Notes
The generous will prosper; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed.
Proverbs 11:25
Fear the Lord, you his godly people, for those who fear him will have all they need. Even strong young lions sometimes go hungry, but those who trust in the Lord will lack no good thing.
Psalm 34:9-10
God’s blessings are like a river in our lives: it’s good, so we shouldn’t create a dam. Instead, we should let the blessings refresh our soul and flow out of our lives so they can also refresh others. We need to hang on to the hope that God is making all things new, so that we don’t get stagnant.
When Jesus had finished saying all these things, he said to his disciples, “As you know, Passover begins in two days, and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.”
At that same time, the leading priests and elders were meeting at the residence of Caiaphas, the high priest, plotting how to capture Jesus secretly and kill him. “But not during the Passover celebration,” they agreed, “or the people may riot.”
Meanwhile, Jesus was in Bethany at the home of Simon, a man who had previously had leprosy. While he was eating, a woman came in with a beautiful alabaster jar of expensive perfume and poured it over his head.
The disciples were indignant when they saw this. “What a waste!” they said. “It could have been sold for a high price and the money given to the poor.”
But Jesus, aware of this, replied, “Why criticize this woman for doing such a good thing to me? You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me. She has poured this perfume on me to prepare my body for burial. I tell you the truth, wherever the Good News is preached throughout the world, this woman’s deed will be remembered and discussed.”
Matthew 26:1-13
The perfume this woman used was worth about a year’s salary. To the disciples, it seemed wasteful, but she understood who Jesus was more than they did. Nothing is wasted when you are advancing what Jesus came to do. By pouring the perfume over Jesus’ head, the woman was anointing Him - setting Him apart to do what He said He was going to do.
To follow her example, we should do these three things:
1. Don’t make Jesus common
Too often, we make Jesus common. We need to remember that yes, He is our friend but He is also our King, and that yes, He is human but He is also God, the Creator of the universe. While having a personal relationship with Jesus, we have to maintain giving Him the reverence, honor, and respect He deserves.
2. Stop worrying
In their culture, it was out of place for a woman to enter the meeting the disciples and Jesus were having. But, she walked in anyway. What she was doing was more important than any cultural norms she was defying, so she didn’t worry about what anyone was going to think about her.
3. Seize the moment
The woman took advantage of the opportunity before her. Like her, we can take things like the Easter Bunny and colored eggs to use as a way to get the Good News to people who may not have heard it before. We can use our culture to speak into people’s lives, make them feel welcome, and help introduce them to their Savior.
Group Questions
- What are some of the blessings God has given you?
- Why did the woman pour perfume on Jesus?
- What does it mean to make Jesus common, and how can we avoid it?
- How do we seize the moment of Easter to make Jesus’ name known?
Prayer
Thank you for being an uncommon God, who came to rescue us even though we did nothing to deserve it. Refresh our souls with your blessings so that we can let them overflow from our lives.