Matthew 26:6-13 A Gift for Jesus
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: August 24, 2019 Matthew 26:6-13
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.
Now when Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, a woman came up to him with an alabaster flask of very expensive ointment, and she poured it on his head as he reclined at table. And when the disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, “Why this waste? For this could have been sold for a large sum and given to the poor.” But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a beautiful thing to me. For you always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me. In pouring this ointment on my body, she has done it to prepare me for burial. Truly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.”
(Understanding the Text) Matthew’s theme in this chapter is the steps to Jesus’ death. First, he wrote that Jesus told his disciples that he would be crucified when they went to Jerusalem in two days. Then he wrote about the machinations that were going on behind the scenes to try to arrange for Jesus’ death. Here he writes about the anointing of Jesus’ body for the grave.
Each gospel shows a different aspect of this story, partly, I think, because of where the witnesses were seated. The disciples remembered their outraged gossip. I think maybe Luke talked to Simon the Leper directly, so he reported the interaction between Simon and Jesus. The disciples were in a position to see the head anointing while Simon focused on the feet.
The disciples thought that they were focusing on the right behavior. The Biblical record said again and again to take care of the poor, and Jesus had made that their way of life also. Otherwise, there would have been no need for John to write about how Judas had cheated on giving to the poor. Too often we get involved in wrangling over unimportant details and giving high priority to a small requirement negating a greater requirement in the process. It was good to be frugal, and it was good to give money to the poor, but these were low priorities compared to the motivation that was in the woman’s heart. Her love and money had been given totally to Jesus. She was being led by the Spirit, yet the closest followers of Jesus did not recognize this leading. However, they were stopped in their tracks when Jesus again brought up His death.
(Revelation of God) Just as Jesus recognized and defended the motivations of the heart of the woman, He sees our own hearts. When we are sincerely trying to connect with Him, He will not turn us away even if we are not acting in a way that other believers feel is “appropriate.” Jesus appreciates our fumbling efforts to serve Him, and He smiles at the love in our hearts when we present our crumpled up, damaged, inappropriate worship.
(Prayer) Teach me to always present my love to You regardless of whether other people think it is the wrong way to show my affection for You. Help me to open myself to loving You, and do not let society’s limitations inhibit that love from flowing forth from my heart. Open me to Your beautiful love so that my own affections and emotions will respond.
(Application) My application for myself is that I need to be aware of the motives for people’s actions and react to their hearts before condemning them. Also, I need to be aware that the Spirit leads others and that even though their actions go against my own pet concerns, their actions may be the right ones at the time for the situation while my desires are not appropriate for the situation or time.