breaks the bottle.
What happened at that dinner was no ordinary event in fact Jseus tells everyone present that she was anointing him for his burial ,but they did not understand ,but they did not. I referred to a biblical text in the Old Testament which speaks of the preparation of the oil and the species used to consecrate both the utensils of the tabernacle and the priests.Jesus took the place of the high priest to present an offering for our sins he was a lamb but also a priest the perfect sacrifice to wipe out the transgression of imperfect men.
Hebrews 4:14-16 (AMP)
14 Inasmuch then as we [believers] have a great High Priest who has [already ascended and] passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession [of faith and cling tenaciously to our absolute trust in Him as Savior]. 15 For we do not have a High Priest who is unable to sympathize and understand our weaknesses and temptations, but One who has been tempted [knowing exactly how it feels to be human] in every respect as we are, yet without [committing any] sin. 16 Therefore let us [with privilege] approach the throne of grace [that is, the throne of God’s gracious favor] with confidence and without fear, so that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find [His amazing] grace to help in time of need [an appropriate blessing, coming just at the right moment].
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