Exodus 28; Matthew 25:31-46, 26:1-13; Psalms 31:9-18; Proverbs 8:12-13

“Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me…Truly I tell you, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.” (Matthew 26:10,13 NIV)

When the women comes into the home, she finds Jesus reclining at the table. She opens a bottle of expensive perfume and anoints him with it, filling the air with the gorgeous scent. The disciples are immediately put off by this action–she could have sold the jar and given the money to the poor! But Jesus calls them out on this thinking immediately: there is a purpose; she is preparing his body for burial. We know what is going to happen next, but I have to remind myself that to the disciples, it probably felt like Jesus spoke mostly in riddles. They were not expecting him to be crucified in just a few short days. They were not expecting him to die any sort of death in the next few days, despite Jesus warning. Even though the disciples had the perfect teacher in front of them, who defied the hypocrisy of the day, they were still a part of the culture. And they could not see this beautiful action of anointing Jesus for what it was.

Which brings me to the exact verses quoted above. I can’t help but feel drawn to this woman–we don’t know what brought on this action, but we know it was the will of the Lord that it be done. Maybe she knew there would be backlash, maybe not, but she anointed Jesus anyway. Would she have been allowed into the home had it been known what she was up to? Probably not. Would she have been allowed near Jesus had she told anyone of her plan beforehand? Again, probably not. Did she know how Jesus would react? Of course not! She knew in her heart what had to be done, and she acted without thought for her own self or reputation, simply doing what she was burdened to do.

Instead of joining the disciples in their criticism, Jesus sees the true meaning behind the action. He commends her, telling those criticizing to leave her alone. And finally he says that this story would be repeated throughout the world, in memory of her (and here we are today).

The audacity of a woman to do exactly what the Lord was telling her to do in those times. It gives me goosebumps. I love how to the Bible, including the Old Testament, feature so many women who did something “wrong” in faith–the Samaritan woman, the woman with a bleeding disorder, Mary, Esther, Ruth. Despite the fact that this woman is not named specifically in Matthew, she joins a host of women who did the “incorrect” thing and ended up celebrated and revered for following the Lord.

Today I wonder if the Lord is calling us into something audacious for Him. I don’t know what the example of this would be in your life, but is there something you feel called to that you are told is “wrong” or that you can’t do because of your place in life? What would it look like to step out in faith and just do it? What would it look like to be an example of trusting the Lord for His will instead of doing the “proper” or “correct” thing? I pray that if the Lord is leading you into something, He would show you what. And of course, that in His timing, you would do something that others label as “wrong” that is actually accomplishing a great thing for the kingdom.