Jesus was invited to dinner at the house of Simon, who is called THE LEPER, as he had previously been healed of Leprosy which is a horrendous chronic, highly infectious disease - a chronic infectious disease caused mainly by a type of bacteria called Mycobacterium leprae. (Matthew 26).
Keep in mind, at this time in history, they did not have antibiotics!
So people with leprosy were ostracized and had to stay out of town and AWAY from all people. When people came near them - they had to yell out “Leper!” to alert people to their condition because it was so highly contagious.
So, Simon has been HEALED of leprosy, presumptively by Jesus of Nazareth, so he’s throwing a dinner at his home - which he’s probably more then happy to do as he’s finally able to be allowed BACK into society and in communion with people once again!
In the middle of this dinner party, a woman enters - it’s assumed that she’s a woman of disrepute and she pours out the contents of an alabaster jar on to the feet of Jesus and wipes his feet with her hair as he reclines at the table - what are the contents? Very expensive perfume!
It is reported in Matthew 26 that “the disciples” were indignant!
Verse 8 - 13 - “When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. “Why this waste?” they asked. “This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor.” Aware of this, Jesus said to them, “Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me. When she poured this perfume on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial. Truly I tell you, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”
Why were they indignant . . . well, most likely it was Judas that objected as we learn later that Judas was pilfering from the till, so to speak, and as the CFO of Jesus and company - he was skimming off the top. So, in his mind, he wasn’t objecting to the act itself, but rather the fact that he missed his opportunity to sell this expensive perfume and take his “cut” of it.
In fact, Judas was SO incensed and angry that immediately after his rebuke by Jesus - he went straight away - that night to strike a bargain with the Chief Priest to sell Jesus out. His own best friend.
We’re told that the perfume was, in fact, worth about a year’s wages or about $40,000 - $50,000. So this was most likely nard or true, condensed, perfume. So it was rich, luxurious, and highly fragrant and potent.
It is theorized that the woman who poured out the perfume on Jesus' feet was Mary of Magdalene. A perfume that she would have used on her body to entice her male customers as she was a highly sought after prostitute before she met Jesus - and now, instead of using it to anoint her flesh for degradation, she was using it to anoint Jesus’ flesh for burial and sacrifice for all mankind.
The woman who sacrificed this perfume - she was known to be a woman of ill-repute and rejected by respectable society unless they were a male and would visit her during the night, under the cover of darkness.
Selfishness versus selflessness. A powerful juxtaposition.
Immediately following the dinner at Simon's house in the book of Matthew is the Last Supper and that very same night after the Last Supper was the fake “trial” of Jesus and the next day the Crucifixion of Christ.
So, it all happened sequentially and very quickly. Most likely, Jesus smelled like that very same expensive perfume, when he was hanging on the cross. The woman who poured it on him was most likely present at the cross and her sacrifice would be noticeable in her hair and hands, as she wiped his feet with her hands and hair.
But now, she has been redeemed, and she smelled like Jesus! Her sacrifice was FRAGRANT, accepted by Jesus and noticeable by all. Very potent, strong perfume has a distinct and noticeable odor that cannot be denied as its pungent smell permeates the air around it. Pungent smells, like that of very expensive perfume, don’t easily evaporate and they are noticeable in by all around. Smells carry. Smells permeate.
Jesus, as he hung on the cross, smelled of wealth; he smelled of her sacrifice of worship and adoration, he carried the odor of beauty and wealth even to the grave.
I believe that when we spend time with Jesus and fully immerse ourselves in HIM - we carry a Heavenly odor that many can detect even as we walk into a room. We carry the fragrance of His presence!
It’s a fragrance of beauty, rich in holiness, righteousness, and honor. It’s a heavenly fragrance that can only be obtained by spending time with Jesus and immersing ourselves in His presence.
In the book of Esther, Esther or Hadassah, was a virgin Jewess who was in exile in the citadel of Susa - she was a slave of the current administration of the land named King Xerxes of Persia (or modern day Iran).
The King decided to find a new Queen by doing a sort of round-up of all the beautiful virgins in his Kingdom, and Hadassah or Esther, a Jewess, was one of the virgins that he brought into his palace during this round-up (Esther 2).
Before a young woman could be sent into the King's chambers, for their one night with him, they were given 12 months of beauty treatments. The Bible says they received six (6) months of oil of myrrh and another six (6) months of perfumes.
So, the “slave” part of Esther had to be removed and purified through the removing and cleansing of the calluses and rough skin while using oils to purify, detoxify and cleanse her from the inside out - removing all impurities, toxins, and parasites.
The last and final six (6) months of beauty treatments were about soaking her in perfumes so that every cell in her body smelled of a Royal aroma. When she sweat - she smelled amazing! She always smelled beautiful and that beautiful aroma came from the inside out - from every crack and crevice.
In the Bible, in Psalm 45:7 and Isaiah 61:3, it mentions about the Holy Spirit being our Oil of Gladness.
Psalm 45:7 “You love righteousness and hate wickedness;
therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions
by anointing you with the oil of joy.”
Isaiah 61:3 (NIV) - "And provide for those who grieve in Zion—to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor."
When we are immersed in the Holy Spirit and His Oil of Gladness - we emit a beautiful fragrance. It’s a royal fragrance that people can smell as soon as soon as we walk into a room!
Are you ready to exfoliate the rough calluses of your heart and immerse yourself in the richest perfume - emitting the fragrance that Jesus Christ of Nazareth carried to His Grave? It's the fragrance of Holy Spirit, so that when you walk into a room - people are drawn to the fragrance of the Lord and say “What do you carry that I don’t?” And you can then point up to Heaven and say - “Him! Jesus Christ of Nazareth!”
Have you ever thought that when Jesus arose from the grave - maybe one of the ways the disciples recognized him when he walked into the upper room (Luke 24:36-49) was due to the fragrance that He carried - the same one that He was anointed with that night at the home of Simon the Leper?
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