God Nuggets Blog: Spiritual insights that encourage and heal

Sep 4, 2009

Aha!

I was reading Spurgeon this morning and it shed some light on Mary's extravagant act of anointing Jesus (Mark 14:1-9). It has always confused me a little, especially because Mary let her hair down, which was usually only done by prostitutes. This was not Mary Magdalene but Mary the brother of Lazarus. Why would she do that in a room full of people?

Spurgeon says about a leper who came to Jesus:

This unclean person had broken through the regulations of the ceremonial law and pressed into the house, but Jesus so far from chiding him broke through the law himself in order to meet him.

In the same way, Mary broke through the law of social norms by letting down her hair. The lesson is that we must overcome the constraints of legalism to find intimacy with Christ. Laws, rules, and checklists are unwelcome fortifications against our Lord. They must come down if we are to KNOW Him.

Blessings,