Unbridled Worship

Matthew 26:6-7 (KJV)
6 Now when Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper,
7 There came unto him a woman having an alabaster box of very precious ointment, and poured it on his head, as he sat at meat.



I love to sing. In fact, it used to be my dream to be able to travel and sing gospel music. At that time, I loved the "music". Quartet music features tight harmony and extravagant range as bass singers sing "lower than low" and tenors go "higher than high". It was an adrenaline rush for me to sing the music. It was "fun". As I've grown in my relationship to the Lord, I've found that I still love to sing, but for a different reason.

Catch the scene. It's the Saturday before Christ is to die. He is in Bethany at the house of a man that he had previously healed named Simon. We assume this since lepers weren't allowed contact with non-lepers. In order for Jesus, his diciples and Mary, Martha and Lazarus to be at Simon's house, he had to have been a 'former leper'. Since there was no medical cure for leprosy, this man most likely had been healed by Jesus. It is one week before Jesus is to be crucified. Martha is busy in the kitchen preparing the meal for everyone. Then Mary takes this box of ointment worth a years wages, breaks the box and pours the perfume on Jesus' head and feet. Why did she do that? The disciples, no doubt led by Judas, began to question why this perfume wasn't sold and the money given to the poor.

There is a time in our lives to do good deeds in the name of Christ, such as giving to the poor. There is a time in our lives when we need to give unselfishly to the "organization", the church, for the common good and the furtherance of the gospel. These things are good and necessary. But what Mary experienced that day was unbridled worship. She wasn't giving to a 'cause'. She wasn't expecting anything to happen in return. She wasn't looking for recognition. She was so grateful and so appreciative of Jesus, that she cast aside all restraint and showed Jesus how much she loved him by unselfishly anointing him with the very best she had. Nothing else would do. She didn't do it to be recognized, nor did she care. She was so appreciative of Christ that she did a totally selfless act to show her love. The object of her gift was not an organization or a church, it was Jesus. That's what true worship looks like. It is totally given to Jesus as an unselfish gift with no expectation of any return or recognition.

Jesus didn't let this act of unbridled worship go unnoticed. He promised that "wherever the gospel would be preached in the whole world, Mary's story would be remembered". It was included in three of the four gospels, and has been shared for two thousand years around the world. It so moved the heart of Christ that he wanted the world to know about it. Unbridled worship touches the heart of Christ. Why not touch Him today?