“While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of a man named Simon the Leper, a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on his head as he was reclining at the table. When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. ‘Why this waste?’ they asked. ‘This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor.’
Aware of this, Jesus said to them, ‘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.’” Matthew 26:6-13
The ones we tend to declare ‘least likely,’ God might call ‘most likely.’ Had the disciples recognized the beauty of this woman’s thankful heart, they would never have criticized her. Had the disciples only discerned the times, they would never have interrupted such a holy moment.
Honest worship exposes a religious spirit. “Make a right judgment…” Jesus taught his listeners (see John 7:24), but how often our judgmentalism keeps us in the dark.
“This woman senses the valley I am entering; you guys are clueless. Love has motivated this daughter to pour out her most valuable treasure on Me; you guys don’t yet fathom the true meaning of love. What you call ‘waste,’ my Father calls ‘beautiful.’ Learn why she is most likely to enter his courts.”
Happy Thanksgiving!
“Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For The Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.” Psalm 100:4-5