Mary of Bethany was one of Jesus’ best friends, and vice versa. Jesus even stayed at the house she shared with her sister Martha and brother Lazarus. On one particular day that we read about in John 12, Mary decided to risk it all in order to let Jesus know how much she loved Him. He was just days from being crucified, and she couldn’t have known this, yet I wonder if she wasn’t aware on some level that she was running out of time to be with Him. So she tracked Him down, dumped a year’s wages worth of fragrant oil all over His head and feet, crumpled to the floor, started to cry, and wiped His feet with her hair. She didn’t care about looking ridiculous or fanatical or what the others might say; she was aware of only Him.
Jesus didn’t rebuff Mary. He received what she had to give. He knew what was about to happen to Him and allowed Mary to give Him a moment’s comfort. He wasn’t embarrassed or put off by her tears or her devotion. In fact, when others attempted to trivialize and criticize what she was doing, He jumped to her defense. Basically, He told them, “Back off!”
As most of us know, one of the most painful things in the world is to offer your heart to someone and then have that person reject you. You make yourself vulnerable, offering the very best you have—your words, touch, time, affection—and the other person turns away or doesn’t even notice you standing there with your heart all exposed. Suddenly, “in love” seems like a dangerous and painful place to be.
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