I may speak His name to the sorrowful,
As I journey by their side;
To the sinful and despairing ones
I may preach of the Crucified.
I may drop some little gentle word
In the midst of some scene of strife;
I may comfort the sick and the dying
With a thought of eternal life.
_Marianne Farningham_
CHAPTER VII.
"SHE HATH DONE WHAT SHE COULD."
In the gospel by Mark we read: "After two days was the feast of the
Passover, and of unleavened bread: and the Chief Priests and the
Scribes sought how they might take Him by craft, and put Him to death.
But they said, not on the feast day, lest there be an uproar of the
people. And being in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as He
sat at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of
spikenard, very precious; and she brake the box, and poured it on His
head. And there were some that had indignation within themselves, and
said, Why was this waste of the ointment made? For it might have been
sold for more than three hundred pence, and have been given to the
poor. And they murmured against her. And Jesus said, 'Let her alone;
why trouble ye her? She hath wrought a good work for Me. For ye have
the poor with you always, and whensoever ye will ye may do them good;
but Me ye have not always. She hath done what she could; she is come
aforehand to anoint My body to the burying. Verily I say unto you,
wheresoever this Gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world,
this also that she hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of
her.'"
John tells us in his Gospel who this woman was. "Then Jesus six days
before the Passover came to Bethany, where Lazarus was which had been
dead, whom He raised from the dead. There they made Him a supper, and
Martha served; but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with
him. Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and
anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair; and the
house was filled with the odor of the ointment. Then saith one of His
disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, which should betray Him: 'Why
was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the
poor?' This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he
was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein. Then said
Jesus, 'Let her alone: against the day of My burying hath she kept
this. For the poor always ye have with you; but Me ye have not
always.'"
This is the last time we have a glimpse of the family at Bethany. It
was Christ's last week there, and here we have the last recorded
interview between Christ and that lovely family.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account