| “‘Leave her alone.’ said Jesus. ‘Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing for me … She did what she could. She poured perfume for my burial.’” |
| —Mark 14:6, 8 |
Jesus reprimanded those who complained about this woman’s gesture and told them that what she had done in anointing His body for burial would be remembered wherever the Gospel is preached. “She did what she could.”
In John 19:23-24, we find these words:
“When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom.”
We don’t know the source of that seamless garment, but it must have been the finest of all of Jesus’ possessions. Jewish tradition called for a mother to make a robe like this for a son when he left home. Did Jesus’ mother, Mary, make it for Him? Indeed, if she did, “She did what she could.”
In Luke 23:50-53, the Scripture records:
“Now there was a man named Joseph, a member of the Council, a good and upright man, who had not consented to their decision and action. He came from the Judean town of Arimathea and he was waiting for the kingdom of God. Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body. Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen cloth and placed it in a tomb cut in the rock, one in which no one had yet been laid.”
This man had come at the risk of his own life and at the risk of losing his credibility with the Jewish leaders. With determination and without fear, “He did what he could.”
In the events of this momentous Holy Week, we also read in Mark 16:1-2:
“When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb.”
After reading this passage of Scripture, we could certainly say of these women that out of their deep love for Christ, “They did what they could.”
Just as Jesus gave Mary from Bethany the honor of being remembered wherever the Gospel is preached, so Joseph of Arimathea and the women at the tomb are honored by the recounting of their stories. At the time, they probably thought each gift they gave was an insignificant part of the overall account of the events of those days. But, we can be certain that God saw and rewarded each one of them.
Out of our love for Christ and in response to His sacrifice for us, what gift of time, talent, and treasure will we give? Will it be said of us: “She did what she could”?
