A STAGE OF CONTRASTS by Raphael ben Levi
“While (Yeshua) was in Beit-Anyah in the home of Shim‘on (a man who had had tzara‘at), and as he was eating, a woman came with an alabaster jar of perfume, pure oil of nard, very costly. She broke the jar and poured the perfume over Yeshua’s head. But some there angrily said to themselves, “Why this waste of perfume? It could have been sold for a year’s wages and given to the poor!” And they scolded her. But he said, “Let her be. Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing for me. For you will always have the poor with you; and whenever you want to, you can help them. But you will not always have me. What she could do, she did do — in advance she poured perfume on my body to prepare it for burial. 9 Yes! I tell you that wherever in the whole world this Good News is proclaimed, what she has done will be told in her memory.” (Mark 14:4-8)
A beautiful incident occurred just a few days before Yeshua’s arrest and crucifixion during a visit with friends at Bethany. If the three accounts In Matt, Mark and John refer to the same occasion, Simon the “leper” must have been the owner of the house where Mary, Martha and Lazarus lived and could possibly have been their father. Some scholars have noted that since the ancient Hebrew and Aramaic were written without vowels, there was no distinction between the Aramaic words GAR’BA (leper) and GARABA (jar maker or jar merchant). Since in this story Mary pours oil from a jar, it may be that Simon was a jar maker instead of someone who had recovered from tzara’at (a skin disease usually referring to leprosy).
When we harmonise the 3 Gospel accounts, the full impact of the story unfolds. Mary knelt before Yeshua and covered His head and feet with her tears. Then, she anointed Him with a rare and valuable perfume from an alabaster jar. Mark’s Gospel describes this ointment as “spikenard” which the sages relate to a righteous person who dies before his time.
Mary’s actions were completely misinterpreted by the disciples who fiercely criticised her: “Why this waste of perfume? It could have been sold for a year’s wages and given to the poor!” It was a custom to anoint the head of an honoured guest with a simple household oil. But, with Yeshua Mary used an extremely expensive perfumed ointment. The container was an alabaster flask which required the neck of the bottle to be broken for the oil to be poured out.
This story has inspired countless people through the ages. Here was someone who reflected the spontaneous and infinite value of her love for Yeshua. Mary, in humility broke her alabaster jar and poured out the contents anointing the head and feet of Yeshua that released a rare fragrance permeating the entire room and beyond.
In stark contrast followed another rare and unimaginable event with somebody who stealthily and secretly betrayed his Master, his mind consumed with a carefully concealed self-centred obsession: “(Judas asked) What are you willing to give me if I turn Yeshua over to you? They (chief priests) counted out thirty silver coins and gave them to Judas” (a price associated with the cost of a common slave).
Mary was immortalised for her sacrificial act of devotion whereas Judas Iscariot is only remembered for his betrayal.
