Day 24 - Wednesday, November 4th
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LIFE Journal
This Week's Memory Verse
I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With Him at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore, my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure. Psalm 16:8-9
Devotional
The talk surrounding what Jesus was doing and how this one man threatened an entire system had reached a peak with the religious and political rulers of the day. Plots to take his life were discussed and those plans would start to materialize as those making them wormed their way inside Jesus’ inner circle:
Now the Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread were only two days away, and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were scheming to arrest Jesus secretly and kill him. “But not during the festival,” they said, “or the people may riot.” While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head. Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, “Why this waste of perfume? It could have been sold for more than a year’s wages and the money given to the poor.” And they rebuked her harshly. “Leave her alone,” said Jesus. “Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me. She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial. Truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.” Then Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Jesus to them. They were delighted to hear this and promised to give him money. So he watched for an opportunity to hand him over. Mark 14:1-10 NIV
Criticism. Betrayal. There are very few things that sting quite as much as the disapproval of others and the disloyalty of one whom we have walked beside, eaten at the table together and done life with. Nothing pierces like our motives being questioned or finding out that the enemy was not someone on the outside, but one within. Critics seek to point out the ways in which we could’ve done better. And deception is at the heart of a treachery: lies, masquerades, and duplicity.
In this scene at the home of a man named Simon the Leper, someone who had probably experienced healing thanks to Jesus yet still held the label of his past affliction, we see two displays. One of devotion and one of betrayal. A woman offering her very best to her Savior and a man ready to hand him over to those who wanted to end his life. One motivated by love and the other by greed.
The woman’s devotion to Christ was met with sharp criticisms from others that was quickly rebuked by Jesus. This kind of extravagant display of love was all that she could offer and Jesus sees that in her gift. She had listened. She paid attention. She had an idea of what was coming and so she sought to give the highest honor to her Lord as best she could. All the while the man seated at the other end of the table quietly gets up, slips out the door and makes a pact with darkness.
Jesus sees the offerings of the devoted. He knows when we are giving all we can in response to who he is. And he also knows that just like the woman and just like him, we will face criticism and betrayal all along the way as we seek to respond to his message and live out the purpose he has for us. Don’t let those things stop you in what he has called you to do, because if there is anyone who understands, it is him.
Think On This Verse:
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ.
2 Corinthians 1:3-5 NIV
Ask and Answer:
In what ways have you ever experienced your methods or motivation for serving Christ met with unfair criticism? Have you ever felt a sense of deep betrayal for someone who sat at the table with you? How does knowing that Jesus himself spoke up for the woman who was giving all she had and he too experienced the deep wounds of betrayal bring comfort to you? Have you ever shared with God about those hurts from criticism or betrayal? If not, spend some time doing that now.
Now the Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread were only two days away, and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were scheming to arrest Jesus secretly and kill him. “But not during the festival,” they said, “or the people may riot.” While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head. Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, “Why this waste of perfume? It could have been sold for more than a year’s wages and the money given to the poor.” And they rebuked her harshly. “Leave her alone,” said Jesus. “Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me. She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial. Truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.” Then Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Jesus to them. They were delighted to hear this and promised to give him money. So he watched for an opportunity to hand him over. Mark 14:1-10 NIV
Criticism. Betrayal. There are very few things that sting quite as much as the disapproval of others and the disloyalty of one whom we have walked beside, eaten at the table together and done life with. Nothing pierces like our motives being questioned or finding out that the enemy was not someone on the outside, but one within. Critics seek to point out the ways in which we could’ve done better. And deception is at the heart of a treachery: lies, masquerades, and duplicity.
In this scene at the home of a man named Simon the Leper, someone who had probably experienced healing thanks to Jesus yet still held the label of his past affliction, we see two displays. One of devotion and one of betrayal. A woman offering her very best to her Savior and a man ready to hand him over to those who wanted to end his life. One motivated by love and the other by greed.
The woman’s devotion to Christ was met with sharp criticisms from others that was quickly rebuked by Jesus. This kind of extravagant display of love was all that she could offer and Jesus sees that in her gift. She had listened. She paid attention. She had an idea of what was coming and so she sought to give the highest honor to her Lord as best she could. All the while the man seated at the other end of the table quietly gets up, slips out the door and makes a pact with darkness.
Jesus sees the offerings of the devoted. He knows when we are giving all we can in response to who he is. And he also knows that just like the woman and just like him, we will face criticism and betrayal all along the way as we seek to respond to his message and live out the purpose he has for us. Don’t let those things stop you in what he has called you to do, because if there is anyone who understands, it is him.
Think On This Verse:
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ.
2 Corinthians 1:3-5 NIV
Ask and Answer:
In what ways have you ever experienced your methods or motivation for serving Christ met with unfair criticism? Have you ever felt a sense of deep betrayal for someone who sat at the table with you? How does knowing that Jesus himself spoke up for the woman who was giving all she had and he too experienced the deep wounds of betrayal bring comfort to you? Have you ever shared with God about those hurts from criticism or betrayal? If not, spend some time doing that now.
Prayer
Lord, you are not a God who doesn't understand the kind of pain that comes from others questioning our motives or the unfaithfulness of those with whom we had a relationship with. We are comforted by knowing that you know how we feel and that those hurts can help us to begin to comprehend in a small way how you must have felt as you walked among us. Heal us through your mighty power and use these wounds to draw us closer to you. Amen.