The Teachings of Christ in Action

Each day this week, as part of the Church’s #BecauseHeLives Easter initiative, there will be a new question, meme, and/or video that members can share with their friends. Today is Wednesday of the Holy Week and the focus of today’s devotional is the teachings of Christ. You can find out more about Jesus Christ at http://mor.mn/2puvc.

One of the most touching events of the Holy Week for me is the Woman anointing Christ in preparation for his death. There is some discrepancy in the time line on this. In the Gospel of John, John states that Mary, the sister of Lazarus, is the woman, and that she performs this act of service on the day Christ raises Lazarus from the dead. Matthew, Mark and Luke do not mention who the woman is, and put this happening somewhere in Holy Week.

All of that aside, I think this day, and occurrence is the most touching event of Holy Week outside of the actual time Christ spends in Gethsemane. Here we have Christ, who has ridden into Jerusalem, has cleansed and taught in the temple, and knows of his impending death, and who is just working and serving and teaching others. Mary takes the time to serve him, because she loves him so very much. She also uses in her offering of service a very expensive vial of oil to anoint the Savior, her King. How very fitting that she serves him with a precious sacrifice.

I also find it so interesting that Mary understood, I think more than Christ’s disciples, that he was going to die at the end of this week. I’m not sure why she got that, and they did not. But here she was in preparation for the death of her Master, and I’m sure she was heart broken as well, because not only was Christ her Master, but I’m sure he was her friend as well. I’d like to think as Christ was teaching his disciples thru this powerful act of service, that he took a quiet moment to thank her, and to bless her, as he did with most people that sought him out. “Suffer the little ones,” in the end, aren’t we all the “little ones” that Christ speaks of?

Scriptures for this event:
Matthew 26: 6-13
Mark 14: 3-9
John 12: 3-7