March 27, 2024 - Good Morning! It's Wednesday, March 27.
We continue today with our week-long series that looks at what Jesus was doing each day of that first Holy Week.
Wednesday saw Jesus and His disciples back in Bethany, a couple of miles east of Jerusalem, near the Mount of Olives. It would be a day of dramatic contrasts. A day with an inspiring act of worship and a disturbing act of betrayal.
Simon of Bethany was hosting Jesus in his home that evening. It's thought that Simon was the father of Lazarus, the man that Jesus had raised from the dead. In the midst of this banquet of gratitude came a woman with a special gift. Many believe that the woman was Mary, the sister of Lazarus. She held in her hands a jar filled with nard, an expensive perfume from India.
The jar was valued at 300 denarii. A denarii, in the first century, was a day's wages for a working man, and so the nard was equal to a year's wages. It would have been sealed shut and the only way to open it would have been to break it. Mary did just that and poured all of the precious perfume over the head of Jesus, anointing Him with oil. It was a truly extravagant act of worship.
This beautiful moment was suddenly shattered, as Judas stood and loudly protested what he saw as a waste of money. He left the gathering in a huff and made his way to a secret gathering with Jewish officials. Again, the focus was on money... thirty pieces of silver.
Meet you back here tomorrow,
Bro. David
dmathis@fbccenter.org
