How much did those spices cost?

Click here to read Mark 15:42-16:7

“…bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus' body…” Mark 15:1

All of us love to serve God and want to be used by God. At times we make plans on how exactly we are going to serve God because we sense a need in the body of Christ. Over the years, I have also “sensed” a “need” and made appropriate plans only to find out that my view of the “need” was not really a need. Maybe you are making plans to serve God in some particular because you see a “need” in the body of Christ. What if you were to find out later on that those plans availed nothing? It can be quite disappointing.

We read of one such instance in the bible. Mark 15: 47 says, “Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where He was laid.” Two women saw where the body of Christ was laid for burial. The Amplified Bible puts it this way: “they were attentively observing where He was laid.” The next verse, Mark 16:1 says, “When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus' body.” A few women attentively observed where the body of Christ was laid, and they “sensed” that there was a “need” to anoint the body of Christ. So after Sabbath was over, they bought spices and came to execute their “service” based on their understanding of the “need.”

When they came to the tomb, they found out that Jesus had risen from the dead and He wasn’t there! What were they going to do with all those spices they bought? I wonder how much it cost them to buy those spices. I wonder who took the trouble of carrying those spices all the way to the tomb. Maybe they shared the load. They had bought the spices on the previous day, so the spices had to be stored overnight at someone’s house. Let us suppose it was at Salome’s house. I wonder if anyone at home would have asked her what she intended to do with those spices. I am sure she would have told them about the “service” she and her friends were going to do the next day. I wonder if they had discussed between them on how they were going to anoint his body. “You do the hands, I’ll do the legs.” Maybe. Maybe not. Anyway, what’s the use? At least if Jesus had been there they could have showed Him the spices to let Him know how much they loved Him. What a waste. A waste of time. A waste of money. A waste of…

A few days earlier a sinful woman in the house of Simon the leper had broke open an alabaster jar full of expensive perfume and poured it on Jesus. In response to this act, Jesus says in Mark 14:8: “She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial.” Note the word “beforehand” The need of the body of Christ to be anointed for burial was already taken care of “beforehand!” Well you would say, if only those 3 women knew! It is not fair! It is out of their love for Jesus that they planned all this. Now all those plans have gone down the drain! How sad!

I have been there many times and the disappointment hardly lasts long. Why do I say that? Because they received a revelation of Christ that no one else had. Nobody else knew that Jesus had risen from the dead! These 3 were the first ones to receive that revelation. Not only that, they were also entrusted with preaching the news of the resurrection to the Apostles of the New Testament church! Can you imagine that? Mark 16: 7 “But go, tell His disciples and Peter, 'He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.'” WOW! The service they had planned to do was to anoint the body. However, an angel from heaven ordained them to the service of preaching the news of the resurrection to Peter & Co. Who cares about the spices now? :) A new revelation! A new ministry!

Sometimes the reason our eyes see a version of the “need” is so that we will get to the place where we can be entrusted with a greater ministry. If those three women did not act upon their “sense” of the “need,” they would have never got to the tomb. i.e. the place where they received a new revelation and a new commission. Never be disappointed when plans regarding service go wrong. It is often the place where a new revelation is born and a new commission is given. Never sulk about the price you paid for the spices. How much did those spices cost? I don’t know. But I do know the resurrection gospel is far more precious than that.

Having said all this, I get reminded of the story of a little boy whose name was David. His plan of service was to go and give food to his brothers. He found his brothers weren’t where they were supposed to be. His plans went wrong. He wasn’t disappointed though. He continued to search for his brothers and eventually found them. It turned out that his brothers were angry with him for being there. How rude! David had taken the trouble to come all the way there to give them food. However he did meet a man THERE called Goliath. The rest, as they say, is history.

The decision to return

Click here to read Luke 17:11-19

Luke 17:15 "...he returned..."

If you have been a Christian for some time and have attended church frequently, I am sure you have sat through sessions of praise or praise & worship or singing or however you want to call it. You would have heard about clapping and praising God. You would have heard about dancing and praising God. You would have heard about singing and praising God. You would have heard about jumping and praising God. You would have heard about praising God with instruments, praising God with shouts of joy. Falling prostrate and praising God. Praising God in tounges, praising God with your tithes. I could go on and on and I am sure you could add to this list as well. However, there is one way of praising God that I have seldom heard: “return and praise God”

Mark 17:15,16 says, “Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. He prostrated himself at Jesus feet and thanked him.” I want you to notice 3 of his outward actions:

1. He turned back

2. He praised God with a loud voice

3. He prostrated himself at Jesus feet and thanked him.

I want you to notice the response of Jesus in verse 18: “Was none of them found to return and give praise to God…” Jesus leaves out the “loud voice”. Jesus also leaves out the “prostration.” I would have liked it if Jesus had said. “Was none of them found to return and praise God with a loud voice by prostrating himself…” But that is not what Jesus said. Jesus conveniently leaves out the fact that the praise and thanksgiving to God was demonstrated using “a loud voice” and “prostration.” However, he does make mention of the fact that it was done after “returning”

It tells me that the manner of praising God is not as important as the decision to praise God. But for me to make a decision to praise God, I have to “return.” Although this does sound trivial, it isn’t. Allow me to illustrate: If I decide to take a casual walk down town and I realize that I have to return home for some reason or the other, the decision is an easy one to make. However if I decide to go to a concert and I realize that I have to return home for some reason or the other, the decision will not be as easy. If I am on my way to a very important meeting at work and I realize that I have to return home for some reason or the other, the decision will be harder still. If I am on my way to a doctor’s appointment for a very crucial health diagnosis, the decision to “return” will be extremely difficult. The decision to “return” is made easy or difficult depending on the degree of affinity and importance of the “subject” at the other end.

If the leper’s decision were to only “return” from a casual walk, it would have been an easy one. However the leper had to decide to “return” by sacrificing his visit to the priest. Jesus had told him to go show himself to the priest. Once he had realized he had been healed, he “returned.” In those days, only the priest had the authority to pronounce a leper “clean.” Jesus wasn’t one of the official priests that had the “right” to pronounce a leper clean. The process of pronouncing a leper clean and the “purification” process thereafter are so detailed and complex that the book of Leviticus has 116 verses dedicated to it: i.e. the whole chapter of 13 and 14.

In short, he turned down human approval to “return” and praise God. One of the most challenging things for me as a Christian has been to make that decision. The challenge of turning down human approval for what Christ has done for me and in me. That is why praise is described as a sacrifice in Hebrews 13:15: “Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that confess his name.” To sacrifice the certificate of a priest which officially makes you “acceptable” in the society again and “return” to praise God! WOW! I wonder if I could have done that. If you and I can, the delight it will bring to the heart of God is unspeakable.

Jesus says, “…Was none of them found to return…” Notice the word “found.” You could only use the word “found” if you have been searching. I wonder if Jesus is still searching for that today: For us to sacrifice human approval of God’s work in us, and then “return” to praise God. Search your heart today. How often do you sacrifice human approval and make a decision to praise God for what he has done? It is a daily struggle for me. “… bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar.” Psalms 118:27

Chemistry was one of the subjects I took in school. No matter how many people tell me I’m good in Chemistry, it wouldn’t mean as much as hearing it from my Chemistry teacher. My friends could tell me I’m brilliant in Chemistry. However if my teacher tells me that, it would give me joy unspeakable. Hence, I acknowledge that he/she is the source of my knowledge in Chemistry. One of the best definitions of praise I have come across is in Psalms 87:7 “As they make music they will sing, "All my fountains are in you." The keyword there of course is “ALL”