Central Truth

Jesus deserves our best!

Reflections

As I am writing this, Thanksgiving is right around the corner. Now, If there's one thing I don't like about Thanksgiving, it's all the leftover turkey. I can handle one day of leftovers, but then I'm ready for something else. I sure don't want to spend the next week eating it.

The thing I love about the woman in this verse (26:7) is that she anointed Jesus with her most expensive perfume. She didn't anoint him using her leftover perfume or with that extra bottle that had been sitting around since the previous year. No, she chose the very best of what she had and used it. The woman from Bethany put aside her selfish ambitions and acted humbly, as described in Philippians 2:3.

Contrast that with Judas' actions in verses 14-16. Judas' selfish motives are exemplified by his willingness to betray Jesus to gain a few pieces of silver. This prompts me to ask—what selfish ambitions are holding me back from growing in my relationship with the Lord?

For me, these verses are great reminders that Jesus deserves my best, especially as it relates to my time. I have a tendency to be selfish with my time. It's hard to be both selfish and sacrificial with my time. It's my goal to spend time reading each morning before I go to work, but it's also my goal to sleep in whenever possible. So you can see my problem. On the mornings I read, I think of the woman from Bethany offering her perfume to Jesus and how my choice to spend time reading His Word is a small way to offer Jesus the best part of my day.

Discussion Questions

1. Are there areas of your life in which you tend to offer Jesus your leftovers (time, resources, etc.)?

2. Why is it difficult to offer/sacrifice the best of parts of your life?

3. Would your response have been similar to the disciples' response (26:8-9) when they saw the woman from Bethany anointing Jesus? How could their response have been different?

FAMILY DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. Why did the disciples get mad when she poured the perfume on Jesus?

2. In verse 7 the woman showed that Jesus was more important than her expensive perfume. What are some things that you sometimes treat as more important than Jesus?