May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. [Psalm 19:14]
I’m sharing these daily devotions in the hope they will inspire you to read God’s word. I’m praying that they will help you find your way to a closer relationship with God. [Read More ….]
Luke’s anointing of Jesus by a “sinful” woman at the home of Simon the Pharisee is not to be confused with the anointings related by Matthew, Mark, and John. Their gospels all tell of a dinner where a woman lavishly anoints Jesus in Bethany near the end of Jesus’ ministry. In John 12:1-11, the dinner seems to occur six days before the Passover and was given to honor Jesus for raising Lazarus from the dead. Martha served Jesus and the disciples, Lazarus was present, and Mary (Martha’s sister) anointed the Lord. Using a pound of nard (an expensive and aromatic ointment), she anointed Jesus’ feet and wiped them with her hair. Noting that the nard was worth about a year’s wages, Judas complained at the wastefulness and asked why it wasn’t sold and the money given to the poor. Noting that Judas was the one who would betray Jesus, John explains that he didn’t care about the poor; Judas was a thief who stole from the money bag!
Similar (but not identical) to John’s story are the versions found in Matthew 26:6-13 and Mark 14:3-9. Their placement in the gospels leads us to think this event occurred after Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, two days before the Passover. Neither gospel mentions Lazarus, Martha, Mary, or name the woman who did the anointing. They both identify the dinner’s host as Simon the leper (not to be confused with Luke’s Simon “the Pharisee.”) Simon was the most common name in 1st century Palestine. Any skin ailment was called leprosy and calling him “the leper” distinguished him from the other Simons in Bethany. Although his skin condition was healed, his nickname remained. An unnamed woman approached Jesus with an alabaster jar of perfume and poured the expensive nard on Jesus’ head. Rather than singling out Judas as did John, Matthew said “the disciples” and Mark said “some” complained of such an extravagant waste of money.
All three gospels tell us that Jesus responded to the men’s indignation by defending the woman and telling them to leave her alone. Referring to His death just days away, He tells the men they always will have the poor but they won’t always have Him, adding that the woman anointed Him in preparation for His burial. Unlike many others, it appears she was one of the few who understood that Jesus was soon to die!
While there is a remote possibility there were two anointings in Bethany that week, most scholars think we have three accounts of the same incident. Divergent accounts are not necessarily false ones and the differences in the three versions are easily reconciled. While it’s easy to assume the dinner was at Lazarus’ house, John says “they” gave a dinner for Jesus but never says who “they” are. We know Martha, Mary, and Lazarus were siblings but, for all we know, Simon was their father or Martha’s husband! Regardless of who hosted it, Martha serving the meal certainly was true to her character. That Mark and Matthew don’t mention the presence of Martha, Mary, or Lazarus doesn’t mean they weren’t there; they don’t name any of the guests.
Although Matthew and Mark say “the disciples” or “some” were indignant about the extravagant waste of money, that doesn’t mean Judas didn’t complain—only that he wasn’t the only disciple to object. While the other disciples’ objections may have been for philanthropic reasons, John made it clear that Judas’s harsh words were those of a disappointed thief and betrayer!
Mark and Matthew specifically say the woman poured the nard on Jesus’ head while John says Mary anointed His feet, but none say “only” head or feet. Twelve ounces of nard was enough to anoint both. Anointing the feet and then wiping them with one’s hair rather than a towel was a profound act of humility. By mentioning the feet, John was emphasizing Mary’s willingness to humble herself in service and worship.
As to the issue of chronology, the gospel writers didn’t always write chronologically. Writing to a specific audience with a specific purpose, they often wrote topically or thematically. Rather than in sequential order, events often were placed where they fit best. Moreover, without paragraph indentations and chapter headings, we can’t be sure where certain events end and others begin or when those events occurred. John merely says that Jesus came to Bethany six days before the Passover, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the dinner was held then. Despite what at first seem to be inconsistencies, Matthew, Mark, and John all seem to have related the same event from their unique perspectives.
Whenever we find what seem to be contradictory accounts in the gospels, they turn out to be complementary; rather than conflicting with one another, we find they flesh out the story with other details. As John pointed out at the end of his gospel, much that happened in Jesus’ time on earth was not recorded.
In Luke 7:36-50, we find a “sinful” woman anointing Jesus with her tears and perfumed oil. Taking place in Galilee early in Jesus’ ministry, this occurs at the home of Simon the Pharisee. During a banquet at the Pharisee’s home, a “sinful” woman carrying an alabaster jar entered. Remorseful for her sins, the uninvited guest fell at Jesus’ feet, washed them with her tears, wiped them with her hair, and kissed His feet while anointing them with perfume from her jar.
