Latest / Deep-Grace Diving with Tim Wright and Terey Summers / #51 The Costly Perfume

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#51 The Costly Perfume · Deep-Grace Diving with Tim Wright and Terey Summers

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  episode 51 which john if you do the math that means next week
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  is episode number 52
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  SPEAKER_01: that's right one year one year but we're not there yet yeah
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  But we're grooving to a new little soundtrack here because
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  we're grooving with Jesus now.
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  SPEAKER_01: You're listening to the Deep Grace Diving Podcast.
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  SPEAKER_01: I'm Tim Wright along with John Burgess.
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  Our friend Terry is still a little under the weather,
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  so we're giving her another week off.
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  And we're picking up on a kind of a storyline that we looked at
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  last week that has
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  SPEAKER_01: to do with the poor.
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  And it's all within the context of the last week of Jesus' life
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  before he goes to the cross.
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  And now,
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  as we turn to chapter 14,
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  we start moving really into the thick of it.
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  SPEAKER_01: Jesus has ridden into Jerusalem, chapter 11.
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  SPEAKER_01: sort of confronting in the way that he did so the Roman Empire.
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  And then he spends a series of discussions hacking off the
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  religious leaders,
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  SPEAKER_01: going into the temple and clearing out the temple,
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  SPEAKER_01: taking them on and various misunderstandings,
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  SPEAKER_01: their misunderstandings of the scripture.
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  SPEAKER_01: And now we're moving into the point where
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  It's time for the religious leaders to move in and decisively
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  finally deal with him.
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  SPEAKER_01: So we are in Mark chapter 14, verses 1 through 9.
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  And I always try to come up with sort of an interesting title
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  for these podcasts.
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  best i could come up with was the costly perfume that was the
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  best i could do um
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  well but so but you know we'll use it and then we'll see why it
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  was costly and and
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  what it has to do with the cross by the way the interesting
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  part will be in the
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  podcast not the uh i mean honestly tim if you're starting with
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  that new theme music
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  which kind of has a little bit of a barry manilow vibe we can't
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  really go wrong
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  SPEAKER_00: after that you think it had a barry manilow vibe
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  SPEAKER_00: I think a little bit, yeah.
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  And if you're listening and you don't have any idea who Barry
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  Manilow is,
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  that's okay.
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  Yeah,
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  because obviously John doesn't because that sounds nothing like
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  Barry Manilow.
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  SPEAKER_01: So, all right.
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  SPEAKER_01: Okay, John, take it away.
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  SPEAKER_00: It was now two days before Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread.
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  The leading priests and the teachers of religious law were
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  still looking for an
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  SPEAKER_00: opportunity to capture Jesus secretly and kill him.
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  But not during the Passover celebration,
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  they agreed,
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  or the people may riot.
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  Meanwhile,
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  Jesus was in Bethany at the home of Simon,
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  a man who had previously had leprosy.
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  SPEAKER_00: While he was eating,
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  a woman came in with a beautiful alabaster jar of expensive
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  perfume made from
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  SPEAKER_00: essence of nard.
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  SPEAKER_00: She broke open the jar and poured the perfume over his head.
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  SPEAKER_00: Some of those at the table were indignant.
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  SPEAKER_00: Why waste such expensive perfume, they said.
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  It could have been sold for a year's wages and the money given
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  to the poor.
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  SPEAKER_00: So they scolded her harshly.
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  SPEAKER_00: But Jesus replied, leave her alone.
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  SPEAKER_00: Why criticize her for doing such a good thing to me?
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  You will always have the poor among you,
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  and you can help them whenever you want to.
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  SPEAKER_00: But you will not always have me.
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  She has done what she could and has anointed my body for burial
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  ahead of time.
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  SPEAKER_00: I tell you the truth,
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  SPEAKER_00: wherever the good news is preached throughout the world,
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  SPEAKER_00: this woman's deed will be remembered and discussed.
