Drinking the Cup

Notes for the Ekklesia Meeting
Sundays @ 10:00 a.m. Info: (651) 283-0568 Discipleship Training Ministries, Inc www.dtminc.org Today’s Date: May 21, 2006

Drinking the Cup
by Dan Trygg

"And taking with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, He began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38 Then He said to them, ‘My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with Me.’ 39 And going a little farther He fell on his face and prayed, saying, ‘My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.’ 40 And He came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And He said to Peter, ‘So, could you not watch with me one hour? 41 Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.’ 42 Again, for the second time, He went away and prayed, ‘My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, Your will be done.’" Matthew 26:37-42

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider Him who endured from sinners such hostility against Himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted." Hebrews 12:1-3

Often, in our desire to honor and magnify Jesus, we lose sight of a critical aspect of His story. He became human. The writer to the Hebrews explains the rationale for the necessity of Jesus’ humanness in 2:9-18. He partook of flesh and blood so that, through His death, He might render Satan powerless. In this way, He might deliver us who, by virtue of our fear of death, have been held in captivity and slavery to the devil all of our lives. Therefore, the writer says, He was obligated to be made like us in every way, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest before God, to make a satisfactory atoning sacrifice for our sins (to pay the legal price for our sins). AND, since He was tempted in the things He suffered, He is able to come to our help when we are tempted.

A key ingredient of what we are told here is that Jesus came to deliver us from the fear of death, so that we would no longer be held captive or be enslaved by the devil. It is not by coincidence that, when Satan and his demonic host were thrown down from heaven in Rev. 12, the voice from heaven declared that those who get victory over him do so because of the blood of the Lamb (legal price paid by Jesus) and because of the word of their testimony (their affirmation that they have personally become a Christ-follower) and because they did not love their life even to death (they preferred to follow Christ no matter what). Victory over the enemy comes in no other way. We need to personally be redeemed and protected by the blood of Christ, and we must choose to put aside any obstacle to obedience, no matter what the cost.

Remember what Jesus said? "He who loves his or her natural-self-life ruins it; but the one who hates (disregards) his or her self-life in this world will protect it for eternal life" (Jn. 12:25). In this context, Jesus is explaining a foundational principle of how the power of the kingdom of God is released in this world. Using the example of a grain of wheat, Jesus pointed out that unless the seed went through death and burial, it would remain alone; but if it dies, it will bear much fruit. Jesus was speaking not only of the impact of His life, laid down on our behalf, but also concerning the impact of our own lives. If we are willing to lay down our self-agenda (our fear of death) to follow God, others will come to life as a result. The problem for us is that God’s ways are often counter intuitive. They go against our natural desire to protect self-interest. We must die to self, to experience resurrection life from God.

This brings us right back to Jesus’ struggle in the Garden of Gethsemane. The very name of the place was a word picture of what was happening within its enclosure. "Gethsemane" means "oil press", a place where olives were broken, crushed and pressed in order that the precious oil within could be released and gathered up. Jesus was experiencing a pressing and crushing process, emotionally and spiritually, …the beginning of the agony which would bring our deliverance from death and the release of the life of the Spirit on our behalf.

The inner turmoil had actually come upon Him at times before. He had been speaking to His disciples about His suffering and death at the hands of the authorities for nearly a year, since the time of Peter’s confession at Caesarea Philippi (Matt. 16:21). As the time approached, this inner struggle increased. On Palm Sunday, He told His disciples, "Now My soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, ‘Father, save Me from this hour?’ But for this purpose I came to this hour. Father, glorify Your name" (Jn. 12:27,28). Again, at the last supper, He "became troubled in spirit", as He told His followers that one of them would betray Him (Jn. 13:21).

Now, as they entered the "oil press", the weight of His agony began to come upon Him in fuller measure. He left eight disciples by the entry and retreated further into the garden with Peter, James and John in order to pray. At that point, He began to become very sorrowful and uncomfortable. He told them that His soul (natural-self) was deeply grieved (the word implies "encompassed or surrounded by grief or sorrow"), to the very point of death. This agitation and grief increased so much that Luke records that He actually began to sweat blood, with great clots of it falling from His body along with His sweat. This condition has been documented as occurring under extreme duress.

This is recorded for us so that we would know the level of deep struggle and discomfort He endured.

Why is this so important? Because we must know and be assured that He went through something that was even greater than our worst trials or nightmares. Why do we need to know this? Because He is to be our example and guide when we are facing difficulty and inner struggle.

