40 DAYS in the GOSPEL Sample

A BAD TRADE

I (Josiah) was moments away from closing the trade of a lifetime—well, the trade of a lifetime if you were ten years old. The other kid I was dealing with clearly did not understand that a Johnny Bench rookie baseball card was pretty valuable and that he was about to trade it for a couple of modern guys who were popular at the time. (For those who don't know, trading those printed baseball cards of famous players was, and is, quite a passion for American boys.) All of a sudden, from out of nowhere, comes some other kid who did see it and he starts warning my less perceptive target that he was about to be ripped off. So close! Something about it seemed wrong. Great value can often be missed if you don’t know what to look for. And if this kid didn’t see it, that was his problem. Or so I thought.

In our text today (v. 3-9), there is a woman who sees Jesus' great worth. In response, she pours all that she has out on Him in a public display that offends many who were present at the time. People tend to get emotional about things of great worth to them. In this scene, it becomes a teachable moment for Jesus to try to realign the value system of those present.

In saying they would always have the poor with them, I wonder if Jesus was pointing out that none of them were in the habit of selling all they had and giving it to those in need. He is suspicious of their real motives and with good reason.

In praising this woman's act of costly worship, Jesus makes it plain that those who thought they saw a waste of resources actually couldn’t spot something of infinite value sitting right next to them. He promises that her name will be spoken long after theirs is forgotten.

The gospel is here to turn the value system of this world upside down. It has a death, the death of Jesus, at the center—the most valuable thing that has ever happened to this world. It teaches us that if we want to save our lives, we will lose them. But if instead we give them away for the cause of the Kingdom of God, we will save our lives forever. Jesus is that guy coming out of nowhere to tell you that because of what you might be missing, you are in danger of trading something of great value for a handful of currently popular ideas. I pray you listen to Him.

PRAY ABOUT IT: Pray today for any of your friends, family, or neighbors who you know are making a bad trade by living life without reference to Jesus and the gospel. Pray that God will open their eyes.