Matt. 26:7 A woman [Mary] came to Him, having an alabaster flask of ointment of great value, and she poured it on His head as He reclined at table. (12) For in pouring out this ointment on My body, she has done it for My burial.
Do you know what was on the Lord's heart while He sat in Martha's home in Bethany? The Lord's heart was set on His death. He knew that He was going to Jerusalem to die. He wanted His followers to set aside their works, their doings, and go with Him to be crucified. Luke 9:51, the beginning of the section in this Gospel on the Lord's ministry from Galilee to Jerusalem, says "And it came about, when the days were being fulfilled for His being taken up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem." The phrase "being taken up" refers to the Lord's death. Here we see that the days were being fulfilled for the Lord to go to Jerusalem that He might die there. Hence, from this time onward, the Lord's one consideration was His going to Jerusalem to die. He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem. Therefore, the unique matter on His heart as He was on the way to Jerusalem was His death. While the disciples were on the way to Jerusalem with the Lord, they were busy in such matters as arguing who was greater and in forbidding others to do things for the Lord. In particular, the brothers were busy with their ambition. The sisters, on the contrary, were busy in serving, in ministering. But among the sisters there was one--Mary--who was not busy. She was calm and sat in silence listening to the Man-Savior's word. As a result, she came to know what was on the Lord's heart. Mary realized that He was going to Jerusalem to die. Having heard and received the Lord's word concerning His death, she looked for the opportunity to anoint Him before He died (Matt. 26:12). The only one who had a heart for the Lord's word concerning His death and who sat quietly listening to His word was Mary. She sat at His feet and listened to the Savior's word, a word that expressed His desire and preference.
Bible verses are taken from the Recovery Version of the Bible and Words of Ministry from Witness Lee, Life-study of Luke, pp. 223-224. Both are published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, CA. Please visit us at www.emanna.com. Send comments to: [email protected].
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