Tuesday, March 26, 2013

The Story of My Life as told by Jesus Christ

(Seed Sowers Christian Book Publishing House. http://www.seedsowers.com/)

Tuesday, March 26, 2013  Judas Betrayed Me

Page 255      Matthew 26:1-5, 14-16; Mark 14:1-2, 10-11; Luke 22: 1-6

When the editors of The Story of My Life as told by Jesus Christ merged the four Gospels into one narrative, they had to change the original texts in important ways. The original four texts are theological narratives, told from the perspective of their authors. In order to present one continuous story, told in the first person as an autobiographical narrative, the four Gospels had to be rearranged. The editors also rearranged the material into what they believe is a chronological sequence. This editing of the four Gospels can make for significant changes in interpretation of the material. Our reading for today, Matthew 26: 1-5, 14-16 is an example of this.

Between verses 5 and 14 is the story of Mary anointing Jesus. (We read this passage on Tuesday, March 05, 2013, page 217) This story was so very important to the early church it is included in all four Gospels. For our reading today, the contrast in Judas’ appreciation of value is astonishing. In Matthew’s Gospel, “a woman came in with a beautiful alabaster jar of expensive perfume and poured it over (Jesus’) head. The disciples were indignant when they saw this. “What a waste!” they said. “It could have been sold for a high price and the money given to the poor.”” (Matthew 26:7-9). In John’s Gospel we learn it was Mary that “took a twelve-ounce jar of expensive perfume made from essence of nard” to anoint Jesus (John 12:3). John also tells us that it was Judas Iscariot who objected and said, “That perfume was worth a year’s wages. It should have been sold and the money given to the poor” (John 12:5).

In our reading for today we learn that Judas “went to the leading priests and asked, “How much will you pay me to betray Jesus to you?” And they gave him thirty pieces of silver” (Matthew 26:14-15). Thirty pieces of silver was probably worth three months wages.

The base minimum wage today is $7.25. At this rate, Mary’s perfume that she extravagantly used to anoint Jesus would cost $15,000. Judas’ betrayal of Jesus would have rewarded him just $3,500.

As I was thinking about how astonishing is the contrast between the value of Mary’s extravagant love and Judas’ cheap sell-out of Jesus, I began to realize how astonishing are the infrequent expressions of extravagant love for Jesus in my life, and how frequent are the relatively minor inconveniences that cause me put down my cross.

A church built a small secluded chapel for prayer and meditation. They furnished it with twelve chairs, each bearing the name of one of the disciples. If you were to visit that chapel which chair would you choose? The church reports that the chair marked “Judas” is the one most heavily worn with use.

That story used to surprise me. Not anymore.

Sē’lah

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What word or phrase in today’s reading attracts your attention?

Reflect on that word or phrase.

What insights come to you?

How does this passage touch your life today?

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  In addition to this BLOG they are distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com. The BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription

The second edition of my book, First Think – Then Pray has been released as an e-book on Amazon Kindle. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BGQL5JC

The Story of My Life as told by Jesus Christ

(Seed Sowers Christian Book Publishing House. http://www.seedsowers.com/)

Wednesday, March 27, 2013       My Disciples and I Prepared to Eat the Passover Meal Together        

Page 261      Matthew 26: 17-20; Mark 14:12-17; Luke 22:7-18; John 13:1-2