Daily Studies
Monday, April 6
Pray…
O God, your word is a light unto my feet and a light unto my path. Illumine your word to me so that I might love you and follow you more faithfully. Amen.
Read…
John 12:1-8.
The background:
Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem and stays at the home of his friends Lazarus and Mary and Martha. He knows them and loves them, and they know and love him. Lazarus, the brother of Mary and Martha, is the one whom Jesus raised from the dead.
In the gospels, Jesus is anointed (has precious oil poured over him) for two reasons. First, he is anointed as a sign of adoration and love. This anointing usually was poured on the feet. (Luke 7:44-47). Second, he is anointed in preparation for burial. This anointing usually was poured on the head. (Matthew 26:12 and Mark 14:8). In these verses, John seems to be combining both.
Nard is a perfumed ointment imported from South Asia from a flower grown in the Himalayas. That Mary would even have such possession is extravagant in and of itself.
A denarii was a typical day’s wage for a laborer so 300 denarii would be close to a year’s wages.
Reflect…
If you are with another, discuss these questions. If you are alone, reflect on these questions.
1. Why did Mary pour expensive perfume on Jesus’ feet? What did this extravagant action signal for Jesus and his followers? [Bible scholars believe this action was anticipatory of two events: Jesus’ washing the disciples’ feet in six days at the Passover meal and his imminent death and burial. The costly perfume symbolized the costly sacrifice Jesus was about to make – his own life for the life of the world.]
2. Why is it important for John to tell us that the “house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume?” What does this signal to us all? [Some Bible scholars believe that the fragrance was a symbol of the gospel of Jesus Christ—the good news that God has come to us to forgive us our sins and to save us. That the fragrance permeates everywhere and likely spread beyond the house demonstrates how the good news was for all the world.]
3. What did Jesus mean when he said, “You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me?” [The most agreed upon interpretation is that Jesus was not dismissing the poor or dismissing caring for the poor. This makes no sense given his teaching about how we are to care for the poor and the “least of these.” Rather the most common interpretation is that Jesus is calling the disciples to pay attention to the significance of moment in time when his arrest, torture, and death is imminent. In the act of anointing him as you do a body for burial, he is trying to help the disciples understand what is going to happen in six days. There is ample evidence that they still do not understand this.]
Act…
Ephesians 5:1-2 reads: Therefore, be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
Fill in the blank.
Just as Christ’s sacrifice was a fragrant offering to God, one thing I can do today to be a fragrant offering to God is to: _________________________________________________________________.
Pray…
Giving thanks to God for this day and asking for God’s love and care for loved ones near and far.
Pray…
O God, your word is a light unto my feet and a light unto my path. Illumine your word to me so that I might love you and follow you more faithfully. Amen.
Read…
John 12:1-8.
The background:
Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem and stays at the home of his friends Lazarus and Mary and Martha. He knows them and loves them, and they know and love him. Lazarus, the brother of Mary and Martha, is the one whom Jesus raised from the dead.
In the gospels, Jesus is anointed (has precious oil poured over him) for two reasons. First, he is anointed as a sign of adoration and love. This anointing usually was poured on the feet. (Luke 7:44-47). Second, he is anointed in preparation for burial. This anointing usually was poured on the head. (Matthew 26:12 and Mark 14:8). In these verses, John seems to be combining both.
Nard is a perfumed ointment imported from South Asia from a flower grown in the Himalayas. That Mary would even have such possession is extravagant in and of itself.
A denarii was a typical day’s wage for a laborer so 300 denarii would be close to a year’s wages.
Reflect…
If you are with another, discuss these questions. If you are alone, reflect on these questions.
1. Why did Mary pour expensive perfume on Jesus’ feet? What did this extravagant action signal for Jesus and his followers? [Bible scholars believe this action was anticipatory of two events: Jesus’ washing the disciples’ feet in six days at the Passover meal and his imminent death and burial. The costly perfume symbolized the costly sacrifice Jesus was about to make – his own life for the life of the world.]
2. Why is it important for John to tell us that the “house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume?” What does this signal to us all? [Some Bible scholars believe that the fragrance was a symbol of the gospel of Jesus Christ—the good news that God has come to us to forgive us our sins and to save us. That the fragrance permeates everywhere and likely spread beyond the house demonstrates how the good news was for all the world.]
3. What did Jesus mean when he said, “You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me?” [The most agreed upon interpretation is that Jesus was not dismissing the poor or dismissing caring for the poor. This makes no sense given his teaching about how we are to care for the poor and the “least of these.” Rather the most common interpretation is that Jesus is calling the disciples to pay attention to the significance of moment in time when his arrest, torture, and death is imminent. In the act of anointing him as you do a body for burial, he is trying to help the disciples understand what is going to happen in six days. There is ample evidence that they still do not understand this.]
Act…
Ephesians 5:1-2 reads: Therefore, be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
Fill in the blank.
Just as Christ’s sacrifice was a fragrant offering to God, one thing I can do today to be a fragrant offering to God is to: _________________________________________________________________.
Pray…
Giving thanks to God for this day and asking for God’s love and care for loved ones near and far.
