1 It was now two days before the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to arrest him by stealth and kill him, 2 for they said, “Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar from the people.”
3 And while he was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he was reclining at table, a woman came with an alabaster flask of ointment of pure nard, very costly, and she broke the flask and poured it over his head. 4 There were some who said to themselves indignantly, “Why was the ointment wasted like that? 5 For this ointment could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor.” And they scolded her. 6 But Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. 7 For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you want, you can do good for them. But you will not always have me. 8 She has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand for burial. 9 And truly, I say to you, wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her.”
10 Then Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went to the chief priests in order to betray him to them. 11 And when they heard it, they were glad and promised to give him money. And he sought an opportunity to betray him.
(ESV)
STOP! Think a little 🤔 What is God saying to you?
- What is the writer saying?
- How do I apply this to my life?
Just a few days before Passover and the subsequent weekly celebration of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the chief priests and scribes were looking for a quiet, stealthy opportunity to arrest and kill Jesus. They didn’t want to do it in front of the huge crowds gathered in Jerusalem for the feasts because they feared a riot.
At a dinner in honour of Jesus, at Simon the leper’s house, Mary (John 12:3) poured some very expensive perfume over Jesus’ head. There were some there who muttered amongst themselves that her act was wasteful. The perfume could have been sold for a year’s worth of wages and the money given to the poor. They rebuked her for her wastefulness. Jesus stepped in and told them to leave her alone because what she had done was a beautiful thing. Jesus pointed out that the poor would always be there and they would always need looking after—which we should do. But their time with Jesus was very quickly coming to an end and their opportunity to serve Him physically was drawing to a close. What Mary had done was anoint His body for burial and her actions would be remembered for as long as the gospel is preached. Mary gave up something costly and precious as an act of love and worship. I’m not sure that her choice was between Jesus and the poor. In reality, her choice was between giving it up for Jesus and keeping it for herself. That is usually our choice too. Will we readily give up what we have for Jesus or not?
Contrast that with Judas who went to the chief priests and offered to betray Jesus to them. They were glad because now they had someone on the inside who could help them arrest Jesus away from the crowds. They promised him money. While Mary gave up something costly for Jesus in worship, Judas was driven by greed and a love of money (1 Tim 6:10) to be the final catalyst in Jesus’ death.
I often feel unwilling to give up something I like or something I enjoy doing for people in my family nevermind for Jesus so I think I definitely need to work on having a heart that is ready to sacrifice possessions or time for Jesus and while working on that, to work on sacrificing time and possessions for others in my life.