Here’s a devotional on John 12 from our Bible in a Year reading plan. Click here to join us in reading the Bible in a Year.
SCRIPTURE
Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil
.John 12:3
DEVOTIONAL - Anointed Worship
In John 12:3, we see a beautifully powerful image of humility as Mary anoints the feet of Jesus. Reading from the NKJV: “Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.”
It was a common Israelite custom to wash the feet and anoint the head of a guest with oil as a form of hospitality, but in this passage, we see Mary anointing the feet of Jesus with spikenard oil—what a powerful expression of the highest form of respect and honor.
Not only was this feet-anointing beautifully humble, as attending to the feet was a task given to the most lowly slave, but it was also incredibly extravagant! In John 12:5, Judas criticizes Mary’s extreme actions, believing the oil was worth 300 denarii, which was about a year’s worth of wages.
Again, when we consider the cultural context, Mary goes against the norm as she wipes “His feet with her hair.” A Jewish woman was never to let down her hair in public! A woman’s hair was tied to her marital status and purity. By letting down her hair to anoint Jesus, Mary wasn’t just giving something of great material value; she was giving herself in an act of worship and honor, regardless of how it would affect her reputation or how it would be perceived in her culture.
I think Spurgeon speaks to this passage so well when he says: “You must sit at His feet, or you will never anoint them; He must pour His divine teaching into you, or you will never pour out a precious ointment upon Him.”
REFLECTION
Do you live your life in awe of Jesus, or have you become complacent? When you meet with Him, do you bring your most precious offering of worship and honor? Do you anoint Him with your spikenard, with the greatest measure of what you have to pour out, or are you more like Judas, thinking your offering would be better placed somewhere else?
There is nothing, nowhere, or no one that would be of greater benefit to our lives than surrendering ourselves at the feet of Jesus.
PRAYER
Lord, may I never take Your presence for granted. Help me to live in awe of You, surrendering myself at Your feet each and every day; honoring You with my greatest offering. May I forever place You in Your rightful place—at the center of my life. Help me to return to my first love, where I longed to dwell in Your presence all day long.
NEXT STEP
Gather and partake in the emblems of communion. “Do this in remembrance of [Him].” (Luke 22:19)