To Simon, the woman’s sins contaminated Jesus and made Him ritually unclean. The Pharisee silently questioned Jesus’ credentials as a prophet. If Jesus were a real prophet, He’d know she was a sinner and never allow her presence let alone her touch! Although His host’s thoughts of judgment and disdain were unspoken, Jesus knew what he (and probably the others present) were thinking. He answered their thoughts with a parable about a money lender who forgave the debts of two debtors—one who owed just 50 denarii and the other who owed 500. When Jesus asked Simon which debtor would love the lender most, the man admitted it would be the one with the larger debt.
Comparing the woman to Simon, Jesus noted his host’s rudeness to Him. Although it was customary to anoint a guest’s head with oil as a way of saying, “You are an honored guest,” Simon had not. Nor had his host offered Jesus the foot washing ordinarily given to guests. While the woman had been sincere and respectful in her devotion, Simon had been disingenuous in his invitation and rude to his guest. To the dismay of those present, Jesus told the woman, “Your sins are forgiven…. Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” [7:49,50]
While we tend to remember the unnamed “sinful” woman in Luke’s account, it is as much about Simon as it is about the sinner who washed Jesus’ feet with her tears. In Jesus’ parable, just as the debtor whose massive debt was forgiven and loves greatly represents the “sinful” woman, the debtor whose love is minimal represents Simon.
The “sinful” woman knew she was unworthy, but the sanctimonious Simon didn’t recognize his unworthiness. She was fully aware of her sizeable sin debt but Simon, so focused on judgment and looking good to others, didn’t see his. The woman knew she needed saving, but the self-righteous Simon couldn’t see the need for a savior because he didn’t know he was drowning!
Knowing this woman’s past, Simon decided it determined her future. Thinking “once a sinner always a sinner,” he never wondered about her apparent change of heart. The woman, however, no longer was the sinner Simon knew. Something changed her and that something was Jesus. She didn’t anoint Jesus to earn forgiveness; she experienced Jesus’ forgiveness before entering Simon’s house. Rather than a transaction, this was a gift for the Lord coming from her faith, love, and thanksgiving.
Like one of the parable’s debtors, she knew she was forgiven much so she loved greatly. After experiencing Jesus’ love and forgiveness, she deliberately sought Him and did for Him what Simon should have done. Like her, do we fully appreciate Jesus’ forgiveness? Do we appreciate it enough to humble ourselves in the presence of others? Enough to go where we’re not welcome? Enough to publicly lavish Him with expressions of love and faith? Enough to serve the Lord wherever He takes us? We should!
All creatures great and small, All things wise and wonderful, The Lord God made them all. [Cecil Frances Alexander]
A giant Pacific octopus named Marcellus is the narrator in Shelby Van Pelt’s delightful novel Remarkably Bright Creatures. While the animal’s ability to verbalize is pure fiction, Marcellus’ curmudgeonly personality and ability to plan are quite possible. Said to have the intelligence of a Labrador retriever or a 3-year-old child, octopuses are the most intelligent of the invertebrates. They can use tools, recognize people, hold grudges, escape aquariums, untie knots, and solve mazes.
Scientists have identified distinctive behavioral traits in animals as diverse as elk, fish, ferrets, spotted hyenas, spiders, sea anemones, rodents, lizards, and birds. Naturally, the same characteristic presents differently in different species. An introverted octopus, for example, will stay in its den while feeding and try to hide by changing color, but an introverted human might stand alone at a party or skip the party entirely. As for a shy African penguin named Tubbs who once wintered at our local zoo—the introverted bird took his food into the back corner of his den to eat it, usually stood with his back to the other penguins and zoo visitors, and, like many timid fellows, wasn’t successful with the females.
Several years ago, we became acquainted with Tubbs and his penguin friends Missy, Squirt, and Sal when we had the opportunity to meet their keepers and go behind their exhibit to feed them. Initially, the penguins all looked alike but, when we looked more closely, we realized their black chest spots were as unique as are human fingerprints. Like zebras, jaguars, monarch butterflies, and the rest of God’s creatures, no two are exactly alike. God never repeats himself.
As we fed those fascinating birds, their distinctive personalities began to emerge. Along with the socially awkward Tubbs, we met the outgoing Missy who, unfortunately for Tubbs, clearly had a crush on her human keeper. The “hen-pecked” Sal followed his domineering mate Squirt wherever she went. Although the other penguins preferred eating their fish “headfirst,” Squirt insisted on getting her dinner presented sideways. While it was penguin instinct that made Tubbs gorge himself in preparation for molting, it was his timid personality that caused the curious penguin to peek around a corner at us rather than stand at the gate with the others.
