Perfume 2

There are many verses about perfume in the Bible. Another woman named Mary was compelled to show this love to Jesus (besides the woman of Luke 7:36-50.) "Then Mary took a twelve-ounce jar [grande] of expensive perfume made from essence of nard, (spikenard) and she anointed Jesus' feet with it, wiping his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance." John 12:3. This is Mary the sister of Martha and Lazarus. She is at the feet of Jesus and wiping his feet with her hair, just as the woman of Luke 7 did. In both cases we have a man who absolutely despised what he was seeing in this love and devotion from the women.

Simon, the Pharisee of Luke 7 is bound up by the law and he is glad for it. He thinks this is his salvation, obeying all the rules and everything will be ok. He forgot the teaching of the prophet Micah 6:8, the 'minor prophet' with a major message. This meal took place in Simon's house. What was an immoral woman doing in his house? Simon was privileged to clearly see the road to salvation was repentance, yet he rejected it because judgement had a place in his heart. Poor Simon, rich woman.

By this time the fragrance had to have filled all the house where they were. A constant reminder of the absence of love in his heart. That love drove the woman to be at the feet of Jesus. When Mary in John 12:3 poured the perfume, it says the fragrance filled the whole house! What a nagging reminder to the man under the law! Long after everyone left, the fragrance lingered, it was so powerful. It's like the fragrance of every Christian who witnessed to me before I was saved. It lingered for years and when I was saved I remembered everyone, including strangers on the street.

Two of the people I remember was a Nazarene pastor and his wife that used to come to our house EVERY Friday with a freshly made loaf of Jewish rye bread and invited us to church. What was our answer for months? No. Did we ever say yes? No. They never gave up. When we repented in Alaska I started writing letters to those I knew who had witnessed to me. This couple was the first I wrote to. It was a letter encouraging them to never give up: inviting people to church, asking them to give their lives to Christ, invite them to your home, give gifts. Every good act showers the fragrance of Jesus on this poor, sick world.

We are the house! The Spirit of Christ takes residence in us when we are saved, and when we grow from grace to grace...more perfume! I want my whole house filled with the fragrance of Christ!

By the way, spiknard that was used in Bible times for fragrance was very costly. The plant was dried, then CRUSHED to get the oil and fragrance. To be the fragrance of Jesus we will be crushed but not destroyed!