JOHN 12:1-3
Have you ever walked on the beach really far, only to have
to turn back and walk just as far again to get to your towel and cooler? Have you ever hiked a long trail in the
mountains? Or walked to a friend’s house
who lived many blocks from your own? Or
spent the whole day running from ride to ride and standing in long lines at an
amusement park?
These are all fun things to do, but a the end of days like
that, my feet are really, really tired, and sore; sweaty, dirty and probably
pretty stinky, too.
About a week and a half before he died, Jesus was visiting
his friends, Martha, her sister Mary, and their brother Lazarus, in their home
in the town of Bethany. They were
hosting a dinner in Jesus’ honor. The
disciples were invited, too. Jesus
walked a long way to get to the party on dusty roads. His feet were tired, sore, dirty and probably
pretty stinky, too.
Mary, Martha and Lazarus each loved Jesus with their whole
heart. He was their dear friend and
teacher—the person they respected most in the world. Mary wanted to do something for Jesus to show
how much he meant to her.
She took a pound of very expensive perfume—that’s a lot of
perfume—and poured it onto Jesus’ tired, hurting feet. Then she wiped his perfumed feet with her
hair. Imagine how wonderful that must
have felt to Jesus—not only the soothing it brought to his tired feet, but the
joy it brought to his heart to know that his friends loved him that much.
A few days after this, Jesus and his disciples go to
Jerusalem. There, they share another
dinner, where Jesus performs a similar act of love and service for his
disciples. It involves feet, too.
