Day 3: All in to Adore Jesus
It is a crowded room. People are eating, talking and chilling, and then she appears.
While her presence there may be expected, what she does next is certainly not.
She’s holding this alabaster jar, and within it this very expensive perfume, the value of which is worth more than what anyone could earn in a year.
But without any hesitation nor reservation, she breaks it and begins pouring this perfume all over Jesus’s head. The fragrance fills the entire room. (Matthew 26:7)
Jesus seems to love it, but his disciples don’t. They lose it.
They begin complaining, grumbling, saying,
“What a waste. This perfume could have been sold for a huge amount, and it could have been used to help many, many of the poor.” (Matthew 26:8-9)
But Jesus turns to them and in a firm voice – yet in an affectionate and compassionate tone – tells them,
“Leave her alone. What she has done is a beautiful thing to me. A beautiful thing.” (Matthew 26:10)
I want to talk about going All In for a beautiful thing to Jesus. As I look at this story, I wonder, “How can I live my life in such a way?”
But Jesus will look at me and say, “Your speech, your actions, the way you live your life is a beautiful thing to me.”
Here are three things we can learn from this story.
Three Lessons from Matthew 26:7-10
1. The woman is present.
The first is this lady was present – she was there. So many times in my own life, I want to be present for something, for Jesus or for someone else, to do something for someone. While I had all the intention to be there, for some reason, I turned back, I stayed home, or I did something else.
Being present is half the battle won. This lady, she was there and she was present.
2. The woman brings Jesus a precious gift.
She wasn’t just present, but she brought a gift. She was prepared, and when she came before Jesus, she brought something precious. It wasn’t convenient; it wasn’t something left over. It was something precious for Jesus.
Again, I think so many times I come and I want to give something to Jesus. Something precious, maybe my time, maybe a skill or talent, or a resource. But again, I fall into those whispers of doubt: Do I really want to give those things to Jesus?
But Jesus will look at me and say, “Your speech, your actions, the way you live your life is a beautiful thing to me.”
For example, time. Jesus is, after all, eternal. Surely He can wait a bit more, before I give Him time that I can really use for myself, resources, talents, and skills.
After a while, I fall into temptation: What I intended to give as precious to the Lord, I hold tighter in my hand, or it goes back into my pocket.
But not this lady; she’s there, and she gives something precious to Jesus.
3. The woman presses in.
The third thing is that she presses in, even with all the noises coming from those closest to Jesus – the disciples of Jesus, grumbling and complaining.
But the woman with the alabaster flask completely tunes those distractions out. Eyes only fixed on Jesus, she presses in and does what she came to do.
Again, I can’t help but recall my own life. How often is it that I want to just go there for Jesus, and people’s voices and opinions have stopped me? I don’t want to do that.
Be like this lady who went all the way, pressed in, tuning out everything for Jesus.
Maybe if I were to be present, to bring something precious and to press in, maybe Jesus will say that I have also done a beautiful thing for Him.
Is it something that you also want to do? To do a beautiful thing for Jesus? Let’s start with this prayer together:
Father, we want to thank You for the story of the woman with the alabaster jar in the Bible. We thank You for this beautiful story that is here to serve a purpose. Lord, we pray that, like the woman, we will also have the courage, the boldness and the strength, as well as the discipline to really be present, to offer You something precious, to press in and tune out all distractions around us. So the Father we can also be called as a people who have done a beautiful thing for your Son, Jesus, in whose name we pray, Amen.