Did you ever face something where you felt like you would just die if you didn’t give in to your desire to deliver yourself? Do you know that agitation of soul when trying to hold out against temptation? Have you experienced incapacitating fear or dread at facing some kind of difficult circumstance? Ever feel like you want to turn around and run the other way? Ever felt like you would "die a thousand deaths" if you had to go through some embarrassing circumstance, or own up to some disappointing failure in your life?

Jesus was facing all of that, and more. He was going to die the deaths of several billion people, so they wouldn’t have to. In fact, He was going to take the punishment of hell for them. The Bible says that the punishment that was due them was laid upon Him (Isa. 53:4-6), including yours and mine. He who knew no sin was about to become sin on our behalf (II Cor. 5:21). He was going to feel slimed, dirty, …and be treated with wrath by the Father. He was going to be rejected and abandoned by both God and people.

Just in the natural alone, He knew full well what was awaiting him. He was going to be beaten, abused, spit upon, stripped and hung naked, exposed and helpless before hundreds of passersby. He was going to be mocked and jeered at by His enemies. He was going to experience the most horrendous shame and the most excruciating death imaginable.

This was the "cup" He was asked to drink. He had to choose it voluntarily.

Take note of Jesus’ very human struggle in the garden. "Father, if it be possible let this cup pass from Me…" He did not want to go through with this. He did not want to experience the pain, or endure the shame, that awaited Him. Now, I said that Jesus was to be our guide and example.

What did He do when He faced His deepest struggle?

(1.) He shared His burden with others, and asked them to pray. We also need to get others into the loop for support and accountability.

(2.) Then, He brought the matter to God Himself, because it can only be settled there with Him. He asked for prayer support, but then He got alone with God to hear from Him directly. He couldn’t afford to rely simply on the opinions of others. That was already evident from past experience (Matt. 16:21-23; cf. Acts 20:22,23; 21:10-14).

Jesus did more than pray once, however. He advocated two other things:

(3.) Watchfulness and

(4.) Perseverance in prayer. "Stay alert and continue to pray that you may not enter into temptation…" (Matt. 26:41). Jesus saw the need for ongoing alertness and ongoing prayer to avoid being caught up into temptation. By His example, it is also what you must do to weather the test. We must not be naïve, as though the prayer will keep us from being tested. Rather, the prayer will ready us to discern and deal with temptation when it comes.

(5.) Avoid the temptation, if possible. How many times did Jesus do that? Jesus’ often left the scene in order to avoid being pulled into conflict (e.g., Jn. 4:1-3). Notice what He says, "Watch and pray in order that you might not enter into the test." Tests will come, but we should turn away from them, not allow ourselves to be teased by them, or be worn down by allowing negative thoughts or people to continue to pummel us. Don’t go in into the temptation.

In fact, we are to do exactly the opposite, we are to (6.) look for the way out. The apostle Paul tells us that God will provide a way out, an egress, so that we might be able to bear up under it" (I Cor. 10:13). The word used by Paul is not the normal word for endurance ("remain under"). This word is from a root word meaning to "lift, bear, lead or carry away" with a prefix "under". The idea is that we might bear up under and carry the weight until we can get out of the situation, …not that we would remain in the test.

(7.) Know your limitations. Our abilities are limited. "…for on the one hand the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak." Jesus knew that our inner person wishes to do right, but we get drawn away by the weaknesses of the flesh. This was Jesus’ dilemma here in the garden. His spirit wanted to do the Father’s will, but His flesh drew back in fear and dread. Don’t depend on self-will alone to carry you through, because your sinful heart is deceitful (Jer. 17:9). If you are having difficulty, take steps to get help or get out of the situation, if possible. At least, get a break.

(8.) Submit to God. How do we do that? Go to the Father and verbalize to Him that you want to do His will. "Father, if it be possible let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will." Jesus verbalized His submission to the Father three times on this occasion (Matt. 26:39,42; Mk. 14:39). Doing the will of God is of premier importance. We will never lose if we obey Him. He will never cheat us. Satan will. He is a thief and a con man who wants to steal from us, kill us and ruin our lives. Jesus is the Good Shepherd who has shown us that the heart of God is to love us, bless us and lead us in ways that are good (Jn. 10:10,11; Psa. 23).

(9.) Pray through to victory. Jesus exemplifies the experience to which many others have also testified. At times, it is possible to pray through to victory. Jesus came to the place of total submission, of death to self-will and a resolve to serve His Father no matter what.

