John 12:1-11

Some of my favorite moments as a father are those when my children show me how much they love me, even when they look or sound ridiculous. They don’t care what they look like or what others think, they just love us so very much and want to show it. Scenes of Matthew running to me with open arms, tongue hanging out, hair bouncing everywhere or Elise with her wobbly gait, silly faces, and mouth wide open sloppy kisses are precious. This past week Matthew has numerous times just turned to me and said “daddy, I love you wery much.”

That’s the attitude Mary has in John 12, an Extravagant Love for Jesus. She washes Jesus’ feet with super expensive perfume in a simple and powerful display of her love for Jesus Christ, our Savior. Her Extravagant Love is Humble, as she feels her precious perfume is only worthy and good enough to anoint His feet with oil, instead of the traditional dab of oil on a guest’s head.

And she does so with the entire bottle, not just a dab. She says this super special, super expensive perfume is only good enough for His feet! Instead of just the acceptable drop, she was willing to pour it all out in her love for Jesus, She went beyond the expected expression of love & worship. Talk about an Extravagant expression of love.

And it doesn’t end there, her love is unselfconscious -- she loves Jesus without abandon, without shame, without caring what others might think. She was doing a servant's job, giving up something precious she worked for, and “wiped His feet with her hair”, “meaning she let her hair down in public, something Jewish woman would rarely (if ever) do.” (Guzik, David, John 12 commentary.) She loved Jesus and didn’t care what others thought of her as she loved Him. She did all this because as Jesus declared, she understood He was going to die, which she knew because of all the time she spent at the feet of Jesus, listening and soaking up His words. That was her motivation for this Extravagant Love.

Her story forces me to ask myself, how extravagant is my love for Jesus? Do I love him without caring what others think, do I dance, kneel, or raise my hands in worship? Do I speak passionately with others about Jesus’ great works in my life? Am I excited to share Him regardless of what others think? Do I love Him to look good to others or because of my relationship with Him? Do I give of my time, money & resources for my glory or His? And if I don’t is it because I am not spending enough time at His feet…..