Scientists have found intelligence, personalities, and emotions in everything from limpets and crabs to coyotes and water striders. Nevertheless, until meeting those penguins, I’d thought of personalities only in domesticated animals and attributed them to training and environment. I hadn’t considered the possibility of undomesticated animals having distinctive personalities and the ability to feel and express emotions, but scientists have found that even honey bees can exhibit optimism and pessimism!
The fictional Marcellus was a gentle reminder of the lessons I learned from my time with the penguins. While animals may not be able to speak in a way that we can understand or exhibit emotions in a way we recognize, there is nothing dumb or unfeeling about any of God’s creatures. Their complexity and diversity point to our unlimited Creator and His intelligent, imaginative, and loving design. God created every living thing and none of His creation happened by accident.
God commanded us to keep and care for His creation, not to exploit or abuse it. As title holder to the earth, He will hold us responsible for the way we care for it and for the creatures with whom we share it. Wednesday is Earth Day, a day dedicated to honoring the environmental movement, raising awareness about pollution, and promoting global sustainability. Saving the environment depends on each and every one of us. For the sake of penguins, octopuses, and the rest of God’s creatures who are unable to speak for themselves, let us be better stewards of God’s beautiful earth.
The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof. O God, enlarge within us the sense of fellowship with all living things, our brothers the animals to whom Thou gavest the earth as their home in common with us. We remember with shame that in the past we have exercised the high dominion of man with ruthless cruelty so that the voice of the earth, which should have gone up to Thee in song has been a groan of travail. May we realize that they live not for us alone, but for themselves and for Thee and that they love the sweetness of life. [Attributed to St. Basil the Great]
For three days, Israel traveled across the desert without finding any water. When they arrived at Marah, the exhausted and thirsty group was disappointed to find the water undrinkable because of its bitterness. When Moses cried out to the Lord, God told him to throw a piece of wood into the water to make it sweet. It was then that God proclaimed His name to be Jehovah Rapha, the “Lord who Heals You.” Jehovah Rapha took the bitter out of the Israelites’ water and made it palatable.
Jehovah Rapha does more than turn bitter water sweet. He can heal any physical ailment. Scripture tells us He made the barren fertile, the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers clean, and even raised people from the dead. While the hands that do the work may be mortal (as were Moses’ when he tossed that wood into the water, Isaiah’s when he applied a poultice to Hezekiah’s head, and a surgeon when he successfully removes a tumor), the healing always comes from God! Jehovah Rapha, however, is more than the Great Physician (and water purifier)!
The Hebrew word rapha means to heal, to cure, to restore or repair. Originating from Arabic and Ethiopic words meaning to darn, stitch together or mend, rapha occurs about sixty-seven times in the Hebrew Scriptures. Rapha conveys the sense of restoring wholeness where destruction, harm, disease, unrest, or confusion have made inroads. It isn’t limited to making foul water drinkable or healing physical ailments. Rapha is used for restoring land, cities, broken hearts and minds, and covenant relationships as well as bodies. Emphasizing that it is the Lord’s choice to fix what has been broken or tainted, the subject of the verb rapha usually is the Lord.
In the true sense of the word, Jehovah Rapha is more than the Great Physician. He’s the tailor who stitches up the tears in the fabric of our lives. He’s the restoration specialist who scrubs out the gunk and mold left from life’s devasting storms and the handyman who fixes what’s no longer working in our lives. Instead of darning socks, He’s the one who weaves together the fibers that hold us together. He’s the mason who rebuilds our fallen walls and the contractor who brings back structural integrity to our crumbling foundation.
Bitterness, anger, shame, fear, depression, loss of faith, and guilt can poison our hearts and take away life. We still may be breathing but we’re dead inside. Just as the God who Heals, can provide healing to our broken bodies here on earth, Jehovah Rapha can take our ailing embittered minds, hearts, and souls and restore them to health. As He did with the water at Marah when he made the unpalatable palatable, Jehovah Rapha can transform the bitter in our lives into something bearable.
Christ is the Good Physician. There is no disease He cannot heal; no sin He cannot remove; no trouble He cannot help. He is the Balm of Gilead, the Great Physician who has never yet failed to heal all the spiritual maladies of every soul that has come unto Him in faith and prayer. [James H. Aughey]
If there were a litmus test for Christians, it would not be pious words, powerful preaching, grandiose gestures, or even extraordinary feats; it would be the presence of the Fruit of the Spirit. If love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control aren’t evident in our lives, we may be talking the talk but we’re clearly not walking the walk. Jesus recognizes us by our fruit and, if we’re bearing the Fruit of the Spirit, people will see some of Christ in us.