(10.) Press through to a vision of the blessings of obedience. The text from Hebrews tells us that He rose from prayer with joy in His heart. He was able to see with God’s viewpoint. Thus, the shame and abuse He faced were put into the perspective of eternity, where they paled into insignificance (Rom. 8:18; II Cor. 4:16-18).

Jesus' Last Supper

Notes for the Ekklesia Meeting
Sundays @ 10:00 a.m. Info: (651) 283-0568 Discipleship Training Ministries, Inc www.dtminc.org Today’s Date: May 14, 2006

Jesus’ Last Supper
by Dan Trygg

Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Where do You want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover?" 18 And He said, "Go into the city to a certain man, and say to him, 'The Teacher says, "My time is near; I am to keep the Passover at your house with My disciples."'" Matthew 26:17,18

Jesus seems to have anticipated that Judas would be watching for an opportunity to tell the authorities how to find Him apart from the crowds. What better opportunity than to seize Him as He prepared to eat the Passover?

We should not be surprised that Jesus had taken special precautions to reserve a place without the knowledge of any of His disciples. The question in vs. 17 clearly tells us that they did not know, even up to the very day of the Passover, where they were going to meet for dinner. Mark’s account reveals that Jesus sent two of His disciples into the city, telling them to watch for a man carrying a jar of water (14:13). This was an unusual occurrence, since usually women carried vessels of water on their head. The man would have been noticeable to anyone looking for such a signal. The disciples were to follow this man to whatever house he enters. Then, they were instructed to speak to the owner of the house, and to ask him, "The Teacher says, ‘Where is My guest room in which I may eat the Passover with My disciples?’" He would then show them a large upper room where they could prepare for the meal. Jesus kept the other disciples in the dark about where they were going. He showed up at the pre-arranged location in the evening, with His disciples in tow (Mk. 14:17). This prevented Judas from having an opportunity to learn of the location and report to the chief priests.

At the table, Jesus revealed how He had earnestly desired to eat this Passover with them before He would suffer, for He would never again eat it until "whenever it might be fulfilled in the kingdom of God" (Lk. 22:15,16). What did He mean? He was looking forward to this last Passover meal with them, because He was about to fulfill everything it represented. He had come for this very purpose (cf. Jn. 12:23-27). He was the Lamb who came to take away the sins of the world (Jn. 1:29).

So, what was the Passover all about? Remember the story of Moses? God had commissioned him to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. Pharaoh, who was oppressing the people of Israel, kept refusing to let the people go. God sent nine plagues, exposing the impotence of the Egyptian gods before Yahweh the Creator. The tenth plague was the final blow to compel Pharaoh to send Israel out from Egypt. It was the plague of the firstborn. In Exodus 4:22,23 the rationale behind this plague is revealed, "Then you shall say to Pharaoh, 'Thus says the Yahweh, "Israel is My son, My firstborn. So I said to you, 'Let My son go that he may serve Me'; but you have refused to let him go. Behold, I will kill your son, your firstborn."'" This may seem harsh, but the Egyptians had been guilty of murdering thousands of Israelite babies. This was both judgment for the sins of their nation, as well as God’s great revelation of who He really is and the liberation of the nation of Israel. God revealed to Moses that He was going to go through the land and kill every firstborn creature, both of man and beast (11:5). If, however, the Israelites would slaughter a lamb, and put some of its blood on the two doorposts and lintel of their houses, God would pass over their houses, and no one therein would be harmed. "For I will go through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments-- I am Yahweh. The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live; and when I see the blood I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt. Now this day will be a memorial to you, and you shall celebrate it as a feast to Yahweh; throughout your generations…" (Ex. 12:12-14a).

Jesus came to be the fulfillment of the Passover lamb (I Cor. 5:7). God would look upon His blood and pass over the sins of those who taken refuge under its sign.

According to John’s account (13:1-17), He arose from supper to wash their feet, giving them an example of humility and service. He was the greatest of them all, the Lord and Teacher. Yet, He made Himself to be like the lowliest of servants to care for their comfort, when apparently none of them was willing to take initiative to offer this customary rite of hospitality. Possibly this experience reminded Him of Mary’s willingness to serve Him in this way just a few days before, and He became troubled in spirit (or, by the Spirit), and revealed that one of them would betray Him (Jn. 13:18-21). Interestingly, they all became deeply grieved and asked Him, "Surely, not I, Lord?" They had been with Jesus long enough to know that they were all capable of such sin and weakness. No one suspected Judas more than anyone else, …or even their own selves! After warning them that the one who betrays Him would come to a horrible end (Remember the word "woe"? It means "calamity, destruction, or horror".), they continued their meal.

