1/15/2026

Day 15
The Woman with the Alabaster Jar

Mark 14:3–9; Matthew 26:6–13; John 12:1–8

"She broke the jar." 

That detail is deliberate and devastating. She did not loosen the seal to control the flow or save some for later. She shattered the alabaster, releasing every drop of perfume worth more than a year’s wages (Mark 14:3). This was surrender without reservation, worship without a safety net, love that refused to calculate the cost.

The scene unfolds in the house of Simon the leper, a man once untouchable, now restored. Jesus reclined at the table, fully aware that His death was near. Matthew and Mark leave the woman unnamed, though John identifies her as Mary of Bethany, sister of Lazarus (John 12:3). What Scripture emphasizes is not her identity, but her act. She came with “an alabaster flask of ointment of pure nard, very costly,” and she poured it out upon Jesus’ head—and, as John adds, upon His feet, wiping them with her hair (Mark 14:3; John 12:3).

The disciples were outraged. “Why was this ointment wasted?” they demanded. “For this ointment could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor” (Mark 14:4–5). Their math was accurate. A denarius was a day’s wage. This perfume represented a year of labor, likely a woman’s financial security or dowry. But while their calculation was correct, their vision was blind. They saw waste; Jesus saw worship. They valued efficiency; He honored devotion.

Jesus rebuked them sharply: “Leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing to me” (Mark 14:6). The word beautiful—kalon—means noble, excellent, worthy. Extravagant surrender to Jesus is never excessive in heaven, even when it appears irresponsible on earth. There is a time for prudent stewardship, but there is also a moment for lavish worship that refuses to hold anything back.

Jesus then revealed what the disciples had missed: “She has anointed my body beforehand for burial” (Mark 14:8). This woman discerned the moment. While the disciples debated positions and power, she prepared Jesus for death. Her worship was prophetic. She gave while she could, understanding that opportunity is fleeting and obedience is time-sensitive. Scripture warns, “If you know the right thing to do and fail to do it, for him it is sin” (James 4:17). She did not delay.

The broken jar becomes the central metaphor of surrender. An unbroken jar allows control—measured pouring, calculated giving, retained reserves. A shattered jar eliminates restraint. Everything flows out. True worship always involves brokenness, because only what is broken can be fully poured out (Psalm 51:17).

Jesus ended with a promise few receive: “Wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her” (Mark 14:9). Two thousand years later, her act still speaks. What the disciples labeled waste, God declared eternal. Heaven remembers what earth critiques.

She surrendered wealth, dignity, and future security. She endured public rebuke and misunderstanding. But she held nothing back from Jesus. Scripture reminds us, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21). Her treasure was on the floor, poured at His feet.

What alabaster jar are you protecting? What are you rationing when Jesus is worthy of everything? Break the jar. Pour it out. Worship that costs nothing is worth nothing. But what is poured out on Jesus is never wasted.

“As long as you keep your jar intact, you remain in control, and God receives leftovers.”