Where Are You Weakest

Our Lord’s Last Wednesday

We learn that Jesus stayed in the home of a man named Simon, who is or was a leper. Since lepers would not have hosted guests in their home, it is most likely that Simon was once a leper but is now healed of his disease.  What would it be like to host Jesus in our home? No doubt, Simon loved and respected Jesus, especially if Jesus was his healer.

 Simon planned a fine meal for Jesus and his disciples. It was during this event that a woman came in and knelt down at the feet of Jesus. Holding an alabaster flask containing expensive ointment, she begins to bath our Lord’s feet with the ointment. This act shocked many who saw it. Fragrances were made using a laborious process that required an abundance of costly materials to gain a small about of perfume. To so lavishly anoint a man’s feet with such an expensive material seemed an improper, even wasteful, use of this rare commodity. 

We know that Judas was the treasurer for the disciples. He must have been a man gifted in administration. He was obsessed with money. He was a thief. This was his weakness. Why would such a man decide to become a disciple of Jesus? What attracted him to Jesus? We can’t answer this question with any certainty, but the fact that Jesus allowed this man to remain in his company says something about the permissive will of God. God permits destructive persons to belong to the Church and even to become leaders in the Church. 

Judas, perhaps because of his weakness and his hypocrisy, became the prime target of the Devil. The writers say with haunting simplicity that Satan entered Judas that evening as Judas saw the woman worshiping Jesus with such extravagance. The story of his meeting with the priests and the Temple guards sounds so orderly and business-like. The two items on their agenda were (1) to quietly arrest and (2) kill Jesus. Judas was there when they developed this plan and was instrumental in leading them to Jesus at a time when he is mostly to be alone. 

Jesus knows about this plan and it must have broken his heart. If Satan is looking for a weakness in you, what would it be?