While they were eating, He took bread, and broke it. Giving it to the disciples, He said, "Take, eat; this is My body, which is given on behalf of you; do this in remembrance of Me" (Matt. 26:26; Lk. 22:19). After supper, He took a cup and gave it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you; for this is My blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins." The apostle Paul adds the words which had been delivered to him, "…do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me" (I Cor. 11:25). The significance of this action was not missed by any. Although they did not fully realize the reality of what Jesus was soon to fulfill, they did know that they were celebrating a commemoratory meal, the Passover. Now, in this setting, Jesus gives them a new commemoratory ordinance. The Passover meal had commemorated the redemption of Israel from bondage to Egyptian servitude, a redemption that was culminated by the formation of a national covenant with God at Mount Sinai and the promise of a new land. What Jesus was introducing here was a meal commemorating our redemption from bondage to sin, which is culminated in a personal new covenant with God, the creation of a new spiritual humanity (Eph. 2:11-22) and the promise of a new heavens and a new earth. The Passover meal was celebrated yearly, the communion meal was to remind them of the new covenant "as often as they ate or drank" of the meal.

The new covenant which Jesus spoke of was not a new concept. Those very words had been used by Jeremiah the prophet (31:31-33). Whereas the former covenant had included the giving of the Law on tablets of stone, and through the teachings of Moses, the new covenant would be written upon their hearts and their minds, so that it would be lived out in their day-to-day choices. Ezekiel had spoken of this (11:19,20). Israel had not walked in the ways and teachings of Yahweh. Instead, they walked like the nations that were around them. Ezekiel prophesied that the glory of God would abandon Jerusalem. They would be captured by their enemies and exiled from the land of promise as punishment for their sin (chapters 4:1-11:13). Then, he began to prophesy about a restoration to come. Though they would be scattered among the nations, God will gather them back to the land of promise. They will remove their detestable things and evil practices, and God will give them a new heart and put within them a new spirit.

This had been the age-old problem which had been recognized by Moses nearly a millennium before. The reason that the Israelites could not obey God was that their hearts were not changed (Dt. 29:4). They had the same sinful, self-centered, "uncircumcised" hearts that every human being has had since the time of Adam’s sin. We are sinners by nature, and therefore become sinners by choice. Moses also had prophesied that Israel would sin, experience God’s disciplines, and eventually be banished from the land of promise (Dt. 28:15-68). He too had spoken of a time when God would regather His people from the nations where they had been exiled, and would restore them to Palestine (Dt. 30:1-10). At that time, God will "circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love Yahweh your God with all your heart and with all your soul, in order that you may live" (vs. 6). The change of heart would make possible a new way to live (cf. Prov. 4:23).

Later, Ezekiel would teach the same truths, "I will take the heart of stone out of their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in My statutes and keep My ordinances, and do them. Then they will be My people and I will be their God" (11:19,20). Ezekiel returns to this same theme later, and states it even more strongly, "I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; …and I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances" (34: 25b-27). Thus the possession of a new heart makes possible a life of obedience, and when we follow the Spirit, we will walk in God’s ways.

It is important to see both aspects. We are new creatures, with a new capacity for righteousness than we had before, but we also are dependent upon a living relationship with God through the Holy Spirit in order to be motivated and empowered to live differently. He will work in us to desire to do His will, and to empower us to perform it (Phil. 2:12,13). Nevertheless we still must choose to walk in agreement with Him. If we try to choose to obey God from our old heart and strength, we will get the same frustrating results that we would expect to get from our fallen, human abilities. If, however, we operate out from the new heart, actively following the leading and energizing empowerment of the Holy Spirit, we will walk with God in obedience and righteousness.

Eating Jesus’ flesh and drinking His blood was not a new idea to the disciples, either. Jesus had used this word picture before, after the feeding of the 5,000 (Jn. 6; Matt. 14). It had probably been more than a year since Jesus had delivered that message that had been so offensive to their ears. The point of Jesus’ teaching was that He was to be their source of life. He was the bread of life, having come down out from heaven to give life to the world. He plainly told them that they had no life in themselves (Jn. 6:53). In order to obtain that life, they needed to eat His flesh and drink His blood. To abide in His life, we must continually gnaw on Him and continually drink of His blood (vs. 56). This was not meant to be literal, or magical. It was meant to be a word picture expressing to us that Jesus is our source of life, and we must continually receive the sustenance and vitality which comes from Him, in order to experience life which comes from above.

How Much Do Regard or Disregard Jesus?

