She Hath Done What She Could: The Unnamed Woman

[Anthony Pritchard]

She Hath Done What She Could: The Unnamed Woman

Reading Mark 14: 3-9

"And being in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard very precious; and she brake the box, and poured it on his head."

A woman came to Jesus in the house of Simon the leper with an alabaster box of very precious ointment. She broke the box and poured it on His head. Some who watched were filled with indignation. They murmured against her and judged her motives. They said the ointment could have been sold and given to the poor. But Jesus answered them with words that have stood for two thousand years.

“Let her alone; why trouble ye her? she hath wrought a good work on me.”

He reminded them that the poor would always be present, but that He would not. He declared that she had come beforehand to anoint His body for burial. And He said that wherever the gospel is preached throughout the whole world, what she had done would be spoken of as a memorial of her.

This unnamed woman stands as the representative of all who find themselves in similar places.

First, she came to her Lord without fear and without expectation of reward. She did not come to be seen. She did not come to be praised. She came because her heart moved her toward Him.

Second, she offered the best she had. She did not bring what was left over. She did not bring what cost her nothing. She brought what was precious. Scripture says, “For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not.” 2 Corinthians 8:12.

Third, she faced criticism. Others believed they knew better. They judged her actions according to their own ideas of what she should have done. They murmured against her, not understanding her devotion.

And most importantly, her Lord defended her. “Let her alone.” He did not allow their voices to stand against her. He declared her work good. He received it. He honored it. And He promised that her act would be remembered wherever the gospel is preached.

“She hath done what she could.” That is the measure God uses. Not what others think you should have done. Not what critics demand. Not what murmurers expect. What you could. What your heart moved you to do. What you offered in sincerity and truth.

Her act was accepted by the Lord. It was defended by the Lord. And her reward was great, for what she did is recorded in the eternal Word of God. “The word of the Lord endureth for ever.” 1 Peter 1:25.

Do what you can. Let the criticizers criticize and the naysayers nay‑say. Know this within yourself, before God and before the world: you did what you could, and God is pleased with that.

© A.K. Pritchard 2026 – Free to use with proper attribution.

 

[Anthony Pritchard]

A clarification:

Just a brief note for anyone reading who may wonder about the identity of the woman in Mark 14. Scripture itself leaves her unnamed. Mark simply says a woman came with an alabaster box. Matthew, in the parallel passage, does the same. Neither writer gives her a name, a family, or any identifying detail beyond her act of devotion.

Some may think of Mary of Bethany, because John names her in his account. But John is describing a different moment entirely. His event takes place six days before Passover, in the house of Lazarus, and involves the anointing of Jesus’ feet. Mark’s account takes place two days before Passover, in the house of Simon the leper, and involves the anointing of His head. The setting, the timing, the action, and even the people involved are different. They are not the same occasion.

Luke’s account is different still. Luke writes of a woman in Galilee, early in Jesus’ ministry, in the house of a Pharisee. She is also unnamed, but she is not the woman in Mark. The circumstances do not match.

So the woman in Mark 14 remains anonymous. Scripture preserves her act, not her name. Jesus Himself made that the point when He said that wherever the gospel is preached, what she did would be spoken of as a memorial of her. Her devotion is remembered. Her identity is not.

I mention this only so the thread stays clear and focused. The meditation is built on what the text actually gives us: an unnamed woman who offered the best she had, faced criticism, and was defended by her Lord.