a woman came to him with
an alabaster jar of very costly ointment,
and she poured it on his head
Matthew 26:7
Someone asked me recently, "Why did Judas betray Jesus?"
I said, "Because of the alabaster jar." Then I told them the story of the woman who anointed Jesus.
The Greek word for anointed is "Christ." The Hebrew word for anointed is "Messiah." In the Hebrew tradition, two primary people were ever anointed -- kings and dead people. In one chapter of Matthew, Jesus would be both -- dead on a cross with the true words, "King of the Jews," hung above his head.
Judas, however, made a very pious sounding argument against it. With the woman pouring thousands of dollars of perfume and ointment on Jesus, Judas said, "8 Why this waste? 9 This ointment could have been sold for a large sum and the money given to the poor."
Very pious sounding, indeed. But beware of silver tongues ... especially when they're connected to deceitful hearts. When John tells this story, he says, "12:6 [Judas] said this not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief; he kept the common purse, and used to steal what was put in it.")
"Why did Judas betray Jesus?" That surely wasn't his initial goal. He just allowed a little crack in the dam. A few pennies here. A few dollars there. Greed. Slowly the crack grew. It didn't seem like that big of a deal ... but before he knew it, the integrity of the whole dam was compromised ... and great was its fall.
What are the small cracks that you allow? Is it greed or pride or anger ... or lust or unforgiveness. Repentance is a good sealer. May your integrity -- and mine -- be continually restored.
In Christ's Love,
a guy who loves this definition of integrity:
"What you do when no one's looking."
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