Martha had expressed her gratitude to Christ for resurrecting her brother from the dead by preparing a meal for Him. But Mary, the less conventional sister, now takes it upon herself to perform an unthinkable act of love. She first takes a very expensive flask of perfume. This alabaster flask, alone, was precious. So much so that once used, it could never be used again because the neck of the flask had to be broken to release the perfume. Even more precious was the perfume, harbouring a special aroma worth fortunes that came from the Himalayas. It was worth 300 dinari—a family could have lived for a year on the price of this perfume. Mary goes even further. She does not even allow a servant to wash His feet, but personally anoints Him out of her love and humility—exactly what Christ would teach His disciples within 24 hours!

Judas had criticised her for wasting the cost of this perfume on Christ by saying it could have been used for the poor. But Christ encourages her work and service for Him, for she had done this for His burial. Mary gave out of her heart; Judas had criticised her out of his selfishness. Mary sacrificed her life and all her money for Christ; Judas stole from the moneybox and betrayed Him for 30 silver coins. Mary acted out of loyalty, Judas out of betrayal. He thought of money, while forgetting about the Lord. Mary is serving the poor through the Lord; Judas is preventing and discouraging service to both.