The Alabaster Jar
Tonight, Hubby and I were studying Mark 14 and comparing different verses and wondering… and The Holy Spirit told us to study Mark 14:3. Here is the result of that study. In Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper, Yeshua sat quietly yet fully sovereign, a King among the redeemed, in a place once marked by disease and impurity. Into that sacred space walked a woman carrying an alabaster jar, an alabastron (ἀλάβαστρον), carved to preserve its precious contents. The Greek text in Mark 14:3 describes the oil as μύρον νάρδου πιστικῆς πολυτελούς ( myron nardou pistikēs polytelous ), literally “ ointment of spikenard, faithful and of great value .” Pistikēs , derived from pistis , conveys trust, faith, and reliability; the oil was authentic, unadulterated, and pure. Polytelous indicates extraordinary expense, extravagance, a rarity that transcends normal wealth. This was spikenard imported from the distant Himalayas, the root and rhizome of Nardostachys jatamansi, w...