Meanwhile, Jesus was in Bethany at the home of Simon, a man who had previously had leprosy. While he was eating, a woman came in with a beautiful alabaster jar of expensive perfume and poured it over his head.
The disciples were indignant when they saw this. “What a waste!” they said. “It could have been sold for a high price and the money given to the poor.”
But Jesus, aware of this, replied, “Why criticize this woman for doing such a good thing to me? You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me. She has poured this perfume on me to prepare my body for burial. I tell you the truth, wherever the Good News is preached throughout the world, this woman’s deed will be remembered and discussed.”
Matthew 26:6-13
Though all of the stories in the Bible transcend time, there is one we should hold close to our hearts. Jesus Himself declared, “Wherever the Gospel is preached in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.”
This woman He speaks of, in a room full of eyes that saw only scarcity, hers saw only abundance.
She broke the jar and poured out her oil with no hesitation, no reserve.
To the others, it was a waste. An extravagant outpouring of something too precious to be given away. They were trapped in their fear of loss, bound by a scarcity mindset, unable to see beyond the value of the oil to the One who stood before them.
But she knew something they didn’t yet understand: Jesus was worth it all.
In her act of worship, the oil, once the most valuable possession, became insignificant in the face of the One whose beauty eclipsed everything.
The oil, once a most valuable possession, became insignificant in the face of the One whose beauty eclipsed everything.
He doesn’t simply weave beauty, He is beauty. For all beautiful things exist because of the One who is truly beautiful. He is the source and the end of all that is good, all that is worthy.
Her offering was not merely a gift of oil; it was a declaration of who Jesus is. A revelation of His worth. She didn’t give because it made sense, or because she had plenty. She gave because she knew, in that moment, that He was more than enough.
We are often fearful —afraid that what we have is too small, too insignificant. But when we remember the beauty of Jesus, we realize there is no scarcity in His presence.
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