Slices
Prepare
Many eyes will look on you with judgement today. Take a moment to consciously sit in the gaze of your loving God.
Bible passage
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.
Explore
This story is like a pure white pearl inside a dirty shell, on a dark ocean floor. At the centre is an act Jesus himself deemed beautiful – a woman anointing her saviour with costly perfume, understanding the worth of the man and the moment and doing ‘what she could’ (v 8).
The dirty shell is the self-righteous, judgemental onlookers. They are the next layer of the story, surrounding its pure heart with their harsh rebuke, intended to shame the woman and paint her as callously indifferent to the poor. We aren’t told how she felt in that moment, how sensitive she was to public opinion, but if she was anything like me, those words would have scalded. Could she tune them out and listen only to Jesus’ defence? We don’t know.
The ocean is the forces scheming to kill Jesus. In the same story, he inspires both an extravagant demonstration of love and a murderous hatred.
The precious pearl of a relationship with Christ remains set within a context of hostile incomprehension. We are not going to have crowd approval for our sacrifices of praise. We may in fact be ridiculed, rejected or worse. Whose opinion is going to count?
Respond
Pray: ‘Lord God, let me be like the woman who understood who you were and what you required of her in that moment and allowed all else to fall away. Amen.’
Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year: Joshua 16–19; Romans 14
Pray for Scripture Union
Please pray for Mission Enabler Janine Parkinson as she works with new Faith Guides who have signed up in the last year in Central England. Pray that she will know how best to support them, that they will grasp all that the Revealing Jesus framework has to offer and will see much fruit in their mission to the 95.
