JESUS CARES about you and your life.
Six days before He was executed, Jesus came to visit His friends, Mary, Martha, and their resurrected brother, Lazarus, at their home in Bethany. When Mary lovingly poured out $50,000 worth of precious perfume on the Lord’s feet, Judas showed his true colors.
He went berserk. “Are you kidding me? This perfume could have been sold and given to Habitat for Humanity or Goodwill! Think how many starving kids overseas this money could have fed!” That certainly sounds reasonable, but if we were to dig down in his heart to the root of his objection we would find greed and thievery. He said this not because he cared two cents about the poor but because he was a thief. He was in charge of their common funds, but also embezzled them (John 12:6, msg).
He was a thief. But he didn’t just take money, he took aliveness. The Bible tells us that the says that the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil (1 Timothy 6:10). The root of Judas’s greed had wrapped its tentacles around his soul. Love for money had crowded out the love of God—and love of God’s people—from his heart.
What a contrast. As Mary embalmed the Lord, Judas embezzled from Him. As the aroma of her worship filled the room, Judas’s attitude stank it up. For every Little Red Riding Hood of life, there’s a Big Bad Wolf of death right around the bend. For every life-giver there is a life-robber.
Jesus said “If a person gains the whole world and loses his or her soul (life), it is a net loss.” Had Judas heard Him say that? Almost certainly. But had he believed it? I don’t think so.
I remember counseling a husband and wife whose marriage was on the rocks. He claimed that his wife was overspending. After looking at the data, it appeared to me that he was very selfish while she was thrifty and financially conservative. I’ll never forget him yelling, “When she spends my money, she’s spending my life.” Perhaps. But what about her life? Little wonder the marriage was dying. One of them was a life-thief.
Please, Lord, let me be more like Mary and less like Judas.
Life Challenge: Can you picture yourself spending $50,000 to say “I love you” to Jesus?