John 12:8 Commentary and Bible Study

There is a great principle in this. You see, the symbolic act, expensive as it was, can be carried out while Christ is alive, but not subsequently; he will be present subsequently by his spirit, in the church of Jesus Christ. The day of symbolic acts will have passed, now everything will be spiritual. There are only two symbolic acts expressly commanded by the Lord, baptism and the Lord’s Supper, but all other symbols have passed away, once Christ has gone. He has been. We are now in full Gospel light, and symbols are no longer relevant, except those two that he has ordained. By saying, ‘For the poor always ye have with you [plural]’ – Mark adding, ‘and whenever you wish you may do them good’ – Christ urges his disciples to show compassion whenever they can. However, this was a unique opportunity to express love for Christ and to show recognition of the wonderful sacrifice he was about to make, and Mary was not going to pass this by. The Lord was not embarrassed by this act of devotion but welcomed it in spite of the claims of the poor. He would not allow her act of devotion to be criticised by any of the Twelve, let alone by hypocritical Judas, for it is right for God’s people to make costly offerings to him, and though we must remember the poor, as the apostles agreed (Galatians 2:10), the need of the poor is not to be used to deprive God of heartfelt expressions of thanks and praise, for love for God comes even before love for our neighbour. Christ’s verdict on Mary’s action is the only one that matters. Christ’s defence of Mary should not be used to justify extravagance in worship, for Christian worship is marked by simplicity, and by emphasis on the heart and not on costly outward forms. The reason why this act was so commended – Christ assures his disciples that Mary’s act will be told as a memorial wherever the gospel is preached – was that Mary saw what even the disciples failed to see, and understood the symbolism of what she was doing, and rejoiced to perform this service for one who was above all others in her estimation.