s brings us to the subject of
the next chapter.

In the meantime let us recall what he makes of the wasted life. "In
thinking of the case," said Seeley. "they had forgotten the
woman"--a common occurrence with those who deal in "cases." It was
once severely said of the Head of a College that "if he would leave
off caring for his students' souls and care for them, he would do
better." Jesus does not forget the man in caring for his soul--he
likes him. He is "the friend of publicans and sinners" (Luke 7:34);
he eats and drinks with them (Mark 2:14). Let us remember again that
these were taunts and were meant to sting; they were not
conventional phrases. See how he can enter into the life of a poor
creature. There is the wretched little publican, Zacchaeus (Luke
19:1-10)--a squalid little figure of a man, whom people despised. He
was used to contempt--it was the portion of the tax-collector
enlisted in Roman service against his own people. Jesus comes and
sees him up in the tree; he instantly realizes what is happening and
invites himself to the house of Zacchaeus as a guest; something
passes between them without spoken word. The little man slides down
the tree--not a proceeding that makes for dignity; and then, with
all his inches, he stands up before the whole town, that knew him so
well, in a new moral grandeur that adds cubits to his stature. "Half
my goods," he says, "I give to the poor. If I have taken anything
from any man by false accusation, he shall have it back fourfold."
That man belonged to the despised classes. Jesus came into his life;
the man became a new man, a pioneer of Christian generosity. Again,
there is the woman with the alabaster box, the mere possession of
which stamped her for what she was. It was simply a case of the
wasted life. I have long wondered if she meant to give him only some
of the ointment. A little of it would have been a great gift. But
perhaps the lid of the box jammed, and she realized in a moment that
it was to be all or nothing--she drew off her sandal and smashed the
box to pieces. However she broke it, and whatever her reasons,
Mark's words mean that it was thoroughly and finally shivered (Mark
14:3). Something had happened which made this woman the pioneer of
the Christian habit of giving all for Jesus. The disciples said they
had done so (Matt. 19:27), but they were looking for thrones in
exchange (Mark 10:37); she was not. The thief on the cross himself
becomes a pioneer