Tag Archives: Holy Week

Holy Week Devo – Day 2

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Monday, April 6th

Mary Pours Out Her Costly Perfume, Matthew 26:6-13

Now when Jesus was in Bethany, at the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came to Him with an alabaster vial of very costly perfume, and she poured it on His head as He reclined at the table. But the disciples were indignant when they saw this, and said, “Why this waste? For this perfume might have been sold for a high price and the money given to the poor.” But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why do you bother the woman? For she has done a good deed to Me. For you always have the poor with you, but you do not always have Me. For when she poured this perfume on My body, she did it to prepare Me for burial. Truly I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be spoken of in memory of her.”

A Note of Context: The anointing of Jesus recounted in Luke 7:36-50 is a different incident from this anointing. This anointing is also related in John 12:1-11 and Mark 14:3-9 (although John 12 states that Mary anointed His feet and wiped them with her hair). Mary is the sister of Martha and Lazarus. It is Monday evening, two days after Lazarus was raised from the dead and the day after Palm Sunday. Jesus enjoyed a very special friendship with Lazarus, Mary, and Martha. They offered Jesus warm friendship and their home provided a respite in a world of conflict and escalating hostility (cf. Luke 10:38–42). It is also worth noting that the resurrection of Lazarus was likely one of the main reasons the crowds in Jerusalem were so large and boisterous on Palm Sunday. The word had spread and there was a holy hope and expectation that swept through the city including those who made the trek to Jerusalem for the Passover celebration.

Big Idea: The main emphasis seems to be, don’t waste your life on anything but Jesus.

Dig In: Chinese Pastor and Theologian, Watchman Nee wrote a book in the 1930s entitled The Normal Christian Life. The last chapter of the book is titled, “The Goal of the Gospel” and it addresses this idea of waste from Matthew 26. Nee points out that in the parallel accounts of John (12:1-11) and Mark (14:3-9), all the disciples joined Judas in scolding Mary for wasting this expensive perfume on Jesus when it could have been sold and the money given to the poor. Yet we find Jesus defending Mary by replying, “Truly I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be spoken of in memory of her” (Matt. 26:13). What does Jesus mean? Nee contends that Jesus is saying, “people should come to Him and waste themselves on Him.”[1] If Jesus is the pearl of great price and the treasure hidden in the field[2] (see Matthew 13:45-46), then it’s not a waste to sell everything we have to buy the field that contains the pearl. To have Jesus is worth “wasting” all that we are and all that we have on Him.

Application: This might seem like kind of an in-your-face question, but I’ll ask it nevertheless—In your mind, what is the difference between a wasted life and an “un-wasted” life? How will you discern whether or not you are wasting your life (or even portions of your life)? I have been wrestling with this question for the last few weeks. Spend some time in this shelter-at-home season and prayerfully reflect on and evaluate your life. How did you get to where you are today? What is God placing on your heart for this next season of life?

Deeper Dive: In Paul’s letter to young Timothy he provides some sage advice…

Take pains with these things; be absorbed in them, so that your progress will be evident to all. Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you. –1 Timothy 4:15-6 (emphasis added)

The two verses above offer a context for regular moments of reflection and evaluation. First of all, the goal is not perfection, but progress (v.15), and secondly, a consistent and thorough evaluation of ourselves and our message will lead to the furtherance of the gospel (v.16). This requires courage because we must be willing to confront the most brutal facts of our current reality, whatever they might be.

And returning to the idea of waste, on May 20, 2000, in Memphis TN John Piper delivered a message to thousands of college students at a one-day Passion Conference. The message was titled Boasting Only in the Cross. Piper made a passionate plea to that generation to avoid the dangers of a wasted life, calling on them to take risks and make sacrifices that will matter for eternity. Piper called for a single-minded, soul-satisfying passion for the glory of God that seeks to make much of Him in every sphere of our lives. Subsequently, that sermon has been called, a “message that moved a generation” and had a ripple effect through that generation (see below for a 7-minute clip—or the link above for the full message). As Nee wrote in The Normal Christian Life, “A life spent in selfless devotion to Jesus is not wasted, but a life spent on self is totally wasted.”

 

[1] Pgs 186.

[2] By-the-way, this “pearl” passage goes both ways. You are also the pearl of great price that Jesus purchased for Himself.

