Word@Work 166 - Mark 14:10-11
Published: Tue, 07/15/08
Word@Work from BeaconLight
Read Mark 14:10-11 Then Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Jesus to them. They were delighted to hear this and promised to give him money. So he watched for an opportunity to hand him over. (NIV)
Yesterdays' passage of extravagant devotion, and today's, of extravagant greed, are intentionally linked by the word 'then'. The contrast is so stark: one who loved Jesus so much that she gave him the best; and the other loved himself so much that he got the best he could out of Jesus. The worship of self must inevitably exclude the worship of Jesus, although we can cleverly disguise our self-centeredness in a nice looking religious way. But here, the real crime of self-worship is seen in all its awfulness - at heart it is not just the desire to sideline Jesus, but to get rid of Him. At last, the chief priests had found an ally on the inside: a man close to Jesus who shared their evil motive of bitter and envious self-love.
It was not just greed and the habit of theft that spurred Judas; perhaps it was also the purity of Mary's devotion to Jesus that excited the demonic hatred in Judas. His self-love had no space at all for the Lord, and he would have been intensely irritated by such an open display of devotion to the one he despised. Now all he needed to do was to seize the moment, and the money would be his ... as would the historical ignominy and the eternal remorse!
But remember Mary: she too, seized the moment. She chose to pour out her love, and Jesus publicly commended her. The readers are intended to put themselves into the picture and line up with one or other of the characters. Where is my love? for myself, or for Jesus? The two scenarios are mutually exclusive. Jesus said, "Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also" (Matt 6:21). Mary and Judas both demonstrated what was precious to them, and thus revealed the natural location of their hearts, which marked the destiny of their souls.
Prayer: Lord Jesus. Please show me where my love is directed, because I know that self-love can be so blind. Help me to turn my heart fully towards You so that my acts of devotion will be real and not fake. For Your Name's sake. Amen.
You can read more of this Bible passage online - in English and other languages - share the Bible with your friends!
Yesterdays' passage of extravagant devotion, and today's, of extravagant greed, are intentionally linked by the word 'then'. The contrast is so stark: one who loved Jesus so much that she gave him the best; and the other loved himself so much that he got the best he could out of Jesus. The worship of self must inevitably exclude the worship of Jesus, although we can cleverly disguise our self-centeredness in a nice looking religious way. But here, the real crime of self-worship is seen in all its awfulness - at heart it is not just the desire to sideline Jesus, but to get rid of Him. At last, the chief priests had found an ally on the inside: a man close to Jesus who shared their evil motive of bitter and envious self-love.
It was not just greed and the habit of theft that spurred Judas; perhaps it was also the purity of Mary's devotion to Jesus that excited the demonic hatred in Judas. His self-love had no space at all for the Lord, and he would have been intensely irritated by such an open display of devotion to the one he despised. Now all he needed to do was to seize the moment, and the money would be his ... as would the historical ignominy and the eternal remorse!
But remember Mary: she too, seized the moment. She chose to pour out her love, and Jesus publicly commended her. The readers are intended to put themselves into the picture and line up with one or other of the characters. Where is my love? for myself, or for Jesus? The two scenarios are mutually exclusive. Jesus said, "Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also" (Matt 6:21). Mary and Judas both demonstrated what was precious to them, and thus revealed the natural location of their hearts, which marked the destiny of their souls.
Prayer: Lord Jesus. Please show me where my love is directed, because I know that self-love can be so blind. Help me to turn my heart fully towards You so that my acts of devotion will be real and not fake. For Your Name's sake. Amen.
You can read more of this Bible passage online - in English and other languages - share the Bible with your friends!
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