Mary of Bethany

Her name means ?Bitterness?

Mary of Bethany appears to have been a single woman, totally devoted to Jesus. The gospel portrays her, by way of contrast with her sister Martha, as a woman of few words. As Jesus neared the time of his triumphal entry into Jerusalem prior to Passover, she performed a gesture of great prophetic significance, one that offended Judas Iscariot, the disciple who betrayed Jesus.

She wept at the tomb of her brother Lazarus, and must have experienced great sorrow at the death of Jesus.

Mary of Bethany must have felt great joy to have done something beautiful for Christ.

The Story

Jerusalem was swollen with a hundred thousand worshipers, pilgrims who had come to celebrate the annual Passover feast. Every one of them, it seemed, had heard tales of the rabbi Jesus.

?I wouldn?t have believed it myself if I hadn?t been there,? one man exclaimed. ?I tell you Lazarus drew his last breath a full four days before the Nazarene ever arrived.?

?My cousin saw the whole thing,? said another. ?According to her, Jesus simply shouted his name and Lazarus came out of the tomb, still bound in his grave clothes.?

?I hear the rabbi is coming to Jerusalem to be crowned King during Passover,? said the first man.

?Better if he stayed home,? said another. ?The chief priest says the whole story is nonsense, that Jesus is a rabble-rouser who?ll soon have the Romans up in arms against us all.?

The rumors spread quickly, like floodwater spilling over a riverbank. The curious kept chasing after Mary, inquiring about her brother. Had he really been dead four days? Didn?t he smell when he came stumbling out the tomb? What was it like to live in the same house with a ghost? Did he eat and sleep? Could you see straight through him? Did he simply float through the air whenever he went?

She could hardly blame them for their crazy questions. Why shouldn?t they be curious about the amazing event that had taken place in Bethany just weeks earlier? How could they know that Lazarus was as normal as any other living man? After all, raising people from the dead wasn?t your everyday kind of miracle. These days she felt a rush of joy run through her, like wine overflowing a cup whenever she looked at Lazarus. Her own flesh and blood had been called out of darkness by a man filled with light. How she longed to see Jesus again!

But shadows framed the edges of her happiness. No amount of celebrating could erase the memory of Jesus as he wept that day outside her brother?s tomb. Even as others were celebrating the most spectacular miracle imaginable, he seemed strangely quiet. What was he thinking as he gazed at them? She wondered. She wished he would tell her, that she could plumb the secrets of his heart.

When Jesus finally returned to Bethany before the Passover, Martha served a feast in his honor. As Jesus was reclining at the table with the other guests, Mary entered the room and anointed his head with a pint of expensive perfume. It?s fragrance filled the whole house.

The disciple Judas Iscariot failing to appreciate her gesture, objected strenuously: ?Why wasn?t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year?s wages.? Though he cared nothing for the destitute, Judas was the keeper of the common purse, a man always looking for a chance to fatten his own pockets.

But rather than scold Mary for her extravagance, Jesus praised her, saying: ?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, whenever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.?

From her first encounter with Christ, Mary seemed to have pursued one thing above all- the deepest possible relationship with him. She soaked up his teaching, took his promises to heart, listened for any change of inflection that would yield more clues about him. Love gave her insights that others missed. Somehow, she must have understood that Jesus would not enter Jerusalem to lasting acclaim but to death and dishonor. For a time, the light itself would appear to be smothered by darkness. While everyone else was busy celebrating Jesus triumph in raising Lazarus, Mary stood quietly beside him, sharing his grief.

Christ found Mary?s extravagant act of adoration a beautiful thing, assuring everyone that she would be remembered forever by the way she lavished herself upon him. Mary of Bethany was a woman unafraid of expressing her love, determined to seek the heart of God- a prophetess whose gestures speak eloquently even from a distance of two thousand years.

Scripture:

Matthew 26: 6-13 NKJV-6 And when Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, 7 a woman came to Him having an alabaster flask of very costly fragrant oil, and she poured it on His head as He sat at the table. 8 But when His disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, ?Why this waste? 9 For this fragrant oil might have been sold for much and given to the poor.?

10 But when Jesus was aware of it, He said to them, ?Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a good work for Me. 11 For you have the poor with you always, but Me you do not have always. 12 For in pouring this fragrant oil on My body, she did it for My burial. 13 Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her.?

Mark 14: 3-9 NKJV The Anointing at Bethany

3 And being in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, as He sat at the table, a woman came having an alabaster flask of very costly [a]oil of spikenard. Then she broke the flask and poured it on His head. 4 But there were some who were indignant among themselves, and said, ?Why was this fragrant oil wasted? 5 For it might have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor.? And they criticized[b] her sharply.

6 But Jesus said, ?Let her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a good work for Me. 7 For you have the poor with you always, and whenever you wish you may do them good; but Me you do not have always. 8 She has done what she could. She has come beforehand to anoint My body for burial. 9 Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her.?

Luke 10: 38-42 NKJV Mary and Martha Worship and Serve

38 Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. 39 And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at [a]Jesus? feet and heard His word. 40 But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, ?Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.?41 And [b]Jesus answered and said to her, ?Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. 42 But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.?

John 11:1-12:1NKJV- The Death of Lazarus

11 Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. 3 Therefore the sisters sent to Him, saying, ?Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.?

4 When Jesus heard that, He said, ?This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.?

5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6 So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was. 7 Then after this He said to the disciples, ?Let us go to Judea again.?

8 The disciples said to Him, ?Rabbi, lately the Jews sought to stone You, and are You going there again??

9 Jesus answered, ?Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. 10 But if one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.? 11 These things He said, and after that He said to them, ?Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up.?

12 Then His disciples said, ?Lord, if he sleeps he will get well.?

The Anointing at Bethany

12 Then, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was [a]who had been dead, whom He had raised from the dead.

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