Easter Devotion: Holy Wednesday

By Sarah Davis

Kids' Minister

Read Matthew 26:6-13.

What should I do next?

That’s a question we ask ourselves every day. We all live busy lives. Our days get packed with one event or task after the other. More often than not, at the end of the day, we feel like we have accomplished nothing and just wasted our time. We’ve crossed things off the list, but we added more in the end.

After days of traveling and ministry, Jesus and His disciples sat at a table for dinner when Mary approached. She broke a jar of expensive perfume – that cost close to a year’s worth of wages – and poured it on Jesus’ head. It was an odd thing to do at a casual dinner. 

The disciples – most likely Judas –  quickly protested against this act for one reason only: they could have sold the perfume to help the poor.

Mary wasn’t thinking of what to do next or who to help next though; she was thinking about the present. She was thinking about the Son of God who was sitting at the table and how to worship Him. She chose to worship Jesus. 

This act of worship had deep significance. She poured the perfume on Jesus’ head in a way Old Testament kings were anointed with oil. Perfume was used on bodies after they had died to help with the odor as they decayed. This act took place two days before Jesus would be crucified. Mary was speaking through her actions: Here is my King! Here is my Savior!

Mary and the disciples had Jesus with them for only a few more days before their world turned upside down. While Jesus had talked about His death and the events to come, the disciples didn’t fully understand it. They thought they had more time with Jesus. Therefore, they were focused more on the tasks they could accomplish tomorrow. 

Maybe Mary didn’t know how much time she had left with Jesus either. But she didn’t hesitate to worship Him or put it off until tomorrow. She didn’t do the bare minimum either; she gave Jesus her very best in that moment – one of the most expensive things she owned.

Helping people and ministering to our neighbors is great, and it is what we are called to do as Christians. However, our first objective as Christ followers is to worship Christ. We cannot let our daily tasks fill up every hour of the day everyday for the rest of our lives. We will never accomplish everything we need to anyways.

So don’t ask, “What should I do next?” Ask, “How can I worship God right now?”