Starting Monday, you will find a daily devotional right here to help you prepare as Resurrection Sunday approaches.
Giving Our All: The Anointing of Jesus in Mark 14
Welcome to our latest Holy Week reflection. In this video, we explore the powerful account found in Mark 14:3-8, where an unnamed woman boldly anoints Jesus with perfume.
In this video, we discuss:
-The gospel accounts of a woman anointing Jesus with perfume.
-The setting at the table of Simon the Leper, where the woman poured pure nard over Jesus’s head.
-The great expense of spikenard, which had a strong odor and was known to be reserved for the very best.
-The indignant reactions of some dinner guests who were disgusted that the expensive perfume was wasted instead of sold.
-The boldness of the woman approaching a table of men uninvited to offer her best to the Messiah.
-How anointing a king’s head with oil was an Old Testament symbol of consecration and preparation.
-Jesus’s declaration that she was willingly preparing His body for burial before His path to the cross.
-The beautiful reality that she broke the jar to pour all the perfume over Him, keeping nothing back.
Today, Jesus has risen from the dead and sits at the right hand of the Father. Because His death is complete, we no longer have the opportunity to prepare His physical body for burial. However, we do have the opportunity to prepare His body—the Church—for eternal life. As you reflect on this message, ask yourself: are you doing that by giving your very best and offering all?
The Loudest Offering: The Widow’s Mite and Trusting God
As we journey through Jesus’ final week before the cross together, I can’t help but reflect on the intensity of His teaching. There is a definite uptick in the intensity level of His actions and teaching during this time. Looking at it from this side of the cross, we know that He has His eyes fixed firmly on Calvary, with our eternity in mind and the Father’s will in His heart. Today we are going to look at Mark 12:41-44 where Jesus calls together His disciples to point out something extraordinary in a seemingly ordinary moment.
In this video, we explore:
-The Noisy Temple: In the temple Treasury there were 13 coffers made of bronze that were trumpet-shaped, making a giant funnel. Imagine the sheer noise that would be constantly generated from coin after coin dropping into the coffers, much like the magnified sound of a loud coin machine at a laundromat.
-The Heart Over Wealth: The rich were coming through and putting in large sums of money. Jesus isn’t condemning large sums or wealthy people, but it is important to remember that Jesus can see the heart.
-The Unheard Gift: In the midst of the cacophony, an unassuming widow appears with 2 small copper coins. These lepta, often called “mites,” were made from a shaving of metal and were worth around 1/64 of a day’s wage. They were so small that the sound of her gift would likely have not been heard.
-Giving Everything: Jesus explains to His disciples that her gift, although small compared to the rest, was more than all those who had contributed. While they gave out of their surplus, she gave out of her poverty all she had to live on.
-Trusting the Provider: The focus is not on the money, but on the trust she had in the Lord. Much like the widow at Zarephath in 1 Kings 17 who gave the last little bit she had to the service of God, this widow knew God was her provider and trusted Him.
Men look at the outside appearance, but God looks to the heart. Jesus is teaching us that our heart posture toward the Lord should be one of trust, recognizing Him as our provider and casting our worries and cares on Him. Will you trust Him?
Whose Image Do You Bear? The Tax Trap of Holy Week, Jason Seggelke – MACC Holy Week Devotionals
In this video, we explore a pivotal moment that happens right in the thick of Tuesday of Holy Week. Jesus is teaching in the temple, and the religious leaders are coming at Him with everything they’ve got to try and trap Him.
In this reflection on Mark 12:13-17, we discuss:
-The Trap: How two completely opposed factions—the Pharisees and the Herodians—united to corner Jesus with a question about paying the imperial tax to Caesar.
-The Motives: The Pharisees’ meticulous focus on rules that became a roadblock to God, contrasted with the Herodians’ desire to compromise for Roman comfort and safety.
-The Irony: The hypocrisy of these leaders carrying a Roman denarius—a coin considered to be blasphemous propaganda featuring a graven image—right inside the temple of God.
-The Ultimate Answer: Jesus’s brilliant command to give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.
Legalism can easily cause us to focus on the letter of the law instead of the Giver of the law. While Caesar’s image was stamped on a Roman coin, you bear the image of God.
This Holy Week, let’s not be so terrified of doing the wrong thing that we forget to actually do the right thing.
Give your whole self—your heart, your mercy, and your justice—back to the God whose image you bear.
Flipping Tables: The Urgency of Jesus Cleansing the Temple, D.J. Goble – MACC Holy Week Devotionals
Imagine entering the temple during the busiest season of the year, surrounded by loud noises. The air is filled with the sounds of money changers and people selling sacrificial animals—sounds that had become entirely normal for the time. But then, chaos erupts.
In this video, we explore:
-The Commotion: How Jesus drove out the sellers and money changers, sending tables flying and crowds dispersing.
-The Confrontation: Jesus declaring that God’s house of prayer had been twisted into what He called a “den of robbers”.
-The Corruption: How the temple was being used to cheat people, ultimately making it harder for them to worship God.
-The Holy Week Parallel: How Jesus’s act of restoring the temple at the start of the week directly parallels what He accomplishes at the end of the week.
-The Ultimate Restoration: How His sacrifice bridged the gap created by sin to restore our relationship with God.
Join us as we look at the seriousness of Jesus’ actions during His final week and what it means for our faith today.
