Dear brothers and sisters, we have entered the fourth month of 2023. The importance of this month certainly lies in Good Friday and Easter, and in commemorating our Lord Jesus Christ "the only begotten Son of God... suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, was buried, descended into Hades, was raised from the dead on the third day, ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty, from there he will come to judge the living and the dead.”
During this holy season I would like us to meditate on a passage from Matthew 26. It happened a few days before the crucifixion of the Jesus. He was in the house of Simon the leper in Bethany (26:6), and Simon prepared a feast for him there (cf. John 12:2). During the meal, Mary of Bethany poured an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume on Jesus' head. How valuable is this jar of perfume? First of all, both Mark and John clearly recorded its price, which was worth thirty taels of silver. At that time, this was the wage of an adult man working for a year, and therefore its preciousness is without doubt. However, this price alone is not enough to measure the value of this perfume. In addition to being expensive, this perfume was a symbol of women's chastity, as a dowry for future marriage. Therefore, considering that most of the followers of the Lord Jesus came from the lower levels of society as well as the emphasis on chastity in the Jewish law, the value of this bottle of ointment to Mary is even more precious. Yet Mary poured it all out and anointed Jesus without reservation. Noted that both of Matthew and Mark’s account of this touching story are connected with another event related to "thirty taels of silver." That is, Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus to the chief priests for the same "thirty pieces of silver" (Matthew 26:15), that is, thirty taels of silver. It seems that the value of Jesus to both Mary and Judas was thirty taels of silver. But the truth is that the value of Jesus in their hearts is so different that we can even say it’s completely opposite. Jesus is the supreme treasure to Mary, so she is willing to give everything for Jesus; on the other hand, Jesus is worthless to Judas, so thirty taels of silver is considered a treasure to Judas. Dear brothers and sisters, the extent of our love, obedience and devotion to Jesus depends on how much Jesus is worth to us. Yet the worth of Jesus itself is not determined by us, but by what He is (His being) and what He does (His doing.) As the Bible says: " 16For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." (John 3:16-17). Dear brothers and sisters, in April 2023, in commemoration of the crucifixion and resurrection of the Lord Jesus, let us ponder this question again: How much is Jesus Christ worth to me? Comments are closed.
|
Archives
March 2024
Categories |