Wednesday, March 18, 2026

Opening Scripture

“Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” John 17:3

Opening Prayer

Gracious Father, in your infinite wisdom and unending love, you provided for our salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ. As a man, He lived fully each day as one of us, experiencing all the joys and sorrows of human existence. He laughed and cried. He worked and rested. He was hungry and thirsty. He was satisfied and content. He prayed for us and died for us. May we live joyfully today in the promise and provision of His redemption and love. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Daily Bible Reading

John 12:1-19

Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. Here, a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.” He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.

“Leave her alone,” Jesus replied. “It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.”

Meanwhile a large crowd of Jews found out that Jesus was there and came, not only because of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well, for on account of him many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and believing in him.

The next day the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the king of Israel!”

Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, as it is written: “Do not be afraid, Daughter Zion; see, your king is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt.”

At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and that these things had been done to him.

Now the crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to spread the word. Many people, because they had heard that he had performed this sign, went out to meet him. So the Pharisees said to one another, “See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!”

Reflection  

After their respite in Ephraim, Jesus and his disciples began their fateful journey to Jerusalem, one final time. On the way, they stopped in Bethany. Simon the Leper (who may have been healed by Jesus) hosted a dinner at his home in honor of Jesus. The siblings were there, each functioning in their familiar roles.

Martha was busy serving. Lazarus was dining with Jesus. Mary was expressing her devotion. During the dinner, she took a flask of expensive perfume, poured it on Jesus’ feet, and wiped them with her hair. It was a shocking display.

Matthew and Mark tell us that other disciples joined Judas in rebuking Mary for the “waste” of pouring such valuable oil on Jesus’ feet. Judas’ motive was greed. He was a thief, and his greed soon led him to betray Jesus to the religious leaders.

The others were misguided. Only Jesus and Mary seemed to appreciate the significance of the moment as the whole house was filled with the pleasing aroma (which indicates that John experienced it personally).

Jesus quickly comes to Mary’s defense. What appeared to be irresponsible, careless, and impulsive was, in fact, lavish, compassionate, and divinely ordained. Mary was symbolically preparing Jesus for His imminent death and burial.

The time had come. After evading premature attempts on His life and avoiding hasty efforts to make Him king, Jesus led His disciples to Jerusalem to fulfill the Father’s mission.

The Holy City was filled with pilgrims from across Israel, gathering to celebrate the Passover Festival. The pilgrims included many from Galilee who had seen Jesus’ miracles. When the crowd heard that Jesus was approaching Jerusalem from Bethany, they lined the street waving palm branches as a sign of victory, shouting “Hosanna! Save us! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Blessed is the King of Israel.”

The crowd’s enthusiastic reaction to Jesus only intensified the religious leaders’ jealousy and fear of Him. As a living exhibit of Jesus’ miracle-working power, Lazarus was now caught up in the murder plot as well.

Flourishing Habit

Intentional Discipleship

We will celebrate Palm Sunday on March 29th, remembering Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem and the beginning of Holy Week. Hopefully, these daily Bible readings will continue to help contextualize the events of those days for you.

How do you react to what Mary did at the dinner party? Unconcerned about food and social custom, oblivious to propriety and protocol, Mary risked mistreatment and misunderstanding to express her devotion to Jesus. While others disdained, Jesus defended.

Have you ever felt compelled to express your love and loyalty to Jesus like that?

In Stories Jesus Still Tells, John Claypool relates the story of his daughter, Laura, who eventually died of leukemia. When she was four, John was attempting to put her to bed one night, but she was like most four-year-olds. To avoid going to bed, Laura took three trips to the bathroom, asked for a drink of water, wanted another story told, needed Dad to put the light on, heard a sound, and so on. John finally took care of his daughter’s needs and went upstairs to write.

He was deep into his writing when he could tell Laura was standing at the door of his study, staring at him. He hadn’t seen her or heard anything, he just knew she was there. Frustrated, he turned around and said, with a bit of anger in his voice, “What do you want me to do, Laura?” Laura walked up beside her father, grabbed his arm, and said, “Nothing, Daddy, I just want to be close to you.”

Perhaps Mary had it right after all.

Remember: Nothing changes until something changes!