Brown's Daily Word 3-19-08

Good Morning,
Praise the Lord for those who see Jesus in His Majesty and Splendor. Praise the Lord for those who exemplify a great sense of devotion, reckless love, and self forgetfulness. Mary of Bethany was one of them. Jesus was in Bethany (a small village about 2 miles east of Jerusalem) with Mary, Martha, Lazarus and His disciples and, according to Matthew 26, they were meeting in the home of a man named Simon the Leper (probably because the home of Lazarus, Mary and Martha was too small). This crowd of people had gathered this night for one reason, to have a dinner in honor of Jesus.
This was the night before Jesus’ triumphal entry, the night before Jesus would ride into Jerusalem on a donkey to the praises and shouts of the multitudes, "Hosanna (which means save us now), Hosanna! blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the King of Israel!" The days before this dinner had been days full of turmoil, energy, and excitement as the ministry of Jesus was drawing closer to it’s dramatic climax. Only a few days earlier Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead, calling him forth from the tomb after 4 days. The news of this miracle spread and many people were looking to Jesus as the Messiah, as their King.
In Bethany, while Jesus was reclining at the table Mary, the sister of Lazarus, broke open an alabaster jar which contained expensive perfume. Mary took the perfume and walked over to Jesus, where she broke the jar, filling the room with its aroma. And then she anointed the feet of Jesus, drying his feet with the only towel that she had brought, her hair.
Judas, who knew the price of everything but the value of nothing, seeing what Mary had done and smelling the expensive perfume said, "WHY WASN’T THIS PERFUME SOLD AND THE MONEY GIVEN TO THE POOR? IT WAS WORTH A YEARS WAGES?" The disciples joined in agreement with Judas according to the other Gospel accounts.
Yet, what Mary did with that alabaster jar of perfume was the perfect thing to do. As we look back on this event with the cross behind us, WE can ALSO see that it was the perfect thing to do. But Mary, she knew it then. That’s why, when the men in the room criticized her, Jesus said the following as recorded in Matthew 26:10-13, "WHY ARE YOU BOTHERING THIS WOMAN? SHE HAS DONE A BEAUTIFUL THING TO ME. THE POOR YOU WILL ALWAYS HAVE WITH YOU, BUT YOU WILL NOT ALWAYS HAVE ME. WHEN SHE POURED THIS PERFUME ON MY BODY, SHE DID IT TO PREPARE ME FOR BURIAL. I TELL YOU THE TRUTH; WHEREVER THIS GOSPEL IS PREACHED THROUGHOUT THE WORLD, WHAT SHE HAS DONE WILL ALSO BE TOLD, IN MEMORY OF HER."
Mary knew that Jesus was God the Son, she knew what she was doing, she knew that death awaited her Lord when he rode into Jerusalem the next morning... and she knew he would be dying for her. Because of this, Mary wanted to do something for Jesus that would express to Him her great love. She wanted to do something for Jesus while she still had the opportunity.
Therefore Mary took the most expensive thing she had, an alabaster jar of expensive perfume equivalent to a years wages . Then she knelt down at the feet of her Lord, breaking open the jar and anointing his feet. Then Mary took her hair which Paul’s say’s in I Corinthians 11:15, "is a woman’s crown and glory" and she dried the feet of Jesus with her hair.
For Mary, no sacrifice was too costly. For Mary, who wiped Jesus' feet with her hair, no service was too demeaning. Why would Mary do this? Isn’t it a little extreme to pour a whole jar of expensive perfume on someone’s dirty feet?? And isn’t it degrading and demeaning just to wash someone’s feet. Isn’t it going just a bit to far to dry his feet with her hair? But Mary was right IF Jesus is the Son of God AND that he LOVED US ENOUGH TO PUT ON HUMAN FLESH TO DIE FOR OUR SINS AND THE sins of the world. If Mary was right, then even if somehow she was able to gather UP all of the wealth and all of the riches of the entire world, AND PUT IT IN THAT JAR AND POUR THAT ON THE FEET OF JESUS IT WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN A WASTE!!!!!!!!! WE CAN’T GIVE TOO MUCH TO JESUS. YOU CAN’T GIVE TO MUCH TOO JESUS!! JESUS IS WORTH ALL WE HAVE AND ALL WE ARE.
During those times when the Christian walk gets tough, when you feel like you're spinning your wheels, when people get you down and disappoint you, when you effort seems to go without results, when you try and try and seem to be getting no where, WHEN you feel like throwing in the towel, WHEN you feel like dropping out of the race, WHEN you feel like you can’t give any more, WHEN you feel used, abused, and unappreciated . . . JUST REMEMBER that JESUS IS WORTH IT!! JESUS IS WORTH YOUR TIME!! JESUS IS WORTH YOUR EFFORT!! JESUS IS WORTH ALL THE PAIN AND THE FRUSTRATION!NOTHING WE EVER DO FOR THE GLORY AND HONOR OF JESUS, IS EVER A WASTE.
THOSE WHO ARE LIKE JUDAS AND HAVE REJECTED JESUS AND THOSE WHO ARE LIKE THE DISCIPLES AND ARE MEN AND WOMEN OF MODERATE DEVOTION WON’T UNDERSTAND AND THEY WILL THINK IT IS A WASTE TO:
GIVE SO MUCH TIME TO THE CHURCH..
GO TO A SMALL CHURCH WITH LITTLE PRESTIGE..
PREPARE YOUR HEART OUT FOR JUST A FEW KIDS..
HAVE SOMEONE WITH YOUR ABILITY TO CLEAN A CHURCH BUILDING..
USE YOUR VACATION TIME TO GO HELP BUILD A CHURCH...
IT ALL DEPENDS ON WHO IS RIGHT (JUDAS, the DISCIPLES, OR MARY)
JUDAS WAS WRONG!! THE DISCIPLES WERE WRONG! BUT MARY WAS RIGHT!!!!!
YOU CAN NEVER GIVE ENOUGH OF YOUR LIFE (YOUR TIME, TALENTS, AND TREASURE) TO JESUS, FOR IT EVER TO BE A WASTE BECAUSE JESUS IS WORTH IT!
In Jesus our Saviour,
Brown

“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose”
Jim Elliott.