jaws of death, they experience Bethany. The Lord is in their midst and blesses their fellowship with his peace-bringing presence. But where are the souls like Mary, who break the heart of their old nature and joyfully give everything they have in the service of his love? The Lord knows them and sees them blossoming in the valley of humility, where they are mostly quiet and hidden, offering the strength and beauty of their lives in gratitude to their Redeemer and in service to others. Indeed the church, the bride of the Lord, is herself such a Mary when she remembers his passion in little family circles or in large church gatherings and accompanies him on his way to the cross with faith and reverence, adoration and prayer.
10
Sunday Evening
Mary Is Justified
But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was about to betray him), said, “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” But Judas said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it.
There were some who said to themselves indignantly, “Why was the ointment wasted like that? For this ointment could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor.” And they scolded her. But Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you want, you can do good for them. But you will not always have me. She has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand for burial. And truly, I say to you, wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her.”
John 12:4–6; Mark 14:4–9
HERE FOR THE FIRST TIME we are given a glimpse into the dark abyss of Judas’s heart. The Lord’s repeated references to his suffering had gradually made it clear to Judas that this Jesus would not establish the dreamed-of messianic kingdom in worldly glory, that following him would not lead to the expected riches and honors. He walked beside his Master, brooding in silence, while within him the love of money grew to thieving avarice, and under the reproachful looks and words of the Lord, his selfishness hardened into hatred of Christ. It is true, he still wore the mask of discipleship, but he was incapable of understanding the love that urged Mary. Yet he felt judged in his heart for his stone-hard egotism by her act of dedication, and the poison of his malice burst forth. This attitude of Judas reveals for all time the mystery of the hatred of the world for the church of Christ. The Lord’s enemies feel rebuked by the behavior of his true disciples and so try to get rid of them.
Judas tried in vain to cover his rage with the cloak of cleverly calculated love to the poor. It is true that some of the disciples were thoughtless and foolish enough to agree with him, but the Lord saw through him. He brought Mary’s act of love into the brightest light by saying, “Leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done what she could; she has done a beautiful thing to me.” Oh that we might also receive his praise: “You have done what you could!” Truly, it is little that we can do, but who has really done even the little he can? Won’t our bitterest self-accusations one day be that we have not done what we could? But where perfect love is at work, it does everything it can. And where it does, the Lord himself adds to it far more than we can imagine or understand. He accepts Mary’s loving deed as the anointing of his holy body for its burial and resurrection, and declares that this will be proclaimed by every tongue as long as the world exists. When we refresh someone who is thirsty with a drink of cool water, he looks upon it as done to himself (Matt. 25:35, 40). When we try to do God’s will, urged by love, he says these efforts fulfill the law: “Love is the fulfilling of the law (Rom. 13:10).
At the Last Judgment all calculating egotists (however hypocritically they still know how to cry, “Lord! Lord!”) will be ordered away with the words, “Depart from me, you cursed” (Matt. 25:41). But those who have lived and died in love will hear the gracious words: “You have done what you could. Enter into the joy of your master” (Matt. 25:23).
11
Monday Morning
The King Enters Jerusalem
The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him … Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it.
And many spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields. And those who went before and those who followed were shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!”
As he was drawing near – already on the way down the Mount of Olives – the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”
John 12:12–14; Mark 11:8–10; Luke 19:37–40
WHILE THE LORD WAS IN QUIET BETHANY there was tremendous excitement in Jerusalem. Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims had come to celebrate the Passover, and the royal city, which was already crowded, was filled to overflowing. One question filled the thoughts and conversations of all: Will the prophet of Nazareth, the great conqueror of death whom the council excommunicated, also come to the festival? Will he dare to do so? Then the news spread rapidly that he was already in Bethany and was preparing to enter Jerusalem.
His enemies were enraged, his followers encouraged, the indifferent were roused, and great and very mixed crowds set off for the Mount of Olives and waited for him in tense excitement. The cry rang out: “There he is!” The King of Peace came into sight at the top of the hill riding on a donkey, surrounded by his disciples and many other followers. At the sight of him, reverence for this wonderful man of God, which was repressed till now, breaks forth with irresistible power in the crowded throng. They recognize him as the promised Son of David, the longed-for Messiah King. They spread their clothes in his path, break green branches from the palm trees and wave them joyfully in the air. In this way they receive and accompany their great yet so unassuming King. An enthusiasm from above takes possession of their souls. They begin to sing songs of praise: “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” These psalms spread from one throng to another: “Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!”
The enthusiastic singing continues to ring out more and more powerfully right up to the gates of the capital city – indeed, right up into the temple precincts: “Hosanna to the king of Israel! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”
What a blessing might have dawned upon Israel that day if the whole nation had paid homage to its king and been faithful to him unto death! But the higher the waves of the people’s joy rise, the fiercer grows the hatred of the enemies. Standing by the roadside, they call out to the Lord in their exasperation, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” He, however, accepts the people’s homage and rebuts these grim elders with the words, “If these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”
But the populace is fickle while the hatred of the adversary remains firm. The king enters his city, but his crown will be a crown of thorns, and his throne the cross on Golgotha.
How do you,
