Six days before the Passover, Jesus arrives in Bethany at the home of Lazarus, Martha and Mary. They were giving a dinner in his honor. Martha was cooking and serving and Mary was at Jesus’ feet. Mary always knew exactly where she was supposed to be. She takes a bottle of perfume and washes Jesus’ feet with it and then dries them with her hair.
There’s quite a few things going on here. First of all, the perfume was very expensive, so this act was very costly. Secondly, a respectable woman would have never unbound her hair in public, but here she was drying Jesus’ feet with it. Lastly, her act represents humility. Foot washing was an act reserved for servants.
Mary is a representation of what we all should strive for. She gives her money to Jesus, (the perfume), her pride to Jesus, (the foot washing) and dries his feet with her hair, (which wasn’t supposed to be down in the first place), showing she doesn’t care what society thinks. Her relationship with Jesus is what matters the most. Her act of humility is recorded in all four Gospels.
Judas is outraged by Mary’s extravagance. He says the money could be used to feed the poor. This is the only passage where Judas is called a thief. There must have been some level of trust at some point or he wouldn’t have been able to be in charge of the money. Jesus calls him out and tells him Mary is doing what is right as he again, predicts his own death.
Meanwhile, a crowd has arrived and is looking for Jesus. They want to see this miracle-worker and they also want to see Lazarus who has been raised from the dead. They want proof of the miraculous and a living, breathing Lazarus is proof. The chief priests decide Lazarus needs to die too. They were already after one innocent man; now they are after two. Their sin grows.
Next, we have the famous Triumphal Entry. All four Gospels have a record of it. As Jesus approaches Jerusalem, there are huge throngs of humanity who have come on a pilgrimage for the Passover. They see him riding in on a young donkey and they waved palm branches and chanted. They call him their king.
It had been prophesied in Zechariah, that the Messiah would ride in on a donkey’s colt. The disciples had no idea what was going on until after the crucifixion and the coming of the Holy Spirit.
Imagine this scene. There are people everywhere, from all over the region. They have heard all of the rumors about Jesus and who he was. He comes into town on a donkey and they just know that prophecy has been fulfilled. They are witnessing the arrival of the long-awaited king. They wave palm branches as a symbol of victory. The noise is almost deafening as they cheer and chant.
But, we know the rest of the story. We know how mob mentality works. We know that although Jesus was sent as their king, he was not the king they were looking for and so they refused to accept him and eventually decided to kill him.
What do you think about today’s reading? I’d love to hear from you.
Have an awesome day!
Wendy 🙂
