Matthew 26:6-13

Matthew 26:6-13

And after Jesus became in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, a woman drew near to Him while having an alabaster flask of very expensive perfumed oil and she poured it upon His head while reclining at the table to eat.  And after the disciples saw this they were indignant while saying, “Into what is this waste?  For this is powerful enough to be sold for a large sum and to be given to the poor.”  But after Jesus knew He said to them, “Why do you cause trouble for this woman?  For she accomplished a good work into me.  For you always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.  For after this one cast this perfumed oil upon my body, she did it to me in order to prepare me for burial.  Amen I say to you all, wherever this Gospel should be proclaimed in all the world, it will also be spoken what she did into her remembrance.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

One thing that we can learn about this story is the extravagance of love.  This was very valuable perfume.  It could have helped many poor people.  Imagine what it could have done for a single individual!  This woman gives up that opportunity for her own security in order to bless God.  That is the extravagance of love.  That is a person who is grateful for what God has done in her life.  That is a woman who trusts in God’s ability to provide for her.  When our life is willingly given to God, we have no issue being extravagant in our love.

Are you extravagant in your love to God?  Are you extravagant in your love to one another?

Second Thought:

Notice, however, that her gift was not just a gift.  The gift did more than show the woman’s love for Christ.  The gift prepared Jesus for the time to come.  He was going to die, and symbolically this act prepared Him for burial.  Furthermore, it gave Jesus an opportunity to teach.  This act gave Jesus an opportunity to speak into the lives of others.  Extravagant love is more than just worship.  Extravagant love serves the purposes of God.

When has your displays of love given others opportunity to teach?  When has you displays of love served a greater purpose for God than you could imagine?

Third Thought:

In order to finish this text, I have to admit a lesson that I don’t like.  However, I concede that it is an absolutely true point.  Here it is.  In life, sometimes the logical perspective is not the correct one.  The disciples are right.  This perfume could have been sold for an incredible amount of money and the poor could have benefitted mightily.  But Jesus tells us that in this instance this perspective is flat-out wrong.  There are times when the worship of our Lord should defy logic.  Spiritually speaking, that makes sense.  God should defy logic.  The problem is that in the moment it is often difficult to know which opportunities we should take in suspending logic or following it.  That’s a trick – and it’s a trick I clearly haven’t gotten right all the time.  The disciples don’t get it right in this story, either.  So we need to remember more than the fact that sometimes our logic should be suspended for the spiritual; we also need to remember to be forgiving of those who forget to suspend logic in those instances.

Is it difficult for you to suspect logic for the spiritual?  How do you try and discern when these opportunities are present?

Passage for Tomorrow: Matthew 26:14-16