The Oils of Palm Sunday

Today is Palm Sunday which marks the beginning of Holy Week on the Christian calendar. Also known as Passion Sunday, this Mass recounts Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem on a donkey, fulfilling the prophecy in Zechariah 9:9, and the crowd’s enthusiastic welcome. The Service today includes several significant features, including the Blessing of the Palms, the Procession, and the Passion Narrative. This longer Gospel reading of the Passion Narrative recounts the events leading to Jesus’ crucifixion.

For this year’s Liturgical Calendar, the scripture reading of Mark 14:1-15:47 was the Gospel for Palm Sunday. During this reading, there are 4 times where essential oils are mentioned. Their verses are noted below:

When he was in Bethany reclining at table 
in the house of Simon the leper, 
a woman came with an alabaster jar of perfumed oil,
costly genuine spikenard.
She broke the alabaster jar and poured it on his head.

Mark 14:3

They gave him wine drugged with myrrh,
but he did not take it.
Then they crucified him and divided his garments 
by casting lots for them to see what each should take.

Mark 15:23

One of them ran, soaked a sponge with wine, put it on a reed 
and gave it to him to drink saying, 
“Wait, let us see if Elijah comes to take him down.”
Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last.

Mark 15:36

So Joseph bought some linen cloth, took him down,
wrapped him in the linen,
and laid him in a tomb that had been hewn out of the rock.

Mark 15:46

From birth until death (and burial), essential oils were used extensively in daily life during Biblical times. Essential oils were used in the Bible for healing, tithing, beauty, embalming, anointing, uplifting emotions, and worship. These ancient peoples knew their plants and oils, and, unfortunately, their knowledge has partially become lost over the years. I touch briefly on 10 oils mentioned in Scripture in this presentation, Essential Oils of the Bible.

Essential oils are referenced many times in the Old and New Testaments. They were a part of daily living among Israelites, Jews, early Christians, and their Gentile neighbors throughout Biblical times. It would be accurate to say that essential healing oils, their plant sources, and/or their uses are mentioned in the Bible more than a thousand times (1,031 to be exact) representing at least 33 species.

Healing Oils of the Bible by Dr. David Stewart, pg 113

I believe that using essential oils keeps us connected to our ancestors. The precious drops from these bottles also enhance our connection with God. When we breathe in the essential oils, the molecules enter our blood stream through our lungs and our noses. The molecules are detected by olfactory receptors and then travel up a nerve to the limbic system of the brain, the area connected to emotions and memory. By activating the limbic system, we become grounded, focused, and relaxed which can be helpful during times of Scripture and prayer.

Learn more about essential oils and our sense of smell in a previous post, Essential Oils and Emotions.

Significance of the oils in today’s scripture

Spikenard: This essential oil comes from the roots of an aromatic flowering herb native to the Himalayan Mountains of India and Tibet. Spikenard was a very expensive perfume during this time. It was also used as a skin tonic and a mood enhancer, as it is relaxing, soothing, and calming. This anointing of Jesus’ head is perhaps symbolic to mark the beginning of his preparation for the ordeal he is about to endure on the cross.

Myrrh: This is the most mentioned essential oil in the Bible and comes from the steam distillation of the resin from the trunks and limb of the tree. For the scripture this scripture reading, in Mark 15, Jesus was offered wine with myrrh twice. This combination was thought to give some anesthesia during the horrific death of crucifixion. For Jesus’ burial, his body would have lovingly been wrapped with linen, but also prepared with myrrh and aloes (sandalwood).

Hyssop: When Jesus was offered the wine and myrrh while on the cross, the liquid-soaked sponge was lifted up on a hyssop branch. This was purposeful, as during crucifixion, the lungs fill with fluid, so death comes with slow suffocation. Hyssop is a respiratory herb/oil, so it may have offered some relief during this suffering.