Costly Submission

“And while He was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as He was reclining at table, a woman came with an alabaster flask of ointment of pure nard, very costly, and she broke the flask and poured it over His head. There were some who said to themselves indignantly, “Why was the ointment wasted like that? For this ointment could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor.” And they scolded her. But Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you want, you can do good for them. But you will not always have Me. She has done what she could; she has anointed My body beforehand for burial. And truly, I say to you, wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her.” — Mark 14:3-9

What did it cost the Woman with the Costly Nard to show her devotion to the Lord, to submit herself completely to the Master of the universe, and of her soul? She showed utmost submission in an embodied surrender in this act of service and worship that stunned the onlookers. It was an experiential invitation into the work of her hands that allowed her access to the Savior in an intimate way. We are invited to know Him as friend, and what intimacy of friendship that allows us to serve Him in worship?

“Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” — John 15:13

Her submission, then, was a humble and prophetic resonance of the Lord’s coming submission to the Father, a foreshadowing and predetermined acknowledgement of what He was to do to pour Himself and His whole life out for the sake of humanity and for the world.

““For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” — John 3:16

“Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant,being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” — Philippians 2:5-8

The cross and the subsequent resurrection of Christ was the completion of Jesus’ earthly ministry. Until He returns again, let us assume the same posture of costly submission demonstrated by the Woman with the Costly Nard, in her embodiment of the character of the Proverbs 31 woman and above all of, of Jesus Christ Himself. For the cross is the ultimate proof of the Son’s submission to the Father in love, and the perfect sign of Him pouring Himself out for us in love, covering our sins with His precious blood, His very life.

“Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.” — 1 Peter 4:8

The verse in Proverbs 31 that I found paralleled and complemented the character and faith that was demonstrated by the Woman with the Costly Nard, in her story, was number 31. 

“Give her of the fruit of her hands, and let her works praise her in the gates.” — Proverbs 31:31

The work of submission demonstrated in the passage pertaining to this woman perfectly encapsulates how faith works itself out in our deeds. Her embodied faith was beautifully and vulnerably displayed in her show of affection and worship to the Lord, against all cultural expectations and societal norms. Like our Savior who arrived in Jerusalem on a donkey, and who suffered and died a horrific death in excruciating pain on a Roman cross, her act of submission was radical and its marked difference from expectation shows the nature of the countercultural kingdom of God.

Let us be women like the Woman with the Costly Nard, who, despite societal expectations, the opinions of man, culture and the whole world, chose to submit herself fully and humbly before the Lord of Lords, recognizing Him as the King and Messiah by worshipping with all she had. It was costly to submit, and the work of her hands produced a fruit that carried the fragrance of the gospel to the end of ages.

“And truly, I say to you, wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her.” — Mark 14:9

In ending, shall we pray?

Dear Heavenly Father,

Thank You for Mary of Bethany. Thank You for this story wherein she is the Woman with the Costly Nard, pouring out her worship to the Lord in what is surely costly submission. Costly to her image, costly to her finances, costly in many ways and worth it for the One who is worthy of our all.

May we be women who submit to You in the radical and the mundane ways You call us to, in the everyday and in the bold acts of faith You may ask us to carry out. In raising children, in evangelizing, in sharing a meal with a stranger or a friend, in posting about faith on social media. In a phone call with a family member with whom we can share the gospel and in our daily commutes praying for people You burden our hearts with.

In all that we do, let us exemplify and inaugurate within us a deeper, fuller, costly submission. For it was at the fullest cost that You sent Jesus to die for us, so let us surrender the outcome of the cost to You as we seek after Your face and to follow You all our days.

In Jesus’ precious, mighty and holy name we pray,

Amen.

As we await His return…

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