It’s not always easy to exhibit the Spirit’s fruit and I’m reminded of Shirley who lived in our Colorado mountain town. Although the town’s bus service was free and frequent, we often saw her hitch-hiking around town. Carrying her ever-present travel mug of coffee, Shirley would stand in the middle of traffic and shout at drivers who passed without stopping. Although she maintained sobriety, years of hard living, drug and alcohol abuse, along with a traumatic brain injury had taken their toll. Shirley usually attended our church but she could be found at any church’s activity when free food was involved. Supported by family but living on her own, Shirley meant well but she was erratic and could be disruptive, muddled, and even volatile. When a pastor friend called her his “Jesus meter,” knowing Shirley, I understood what he meant. This challenging woman was his litmus test for Christlikeness!
While my friend’s “Jesus meter” was Shirley, ours could be the neighbor whose dog poops in our yard, the never-ending complainer at work, the perpetually late friend, a certain politician, or the relative who dithers about everything. Your meter may be tested by the customer service rep, aggressive drivers, or the person who takes your parking spot! While it’s different for each of us, we all have certain people and situations that rub us the wrong way, challenge our patience, or frustrate, annoy, and exasperate us. How we react in those challenging situations tells us where we stand on our “Jesus meter.” A low score on His meter tells us we’re not walking His walk!
When we encounter the Shirleys of the world, let us remember what Jesus said about loving our neighbor and doing for the “least of these.” Being a Christ follower doesn’t mean life will be without its temptations and challenges; there always will be people and situations that challenge our capacity to act as would Jesus. I suspect our Shirleys are part of God’s character building! They’ll try our patience, test our faith, challenge our self-control, and make us question our ability to love our neighbor. Flawed people that we are, we can’t bear Christ’s fruit on our power alone; it’s the power of the Holy Spirit that makes it possible! Nevertheless, sometimes we’ll get aggravated, exasperated, irritable, or anxious—times when we’ll fail to turn the other cheek, lose our tempers, and even say things we shouldn’t. When our “Jesus meter” fails to register, we must ask forgiveness, repent, take comfort in God’s grace, learn from our errors, reconnect with the Holy Spirit, and continue to grow on His vine.
God develops the fruit of the Spirit in your life by allowing you to experience circumstances in which you’re tempted to express the exact opposite quality. Character development always involves a choice, and temptation provides that opportunity.[Rick Warren]
In contrast to works, which are produced by us, the Fruit of the Spirit is produced by the Holy Spirit. Rather than a basket with a variety of fruit, this is one indivisible fruit characterized by nine virtues: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. We could call this the “Christlikeness fruit” because these characteristics describe Jesus and should describe us.
Planted by the Spirit in our hearts when we accept Jesus, the Fruit of the Spirit is a little like a Swiss Army knife with its numerous functions. Just as the multi-faceted pocketknife can provide us with two blades, along with a corkscrew, screwdriver, bottle opener, scissors, toothpick, tweezers, can opener, and key ring, the Fruit of the Spirit is an all-purpose spiritual tool providing us with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
Victorinox, however, doesn’t equip every Swiss Army knife with the same tools. With its 13 functions, their rescue knife comes with a saw for cutting shatterproof glass, a seatbelt cutter, and a window breaker but it doesn’t have the huntsman knife’s corkscrew and multi-purpose hook or the mini champ’s cuticle pusher and orange peeler! Unlike the knife maker, however, God equips every one of His children with the same nine all-purpose attributes in the Fruit of the Spirit!
It’s not Victorinox’s “cross on shield” logo that identifies it; the knife is known by its tools! In the same way, it’s not labeling ourselves Christians that identifies us as such—we’re known as Christ’s followers when the Fruit of the Spirit is evident in our behavior. The tools on any Swiss Army knife are meant to be used but, once it’s sold, Victorinox doesn’t care if you never open the knife. The virtues of the Fruit of the Spirit, however, are meant to be evident and God notices when they aren’t.
When describing the Fruit of the Spirit in “newspaper English,” famed preacher Samuel Chadwick (1860-1932) may have said it best: “The Fruit of the Spirit is an affectionate, lovable disposition, a radiant spirit and a cheerful temper, a tranquil mind and a quiet manner, a forbearing patience in provoking circumstances and with trying people, a sympathetic insight and tactful helpfulness, generous judgment and a big-souled charity, loyalty and reliableness under all circumstances, humility that forgets self in the joy of others, in all things self-mastered and self-controlled, which is the final mark of perfecting.” It is the presence of the Fruit of the Spirit that enables us to grow more like Jesus every day—to have His purpose, thoughts, words and actions be ours.
We recognize a Swiss Army knife by its tools; do people recognize us by our fruit?
Devotions of the Heart 