Two Tables - Katia Adams

- Hi guys, I wanted to share something today with you from the Gospel of Mark. It's just a little nugget really that's been on my heart and mind over this last week. And so, I wanted to draw our attention to two tables in chapter 14 of the Gospel of Mark. And I'm just gonna read a couple of verses from both of these tables and then draw out what I feel like God's been speaking to me about. So in the first one we're told right at the beginning of chapter 14 that it's two days before the Passover. And in verse three we get into this scene where Jesus is at Bethany in the house of Simon the Leper. He was reclining at a table and a woman came with an alabaster flask of ointment of pure nard, very costly. And she broke the flask and poured it over his head. There was some who said to themselves indignantly "Why was this ointment wasted like that?" "For this ointment could have been sold" "for more than 300 denarii" "and given to the poor." And in the second table, just a little bit further on in the chapter, just a couple of days later in verse 18 we're told that Jesus and his disciples were reclining at a table, this is at the Passover. They're reclining at the table and eating. And Jesus says "Truly, I say to you," "one of you will betray me" And He goes on speaking with them and then from verse 22. As they're eating He took the bread and after blessing it, broke it and gave it to them and said, "Take this, my body" and He took a cup and when He had given thanks He gave it to them and they all drank of it and He said to them, "this is my blood of the covenant" "which is poured out for many." And as I've been reading these verses and thinking over them, I felt God speak to me through through these two tables in this chapter in Mark 14. They're both acts of incredible devotion. There are, the similar language that's used is intentional I believe, by Mark. He's drawing our attention to acts of incredible devotion. In the first story we have this woman who's unnamed in this chapter, but she enters into what would be an incredibly awkward moment in this party where the men would be reclining at the table. In Jewish custom men and women didn't socialize in the same space. And so, this woman enters into the male only section of the party and she needs to find Jesus. She's been so overwhelmed by worship for Jesus and she gets to Him and she anoints Him. She breaks this incredibly costly jar of ointment and she pours it out all over Him. And the onlookers don't understand this radical act of devotion and they shake their heads and they say "What a waste!" "What a waste!" "This should have been given to the poor." There's a little bit of religious, super spiritual element in there. "We could have thought of a better way to have used this" "than what's been wasted in this moment." And then just the few verses later you see a couple of days later Jesus is with His disciples again and they're reclining at a table and He breaks the bread and He says "This is my body". So very costly. And He pours the wine. "This is my blood poured out for you". So very costly. And in this moment, this second table context, second utterly astounding act of devotion which shadows the first completely. It's so much greater than the first act of devotion as Jesus breaks what is so costly and allows to be poured out what is so costly as His act of devotion for humanity. And I just felt God speaking to me about devotion. About the heart of the Father towards His children. The total abandoned act of devotion from heaven as Jesus, God Himself allows His body to be broken and poured out. Even as bystanders would have been shaking their heads saying "What a waste." "He could have been the one to lead us." "What a waste." "We wanted to make Him king" "and yet He went His own way." "What a waste". You better believe that the political and religious voices of His day were shaking their heads in disbelief at the waste of this life. And yet heaven's act of devotion towards you and I is this very moment where Jesus allows Himself to be broken and poured out. Just as this woman in worship to Jesus took what she had that was most precious and allowed it to be broken and poured out. I want to tell you any worship that you and I bring to Jesus is merely a reflection of the incredible devotion that He has already shown us in the cross and in the resurrection. The heavenly act of devotion of the breaking and the pouring out of the son of God so that you and I would not only be able to know Him, but would be able to worship Him at His feet. Would be able to have our lives united with Him. Two different tables. Two acts of devotion. An act of devotion that you and I are invited into. And so, today I want to encourage you as you sit at your own table perhaps. Think on these tables. Think of what Jesus allowed to be broken and poured out for you. And as we come to worship Him and as we bring our lives before Him let's recognize that what we do is a reflection of the heart of God already being poured out for us. I pray God blesses you and speaks to you as you sit at your table today.