...love without fear...

“1 It was two days before the Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread. The chief priests and the scribes were looking for a way to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him, 2 for they said, “Not during the festival, or there may be a riot among the people.”

3 While he was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at the table, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very costly ointment of nard, and she broke open the jar and poured the ointment on his head. 4 But some were there who said to one another in anger, ‘Why was the ointment wasted in this way? 5 For this ointment could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor.” And they scolded her. 6 But Jesus said, “Let her alone; why do you trouble her? She has performed a good service for me. 7 For you always have the poor with you, and you can show kindness to them whenever you wish, but you will not always have me. 8 She has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand for its burial. 9 Truly I tell you, wherever the good news is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in remembrance 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 When they heard it, they were greatly pleased and promised to give him money. So he began to look for an opportunity to betray him” Mark 14:1-11.

Notice that in Mark’s Gospel the Passover always seems to be in the background of Jesus’ “march” to the cross. Passover is a freedom celebration, and so it makes sense that Jesus who is about to win our freedom by His death on the cross would come into Jerusalem at Passover.

But for the authorities, Passover would not be a good time to arrest Jesus for fear of the crowds reacting to Jesus’ arrest. So it was Judas who provided a way for the chief priests to lead them to Jesus. The motivations, however, of Judas to betray Jesus never seem to be really clear to me. Was Judas disappointed in Jesus? Was he angry at Jesus? Was he pressured by others who were against Jesus? Did he get nervous about being seen by the authorities as being aligned with Jesus? Or did he just see this simply as an easy way to make a lot of quick money? Mark seems to leave that up to us to decide!

It seems that the other disciples also shared some of Judas’ anxiety about what Jesus was going to do in Jerusalem, and their anxiety surfaced in their reaction to the woman who poured expensive ointment over Jesus’ head. I have always found it interesting, when people worship Jesus without inhibitions, onlookers often find the spectacle embarrassing and distasteful. Can we not all see the struggle to respect what this woman is doing for Jesus?

But the grumbling bystanders call forth from Jesus some remarkable comments. Despite Jesus’ teaching about and love for the poor, it’s His own imminent death that garners His prime consideration. Clearly Jesus is trying to teach them something about his death, but they aren’t listening. In a shocking comment, Jesus tells them that the woman has anointed His body for burial. No one but Jesus has actual knowledge of His immanent death, and yet it is clear that the woman gets it right, while the men get it wrong!

Jesus points out to everyone that she has performed a good service for Him…because shortly no one will have an opportunity to show kindness to Jesus. And then Jesus announces that this woman “has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand for its burial” (v.8).

I walk away from this story hearing Jesus tell me how much He wants my love. So I encourage you in your prayer today to tell Jesus how much you love Him. Let Jesus know of your desire to live a generous and faithful life — because of your love for Him! Don’t be afraid to step away from the crowd and show others that your love for Jesus is without fear of what others might think of you.

Lord, open my heart to love You and follow You as never before. Please fill me with your Holy Spirit so that I might feel Your presence and live my faith in You without fear or embarrassment. Help me to be a witness to buy love for you — just as this woman did in the presence of skeptics. I pray this in your Name, in gratitude for Your grace. Amen.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me a sinner.

From the Bible:

“There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love” 1 John 4:18.

“For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control” 2 Timothy 1:7.

“Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins”

1 Peter 4:8.

“So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love”

1 Corinthians 13:13.