March 13, 2026
- 1 hour ago
- 3 min read
You’re probably going to think I’m a little crazy but bear with me. There are times where I have been horrified over spilled beverages. I’m not a huge fan of the big 20oz Frappuccino’s and all of the fancy lattes they sell at coffee shops with the pile of whipped cream on the top. I know a lot of people like these drinks so please don’t hear that I’m criticizing them. They’re fine. They’re certainly not as good as black coffee, but I digress. This is the reason you might think I’m a bit crazy. Those drinks are not cheap! Have you ever walked out of a coffee shop into the parking lot and seen where an entire 20oz drink has been spilled out on the ground? It’s horrifying! Not the mess, mind you, but the waste! Few things elicit from me such empathy as knowing that some sad person spent nearly seven dollars on a drink only to have spilled it out on the blacktop as soon as they walked outside. It upsets me.
I was recently reminded of an incident told by the Gospel writers in the Bible that occurred near to the end of Jesus’s life. By this time, Scripture tells us that Jesus has set his face with determination toward Jerusalem. He knows that his time to be arrested and killed is coming near. He is staying in a village just outside of Bethany spending time with his good friends Lazarus, Martha, and Mary. John 12 tells of the account...
Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2 Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. 3 Then Mary took about a pint[a] of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.
4 But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, 5 “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.[b]” 6 He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.
7 “Leave her alone,” Jesus replied. “It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. 8 You will always have the poor among you,[c] but you will not always have me.”
Mark adds Jesus’s striking comment in chapter 14… 9 Truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.
That is a shocking statement. Jesus doesn’t say anything like that about anyone else in Scripture! What did she do that was so provocative? It’s quite simple, actually. She poured it all out for Jesus. All of it. Not like Jesus’s main group of disciples who showed their misunderstanding about who Jesus is and certainly their doubts after his crucifixion. Not like the rich young man in Matthew 19. Jesus told him to sell all he possessed and give it to the poor and to follow him. The man couldn’t bear to part with his stuff and walked away. Unlike those guys, Mary got it. She really got it. She knew who Jesus was, she recognized his role in her salvation, and she poured all she had out in gratitude, repentance, and worship. She held nothing back.
Jesus said that her story would be told throughout the world wherever the Gospel is preached. Why? Because Mary showed through her sacrifice and selflessness the very heart of Jesus himself. Mary was on the threshold of exhibiting the heart of God on display for all to see! She was embodying the Gospel: Jesus’s selfless act of love pouring himself out for the sins and redemption of all humanity.
What are you holding back? Where are you keeping some in the jar while you offer only some surrender, repentance, or worship to Jesus… as a safety net… not yet willing to pour it all out?
In this Easter season consider what you have to give over to him. What would you or others consider a waste, but God would consider an act of sacrificial worship? Spill it out at his feet. May we be the fragrance of God for others to experience his love.
Desiring to pour it out,
Nathan
Nathan Hinkle
Lead Pastor