1Now 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.” (Mark 14:1-9, New International Version)
Theme: Rejoicing and Thanksgiving
Context
Thanks again to all who shared their personal lessons yesterday! We now turn to lessons from Wednesday of Passion Week. In the story of the woman who poured perfume on Jesus’ head, there are many lessons including lessons about worship. However, we are going to focus on service. The key words for our consideration today are, “She did what she could.” This is the commendation Jesus gave the brave woman.
First, the woman was in tune with Jesus’ mission. Second, she figured out how she could sacrificially be a part of this mission. Third, she acted, even in the face of rebuke. Consider the immense impact of one person doing what they can for the cause of Christ! The fact that we are also called to serve in the kingdom of God is a source of rejoicing and thanksgiving.
Bible Passage
Please study the passage above and compare the behavior of the woman with the behavior of her detractors.
Question
What personal lessons do you take from Jesus’ commendation of the woman’s service?
Please leave a comment. We would love to hear from you.
April 5, 2023 at 5:57 am
The lesson I’m taking is that we know what we are called to do as Christians. We should live for Jesus and do what we should for His sake, honor, and glory, despite the distractions, negativity, and people, that might try to deter us.
Our actions may even be impactful for years to come.
April 5, 2023 at 7:27 am
The Lesson I’m taking from
today’s message is that when it comes to using the gifts bestowed on us by the Lord, it doesn’t matter wether it’’s big or small. What is important is that, we use them
to further God’s ministry. We live to serve and glorify God so wether we’re only assisting the teachers or we’re the lead teachers for kids at Sunday school, or we’ re greeting at the entrance of the door on Sundays, or doing the role of deacon at church, in the eyes of God all these are meaningful acts of service. We should be encouraged and grateful that we can carryout our tasks, and faithfully serving Christ for this is God’s purpose for us -to live for Him, do His will and be grateful at all times especially when serving Him. It is an act of obedience when we serve our creator willingly and with joyful heart.
April 5, 2023 at 7:35 am
I agree totally with Joseth’s comments. The lesson I take is Jesus wants us to spread the gospel and good news. It requires our willingness to sacrifice to build His kingdom. It’s wonderful and profound that Jesus said “ she has done a beautiful thing to me”. Sharing the Good News is a beautiful thing!
April 5, 2023 at 7:40 am
As we go along this Christian life there will always be people who try their best to derail us as we try to serve Christ. People use their jealousy or other contrived actions to try and get you to take your attention from what is profitable in life for you. However the woman’s focus and conviction was so steadfast that she wasn’t deterred. The question for me is “Am I doing all I can”., and when I do is it always for the right reasons. Is my focus ever skewed or blurred by the things people may think or say, or do I unapologetically do what I can. 🤔
April 5, 2023 at 3:49 pm
I think that those who criticized the actions of this woman may have had good intentions (I don’t know their heart) as they were talking about feeding the poor. However there will always be a number of choices and a number of criticisms for every action we take. For example, should we invest resources into mission work when there are needy people in our home country? However, I love what you said Karen in doing what we can. Each of us is not to be compared to another, remembering that we are all different parts of the body. Although each of us has a basic call to evangelize, beyond that God may have a different plan or purpose for each of our lives.