Joy and pain - All The Good Seed Daily Devotionals for 2026

Jesus said,...She has done a good work for me....She has done what she could. She has come beforehand to anoint my body for burial.
Mark 14:6.8.

Joy and pain
The Lord Jesus must have felt both these sensations at the same time as He uttered these words. He was in Bethany. Only a few days later He would be going to the cross, there to die. The thought of that moved Him deeply.

Then during the meal a woman approached Him. She was Mary of Bethany, who was accustomed to listening to the words of Jesus and storing them in her heart. She had brought a flask of exceedingly precious anointing oil with her, which she poured over her beloved Lord's head, so that the fragrance of that genuine "oil of spikenard" filled the house.

What does this brief action teach us? Nothing but worship: the fragrance of the anointing oil corresponded to the profound homage for the Lord in her heart.

The disciples' reaction to this proof of love must have pained the Lord deeply. They said that the oil might have been sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor. That was true. It could have been withheld from the Lord to do good for people.

However, the Lord's response reveals His joy that that woman had given Him preference. Three times He emphasised what she had done: "a good work for me", "what she could", and "she has come beforehand to anoint my body for burial". This shows how much the Lord values the expression of our feelings for Him, which the Spirit of God can produce in our hearts.

Today's reading: Joshua 4:9-24 · 1 Corinthians 3:1-10