Day 313 – Matthew 26, Mark 14

Talking Points

• As Jesus moves into His last week, we read of many profound things unfolding. Some are concluding during these busy days, while others are just beginning. Approaching the events of the Cross, Jesus sits down to observe what will be the very last Passover meal. Generations have meticulously followed this observance, remembering God’s great salvation wrought through a lamb. In the same event, Jesus also institutes the very first Lord’s Supper, an observance since upheld by the Church. Crazily, as one observance ends and another begins, the meaning is the same — we have our Lamb! And, in the middle of both sits Jesus.
• Thirty piece of silver. Modern scholars say this amount would have been the price of an Old Testament slave — equivalent to $90.00 — a paltry amount for any person, and especially ridiculous for the very Son of God. We should not be surprised, however. God’s Word says that our Lord “emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant,” or simply, a slave (Philippians 2:7).
• A strange and happy thought — after dining with His disciples, after a night of teaching and talking, and before leaving for the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus sang a hymn with His friends. Strange, considering the coming events — a brutal death and funeral were awaiting. Happy, knowing that in their last gathering before the Cross, their voices mixed together with the Lord’s in the praise and worship of God. Can you imagine? God in flesh, singing hymns.

Thoughts

You will be remembered for something. Some days after you are gone, people, perhaps friends or family, or maybe even enemies and foes, will talk about the things about you that left a mark in their memories. They might laugh. They might cry. They may grimace.

Wouldn’t it be perfect if what they remembered wasn’t the list of normal things people are remembered for, but rather your radical, total love for Jesus?

In these verses, we find a man forever tagged “Simon the Leper.” He is known not for his accomplishments, not for his big acts of benevolence, nor for his benefit to mankind. No, he is remembered for a sickness that left him disgusting in the eyes of everyone. He could just as easily have been called “Simon the Reject.” And, it is that man we find hosting a supper for Jesus the week before He dies. “Simon the Leper” kindly blesses and honors the Lord just before the world would rear up to kill Him. Years have marched on, and “Simon the Leper” is remembered for his love for Jesus.

At the same supper, a woman also makes her mark in history. She has no sure name, though many speculate as to her identity. She also attends Simon’s dinner for outcasts. And, she also worships Him extravagantly, totally. Years have passed by, and the woman with the alabaster jar is also still remembered for her love for Jesus. Marvelously, Jesus said she would be so.

Now, what about us? May we, too, live in such a way that we would be remembered for our love for Jesus.