Holy Week Devotional – Day 1

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Palm Sunday, April 5th — Jesus’ Triumphal Entry Into Jerusalem, Matthew 21:1-11

When they had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, just say this, ‘The Lord needs them.’ And he will send them immediately.” This took place to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet, saying,

Tell the daughter of Zion, Look, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey. [see Isaiah 62:11 and Zechariah 9:9]

The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; they brought the donkey and the colt, and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on them. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting,

“Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!” [See Psalm 118:26]

When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking, “Who is this?” The crowds were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.”

Thinking it through: The big question seems to be, would you have recognized Jesus?

Someone has said, “Expectation is the root of all hurt.” Think about it. If you were to go back and consider the times in your life where deep relational woundedness occurred, it most likely includes someone disappointing or hurting you in a way that was completely unexpected. Expectation is a programmed assumption. Sometimes our expectations are legitimate, and the wound is raw and real. Sometimes our expectations are illegitimate and the wound, while it may still be piercing, has been self-inflicted. The Jewish people were looking for a Geopolitical King to liberate them from Roman oppression; instead, they got a Servant King, intent on liberating the soul.

Here are three questions for you to consider…

Are there areas in your life where you have placed unrealistic or unbiblical expectations on God?

In a blog post Christian author Randy Alcorn identifies six false expectations that diminish true happiness…

  1. God’s Love for Us Should Look Just Like What We Want
  2. We Won’t Be Persecuted for Our Faith
  3. Jesus Must Return in Our Lifetime
  4. Life Will Go Smoothly and We’ll Always Have Health and Wealth
  5. Life Will Be Fair and People Will Treat Us Kindly and Thoughtfully
  6. Churches Owe Us Better Treatment than We’ve Received

Do you still carry woundedness or bitterness from your past as a result of unmet expectations?

All of our pain resolved or otherwise, is important to our heavenly Father. Your feelings, right or wrong, are valid. Nevertheless, consider real hurt vs. perceived hurt. Read Psalm 22; a psalm of David. He’s confused and in deep anguish—and yet he turns to God in his anguish. David is famous for being a man after God’s own heart (1 Sam. 13:14; Acts 13:22), yet we sometimes fail to recognize how he repeatedly paid attention to loss, grief, and disappointment. As King, David led Israel to God through his own experiences of grief and loss.[1]

Are your aspirations, hopes, dreams, and expectations rooted in a developing biblical theology?

As Matthew notes, the Triumphal Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem was foretold in the Old Testament. Those who were deeply familiar with the Scriptures would have recognized what was happening.

So, what is biblical theology? Biblical theology can be contrasted with experiential theology, which defines God through personal experience, emotion, and the subjective discernment of reality. Simply stated, biblical theology is seeing the whole Bible (both Old and New Testaments) as a single narrative. A more robust definition is the lifelong endeavor of tracking the whole story of the whole Bible as Christian Scripture in its proper context. It is one story that moves from creation to sin, to judgment, to reconciliation, and finally, to the restoration of all things.

Many Christians have never seen or understood the difference between experiential theology and biblical theology. Experiential theology will keep us trapped in immaturity and set us up for repeated disappointments. This could be a main reason for people exiting the Church—they’ve never been taught how to study and embrace the full single story of the Bible. And consequently, they didn’t recognize Jesus when He showed up in their lives. Unrealistic expectations and the resulting disappointments have hijacked their lives.

Is this happening to you? Do you know someone who is on the fringe or who has exited the Church because of poor instruction? If this describes you, go back to the Beatitudes: acknowledge your spiritual poverty, mourn over your sinful condition (along with the condition of the world around us), become a humble learner once again, and you will begin to experience a hunger and thirst for God. If you know someone who is deeply disappointed with God and/or the Church, invite them to meet and ask to hear their story. Don’t try and fix them, listen to them, affirm their feelings, and continue to love them. When the time is right, offer to read a book with them. One of the best books to help someone get back on the right track is Prodigal God: Recovering the Heart of the Christian Faith by Tim Keller. It’s a retelling of a biblical narrative from Luke 15 that we often get wrong. Both brothers were prodigals and the main character is not the younger prodigal but the older one. Keller tells us there are two ways to miss God, 1) rebellion (younger prodigal) and 2) religion (older prodigal). The gospel is the third way. Read this book with your friend (Spouse? Child? Co-Worker?), walk together and let God do the rest.

Here are some additional resources to further consider biblical theology:

[1] Adapted from Enlarging Your Soul and Church Through Grief and Loss by Peter Scazzero.