Jesus and His disciples hid from the Pharisees and Sadducees in Ephraim. When the time for the Passover drew near, they began the long journey to Jerusalem. It is fairly safe to assume that He spent much of his time with the disciples preparing them for ministry, teaching them truth and encouraging them. These were the Thunderous Twelve, twelve men prepared to serve.
At long last they arrive in Bethany and the home of Lazarus and his two sisters. A meal is prepared and Martha, as usual, is busy serving dinner. It seems one detail had been overlooked. The journey would obviously dirty the feet of the men. They had just been walking the dusty roads of Palestine. Their feet would likely be soure and the skin cracked. Who would don the towel and cleanse the feet of the Master relieving His discomfort? Peter perhaps? Or at least one of the twelve, right?
Mary comes forth with some oil for His feet, very expensive oil at that, to ease the soreness of a long journey. She offered up what was most likely a protion of her dowry in an act of loving service. The benefit of this act extends beyond Jesus as the soothing fragrance of oil filled the house.
John in his gospel contrasts Mary with Judas, who only thought of himself though he pretended to care for the poor. He longed for the opportunity to steal a portion of the expensive perfume’s sale price, to line his pocket with ill-gotten gain. Though he had just spent time alone with Jesus, he completely missed the point. He was not alone in this respect, for not on of the twelve seems to have attended to their Master’s needs. Mary is known for her faith and love, while Judas is known for unbelief and betrayal. Yet both were known, at this point, as followers of Jesus.
We, like the disciples, should train, prepare and study. Too often though we fail to get our hands dirty by serving others. We can easily deceive ourselves into thinking we are not yet ready to serve. But note who was with Jesus during this time in the wilderness. Judas, not Mary, was there. All the training in the world does not make a servant. Mary did not have the training, but had the heart of a servant. Very little training is required to love other people, but still we can hold back. Training is good and necessary, but let us not neglect the examples of Jesus and Mary. Let us not think too highly of ourselves to serve others in the service of the Gospel. Let us never forget the words of James who rightly reminds us, “so faith without works is dead” (James 2:26).
[originally published in the July 1997 issue of Tabletalk Magazine (p. 37), published by Ligonier Ministries.]
Cavman Considers 
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