Notes for the Ekklesia Meeting
Sundays @ 10:00 a.m. Info: (651) 283-0568 Discipleship Training Ministries, Inc www.dtminc.org Today’s Date: May 7, 2006

How Much Do You Regard or Disregard Jesus?
by Dan Trygg

"When Jesus had finished all these sayings, He said to His disciples, 2 ‘You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified.’ 3 Then the chief priests and the elders of the people gathered in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas, 4 and plotted together in order to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill Him. 5 But they said, ‘Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar among the people.’ 6 Now when Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, 7 a woman came up to him with an alabaster flask of very expensive ointment, and she poured it on His head as He reclined at table. 8 And when the disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, ‘Why this waste?’" Matthew 26:1-8

"But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, and a snare, and many undiscerning and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction." I Timothy 6:9

Chapter 24 and 25 of Matthew were Jesus’ teaching about His coming and the close of the age. Most of what He talked about in this discourse was about events very distant in the future. This chapter begins with a reality check. After concluding His prophetic sermon on the future, Jesus reminds His disciples, "You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man is to be delivered up to be crucified." This serves as a reality check for the reader, as well, as the apostle uses these words to pull our focus back to the main core of the gospel story, Jesus’ sacrificial death on our behalf. Jesus did not let the apostles linger long over future dreams of glory. He brought them right back to the present, because there was much to be done.

The information about His future coming is not to be a focus of our thinking, either. It is meant to keep us on task, to remind us that we will have to give an account to Him when He returns. Now, lest the apostles get caught up in fruitless discussion about things over which they have no control, the Lord brings them immediately back to the present, so their focus would be on what is taking place around them. (Note that He did the same thing after His resurrection. In Acts 1, they ask Him, "Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?" His response? "It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; rather, you shall take power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses… to the remotest parts of the earth" [Acts 1:7,8].)

Matthew uses another literary device to pull us back into the storyline. Verse 3 begins with "then". The Greek word underlying that translation means "at that time", so what Matthew does is place verses 3-5 alongside of Jesus’ conversation with His disciples. In other words, at the very time Jesus was pulling His disciples’ attention back to the reality of His impending crucifixion, the chief priests and elders were gathered in the court of the high priest, Caiaphas, counseling together to seize Jesus by treachery and kill Him. Both groups, though separated geographically, were simultaneously discussing His demise. What a dramatic way to pull us back into the larger story! Note that the gathering at the high priest’s house included not only the chief priests, but also the elders of the people. The outcome of their discussion was that they did not want to arrest Him during the feast (of unleavened bread), so that they might avoid a riot among the people. They needed to arrest Him secretly, when there were no crowds.

There is some debate about how verses 6-16 fit into the sequence of events. Some see a discrepancy between the synoptic gospel accounts and the gospel of John. On the surface it appears that the anointing of Jesus at Bethany occurs on Tuesday evening in the first two gospels, while John records it as having taken place before the triumphal entry on Palm Sunday, probably late on Saturday evening. (This would have been a perfect time for Jesus to travel into the vicinity of Jerusalem without being detected. Most people, having stayed home for the Sabbath, would not have ventured out after sundown. If Jesus and His disciples had lodged a short distance outside of the Jerusalem area, they could have packed up and come to Bethany after sundown.) It is important to remember that John wrote his account much later than the other three gospel accounts. On numerous occasions, he supplies information not included in the earlier gospels, often expanding on, or clarifying, events briefly summarized or abridged by the other writers. This is an example of such an occasion. A closer look at the Greek structure in Matthew and Mark reveals that their accounts of the anointing at Bethany could be flashbacks to what had happened earlier, not a continuation of the storyline. In other words, they offer a further explanation for the gathering of the chief priests and elders, and are to be understood as background information.

From John’s account, we find out that the unnamed woman was actually Mary of Bethany, sister of Martha and Lazarus (Jn. 11:1-12:11; cf. Lk. 10:38-42). From these passages we learn that Mary and her family had a long standing relationship with Jesus. The Lord had considered Lazarus one of His special friends. Furthermore, Mary had been a devoted follower of His teachings for some time. Jesus had encouraged this by allowing her to sit at His feet as did the other disciples, a practice which most rabbis of the day would not have permitted. It may also be that their home served as a base of operation, a place where Jesus could safely stay on His visits to Jerusalem (cf. Mk. 11:1,11,12,19,20,27; 14:3; Mt. 21:17). At feast times the population of Jerusalem could easily triple in size. Finding desirable places to lodge or camp close in to the city could be a challenge. Having friends offer their home would simplify things greatly, and would have been appreciated. From all these factors, it is clear that there was a well-founded basis for her respect and admiration of Him. The immediate reason for her lavish display of devotion is also quite understandable. Jesus had recently raised her brother from the dead. To say she was grateful is a gross understatement.

