00:05The Jar
00:06It is four days before Jesus' death. He is relaxing in Bethany, just outside Jerusalem.
00:13Something shocking and prophetic is about to take place. The perfume poured out on Jesus'
00:19head in this story was astoundingly precious, made, according to the Gospels of Mark and John,
00:25from pure nard, which comes from a plant that only grows in the Himalayas.
00:30It had traveled three thousand five hundred miles, and it was worth three hundred denarii,
00:36a year's wages, and yet it was all emptied out upon Jesus' head. The extravagance is
00:42breathtaking. The whole house was filled with its fragrance. Jesus' body may still have been
00:48carrying hints of this very scent upon the cross. What is the most valuable thing I could pour out
00:55upon Jesus today? Is He inviting me to waste some of my precious time in worship, or to relinquish a
01:02particular relationship, or to surrender something I own in order to demonstrate my love for Him?
01:08Pause and pray. When the disciples were discussing how to feed the five thousand people,
01:14Philip pointed out that it would cost more than two hundred denarii to do so. This little jar of
01:20perfume worth three hundred denarii could have fed more than five thousand people. No wonder the
01:26disciples were indignant and said that it could have fed the poor. Does my passion for justice and
01:33my desire for results sometimes make worship seem self-indulgent? How might I waste a little money,
01:40efficiency, or credibility for Christ's glory today? We often talk about Jesus anointing us to do great
01:47things, but in this story we see that we can anoint Jesus too. The name Jesus Christ literally means
01:54Jesus the Anointed One. As we begin this journey towards Easter, let us anoint Him as our Christ with
02:01the costly sacrifice of exorbitant gratitude. Jesus, I love you with all my heart, all my soul, and all my
02:09strength. But I'm sorry that, so often I give you the least of my time, the last of my money,
02:16and the leftovers of my worship. This week, I want to pour the best of myself out for you,
02:22knowing that you will soon pour out your very life for me. Amen.
