We tend to be very careful with valuable things.
You drive carefully in a new car, you put a case on your phone, and you don’t leave stacks of money laying out on your desk at school. We all understand that valuable possessions require protection; that’s why safes exist.
In John 12, Jesus is at a dinner party hosted by His friends, Mary and Martha. At the beginning of this passage, Mary presents something extremely valuable. She opens up a bottle of expensive fragrance made of a precious plant called nard. This wasn’t just some perfume she picked up at Macy’s. This stuff was worth almost a whole year’s salary (12:5). This wasn’t just a bottle of perfume; this was her savings account.
What did she do with it? She poured it over the feet of Jesus. She knelt before Jesus with great gratitude and washed His feet using the fragrance as the whole house filled with the beautiful aroma (John 12:3). She gave sacrificially, knowing that this represented her financial security, but she knew Jesus was worth it. She actually gave so much that she was criticized by the closest disciples for being too generous.
Think about this in today’s terms: that’d be like a manager of a McDonald’s rolling into church and writing a check for $65,000. This seems over-the-top and crazy, but Mary was able to see the big picture. She sacrificed a lot for Jesus that evening, but in less than a week, Jesus would give His life for her. We serve a God who gives. He gave us the breath in our lungs, the families we love, and the lives we get to enjoy. Ultimately, God gave us Jesus who willingly laid His life down so that we can experience an authentic relationship with God.
We should give sacrificially because Jesus gave sacrificially.