Who Is He? Who Are We?Sample

Six days before Passover, a dinner was held in Bethany. The air was thick with the scent of something sacred about to happen. Martha served, Lazarus reclined at the table, and Mary did something unforgettable; she broke open a jar of pure nard and poured it over Jesus’ feet, wiping them with her hair. The fragrance filled the room, and so did her devotion.

Mary didn’t do this to impress anyone. She wasn’t checking a spiritual box. Her act was born out of intimacy. She had a heart that had already spent time at His feet. Before she poured out perfume, she had learned to sit down and listen. That’s the rhythm of a true disciple: devotion before duty.

Judas’s reaction reveals a sharp contrast. He criticised her worship, pretending to care about the poor while his heart was full of greed and discontentment. Mary’s light exposed the darkness in him. While she was in love, Judas was in criticism. Her humility stood against his pride, and her devotion silenced his deception.

Then there’s Martha, faithful, hardworking, present. Her service mattered, but even she needed the reminder that being with Jesus always comes before doing for Jesus.

This moment reminds us of our own posture toward Christ. Who is He to us? Is He the One we serve out of obligation, or the Saviour we adore because we know who we are in Him?

Jesus doesn’t need our performance; He desires our presence. The King of Kings, the same One who would soon ride into Jerusalem and head to the cross, delights in hearts that simply sit with Him. Before we pour out our gifts, our time, or our energy, He invites us to come close.

You are not first a servant, you are a son or daughter. Service flows from identity, not the other way around. Like Mary, when we realise who He truly is: the Lamb of God, worthy of every drop of devotion, we can’t help but pour out everything in response.

Reflection Questions:

1. Have I been more focused on doing for Jesus than being with Him?
2. What might it look like to “sit at His feet”?
3. Is there something costly – my time, distractions, or comfort – that I can pour out as worship to Him?

Prayer:
Jesus, let my life be poured-out perfume before You. Teach me to sit before I serve, to love before I labour. Remind me that I am Yours, a beloved child, and let everything I do flow from that place of devotion. Amen.