“She has done a beautiful thing to Me”(Mk. 14:6). 

During my morning devotional reading yesterday, this act of devotion shown to Yeshua/Jesus spoke to me deeply. In Bethany, a woman enters the house of Simon the leper, who was likely healed by Jesus, and breaks an alabaster jar of costly perfume, pure nard, pouring it over Jesus’ head. Some rebuke her for the apparent waste, suggesting the perfume could have been sold and the money given to the poor. But Yeshua defends her, declaring her act as preparation for His burial, and promising that her story will be told wherever the gospel is preached; and here, two millennia later, we still tell her story of devotion.

This moment is more than an act of generosity, it is a prophetic gesture of honor and insight. The woman, unnamed in Mark’s account, perceives something the disciples have missed: that Jesus is headed toward death. Her worship is not calculated or reserved, it is extravagant, costly, and timely.

The alabaster jar was likely worth a year’s wages. It was an item of value and extravagance. She did not measure her offering, she broke it. True worship often involves loss, and in this case, breaking something: pride, reputation, agency. While others see her loss, Jesus recognizes what she has gained.

Jesus says, “She has anointed My body beforehand for burial.” Her act aligns with heaven’s prophetic timing. In a room full of people, she alone responds to the prompting of the Holy Spirit with urgency and precision.

Her act of devotion and worship is criticized. Even the well-meaning among us can misinterpret Spirit-led devotion; but Yeshua calls it beautiful. He sees the heart behind the act, and knows the Spirts prompting leading this moment of poured out anointing. 

The act of this woman caused me to consider, over the course of my day, what am I holding back that should be broken and poured out before the Resurrected Lord? Do I value honoring Him above the preservation of my reputation and resources? Have I tended to a prayer life that keeps me sensitive to the Spirit’s prompting and timing, with a willingness to act even when others don’t understand?

With the pressure, trials and busyness of our lives, it can be easy to lose sight of this, but He graciously invites us back to the heart of worship time and again. 

Maranatha. Shalom.