April 22, 2010
John 12
Pastor Paul Glenn
When I read the story of Mary anointing Jesus (see John 12:3), I’m reminded of the three types of giving: tithes, offerings and extravagant offerings. Mary’s gift was equal to a year’s wages. That qualifies as extravagant! What would motivate an individual to give in such a way?
If we look back to the previous chapter, we read that Jesus had just raised Mary’s brother Lazarus from the dead. Simply saying “thank you” just didn’t seem adequate.
Moving forward to John 19:38-40, we notice that Jesus was buried so quickly that He was not anointed properly. In essence, Mary’s gift would be Jesus’ burial anointing. I think that Mary was moved by a profound sense of gratitude and a divinely inspired sense of timing.
In contrast, Judas was a greedy thief. Malachi 3 tells us that we rob God when we don’t give tithes and offerings. Judas was so impudent that he even stole from Jesus’ own wallet. He was motivated solely by his self-interests.
May we be like Mary – so inspired and moved with gratitude that we give our time, talents and resources extravagantly - rather than like Judas, chasing our own selfish endeavors.
Did you know that Pastor Paul proposed to his wife Susan on an airplane - standing in the middle aisle with the passengers as witnesses - and that they, along with the flight crew, stood in a congratulatory reception line for exiting passengers?
