His eyes were narrowed and his fists were clenched. He was disgusted by the waste! As the the odor filled the room, rage filled his heart. The ointment could have been sold for almost a year's wages, but instead it was just dripping off of Jesus’ hair and beard, filling the room with the suffocating smell.
Judas was indignant that the ointment had been wasted. When Judas had left everything to follow Jesus, he had anticipated having a major part to play in the kingdom that Jesus was proclaiming. He was honored to be chosen as one of the twelve apostles. It had been exciting to see the miracles, to be sent out on the missionary journey and experience the power of God. But something changed when Peter had declared what all twelve had believed, that Jesus was the Christ. From that point on Jesus had begun to speak of suffering and death. Judas wanted to be part of a kingdom, and the message that Jesus was now giving wasn’t what he had sacrificed everything for.
Judas was offended by and disappointed with Jesus. He had been given the position of being the treasurer. As his disillusionment grew, so did his desire to be compensated for the time he had wasted following this man who now said that the greatest in His Kingdom must be a servant. That was not why Judas had left everything to follow Jesus! He had begun to recompense himself with the money that he stole from the treasury. He added his voice to those who scolded Mary as he calculated what he could have taken from the sale of the alabaster jar of spikenard.
God had called Abraham to leave behind all that was familiar to him. With the call came a promise of land and of descendants that would be as numerous as the stars. Yet Abraham’s wife Sarah was barren. He was given a call and a promise, and an opportunity to become bitter and disappointed with God. Abraham did not become offended, because he had faith. Abraham had confidence that God was good and would keep His promises. He had conviction about what he could not see.
John the Baptist had been set apart from before he was born to be the forerunner of the Messiah. In response to Jesus' growing ministry John had said, “He must increase and I must decrease.” At the height of Jesus’ ministry, John was in prison. When John had described the one who would come after him, he had said, “His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire” (Luke 3:17). But Jesus’ ministry didn’t match John’s description. John sent word to ask Jesus if He was the One or if they needed to look for another. Jesus told the messengers to tell John about all the miracles that He was doing. Then He sent word that, “Blessed is the man who isn’t offended by Me.”
Without faith it is impossible to please God, and without faith it is impossible to be pleased with God.
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