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  SPEAKER_01: All right,
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  SPEAKER_01: so there's some really interesting stuff in there,
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  SPEAKER_01: as always,
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  SPEAKER_01: when you study the Bible.
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  SPEAKER_01: And I'm going to start.
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  SPEAKER_01: John,
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  SPEAKER_01: just to see,
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  do you have any comments or thoughts or questions before we
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  kind of dive in to see
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  SPEAKER_01: what's happening here?
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  SPEAKER_00: Well, yeah, so...
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  I'm interested to know what we do with you will always have the
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  poor among you
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  SPEAKER_00: because it kind of seems like don't worry about them.
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  SPEAKER_00: But if you have tuned into any of our podcasts before,
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  SPEAKER_00: you know,
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  SPEAKER_00: consistency,
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  SPEAKER_00: looking at the gospel as a whole,
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  looking what was said before and after can kind of help you get
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  through some which
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  SPEAKER_00: on their face look like they might be troubling or contradictory.
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  SPEAKER_00: So that's a good one for us to come back to, I think.
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  SPEAKER_00: I love, you know,
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  SPEAKER_00: I love whenever Jesus says,
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  SPEAKER_00: I tell you the truth,
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  SPEAKER_00: because I know what's ever coming after that,
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  SPEAKER_00: he's distilling it down for those of us who are,
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  SPEAKER_00: you know,
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  SPEAKER_00: tired and wanting to get through some scripture at the same time,
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  SPEAKER_00: learn something.
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  SPEAKER_00: He's like, look, let me just make it plain for you.
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  SPEAKER_00: So I love when he does that.
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  SPEAKER_00: I love what comes after that.
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  SPEAKER_00: And and of course,
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  SPEAKER_00: maybe a little bit of cultural context,
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  SPEAKER_00: Tim,
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  on the so the the breaking of the jar was how you accessed the
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  expensive perfume
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  SPEAKER_00: and it was sealed.
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  SPEAKER_00: And then pouring over the head, it seems like, you know, why not?
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  SPEAKER_00: We've seen the feed we used before,
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  but the pouring over the head seems to be very specific and
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  something very cultural
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  SPEAKER_00: that maybe,
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  SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
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  SPEAKER_00: Right.
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  SPEAKER_01: So, yeah, let's start.
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  SPEAKER_01: Let's just kind of walk through this a little bit.
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  SPEAKER_01: He was at Bethany.
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  SPEAKER_01: in the house of Simon the leper.
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  Now,
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  Bethany was the home of Lazarus and his two sisters,
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  Martha and Mary.
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  SPEAKER_01: And John's gospel,
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  SPEAKER_01: which tells us the story of the raising of Lazarus from the dead,
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  SPEAKER_01: says that it was Mary,
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  SPEAKER_01: Lazarus' sister,
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  SPEAKER_01: who was the one who anointed Jesus with oil.
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  SPEAKER_01: Now, the other gospels just kind of keep her nameless,
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  SPEAKER_01: which is a real tendency in the Gospels to not name the woman.
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  SPEAKER_01: Again,
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  SPEAKER_01: just kind of a way to say women don't have real value,
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  SPEAKER_01: and yet every time you've got these stories,
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  these women are actually doing things within the kingdom of God
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  that the men don't
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  SPEAKER_01: understand at all.
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  SPEAKER_01: It becomes a really interesting juxtaposition.
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  SPEAKER_01: You've got the named men who have no clue,
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  SPEAKER_01: and you've got the unnamed women who always know what's going on.
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  SPEAKER_01: So they sat at the table.
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  SPEAKER_01: Now,
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  SPEAKER_01: when we think about people sitting at a table,
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  SPEAKER_01: we think about sitting at chairs with our backs straight,
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  SPEAKER_01: our legs down on the ground.
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  SPEAKER_01: In those days, they reclined, and that's a better interpretation.
