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Scripture Reading: Matthew 26

I’ve read the story in Matthew chapter 26 many times about the woman who poured out a jar of very expensive perfume onto Jesus’s head.  I’ve always been impressed by the woman’s action, and by Jesus’s response to it.

But it wasn’t until recently that I’ve seen the story from God’s perspective, which has deepened my appreciation for it even more.

In case you haven’t read it, or just need a refresher, here’s the story:

While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of a man known as Simon the Leper, a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on his head as he was reclining at the table.  When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. “Why this waste?” they asked.  “This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor.” 

Aware of this, Jesus said to them, “Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me. When she poured this perfume on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial. I tell you the truth, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her” (Matthew 26:6-13). 

I love this woman’s lavish love for Jesus.  I’m sure she knew the value of her gift.  She didn’t see it as wasteful, but as totally appropriate for the one who was to receive it.

I also love Jesus’s response to this gift.  He wasn’t bothered that someone poured out such a lavish expression of love upon Him.  He was, after all, the one who turned water into wine ―and not just any wine, but the best.  He understood what it meant to lavish love upon others.

But what I love even more about this story is the lavish love of God for His Son displayed in this act.  From God’s perspective, it’s almost as if God wanted to pour out a special measure of His love to Jesus, so He moved on the heart of a woman who had a very expensive jar of perfume, allowing her to be His hands to His Son.  He put in her heart the willingness to pick up her alabaster jar and pour it out on Jesus’s head.

God knew what Jesus was about to undergo.  Jesus knew what He was about to undergo.  If there was ever a time where Jesus might have doubted His Father’s love for Him, it was in the upcoming days of mocking, beating, and being nailed to a cross.  This demonstration of love was as if God wanted to assure Jesus of His love yet one more time, moving on the heart of a woman who could pour out just such an expression.  It was an act of lavish love, not only from the woman, but from God Himself, given through the woman.

Why is this so important to point out?  Because God may want to do the same thing through you for others.  He may want to show someone His lavish love, and in order to do that, He may move on your heart to display it.  We all have an alabaster jar of some kind.  It may not be an expensive perfume, but it may be just as valuable to the person receiving it.

Maybe it’s a gift of time, of attention, of writing a song, of serving with our hands.  Maybe it’s a gift of money, giving something that may or may not mean much to us, but will certainly mean something special to the recipient.  Maybe it’s a gift of an item, an object of value, something that would mean the world to someone else.

Sometimes love is outlandishly lavish.  But sometimes, from God’s perspective, it’s just the kind of love that He wants us to pour out on others.

Prayer: Father, help me to be willing to show Your lavish love to others, demonstrating Your love for them in tangible ways.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.