Belding banner., 1917-04-18

The passover referred to In verse 1
was the last one ere He laid down
His life as Christ our passover sacri-
feed for us and concerning which He
said, II have heartily desired to eat
this passover with you before l suffer"
q Cor. v, z; Luke xxi, 10, margin).
Only six days before that the events of
this evening transpired. He is again
in the home In Bethany to which He
loved to come, and they made Him a
supper at which Martha served, aud
Mary must surely have helped, too. as
well as doing the other great thing
recorded In our lesson. Lazarus, who
bad been three or four days In para
disc, was there, too, but we have no
record of any utterance from him after
his return. 1t must have been with
him, as with Paul, that It was not
possible for him to utter what he had
seen and heard Oh Cor. xii, 4, margin).
Mary, whose custom was 10 sit at His
feet and hear His word whenever she
could find the opportunity, had cvi-
dently taken 1t into her heart that be-
cause of the cruel death He was to
suffer no friends could be near Him at
that time and had therefore obtained
some very costly ointment of spikenard
with which to anoint Him beforehand
If she should find opportunity. The
occasion had now come and she was
ready for it. He will never fail to pro-
vide the opportunity for those who de-
sire TO minister to Him.
Putting the accounts in Matthew,
Mark and John together we learn that
she poured the ointment on His head
and on His feet and wiped His feet
with her hair. Because Luke does not
mention this amounting, but does speak
OF an amounting and feet washing with
tears in the house OF certain Simon
by a woman who was a sinner, some
have thought that Luke described this
amounting by Mary. but the incidents
are wholly different, at a different time
in His ministry and under altogether
different circumstances. The name Of
the woman in the incident In Luke Is
not given, and we have no reason to
give her a name. The Lord has left
her unnamed. Let us also do so, while
we thank God for her salvation. Re
turning to the incident of our lesson.
We note that the house was filed with
the odor Of the ointment verse -. We
think of the sweet perfume that filed
the holy place where priests minis
tered to the Lord day by day, and we
remember that the sacrifice of Christ
Himself was unto God an odor of
sweet smell, and our service unto Him
Is spoken Of In the same words Gph.
v, ii, r. "; Phil iv, 49,.
1t should greatly cheer us to know
that He looks upon our ministry in this
way. He who reads the heart spoke
of Mary's ministry as a good work
wrought on Him and an amounting of
His body beforehand for His burial.
and added that wherever the gospel
should be preached in all the world
this would be her memorial Mark xiv,
6-9). Judas and some of the others
were indignant and said, ITO what
purpose Is this waste? This ointment
might have been sold for more than
800 pence and given to the poor" Judas
cared not for the poor, but he was
the treasurer and a thief (verses 4-6;
Matt. XVI, 8, 8; Mark xiv, 4. 81. We
are not surprised at his finding fault,
but il seems unlike true disciples to
call anything done for the Lord
waste. Yet there are many professed
followers today who seem to think it
all right TO spend all they wish on
themselves, but to give to the Lord by
giving TO the poor or to missions Is in
their eyes at least Improbable. How
comforting it must have been to Mary
to have Him say. Let her alone; she
hath done what she couldr Mark xiv,
6-S.) In much service for Him we
may not have the approval of the lead
ers in church work, but If He approves
that is all we should desire, taking as
our motto III Tim. ii, 10, with the stand
taken by Paul in Gal. 1, 10; Thess. ii,
4. 1t is most interesting to note that
Mary of Bethany was the only woman
who anointed His body for burial. 9th
er women bought spices for that pur-
pose when It was too late, but never
uSeu lueHl, lOF ne udQ TlSeu Wuel
they reached the tomb duke xiii, 55,
56; xiv, 1-3). Nicodemus provided
about a hundred pounds weight of
myrrh and aloes, In which he and Jo-
seph wrapped up the body when they
lovingly laid 1t in the new sepulcher
In the garden, wherein was never man
yet laid John xix, 3S-42).
In Martha. Mary and Lazarus on this
occasion may be seen by combining
them what a well rounded Christian
life ought to be. In Martha there is
quiet ministry without being numbered;
In Mary the worship of true and be-
lieving devotion, which is always cost
ly, for even David said, Il will not
offer unto the Lord my God that which
doth cost me nothing" QI Sam. xiv,
24). In Lazarus there Is theAower OF
resurrection life. because by reason
of him many Of the Jews went away
and believed on Jesus, but the chief
priests consulted to put Lazarus again