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  So they were on these little mini couches,
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  and they would lean on one arm,
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  And they would be near the table so that they could just kind
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  of grab food and graze.
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  SPEAKER_00: A short table.
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  SPEAKER_01: A short table.
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  SPEAKER_01: That's right.
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  SPEAKER_01: So with a little couch-like thing, and everybody had their own couch.
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  And so if you ever,
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  when you read one of the chapters like with John leaning up
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  against Jesus...
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  SPEAKER_01: Um,
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  SPEAKER_01: it's because he was on his own sort of couch thing and sort of was,
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  SPEAKER_01: was the two couches were somewhat close to each other.
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  And so he was sort of leaning in his head was about where Jesus
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  chest would be.
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  SPEAKER_01: First,
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  SPEAKER_01: the picture we see of Da Vinci's,
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  SPEAKER_01: uh,
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  SPEAKER_01: last supper,
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  SPEAKER_01: where they're all sitting at a table,
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  SPEAKER_01: all on the regular table.
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  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
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  SPEAKER_01: Right.
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  SPEAKER_01: Regular chairs.
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  SPEAKER_01: They wouldn't have done that.
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  SPEAKER_01: Would have sat around a table.
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  SPEAKER_01: Um,
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  SPEAKER_01: The host is Simon the leper.
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  SPEAKER_01: Now, he's formerly a leper.
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  But I think this is really interesting just to remind us of
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  just how insidious leprosy was.
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  SPEAKER_01: And even though he was now cured of it, he still carried that name.
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  SPEAKER_01: It was like his last name.
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  SPEAKER_01: You got John D. Burgess.
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  SPEAKER_01: You got Simon the leper.
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  Now,
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  the fact that they're all in his house tells you he doesn't
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  have leprosy anymore.
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  SPEAKER_01: But maybe he still carried the marks.
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  SPEAKER_01: Some of us remember, unfortunately, we're in a measles epidemic again.
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  Well,
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  I don't want to call it an epidemic,
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  but we've got a measles problem again.
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  There were certain diseases that baby boomers went through as
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  kids that would leave
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  SPEAKER_01: little pockmarks on our face,
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  SPEAKER_01: chicken pocks and so on and so forth.
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  And maybe there were signs of leprosy on him yet,
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  or scars,
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  but he's healed.
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  SPEAKER_01: So...
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  That's sort of a little bit of the background,
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  so you can kind of picture it.
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  SPEAKER_01: You've got these people in the couches.
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  SPEAKER_01: They're leaning on maybe their right elbow, legs extended down the couch.
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  They're just reaching over with their hands and grabbing things
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  and eating grapes
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  SPEAKER_01: and carrots and whatever meats they had.
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  SPEAKER_01: And then this woman crashes the party.
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  SPEAKER_01: She's not invited.
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  SPEAKER_01: She's not invited.
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  SPEAKER_01: So first of all, you think that takes some chutzpah.
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  SPEAKER_01: The audacity of a woman,
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  SPEAKER_01: a woman,
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  SPEAKER_01: by the way,
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  SPEAKER_01: uninvited,
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  SPEAKER_01: walks in and has the temerity to interact on a fairly intimate level,
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  SPEAKER_01: and I don't mean sexually intimate level,
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  SPEAKER_01: but a fairly intimate level,
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  SPEAKER_01: of pouring stuff on a Jesus head.
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  SPEAKER_01: And in other stories where she actually washes his feet with her hair.
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  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
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  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
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  SPEAKER_00: And you're saying in that culture at that time,
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  you're sort of emphasizing woman just to highlight that there's
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  a difference in how
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  SPEAKER_00: the culture at that time viewed men and women.
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  SPEAKER_00: Now,
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  SPEAKER_00: I thought you had just said,
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  SPEAKER_00: though,
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  SPEAKER_00: that in John's gospel,
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  SPEAKER_00: we thought maybe this was Simon's sister.
