Monday 30th March
Matthew 26:1-16 | LOIS MACDONALD
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1 When Jesus had finished saying all these things, he said to his disciples, 2 “As you know, the Passover is two days away—and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.”
3 Then the chief priests and the elders of the people assembled in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas, 4 and they schemed to arrest Jesus secretly and kill him. 5 “But not during the festival,” they said, “or there may be a riot among the people.”
6 While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of Simon the Leper, 7 a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on his head as he was reclining at the table.
8 When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. “Why this waste?” they asked. 9 “This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor.”
10 Aware of this, Jesus said to them, “Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me. 11 The poor you will always have with you,[a] but you will not always have me. 12 When she poured this perfume on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial. 13 Truly I tell you, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”
14 Then one of the Twelve—the one called Judas Iscariot—went to the chief priests 15 and asked, “What are you willing to give me if I deliver him over to you?” So they counted out for him thirty pieces of silver. 16 From then on Judas watched for an opportunity to hand him over.
DEVOTION:
Matthew 26 opens by highlighting the darkness of the situation Jesus was in. The religious authorities were plotting his murder, and Jesus knew he had little time left. The passage ends with similar bleakness, as Judas made a deal to hand Jesus over to the authorities. And yet, within such a seemingly hopeless picture, one woman’s whole-hearted sacrifice acted as a source of light in those terrible circumstances and continues to be an example for us today.
Jesus was in Bethany at the house of a man called Simon. During this visit, a woman - John’s account names her as Mary, sister of Martha - pours perfume over Jesus' head. This perfume was expensive (other accounts value it as the equivalent to a year’s wages) and was likely to have been a family heirloom. Notice it was not a few drops, carefully measured, but a complete outpouring. This act forfeited not only the precious perfume itself, but also financial security and her social standing. Her sacrifice was met with criticism from the disciples. Jealous, or perhaps simply confused, they saw the act as unnecessarily extravagant. Jesus, on the other hand, saw her sacrifice and loved her.
What an example of whole-hearted devotion. This woman understood that even the offering of her most precious possession, as well as her security and her social standing, was a fraction of the sacrifice he was about to make for her.
Her sincerity in worship has caused me to reflect on how easy it is to give Jesus what we deem to be a reasonable amount, of our money, our time and our lives. The sacrifice of this woman should encourage us to worship with overflowing hearts in response to our Lord, who made the ultimate sacrifice.
