DAY 295 Read Matthew 26:16; Mark 14:1-11; Luke 7:36-50; 22:1-6; John 12:1-11.
Today's reading: These two events occurred before the beginning of the Passion Week--probably on the night after the Sabbath. It was the reaction of Judas to Christ's rebuke at Simon's feast that precipitated the betrayal.
Memory gem: "Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, there shall also this, that this woman hath done, be told for a memorial of her" (Matthew 26:13).
Thought for today:
Someone has said that the very name "Judas Iscariot" seems to have a hiss in it. We may have thought of him as a gnarled, twisted character from boyhood on, sulking through life with a malevolent gleam of hate in his eye. But that is certainly the wrong idea. Judas had many attractive virtues. He was a man of real promise, faithful in many of the tasks assigned to him in Christ's earlier ministry. The name Judas means "praise." His second name, Iscariot, may sound harsh and bitter, but some think it simply means "man of Kerioth," identifying the town from which he came. True, he became a thief; he became bitter and critical.
At the feast where a penitent woman anointed the feet of Jesus with costly spikenard perfume, Judas found fault. He said, "This should have been sold and given to the poor." He had come to the place where any special honor shown Jesus irked him. One might say that he lived in the negative.
This reminds me of a minister who, while riding on a tramcar in New Your City, passed a beautiful church. A fellow passenger turned to him and said, "If those Christians would stop building fine churches and give their money to the poor, it would be much more to their credit."
"I have heard a similar remark before," said the minister.
"Indeed, and by whom, may I ask?"
"Judas Iscariot," was the reply.
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Difficult or obscure words:
Matthew 26:7. "Alabaster box"--better jar, or flask. These ancient flasks carved from soft stone had the content sealed in, so that the flask had to be broken open (see Mark 14:3).
Today's reading: These two events occurred before the beginning of the Passion Week--probably on the night after the Sabbath. It was the reaction of Judas to Christ's rebuke at Simon's feast that precipitated the betrayal.
Memory gem: "Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, there shall also this, that this woman hath done, be told for a memorial of her" (Matthew 26:13).
Thought for today:
Someone has said that the very name "Judas Iscariot" seems to have a hiss in it. We may have thought of him as a gnarled, twisted character from boyhood on, sulking through life with a malevolent gleam of hate in his eye. But that is certainly the wrong idea. Judas had many attractive virtues. He was a man of real promise, faithful in many of the tasks assigned to him in Christ's earlier ministry. The name Judas means "praise." His second name, Iscariot, may sound harsh and bitter, but some think it simply means "man of Kerioth," identifying the town from which he came. True, he became a thief; he became bitter and critical.
At the feast where a penitent woman anointed the feet of Jesus with costly spikenard perfume, Judas found fault. He said, "This should have been sold and given to the poor." He had come to the place where any special honor shown Jesus irked him. One might say that he lived in the negative.
This reminds me of a minister who, while riding on a tramcar in New Your City, passed a beautiful church. A fellow passenger turned to him and said, "If those Christians would stop building fine churches and give their money to the poor, it would be much more to their credit."
"I have heard a similar remark before," said the minister.
"Indeed, and by whom, may I ask?"
"Judas Iscariot," was the reply.
----------------
Difficult or obscure words:
Matthew 26:7. "Alabaster box"--better jar, or flask. These ancient flasks carved from soft stone had the content sealed in, so that the flask had to be broken open (see Mark 14:3).
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