WORD From The Woods
Mark 14:1-31
“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, for they said, “Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar from the people.”
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. There were some who said to themselves indignantly, “Why was the ointment wasted like that? For this ointment could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor.” And they scolded her. But Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. 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. She has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand for burial. 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.”
Then Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went to the chief priests in order to betray him to them. And when they heard it, they were glad and promised to give him money. And he sought an opportunity to betray him.
And on the first day of Unleavened Bread, when they sacrificed the Passover lamb, his disciples said to him, “Where will you have us go and prepare for you to eat the Passover?” And he sent two of his disciples and said to them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him, and wherever he enters, say to the master of the house, The Teacher says, Where is my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ And he will show you a large upper room furnished and ready; there prepare for us.” And the disciples set out and went to the city and found it just as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover.
And when it was evening, he came with the twelve. And as they were reclining at table and eating, Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me, one who is eating with me.” They began to be sorrowful and to say to him one after another, “Is it I?” He said to them, “It is one of the twelve, one who is dipping bread into the dish with me. For the Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born.
And as they were eating, he took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank of it. And he said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. Truly, I say to you, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”
And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. And Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away, for it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.’ But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.” Peter said to him, “Even though they all fall away, I will not.” And Jesus said to him, “Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.” But he said emphatically, “If I must die with you, I will not deny you.” And they all said the same.”
This is a very familiar passage to anyone who has been in a bible teaching church for any length of time. But, I don't think we often stop and look at the heart of the woman that anointed Jesus with fine perfume compared to the heart of Judas Iscariot. We're all familiar with Judas, his betrayal of Jesus is something that even people who have never read the bible are familiar with. We tend to view Judas as one of the most vile sinners that has ever walked the planet, after all, he did betray the creator of the universe for the very temporal gratification that comes from thirty piece of silver. As followers of Jesus, we'd all like to think that we have a heart like the woman in this story, who was willing to sacrifice a very expensive possession to show honor to the Lord. I think at times, we as Christians have both a heart like the woman or a heart like Judas. We have all made sacrifices and face certain types of persecution to follow Jesus, but we also betray our Lord and creator for temporal gratification every single time we sin. It's easy to point our long self-righteous fingers at Judas, but if we're really honest with ourselves and with God, we have to admit that in our sin we are no better than Judas. The amazing thing is that we don't have to be stuck in that sin, we have a Passover Lamb! Every time we celebrate communion, we're pointing back to what Jesus Christ did for us on the cross, and we are making a statement to the world that we have been forgiven for our betrayal. Our own sin is what nailed our Lord to the cross. Our own betrayal of Jesus is why he came down out of heaven to live in this world, facing persecution, hatred and death by those he came to save. When we step back and look at our own sin in this way, it causes us to have a deeper desire for a heart like the woman in this passage. This woman recognized that she was a sinner in desperate need of a savior, and she knew that was Jesus Christ, she was even willing to pour out her most valuable possession just to show honor to her Lord and savior! In this life, money is the driving force behind everything. And especially in our industry, it takes a lot of money to stay in business. It's so easy for money and the busyness of life to take first place in our lives, and whether we want to admit it or not, that is a form of betraying our Lord. Our Lord and savior, Jesus Christ, should have first place in every area of our lives. As you go out this week, please think about this passage and how you can show honor to Jesus Christ through everything you do.
God bless and have a great week! -Terry-
Mark 14:1-31
“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, for they said, “Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar from the people.”
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. There were some who said to themselves indignantly, “Why was the ointment wasted like that? For this ointment could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor.” And they scolded her. But Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. 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. She has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand for burial. 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.”
Then Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went to the chief priests in order to betray him to them. And when they heard it, they were glad and promised to give him money. And he sought an opportunity to betray him.
And on the first day of Unleavened Bread, when they sacrificed the Passover lamb, his disciples said to him, “Where will you have us go and prepare for you to eat the Passover?” And he sent two of his disciples and said to them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him, and wherever he enters, say to the master of the house, The Teacher says, Where is my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ And he will show you a large upper room furnished and ready; there prepare for us.” And the disciples set out and went to the city and found it just as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover.
And when it was evening, he came with the twelve. And as they were reclining at table and eating, Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me, one who is eating with me.” They began to be sorrowful and to say to him one after another, “Is it I?” He said to them, “It is one of the twelve, one who is dipping bread into the dish with me. For the Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born.
And as they were eating, he took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank of it. And he said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. Truly, I say to you, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”
And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. And Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away, for it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.’ But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.” Peter said to him, “Even though they all fall away, I will not.” And Jesus said to him, “Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.” But he said emphatically, “If I must die with you, I will not deny you.” And they all said the same.”
This is a very familiar passage to anyone who has been in a bible teaching church for any length of time. But, I don't think we often stop and look at the heart of the woman that anointed Jesus with fine perfume compared to the heart of Judas Iscariot. We're all familiar with Judas, his betrayal of Jesus is something that even people who have never read the bible are familiar with. We tend to view Judas as one of the most vile sinners that has ever walked the planet, after all, he did betray the creator of the universe for the very temporal gratification that comes from thirty piece of silver. As followers of Jesus, we'd all like to think that we have a heart like the woman in this story, who was willing to sacrifice a very expensive possession to show honor to the Lord. I think at times, we as Christians have both a heart like the woman or a heart like Judas. We have all made sacrifices and face certain types of persecution to follow Jesus, but we also betray our Lord and creator for temporal gratification every single time we sin. It's easy to point our long self-righteous fingers at Judas, but if we're really honest with ourselves and with God, we have to admit that in our sin we are no better than Judas. The amazing thing is that we don't have to be stuck in that sin, we have a Passover Lamb! Every time we celebrate communion, we're pointing back to what Jesus Christ did for us on the cross, and we are making a statement to the world that we have been forgiven for our betrayal. Our own sin is what nailed our Lord to the cross. Our own betrayal of Jesus is why he came down out of heaven to live in this world, facing persecution, hatred and death by those he came to save. When we step back and look at our own sin in this way, it causes us to have a deeper desire for a heart like the woman in this passage. This woman recognized that she was a sinner in desperate need of a savior, and she knew that was Jesus Christ, she was even willing to pour out her most valuable possession just to show honor to her Lord and savior! In this life, money is the driving force behind everything. And especially in our industry, it takes a lot of money to stay in business. It's so easy for money and the busyness of life to take first place in our lives, and whether we want to admit it or not, that is a form of betraying our Lord. Our Lord and savior, Jesus Christ, should have first place in every area of our lives. As you go out this week, please think about this passage and how you can show honor to Jesus Christ through everything you do.
God bless and have a great week! -Terry-