Holy Monday

Yesterday was Palm Sunday, and with it, the beginning of Holy Week, which is the week on the Church Calendar building towards Resurrection Sunday or Easter Sunday. The day we remember and celebrate Jesus rising from the dead in victory, and conquering sin, Satan and death.

This week, our devotions are going to work through the days of Holy Week, each with a passage of scripture and some thoughts to meditate on, to help us to prepare for the Easter Weekend.

Pause:

Before you start reading this devotional, take a moment to stop what you’re doing, slow down and focus on Jesus. 

Pray and ask him to open your eyes to see as you read the scriptures, and to open your ears to hear as you wait on the leading of the Spirit.

Read:

John 12v1-8: “Six days before the Passover, Jesus therefore came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.² So they gave a dinner for him there. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at table.³ Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.⁴ But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was about to betray him), said,⁵ “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” ⁶ He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it.⁷ Jesus said, “Leave her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of my burial.⁸ For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me.”

Going Deeper:

As we enter into Holy Week, this passage prepares us by challenging our view of Jesus’ value and beauty.

In this passage, Mary worships and serves Jesus extravagantly, with a gift that was worth 300 Denarii - about a year’s wages for a normal worker. This perfume container was probably about the size of a Coke Can, and very valuable. How Mary came to own this, and whether this was her prized possession, or something she had saved up for over a long time, are questions not answered for us here.

But, we see that she is extravagantly worshipping and serving and responding to Jesus in the most generous way that she knows how.

And she didn’t ‘have to’ do this. She chose to.

Mary could have picked a cheaper perfume. Maybe something worth a week’s wages, or even just a month’s wages. But she didn’t. She gave the most expensive perfume, worth 300 Denarii. Also, she could have just anointed Jesus with a little bit of it. A few dabs on his body. That would still be a generous gesture. 

What would you have done? 

Mary pours it all out on him, every drop, so that the fragrance fills the whole house. 

Her extravagance here is teaching us something about Jesus’ value. She sees that Jesus is the ultimate thing. That He is worth everything. So, she gives Him everything.

And her example should challenge us to think through and even reconsider what our response to Jesus is and should be.

You see, the way we see Jesus will determine how we respond to Him, and how we Worship Him. And in this passage we have another character, who would later betray Jesus, complaining about this use of her assets, while He is secretly stealing from Jesus’ ministry fund, and about to betray Him for 30 pieces of silver. 

Judas saw Jesus in a completely different way. To Judas, Jesus was useful, not beautiful. He was using Him, not in awe of Him.

How do you view Jesus as we enter Holy Week?

Is Jesus just useful to you? Someone that you pray to, to get something from? Someone who you are using to make your hopes and dreams come true? A steppingstone to the thing you really want and worship?

Or, is Jesus beautiful to you? Is He the ultimate thing? The treasure of the universe. Is He worthy of your worship and your whole life? Is He the only one who can truly and fully satisfy your deepest needs and wants? Is He the one who can give you the peace and joy you have been looking for? Is He enough?

Mary believed that He was. She had experienced this. She knew Jesus. And she gladly gave Him everything. 

As we enter Holy Week, the challenging point of this passage is that we would answer the questions: 

-       How do I see Jesus?

-       And, do I believe Jesus is worthy of my worship?

Pray:

Respond to God in prayer by speaking to Him about what stood out to your from this passage this morning.

Listen:

What is the Holy Spirit saying to you this morning?

Apply:

What are you going to do in response to what God is saying to you from the text and by the Spirit?