READ: Mark 14:3-6; 10-11; 41-46
³ While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head. ⁴ Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, “Why this waste of perfume? ⁵ It could have been sold for more than a year’s wages and the money given to the poor.” And they rebuked her harshly. ⁶ “Leave her alone,” said Jesus. “Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me… 

¹⁰ Then Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Jesus to them. ¹¹ They were delighted to hear this and promised to give him money. So he watched for an opportunity to hand him over…

⁴¹ …The hour has come. Look, the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners. ⁴² Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!”  ⁴³ Just as he was speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, appeared. With him was a crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests, the teachers of the law, and the elders. ⁴⁴ Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: “The one I kiss is the man; arrest him and lead him away under guard.” ⁴⁵ Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, “Rabbi!” and kissed him. ⁴⁶ The men seized Jesus and arrested him… 

REFLECT: The decision Judas made to betray Jesus was a long time coming. But it came immediately after this extravagant gesture of love and devotion. We talked on Sunday about why Judas decided to betray Jesus. We’re not sure, of course, but greed seems to have been a part of the equation.

But when you look at the story, it makes you wonder, why did this set him off? Sure, she wasted some serious money on what looked like to Judas, an unnecessary gesture. But why did this lead him to run off to the chief priest and promise to hand over Jesus, especially since he knew it most likely meant Jesus would die?

In the grand sweep of the story, don’t you think Judas overreacts a bit? It may be a small point, but there’s something here that should humble us; something we often see in ourselves. It’s those times when we overreact to something that really is quite small, occasionally with serious consequences.

RESPOND: Whenever you catch yourself overreacting, ask yourself, why? Why is it that this comparatively small thing has made you so mad? Why do you have such a strong reaction to X, Y or Z? Why have you found yourself out of sync with what God wants from you. In Judas’ case it was greed, ambition and the desire to Make Israel Great Again. In our case it may be something else that has become more important to you than God. A job, a relationship, anger toward a former friend, or disappointment over a plan that suddenly falls apart.

Don’t let something like this embitter you. Ask God to make you content and at peace in the moment. And ask him “deliver you from evil,” so you don’t let a frustration lead you to do something you’ll later regret.