It’s amazing how one little detail of something can stick with us. When you’re a poet, sometimes all it takes is one line to inspire a whole poem—or a song.

The gospel-writer John, I’ve always thought, had the nature of a poet. Case in point: The wonderful, metaphorical “I am” statements of Jesus (like “I am the bread of life” or “I am the vine” or “I am the good shepherd”) come from John’s book.

So, when we look at the story recorded in John 12:1-8 about Jesus’ friend Mary anointing his feet with perfume, I’m intrigued by the line “And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume” (verse 3, NIV ). Among the gospels, it’s such a peculiar sentence, and probably is as rich as the scent of the poured perfume.

First, it’s an eyewitness (nose-witness?) detail. It lends authenticity to the telling of the event. Second, it’s the kind of detail that writers give, to help you feel as though you, too, were present—watching Mary pour the perfume on Jesus’ feet, then wiping them with her hair.

The setting for this is a dinner given in Jesus’ honor, just about a week before his crucifixion. You may remember how Jewish leaders had already been hoping to get rid of Jesus. For a more complete understanding, though, read John 11:1-44, which tells how Jesus raised Mary’s brother Lazarus from the dead some weeks before! The astonishing raising of Lazarus—who had been in a grave for four days!—intensified the religious leaders’ motivation to kill Jesus (John 11:45-53). They had already believed Jesus to be a blasphemer (John 10:22-39); now they argued that it was expedient to kill him, lest he become a popular political leader who would cause the occupying forces of Rome to crush the people. At the time of the dinner, Jesus has returned to Bethany, about two miles from Jerusalem, quite close to his enemies.

We also know a little more about Mary from a passage in Luke 10:38-42. Jesus and his disciples, traveling during his ministry earlier, had been welcomed to the home of Martha, Mary’s sister. Martha was in a tizzy, as hostess, and implored Jesus to tell Mary to help her. Instead, Mary sat at the feet of Christ, listening to his teachings—and he stood up for her choice.

Now Mary is again near Jesus’ feet. She has broken an alabaster jar holding expensive perfume. She applies it, wiping his feet with her hair.

We can imagine that she is filled with awe and devotion toward Jesus. He did show power over death by calling her very-dead brother out from his tomb! We can imagine, too, that she is fully grateful for the return of her brother. For myself, as a mom, I always feel a certain fulfillment when all my family is together in my house, say, for Thanksgiving. However, knowing a little about the place of women during Jesus’ day, I also wonder if having Lazarus back was a matter of protection or support for her and Martha. Given the times and culture, also, it would have been a bit scandalous that she wiped his feet with her unbound hair!

When I read of her determined act of devotion, I am reminded of the “Palm Sunday” procession into Jerusalem the next day. If Jesus’ followers had not cried out “Hosanna” at his coming, Jesus said, the stones themselves would have shouted (Luke 19:39-40). There was an urgent need of even stones to acknowledge the Savior. I think Mary shared that urgent need; she HAD to anoint Jesus.

The perfume she used was very expensive, worth about a year’s wages! Judas, the disciple who would soon plot with Jesus’ enemies, for money, declares it a waste. (According to the versions of the story in Matthew 26:6-13 and Mark 14:3-9, he may not have been the only one.) The money used to buy the perfume, he says, could have been given to help the poor—and we understand that. Still today, Christian congregations wrestle with spending priorities of worshipful beauty vs. service.

John, however, points out that Judas didn’t care so much about the poor. Since he was in charge of the group’s money, he would have less available to skim!

Jesus, for his part, stands up for Mary’s lavish anointing. He says she has done a beautiful thing by preparing his body for burial, because he knows he will soon die.  In the Matthew and Mark versions, he also says that what she did will be told in memory of her, but I don’t believe that’s why she did it. She was compelled by love.

I’ve largely considered what Mary might have been feeling, but what about John? I think he clearly wants to imply that the dinner party was all-round beautiful, but there are so many reasons that could be.

Perhaps, for a little while, he felt more secure. When Jesus had decided to go back near Jerusalem to raise Lazarus, the disciple Thomas is recorded as saying “Let us also go, that we may die with him” (John 11:16, NIV). So, it seems the disciples knew that they, along with Jesus, were in serious danger. But during the dinner party weeks later, Lazarus was right there eating!  He was "living proof" of Christ's power over death!  John writes that, because of this, the religious leaders wanted to kill Lazarus, too.  Some of their own people were putting faith in Jesus! (John 12:9-11)  But maybe, seeing Lazarus was a solid reminder also for John?

When I think of God, I think not just of amazing power, but amazing love, and how that combination is both rare and wondrous. When Jesus at the dinner stands up for Mary, we also witness the love.

So, we have Jesus, and we have this gathering put together to honor him. John mentions that Martha served (and don’t you expect she would hostess a delicious party?). Jesus was indeed honored among them by Mary’s act and the very fact of the gathering. Mary’s act of gratitude and love with the perfume were integral to the prevailing atmosphere of love. (I relate this to the broad sense of unity described in Psalm 133:1, which is a song for going up to worship.)

I relate to this myself by knowing how much Christian gatherings—or even high-purpose secular gatherings—mean to me. Jesus once said that his followers were his family (Mark 3:31-35), and I totally get how “church family” is much more than a phrase. (See Acts 2:42-47.) For me, at church services, meals, or events, there is an atmosphere of love that can often be felt. (I hope that you, as a Christian, have such a “filling station” available to you.) 

So I think, for John, the dinner gathering was a little island of "rightness" in a roller-coaster week that will contain plotting, enemies, and crucifixion.

Love, worship, and gratitude have a fragrance. John’s line about the scent of the perfume, I think, describes the well-being of that moment, a well-being that filled the whole house.