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Day 70 Matthew 26:1 Matthew 26:1 And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these sayings, he said unto his disciples, 2 Ye know that after two days is the feast of the Passover, and the Son of man is betrayed to be crucified. 3 Then assembled together the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders of the people, unto the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas, 4 And consulted that they might take Jesus by subtilty, and kill him. 5 But they said, Not on the feast day, lest there be an uproar among the people. 6 Now when Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper, 7 There came unto him a woman having an alabaster box of very precious ointment, and poured it on his head, as he sat at meat. 8 But when his disciples saw it, they had indignation, saying, To what purpose is this waste? 9 For this ointment might have been sold for much, and given to the poor. 10 When Jesus understood it, he said unto them, Why trouble ye the woman? For she hath wrought a good work upon me. 11 For ye have the poor always with you; but me ye have not always. 12 For in that she hath poured this ointment on my body, she did it for my burial. 13 Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, there shall also this, that this woman hath done, be told for a memorial of her. 14 Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests, 15 And said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver. 16 And from that time he sought opportunity to betray him. When people go to the theater to see plays, the play is divided into three acts. After each act, the curtain comes down, preparing you for the next act to come. With this scene in Jesus’ life, we come to the last scene of Act I. Now, we come to the beginning of the end, or the end of Jesus’ teaching ministry, and the beginning of salvation for all people. Act II. God has our complete attention as the scene is set. All the players are in place. Judas is in place to betray Jesus to Caiaphas. But first, the stage must be set for this last scene. In the first act, Jesus taught the people with parables – earthly stories with heavenly meanings. He did miracles miracles – fed the four and five thousand, walked on water, calmed the storm, and healed everyone who came to him. Isaiah 11:1 And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: 2 And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD; 3 And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: (KJV) Now, the last scene of Act I. Jesus told his disciples he was about to be betrayed and crucified. Believe me, they missed that statement, as they went to Bethany. There a woman with costly perfume poured it on Jesus, and he told the people, she prepared him for his burial. They missed that too. Instead, Judas focused his attention on the cost of the perfume, and at Jesus’ rebuke, set in motion the last scene of Act I, his betrayal of Jesus to the chief priest for thirty pieces of silver – the cost for a slave. As Christians, you know it is more than a play, with acts and scenes. You know it as the redemptive life story of Jesus of Nazareth, and the reason why he was born – for your salvation. John 18:37 Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou say that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth hears my voice. Everything Jesus did led up to this defining point in history. The next chapter of Jesus’ life is about to begin, and you are poised to see and accept what took place two thousand years ago. Are you ready for what is to come? Are you ready to receive the redemptive power of Jesus’ love for you – salvation? Get ready, Act II is about to begin. Let’s pray: Father, thank you for sending Jesus to be my Savior and Lord, for preparing me for the redemptive work of the cross. Help me live my life as a preparation of what you will do in my life. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen. Copyright © 28 June 2018 by Valerie Routhieaux Image courtesy of Pixabay