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Matthew 26:1-16
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? 9 For this could have been sold for a large sum and given to the poor.” 10 But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a beautiful thing to me. 11 For you always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me.
12 In pouring this ointment on my body, she has done it to prepare me for burial. 13 Truly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.”
14 Then one of the twelve, whose name was Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests 15 and said, “What will you give me if I deliver him over to you?” And they paid him thirty pieces of silver. 16 And from that moment he sought an opportunity to betray him.
Mark 14:1-11
14 It was now two days before the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to arrest him by stealth and kill him, 2 for they said, “Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar from the people.”
3 And while he was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he was reclining at table, a woman came with an alabaster flask of ointment of pure nard, very costly, and she broke the flask and poured it over his head. 4 There were some who said to themselves indignantly, “Why was the ointment wasted like that? 5 For this ointment could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor.” And they scolded her.
6 But Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. 7 For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you want, you can do good for them. But you will not always have me. 8 She has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand for burial. 9 And truly, I say to you, wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her.”
10 Then Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went to the chief priests in order to betray him to them. 11 And when they heard it, they were glad and promised to give him money. And he sought an opportunity to betray him.
Luke 22:1-6
The Festival of Unleavened Bread, which is also called Passover, was approaching. 2 The leading priests and teachers of religious law were plotting how to kill Jesus, but they were afraid of the people’s reaction. 3 Then Satan entered into Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve disciples, 4 and he went to the leading priests and captains of the Temple guard to discuss the best way to betray Jesus to them. 5 They were delighted, and they promised to give him money. 6 So he agreed and began looking for an opportunity to betray Jesus so they could arrest him when the crowds weren’t around.
Is Jesus the Messiah or not? Who is this? These kinds of questions figured prominently in the minds of everyone Jesus interacted with, just as it does for us today. The personal response to Jesus is highlighted in the Gospels, whether they decided to believe Him and positioned themselves and their hearts to follow him, was an extremely important and great decision.
The Sanhedrin, the Jewish Religious authorities, saw the great things Jesus did. Some, those who would admit it, admired His teaching, yet they were more concerned how Jesus’ popularity, miracles and teaching might affect their position in society. Like most people in powerful positions, they wanted to protect their clout as teachers and leaders, so the Sanhedrin tried to trap Jesus with questions and plotted to end His life. Of course, the didn’t recognize that it was through death that Jesus would accomplish his God given call. (see Romans 14:9)
Judas, the one who would betray Jesus, walked with Jesus for three years. There is a caution here, isn’t there? You can spend a lot of time around Jesus and His people without a surrender to his purposes as his follower. This was Judas’ story. Perhaps he believed by helping the Sanhedrin get rid of Jesus he was opening a door to a place of honor or prestige in the future. Judas was not able to comprehend the nature of Jesus kingdom, that Jesus came to build a spiritual kingdom, one marked by sacrifice and servanthood.
I find the anointing at Bethany one of the more powerful passages in the New Testament. This woman had the distinction of anointing Jesus’ body before His death. She took her perfume, her costly perfume, and knelt at Jesus' feet. She bowed before Jesus in adoration, reverence, and gratitude and opened her most precious possession, and drenched Jesus' feet with it. Her outward actions signified the attitude of her heart.
Jesus said, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends” John 15:13. That is what Mary did that day to Jesus, and it is ultimately what Jesus does for us.
In these days of Holy Week, leading up to Easter, it is beneficial to pause and consider who we think Jesus is. You will recall Jesus asked his disciples the question Who do people say I am? Yet, he was more interested in the answer to his follow up questions “who do you say I am?
Is Jesus a threat to our current way of life like He was to the Sanhedrin?
Is Jesus someone we have followed because we believe it will bring some special distinction as Judas did?
Or is Jesus, the Christ, the son of the living God? The one who we call the leader of our life, to whom we offer our praise, gratitude, and worship in a way similar to Mary?
These are questions worth considering today.
10 Then Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went to the chief priests in order to betray him to them. 11 And when they heard it, they were glad and promised to give him money. And he sought an opportunity to betray him.
Luke 22:1-6
The Festival of Unleavened Bread, which is also called Passover, was approaching. 2 The leading priests and teachers of religious law were plotting how to kill Jesus, but they were afraid of the people’s reaction. 3 Then Satan entered into Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve disciples, 4 and he went to the leading priests and captains of the Temple guard to discuss the best way to betray Jesus to them. 5 They were delighted, and they promised to give him money. 6 So he agreed and began looking for an opportunity to betray Jesus so they could arrest him when the crowds weren’t around.
Is Jesus the Messiah or not? Who is this? These kinds of questions figured prominently in the minds of everyone Jesus interacted with, just as it does for us today. The personal response to Jesus is highlighted in the Gospels, whether they decided to believe Him and positioned themselves and their hearts to follow him, was an extremely important and great decision.
The Sanhedrin, the Jewish Religious authorities, saw the great things Jesus did. Some, those who would admit it, admired His teaching, yet they were more concerned how Jesus’ popularity, miracles and teaching might affect their position in society. Like most people in powerful positions, they wanted to protect their clout as teachers and leaders, so the Sanhedrin tried to trap Jesus with questions and plotted to end His life. Of course, the didn’t recognize that it was through death that Jesus would accomplish his God given call. (see Romans 14:9)
Judas, the one who would betray Jesus, walked with Jesus for three years. There is a caution here, isn’t there? You can spend a lot of time around Jesus and His people without a surrender to his purposes as his follower. This was Judas’ story. Perhaps he believed by helping the Sanhedrin get rid of Jesus he was opening a door to a place of honor or prestige in the future. Judas was not able to comprehend the nature of Jesus kingdom, that Jesus came to build a spiritual kingdom, one marked by sacrifice and servanthood.
I find the anointing at Bethany one of the more powerful passages in the New Testament. This woman had the distinction of anointing Jesus’ body before His death. She took her perfume, her costly perfume, and knelt at Jesus' feet. She bowed before Jesus in adoration, reverence, and gratitude and opened her most precious possession, and drenched Jesus' feet with it. Her outward actions signified the attitude of her heart.
Jesus said, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends” John 15:13. That is what Mary did that day to Jesus, and it is ultimately what Jesus does for us.
In these days of Holy Week, leading up to Easter, it is beneficial to pause and consider who we think Jesus is. You will recall Jesus asked his disciples the question Who do people say I am? Yet, he was more interested in the answer to his follow up questions “who do you say I am?
Is Jesus a threat to our current way of life like He was to the Sanhedrin?
Is Jesus someone we have followed because we believe it will bring some special distinction as Judas did?
Or is Jesus, the Christ, the son of the living God? The one who we call the leader of our life, to whom we offer our praise, gratitude, and worship in a way similar to Mary?
These are questions worth considering today.
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