‘But when the disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, “To what purpose is this waste? For this perfumed oil might have been sold for much, and given to the poor.” '
While John tells us that Judas was prominent in this indignation, there is no reason to doubt that he was not the only one, as Matthew reminds us here. And they were overall quite right in their general viewpoint. This incident is not to be seen as an excuse for unnecessary extravagance. It was a unique moment in history. But the place where they failed was in not recognising that sometimes an extravagant gesture which reveals a tender love is worth more than its weight in gold. Judgment on such matters requires a fine line to be drawn, and this particular ‘extravagance' was typical of the kind of woman that Mary was. She was the kind who wanted to express herself forcibly. It would not necessarily have been right for everyone. Martha would never have done it, even though she loved the Lord equally in her own way. She was too practical. What made it right was the spontaneous love that lay behind it towards the One Who had come from Heaven and was about to suffer. It is very possible that she had taken on board the fact that Jesus was anticipating His death and wanted to demonstrate her spiritually based love before it was too late. What is certain is that she saw Jesus as worthy of every denarius of what she gave.