Mark 14:9

“And truly I say to you, wherever the Gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world, that also which this woman has done will be spoken of for a memorial of her.”

Jesus' consciousness of His own uniqueness comes out further. As a result of His presence and Who He is, and what He is going to do, the Good News of the Kingly Rule of God (Mark 1:14) will be preached throughout the whole world. And as a result what she had done would go down in history because it contributed to what He was doing. She would be remembered as one who at the time when He most needed encouragement had given Him what He sought. He knew that it was His Father Who had sent her. We also note here Jesus' certainty that ‘the Gospel' of the Kingly Rule of God would reach out widely and be successful (compare Mark 13:10). That was a precondition of His promise here.

What then was Mark seeking to get over in this incident that he should place it immediately after the idea that Jesus' death was now officially planned?

1). That the woman had unknowingly but prophetically anointed Jesus as King before His crowning.

2). That the woman had, again unknowingly and prophetically, anointed His body for His burial.

3). That the woman's action had wrought a good work in Him. It had encouraged and strengthened Him and shown Him practically that His Father was watching over Him and was with Him in what He was about to face.

4). It had demonstrated Jesus' uniqueness in that such a demonstration, with its accompanying cost, was right in His case because of Who He was and because of the love for Him which lay behind it. No cost could have been too great in the circumstances.

It is a reminder to us all that when God genuinely prompts us to an action, we should beware before we decide against it. We must of course judge the issues carefully, but if His prompting is strong enough we must obey. On the other hand we must beware of lauding too highly those who are not in the same exalted position as Jesus. Had this extravagant behaviour been more general Jesus would have put a stop to it. He would have been the first to speak out against general extravagance in less justifiable circumstances. It was the circumstance of the time and the unsolicited worship that lay behind it that justified it. It was because it was an act of pure love, from a genuine loving heart, offered to God.