The Broken Box

THE BROKEN BOX – By Mary Ann Wray

“There came unto him a woman having an alabaster box of very precious ointment, and poured it on his head, as he sat at meat.” Matthew 26: 7

Most everyone is familiar with the Biblical account of Mary Magdalene pouring expensive ointment out upon Jesus. Scripture gives us four gospel accounts from four different perspectives, four different apostles. Each account sheds a different light on the situation. We see from these accounts that this was the most valuable thing Mary owned at the time. Some scholars say it was worth a year’s worth of wages. In our currency it would equal somewhere around $20,000.00.  Some say she would have had to get this from the “Black Market” because ointment like spikenard was from the Orient and used only for Kings. It was something you just couldn’t pick up in the local market. Others say that it was used on the wedding night and the bride anointed her bridegroom as a sign of love and devotion to him alone. Still some others say it was used to anoint the forehead of guests entering into a home as a blessing. 

However, by digging a little deeper, I believe we can see some things about Mary and this prophetic act that we’ve all felt or can identify with at some time or another. I believe her experience is relatable to all of us in some measure. You see, this expensive little box which was actually an alabstron shaped more like a vase, not only represented her worship: it represented her entire life. All the pain, the past, the choices she made and the torment she experienced were locked up in that small container. These boxes were sealed so that the contents would not spoil or become contaminated. She held on to it for quite some time, waiting for a special occasion to use it. Perhaps it was a moment of what could never be or an oracle of wishful thinking. Although it was small in size its significance was huge.  You see, her pain drove her to unspeakable acts.  Pain has a way of doing that. 

I believe Mary broke that sealed marble container with a determination that was beyond the understanding of the casual observer. Since alabaster is tough and hard, it well represented her life and the condition of her heart prior to meeting the Messiah. I can see her lifting it eye level with tears streaming down her cheeks and neck as she pried it open to use it for the first time on someone she waited her entire life for; not in an erotic way but in an impassioned expression for someone truly special who came to her complete and total rescue. As she lowered that box, thoughts may have flooded her mind of horrid days gone by and all the misery she experienced in her life. Those days were about to be erased at the Master’s feet. She broke it beside Jesus as He watched and contemplated what was taking place. The truth of the matter is that it was He who cracked it open just days before.  Jesus was the one who initiated her act of worship through a supernatural encounter he had with her at another time and place. All of her frustrations, fears and failures lived inside of that little container. She was ready to break it because she had been broken. Mary’s demonstration was far too emotional and nonsensical for the casual observer to understand. Nobody got it-except for One.

For most of us, the thing that is the most costly, is our heart and what is imprisoned inside of it. We keep it tucked away under lock and key in a ‘safe place’ so that no one can steal or hurt it again. That way it can’t be broken, disappointed, or bruised. We build walls around it, put it in a closet of closed lips, and make sure we don’t open the safe door unless we think we can trust again-God forbid.  But loneliness has a way of driving us back to the same patterns. So we crack the door just enough to let someone else in once again. But that person betrays us and our heart is left harder and more bitter than before.  We have no other recourse than to build stronger walls around it. We learn to put on a tough exterior, laughing off the pain in between trying to drown it out with artificial means-whatever we can find or afford. We develop a chip on our shoulder or withdraw from others. We know these are only temporary fixes so we continue to defend our self-built fortress tooth and nail.  We want to be loved but our pain drives others far from us…

Before Mary gave the thought of pouring out the costly ointment, she had an experience with Jesus that altered everything. She had an inner heart change. Her life took on a whole new direction. For the first time in many years, she experienced a freedom, innocence, and joy which she only knew briefly as a child- before the hard times came. What she was about  to do with her alabaster box would settle in her heart forever, the miracle  and mighty work Jesus performed for and in her.  He cast seven devils out of her (Luke 8:2). Think about it: not one, not two, not five, but seven!  Only Jesus could have understood the pain and torment they caused every day and night of her life; torment she couldn’t fully understand herself.  Only God saw the sleepless nights, the nightmares, the cold chills as she tossed alone on her bed screaming out in pain, the racing thoughts of guilt, shame, the condemnation of her own conscience, the dark thoughts of suicide, and feelings of utter worthlessness.  All of these tormenting thoughts plus many more repeated themselves over and over again in her mind like a broken record replaying the same taunting sounds from the damage of overuse and carelessness.  Mercilessly, those demons continued to drive her to the same behavior and vicious cycle she learned to hate. She knew no other way. She became trapped by her own devices. She needed to get out but couldn’t until she encountered Christ.

Despite her moral failures, Mary was truly a courageous woman. It was demonstrated in several ways. You have to understand that her reputation was more than tainted. Most people with a past like hers disappeared from public interaction. The judgment that others passed on a person like Mary caused her to become recluse from mainstream civilization. Her lifestyle was a subculture in a society of strict mores and expectations. For her to reappear openly was a huge step of faith. To emerge with reckless abandon in the company of religious folk and male leaders nonetheless was taking a huger risk. Normally, women of her sort were shunned and stoned before the world and portrayed as the refuse of society. Their sins were publically pronounced and punished to teach everyone else a lesson. Such women were stereotyped as lustful leeches with no other purpose in life than to suck the life out of unsuspecting men. The men involved were never in question or condemned for their sin; just the woman. Such was the scenario and backdrop of Mary’s life on the fateful day of her entrance into a closed room with Jesus and his faithful followers. 

