The Great Paradox
Jesus Anointed at Bethany
14 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. 2 “But not during the festival,” they said, “or the people may riot.” 3 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. 4 Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, “Why this waste of perfume? 5 It could have been sold for more than a year’s wages and the money given to the poor.” And they rebuked her harshly. 6 “Leave her alone,” said Jesus. “Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. 7 The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me. 8 She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial. 9 Truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.” 10 Then Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Jesus to them. 11 They were delighted to hear this and promised to give him money. So he watched for an opportunity to hand him over.
Reflection:
In this short passage we have many paradoxes surrounding Jesus' last days. Since things were coming to a head, the separation of who were his true followers and who weren't, comes more into focus. First, we have the chief priests and teachers of the Law. The Passover and Feast of the Unleavened Bread were both annual festivals that Jewish people celebrated in anticipation of the Passover Lamb, Jesus who would take away the sins of the world. But instead of being a holy moment, the leaders only see it as a reason not to hand over Jesus to be killed. What irony it is that rather worshipping the true lamb of God, they only reason they won't hand him over due to fearing a riot in the very feast Jesus will come to fulfill.
Secondly, we have a woman who brings an extremely expensive jar of perfume and offers it as an act of worship to this coming King, who will show his royalty by dying on a cross. The people are upset that the money could have been used to give money to the poor, and they don't realize she is anointing Jesus for his burial. True worship is costly, and this woman gives all she has to Jesus. Instead of realizing the appropriateness of this act of worship, they focus on what could have been done with the money in this world. Jesus is not saying to neglect the poor, but helping them to realize that their first act of worship is to honor and adore God and lay everything down at his feet.
Finally, in contrast to the woman who gave everything, is the disciple who betrayed Jesus for such a small amount. While the woman gave everything to adore JESUS, Judas gave very little to betray him. So isn't it interesting that the religious leaders and one of his disciples thought so little of Jesus and cared so much for their own self interest, whereas the woman unabashedly gave her all for Her Savior and Lord.
So the question for us is what value do we place on Jesus? Do we look use Jesus for our own self interests? Or, are we ready to lay everything at his feet in adoration of our Lord? As we go to worship on Sunday, do we go for what we can get out of it, or to give everything to God in worship? When we give, does it comfortably fit in as a budget line item, or do we determine how much to give to God and then live on the rest? Do we pray just when we are in trouble, or pray unceasingly so that when we are in trouble we are not alone? As you can see the paradox is not just in the stories today, but also in the stories we live out every day.
Jesus, help us to be like the woman, who realized who you were and responded by offering everything she had. May our lives be a living sacrifice to you in lieu of the sacrifice you made for us. Amen.
14 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. 2 “But not during the festival,” they said, “or the people may riot.” 3 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. 4 Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, “Why this waste of perfume? 5 It could have been sold for more than a year’s wages and the money given to the poor.” And they rebuked her harshly. 6 “Leave her alone,” said Jesus. “Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. 7 The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me. 8 She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial. 9 Truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.” 10 Then Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Jesus to them. 11 They were delighted to hear this and promised to give him money. So he watched for an opportunity to hand him over.
Reflection:
In this short passage we have many paradoxes surrounding Jesus' last days. Since things were coming to a head, the separation of who were his true followers and who weren't, comes more into focus. First, we have the chief priests and teachers of the Law. The Passover and Feast of the Unleavened Bread were both annual festivals that Jewish people celebrated in anticipation of the Passover Lamb, Jesus who would take away the sins of the world. But instead of being a holy moment, the leaders only see it as a reason not to hand over Jesus to be killed. What irony it is that rather worshipping the true lamb of God, they only reason they won't hand him over due to fearing a riot in the very feast Jesus will come to fulfill.
Secondly, we have a woman who brings an extremely expensive jar of perfume and offers it as an act of worship to this coming King, who will show his royalty by dying on a cross. The people are upset that the money could have been used to give money to the poor, and they don't realize she is anointing Jesus for his burial. True worship is costly, and this woman gives all she has to Jesus. Instead of realizing the appropriateness of this act of worship, they focus on what could have been done with the money in this world. Jesus is not saying to neglect the poor, but helping them to realize that their first act of worship is to honor and adore God and lay everything down at his feet.
Finally, in contrast to the woman who gave everything, is the disciple who betrayed Jesus for such a small amount. While the woman gave everything to adore JESUS, Judas gave very little to betray him. So isn't it interesting that the religious leaders and one of his disciples thought so little of Jesus and cared so much for their own self interest, whereas the woman unabashedly gave her all for Her Savior and Lord.
So the question for us is what value do we place on Jesus? Do we look use Jesus for our own self interests? Or, are we ready to lay everything at his feet in adoration of our Lord? As we go to worship on Sunday, do we go for what we can get out of it, or to give everything to God in worship? When we give, does it comfortably fit in as a budget line item, or do we determine how much to give to God and then live on the rest? Do we pray just when we are in trouble, or pray unceasingly so that when we are in trouble we are not alone? As you can see the paradox is not just in the stories today, but also in the stories we live out every day.
Jesus, help us to be like the woman, who realized who you were and responded by offering everything she had. May our lives be a living sacrifice to you in lieu of the sacrifice you made for us. Amen.
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