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- ❤️ First Love Weekly #22: A Beautiful Thing
❤️ First Love Weekly #22: A Beautiful Thing
Weekly post about God in the daily with encouragements from the Word
Jae Leeholland
June 30, 2024
While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head.
Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, “Why this waste of perfume? It could have been sold for more than a year’s wages and the money given to the poor.” And they rebuked her harshly.
“Leave her alone,” said Jesus. “Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me. She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial. Truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”
“Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate, knowing it was out of self-interest that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him. But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have Pilate release Barabbas instead.
“What shall I do, then, with the one you call the king of the Jews?” Pilate asked them.
“Crucify him!” they shouted.
“Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate.
But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!”
Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.
I cannot think of a higher honor than to hear Jesus describe one’s act as beautiful.
We do not know her name— the woman who poured the perfume over Jesus’ head— but we know that she knew who she was serving: the king of all kings, Jesus Christ.
She must have thought beforehand that her act may inflame others— none other than the very disciples of Christ. But that did not stop her, because her eyes were set on honoring him.
So, “she did what she could”, as Jesus said.
Contrary to this woman, Pilate was a powerful governor overseeing the prefect of Judea. However, despite all the power he had— just like King Herod who beheaded John the Baptist under the pressure of pleasing others— Pilate crucified Jesus on the cross in “wanting to satisfy the crowd.”
You and I, we are made to worship. We are naturally drawn to things, and designed to admire and emulate the object of our worship.
This is intended, for God spoke that we are "people [He] formed for [Himself] that they may proclaim [His] praise" (Isa. 43:21).
When we worship Jesus, and he truly is the sole focus of our lives, it’s as if there’s a spiritual parting of the red sea and a clear path between us and him. There is nothing that can get between us— not even the rebuking of those who seem highly esteemed in many regards, no.
It’ll drive us to do radical things like pouring a perfume worth a year’s worth of wages. Like the poor widow who offered everything she had to give: mere two copper coins (Mark 12). Like the widow of Zarephath who had only a handful of flour and a little olive oil yet still offered them to Elijah in obedience to God’s calling (1 Kings 17).
As opposed to what the world tells us, we don’t need to be a powerful or influential figure to do impactful things. If anything, what our Lord is telling us in these stories is that it is all about the matter of our hearts.
No worldly power nor authority could stop Pilate and King Herod to rise above the desire for others’ approval. But all the aforementioned unnamed women will forever go down in history as having the heavenly wisdom and authority to recognize what matters and henceforth act in boldness— a beautiful thing.
“What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?” (Matt. 16:26), said Jesus.
May God our Father move our hearts to seek Him above all; for His name is eternal and life-giving, and ours is but a vessel for His glory.
With love,
Jae
“You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first.” (Revelation 2:3-5)
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