THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY.......

Zach Cowles

If you were able to join us this weekend, you got to hear my good friend Eric Bahme tell the story of Mary Magdalene. If you weren't able to join us, I will give you a recap that won't be nearly as eloquent or well said as Mr. Bahme's rendition. 

Mary was a girl that grew up in a wealthy area of ancient Israel. She grew up in a very religious community that liked to appear like they were doing well on the outside. Mary began making choices that led her into a life of prostitution and she became known as a sinful woman. She had an encounter with Jesus, however that changed everything. 

This encounter with Jesus was so life changing that she found Jesus eating at the house of a Pharisee, and she went in weeping, wiping his feet with her hair, and breaking open a jar of perfume that cost a years wages. She dumps this whole jar right on Jesus! A years wages, just like that, gone. 

There are a few things I want to talk about in reference to this story. The first is the sacrifice that this woman makes. She dumps out the most valuable thing she owned. Something that cost the same amount that you would make in a year. That's a lot of money. Some of the disciples respond by saying that it was wasted, and it could have been sold to feed the poor. Which is true. It could have been sold, and used to feed people. But Jesus sees a bigger picture. Jesus sees that the love that this woman has for Him is greater than any monetary value, there is no price that can be put on what this woman gave. Mary gave the most valuable thing that she had, and every bit of it went to Jesus, and yet none of it was wasted. The disciples thought that it was a waste to dump it all out like that, but she and Jesus knew that when we give to Jesus, nothing is ever wasted. The same is true for us. When we give to Jesus, no matter what we give, or how much we give, nothing is ever wasted. 

So if you're like me, you're thinking, "I don't have a jar of perfume that costs that much, I just have a stick of Old Spice. How does this story apply to me?" If you're like me, you're probably a bit of a smart aleck too. But the thing is, is that God isn't interested in perfumes, he isn't interested in monetary items.