Session 12

Would you give it all?

From John: A 21-Day Devotional

Mary washes Jesus’ feet with perfume. The next day, Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a donkey as crowds praise Him. Jesus explains why He’s going to die and makes a plea for the Jews to believe.

What would you consider your most valuable possession? Maybe it’s a car, a family heirloom, a computer, or a house. We all have things that we value and take great care to keep. In the beginning of John 12, we see the thing Mary considered precious — a bottle of expensive perfume. This perfume was not just a fragrance to Mary. It was worth nearly a year’s wages. Mary wasn’t just saving this perfume for a special day. This bottle was her financial security.

“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” (John 12:3).

In an act of worship, Mary poured her perfume onto Jesus’ feet. She knelt to the ground and washed His feet, ignoring the opinions of others. Mary gave radically. She gave not knowing if she’d be able to live through the day, but trusting Jesus anyway. She gave with such extravagance that the disciples told her she’d given too much.

To put Mary’s situation in today’s terms, it would be like going to church next Sunday, feeling called to give, and writing a check for your entire year’s salary! Yet, this is the same way God gave to us. He gave His best when He gave us Jesus. God not only calls us to radical faith, He calls us to radical giving.

• What can you learn about Jesus from this chapter?
• What’s holding you back from pouring your security out at Jesus’ feet? How does this chapter show us that we can trust Him with what’s most precious to us?
• Is there anything in your life you have not given to God?