We Interrupt This
Programming...
We are taking a brief
pause from 1 Corinthians to walk the last few days of Jesus life before we hung
Him on a cross. We start in Bethany 6 days before the Passover.
John 12:1 Jesus,
therefore, six days before the Passover, came to Bethany where
Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2 So they made Him
a supper there, and Martha was serving; but Lazarus was one of those
reclining at the table with Him. 3 Mary then took
a pound of very costly perfume of pure nard, and anointed the feet of
Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the
fragrance of the perfume. 4 But Judas Iscariot, one of His
disciples, who was intending to betray Him, *said, 5 “Why was
this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and given to
poor people?” 6 Now he said this, not because he was concerned
about the poor, but because he was a thief, and as he had the money box, he
used to pilfer what was put into it. 7 Therefore Jesus
said, “Let her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of My
burial. 8 For you always have the poor with you, but you do not
always have Me.”
Three times before this Jesus had explained in plain language
that He was going to die. The final time was on the way to Bethany. Matthew
tells us in his account that Jesus actually physically stopped them on the side
of the road and said He was going to Jerusalem to be killed.
I have often thought it would be easier to follow Jesus if He
just told me exactly what to do. As it turns out the problem is not so much His
lack of clarity as my inability to hear. In both the Old and New Testaments we
are described as seeing but not seeing and hearing but not hearing. Such was
the case with the disciples. In spite of the fact Jesus told them plainly three
different times that He was going to die they did not believe it.
What we often forget though is that it wasn't just Jesus and
the twelve. Others traveled with them among whom were several women. Of those
women there was always Mary. In some places she is referred to as Mary the
sister of Lazarus and Martha. In other places it is Mary of Magdala or Mary
Magdalene. It is the same person. When you line up all the clues this becomes
obvious. At some point Mary had been a prostitute. She was so broken by her
past life that the Scriptures say seven demons were cast out of her.
Nevertheless Mary was unique. Of her Jesus said "the one
who is forgiven much loves much." He also told Martha who was complaining
that Mary wasn't helping in the kitchen but rather listening to Jesus teach
"Mary has chosen that better part and it will not be taken from her."
The perfume Mary used represented a years salary. We aren't
told specifically where she got the money but given the structure of society
and the gross subjection of women it was likely money she had saved from her
previous life. Either way it was extremely expensive. However it isn't Mary's
past or the value of the perfume that makes this event remarkable. In Matthew's
telling of it Jesus also said that what Mary did would be remembered and retold
through the ages.
Why?
Because Mary knew He was going to die. She didn't just hear,
she listened. She was there on the road when He stopped them and explained His
date for the last time. She truly listened. Her love for Jesus was stronger
than her own opinions, stronger than the traditional things she was taught
about the Messiah. While the rest argued and resisted what He was saying, she
was hearing and planning.
She was the first to understand He would die and the first to
announce His resurrection. Pride resists but love listens. What a comfort it
must have been for Jesus to know that while Judas was betraying and the other
eleven were resisting one person got it. She was the evidence that more would
understand in time. She was what the Bible calls the firstfruits.
What a tender amazing moment. Two hearts linked while
everyone else had no idea what she was doing or why.
Tomorrow we'll continue the journey to the cross.
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