Mark 14:3-9 Expensive perfume
Format for Your Devotions
Instructions: Do not read my example devotion until you have completed your own devotional time in the scriptures. Reading my thoughts first may limit your own understanding. Let the Holy Spirit speak to you alone before looking to see what anyone else has to say, whether it is me, a Bible commentary, or a friend. Let God speak to you before you let another person speak to you. I have provided a format, but modify it to fit your needs. For example, I usually combine my application and prayer together talking to God about the application to my own life. You can go through this devotion process mentally, speaking out loud, or in writing as you wish. Don’t worry if you are not following this process exactly. Sometimes, I add extra information and sometimes I emphasize one part more than others. However, you should always think about what you learn about God from this passage.
Step 1: Pray–Ask for the Holy Spirit’s guidance first of all and that God may reveal the lessons that He wants you to have that day. Request that God protect you from Satan’s distractions (and the devil will try to distract you whether it is pinching the baby or putting you to sleep). Ask to see God more clearly as you read and think about the passage.
Step 2: Read the passage–Read to get an overview of the information first. Then start looking at specific parts after the first reading. You may read a larger or smaller section than I have here because you do not have to follow my organization at all.
Step 3: Understand the passage–You can summarize, ask and answer your own questions about the passage, visualize the story, analyze the characters, and relate this passage to other scriptures and personal experiences.
Step 4: What does this reveal about God?–What do you learn about the Father, Son, and/or Holy Spirit from this passage?
Step 5: Apply this to your own life.
Step 6: Prayer
My Example Devotion: April 6, 2018, Mark 14:3-9
Note: In the devotion examples, I leave my questions and thought processes in the text because I am trying to demonstrate that a devotional time is a dialogue with God about what you are reading from His word. As such, any questions or ideas that you have should be explored by talking it out with God. These example devotions are not my attempts to teach you what the meaning of a particular scripture is. They are an attempt to teach you the process of devotions, which is a combination of prayer and Bible study where you explore ideas with God as you read His word.
While Jesus was in Bethany sitting at the table in the home of Simon the leper, a woman arrived with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume made from pure nard. She broke open the jar and poured the perfume on his head. Irritated, some who were there asked one another, “Why was the perfume wasted like this? This perfume could have been sold for more than 300 denarii and the money given to the destitute.” So they got extremely angry with her. But Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing for me, because you will always have the destitute with you and can help them whenever you want, but you will not always have me. She has done what she could. She poured perfume on my body in preparation for my burial. I tell you with certainty, wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told as a memorial to her.”
(Understanding the Text) Jesus is in Bethany. This was His home base when He was in Jerusalem. He was most likely staying at the home of Lazarus. In fact, other gospels tell us that Lazarus was there at the table with Jesus. When Peter/Mark tell the story, they focus on the complaining of the disciples. John pinpoints Judas as the complainer, but Peter may have joined in. Peter seems to always tell of the stupid and sinful acts he did, but hardly ever focuses on the sinful acts of others, so I have a feeling that the focus of this story is because Peter was seeing it from his viewpoint of being one more example of how he failed his Master.
Mary always seemed to be on the end of criticism. Simon was thinking about how sinful she was. The disciples were saying that she was wasteful. Her sister Martha complained that she was not helpful in the kitchen. Mary just seemed to draw criticism. Maybe it was because Mary could never make herself meet others’ expectations. Mary never thought about conforming. Usually, I picture Mary as a victim always needing rescued, but it might be more accurate to say that she was a rebel never accepting her position in life and acting out against the rules, going places that she was not supposed to go and acting in ways that were not her society’s norm. Maybe, she received criticism because she was always breaking the rules and not conforming. She marched to her own drummer and learned lessons the hard way. After all, she knew that having sex before marriage was wrong, but she was in love and chose to follow her heart rather than the rule. Then, her heart condemned her so rather than quietly feeling guilty, she punished herself by becoming the harlot that her society would accuse her of being if they knew her secret sin. When she finally found the Messiah, it took seven times to get the demons out of her (whatever those demons were). When she was in her home, she knew that her role was in the kitchen helping Martha serve the men, but she stayed in the parlor with Jesus and the men listening to her Master’s lessons. Here in this dinner, she knew that she was not invited and that her action was unasked for, but she entered anyway and anointed Jesus. After Jesus’ death at the tomb, she was still marching to her own drummer. I think that she was an impulsive nonconformist who paid little attention to the rules and thus, drew criticism from her friends and family who loved her and judgment from those who did not love her. In fact, it seems that the only person who never judged her or criticized her was Jesus.
(Application) A lesson for how to deal with young people and nonconformists is here. They will require patience because they will take a while to find their path in life, and they may stray from the path every once in a while. We need to patiently and with love guide them back on the path. They need to know that they are in our hearts even when they fall. We need to keep ourselves from automatically criticizing everything they do. Nonconformity in and of itself is not wrong. Many times it is more right than the rules that are being broken. These people’s ways are just as valid as the group’s ways and need to be respected. Our job is not to condemn, but to point them to Jesus, to show them how to sit at the Master’s feet, and to appreciate the insights they can give us with their unusual viewpoints. They will pick up on messages that God has to give that those of us who are conformists miss. Mary was the only one who truly understood what Jesus was saying about dying and found a way to comfort God Himself. Of all the people who loved Jesus, only Mary brought comfort to Him when He truly needed it.
(Revelation of God) Jesus saw her gift and action as beautiful. Where we see waste, God sees beauty. Where we see outward actions, God sees the inward motivation. We focus on the wrong aspects of serving God, and sometimes it takes the nonconformist to open our eyes to the true blessings God is trying to bestow when we serve Him. The all powerful God of the universe became a weak human. Not counting when Jesus was a child and His mother and Joseph took care of Him, there is only one other human who was able to minister to God when He was weak. Only Mary had that privilege; only Mary was aware and able to serve when God needed service. Only Mary was there for Jesus in His need.
(Prayer) I pray that I will treat your nonconforming children with love and acceptance and listen to the wisdom they have to impart. I pray that I will not criticize people for breaking the rules but instead will look at their actions through your eyes. I pray that you will be able to say of me like you did Mary, “She has done what she could.”