John supplies us with further details regarding the vial of ointment which Mary used. According to his record, it was not just "very costly", as Matthew puts it, …it was worth more that 300 day’s wages! It was nearly twelve ounces of pure spikenard, a very rare spice imported from the Himalayan region. This was truly a gift fit for a king. For this family to even have such a treasure in their possession indicates that they must have once had much wealth. The fact that the sisters were serving, however, indicates that they were now too poor to afford to hire domestic help, which was very inexpensive and commonly employed in that day. How do we account for this disparity? Matthew and Mark refer to the house as the "home of Simon the leper". We know nothing more than this detail. He probably was the father of these three siblings. Whether he was still alive is never revealed, but his malady could easily have been the cause of the family misfortunes of recent years. So in the midst of their current relative poverty, the family still had a treasure left over from better times, …probably kept against the day that it might need to be sold, but representing the prosperous time in which these siblings grew up. It was more than a possession. It represented the former pride and glory of their family’s past. Yet now Mary, probably in agreement with her brother and sister, approaches Jesus while He was reclining at the table, breaks the alabaster vial, and anoints His head and feet, wiping the excess off His feet with her hair. Instantly, the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

Note that in the reaction of the disciples there is no sense of impropriety or sexual innuendo. What Mary did was in no way inappropriate. To anoint the head and wash the feet of guests was a common practice of hospitality. She took the place of the lowliest of servants to do this, but transformed this menial task into a precious act of honor and devotion by giving of her very best, the vial of ointment. By wiping His feet with her hair, she identified herself with the fragrance which He now carried. The disciples’ only objection was the waste of the expensive perfume.

We find out from John that it was Judas who initiated this protest (12:4). John also reveals that Judas had a selfish interest, in that he had been embezzling funds from the ministry collection box. He was offended because he wanted the money for himself. His concern was not to honor Jesus for Jesus’ sake, but to get wealth and honor for himself. Following Jesus was a means to an end. For Judas, the end was his own personal gain and glory. Mary’s action cut against any self gain, so he objected that it was "waste". When Jesus defended Mary’s action, even commending her, that seems to have been the last straw for Judas. He left the company (The word translated as "then" is the same as in vs. 3, usually referring to action at that time.) in Bethany and proceeded into the city to visit the chief priests to find out how much they would pay him to deliver Jesus up to them. The thirty pieces of silver which they offered was the price of a common slave (Ex. 21:32), an amount probably equivalent to 120 day’s wages, or a little more than a third of the value of the ointment which Mary had just "wasted" upon Jesus. The chief priests’ offer was no great reward. It was more of an insult, and reveals how little they thought of Jesus (cf. Zech. 11:12). He didn’t even haggle with the priests for more. Judas betrayed Jesus more out of spite than money.

Having made arrangements with Judas, the chief priests called together the council of priests and elders to prepare them for the possibility of Jesus’ arrest. If Judas succeeded in delivering Jesus over to them in secret, they would have to act fast to get everything accomplished according to law, and still keep the crowds of people unaware of what was happening. The council agreed that Jesus must not be arrested publicly. How much the chief priests actually revealed to them is unknown, but they agreed on this point. Thus, the wheels were set in motion.

I Tim. 6:9 very poignantly states the principle operative in Judas’ life, which was in such direct contrast to Mary’s heart and actions. Paul writes, "The ones wanting to be rich fall into a test and a snare and many undiscerning and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction." The word translated as "destruction" is the same as the word for "waste" in Matt. 26:8. Mary freely gave her best to Jesus. In Judas’ eyes she had "wasted" her treasure on Him. She could have made better use of it, in his mind. Jesus, however, commended her for her act of devotion. Judas’ desire for gain, however, led him down a reckless path. He was tested by this incident, and chose to go after self-interest. In the end, he was led by his undiscerning passion for more, and was caught in a trap that brought him to ruin and waste. Instead of "wasting" something, his entire life ended as a tragic waste. How about you? Are you living to regard Jesus highly, by freely giving your devotion and obedience to Him, or are you disregarding Him, by being stingy with time, money and your attention. Those who honor Him, He will honor. The lives of those who disregard Him will end up as "waste", because they lived only for the here and now.