When the men and disciples in the company became uncomfortable and belligerent, Jesus took the opportunity and seized it as a teaching moment. There were several lessons His followers needed to learn; not from the Torah or Oral Law, but from the School of the Spirit. Simon the Pharisee, and one time leper, whose house they were in, complained about a person of her stature being in their presence. In Luke’s account (Luke 7:36-48) Jesus told him a parable about a creditor and debtor, and concluded that he who is forgiven much loves much. Simon was blinded to Mary’s heartfelt act but for a different reason than some of the others.  Isn’t it odd that someone who experienced the Master’s touch couldn’t discern what He was doing in the life of someone else with a different sort of malady? His self-righteousness clouded spiritual insight.

When another one of the disciples grumbled about the cost of the ointment and the fact that the money from it could have been used for the poor, Jesus corrected his thinking. In John’s account (John 12: 8) Jesus told Judas that the poor would always be with them but He wouldn’t be. Judas didn’t understand the cost like Mary did. Judas was called along with the others, but wasn’t committed. He was never fully commissioned in his calling. He stopped short of complete abandon and ended up hanging himself, choosing silver over sacrifice and the superficial over the supernatural.  He chose the temporal over the eternal. Judas could have recovered from his act of betrayal and found a place of forgiveness and restoration. But for Judas, remorse overrode repentance.  Although he witnessed many miracles of countless men and women being forgiven of their sins, he never found the place of true heart change.  Judas enjoyed the blessing and notoriety of being a follower of Christ but sadly, his commitment ended with that alone and no eternal reward. This is so tragic because this man came face to face with Jesus every day of his life but couldn’t understand what the abundant life Jesus represented was truly about. His understanding of abundance was measured in dollars and cents. He had head knowledge of a Savior but lacked true revelation of the Messiah. Unfortunately, Judas never found the place of true conversion through the process of exchange. What Mary did was a personal and prophetic act of devotion and repentance-extreme exchange. Judas was too blinded by greed to see its significance. 

Tradition, religiosity and their own sense of self-righteousness clouded the view of all the witnesseses there that day. Each of them had a different perspective of what was going on between Mary and Jesus. They only saw what was happening outwardly and a very small part of what was transpiring between the two of them.  Their sight stopped short of outward appearance. Their personal biases filtered out the purity of her act. What Mary did was an outward demonstration of something happening deep inside of her heart. No natural man could ever figure it out much less ‘see’.

It’s important to note that in Luke’s account, Jesus pronounced over Mary, “Your sins are forgiven… Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.” (Luke 7: 48-50). He didn’t say, “I cast you out by the finger of God.” This suggests that the deliverance from demons happened at a prior Divine Appointment. You see, her sin was a totally different problem than the issue caused by the devils. The torment she experienced from the demons came about from her sins and the depth of depravity she sunk into. There had to be another step to Mary’s freedom. She had to take personal responsibility for her actions before she could be totally delivered. By her pouring out the contents of her life savings upon Jesus before the presence of unbelievers meant she was repentant of her former sins and coming out of the ‘old’ in order to enter into a new Supernatural Chapter in her life.

Mary knew that only Jesus held the power to forgive sins. She understood that the most fatal sickness known to man wasn’t palsy, blindness or leprosy. She experienced herself how being the devil’s puppet was more grievous to a person than any soul could possibly bear. The weight of oppression tied her down like an anchor around her neck.  She may have been listening and watching the day the Lord forgave the man with palsy of his sins or a some of the many other miracles that were not be recorded due to sheer number (Matthew 9: 6 & John 21: 25).  She may have been a witness and watched in awe as this man took up a mat and walked for the first time in his life. If not him, there were countless others who threw away crutches, saw for the first time, or received new skin replacing the putrid decaying kind brought on by leprosy.

She witnessed the raucous Jesus caused. She could relate to a controversial man like Him. The Pharisees accused Jesus of blasphemy for pronouncing forgiveness from sins because this made Him equal with God. But Mary wasn’t “religious” so she didn’t understand what all their fuss was about. She had no trouble believing that Jesus performed miracles and forgave sins by the power of God. That’s what mattered to her; not rules and traditions that held no power to set the captive free but something supernatural that could finally meet her need and permanently change her life for the better. It is true that Mary’s lifestyle was a reflection of poor choices and sin. But no one was able to see that her outward appearance and attitudes were a reflection of a broken heart. They couldn’t fix it; but Jesus could and did.

No matter what path you may be on now or how far along in life’s journey you have traveled, Jesus still takes pain and replaces it with His power. The question is, how much are you willing to pour out to Him? Her alabaster box that was broken represents the outer man. Our outer man with all of its self-will, self-righteousness, self-love and self-seeking ways must be broken so that the aroma of Christ’s life and power can fill our world. He will accept the same from you as He did from Mary. He is no respecter of persons. He simply regards your faith. What will you do with what you have heard? He hasn’t changed; neither has His message. As you look upon a woman’s memorial of a forgiven life and a freed heart, what does it move you to do? The Message will only produce a miracle in your life if you will act upon it. No matter how great or how small you think your sins are or how great the pain in your heart may be the fact is that Jesus Christ took them all upon Himself as He declared on the cross, “It is finished.” There’s nothing for you to do to fix your broken heart and your broken life. He’s already done it. I encourage you to perform your own prophetic act by getting down before Him now in worship and pour out your heart to Him in whatever measure you can. Just remember, the more you pour out, the more healing and supernatural love He can pour back into you. The more He pours into you the more you impact your world. It’s a never ending process until we reach the finish line of faith in this life.