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  SPEAKER_01: No, not Simon's sister.
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  SPEAKER_01: It's Lazarus's sister.
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  SPEAKER_01: Lazarus's sister.
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  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
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  SPEAKER_01: But she's still crashing.
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  SPEAKER_01: She's still crashing the party.
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  SPEAKER_01: Right.
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  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
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  SPEAKER_01: Because you usually wouldn't have women at these kinds of parties.
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  SPEAKER_01: It'd only be men.
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  SPEAKER_01: If there are women, they might be out in the courtyard.
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  SPEAKER_01: Right.
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  SPEAKER_01: Or children might be out in the courtyard,
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  SPEAKER_01: but generally you wouldn't have women in these kinds of meetings.
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  SPEAKER_01: Jesus is there as a guest.
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  SPEAKER_01: So she's got this alabaster jar of very costly ointment.
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  SPEAKER_01: It's basically perfume.
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  SPEAKER_01: And it was worth more than 300 denarii.
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  SPEAKER_01: And if you look down,
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  SPEAKER_01: if you got little footnotes,
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  SPEAKER_01: the Daenerys was the usual day's wage for a laborer.
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  So she spent almost a year's worth of wages on this one bottle
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  of perfume.
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  SPEAKER_01: Now, obviously a woman of some means to be able to do that.
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  SPEAKER_01: Most people who make a Daenerys a day
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  SPEAKER_01: are not going to be going out and buying perfume.
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  SPEAKER_01: They're going to go home and feed their families.
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  SPEAKER_01: So she's got some money, apparently.
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  And she decides to take a year's worth of salary and in a
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  matter of seconds pour
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  SPEAKER_01: that perfume or oil onto the head of Jesus to anoint him.
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  SPEAKER_01: And so right away...
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  SPEAKER_01: there are people who are upset.
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  And you want to give them the benefit of the doubt that they
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  really are upset by
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  SPEAKER_01: what they say,
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  SPEAKER_01: but you kind of wonder,
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  SPEAKER_01: is this sort of that faux outrage?
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  SPEAKER_01: Especially we see so much of it on social media today.
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  SPEAKER_01: But here's what they say.
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  SPEAKER_01: Why was the ointment wasted in this way?
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  SPEAKER_01: For this ointment could have...
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  been sold for more than 300 denarii,
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  years worth of wages,
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  and the money given to the poor.
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  SPEAKER_01: And they scold her.
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  SPEAKER_00: But the language, Tim, is not bad.
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  SPEAKER_00: It's understandable, right?
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  I mean,
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  we've talked before on this podcast about God's heart for the poor.
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  SPEAKER_00: That's right.
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  SPEAKER_00: And I think that's a good argument, right?
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  SPEAKER_00: Why do this?
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  SPEAKER_00: Yep, yep.
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  SPEAKER_01: Now,
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  the reason why I wonder a little bit if it's fake outrage or
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  what some would even
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  call virtue signaling these days is because I think what
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  they're doing is they're
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  SPEAKER_01: sort of distracting from the real thing that's bugging them.
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  SPEAKER_01: And it's not that she wasted all that.
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  SPEAKER_01: It's that a woman crashed their party.
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  SPEAKER_01: Now, this is just me reading.
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  SPEAKER_01: This is me reading into the story.
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  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
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  SPEAKER_01: But we know how politicians,
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  SPEAKER_01: for example,
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  SPEAKER_01: are very good at there's something not quite going right.
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  They'll distract us with a fake story or with full outrage of
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  something else.
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  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
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  SPEAKER_01: And I kind of wonder a little bit if some of that's going on now.
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  But I'm going to give them the benefit of the doubt that they
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  are upset that she
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  SPEAKER_01: wasted a lot of money.
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  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
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  But my gut tells me a little bit of the fake stuff's going on
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  here just because of
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  SPEAKER_01: the context of the rest of the stories.
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  SPEAKER_01: And this is where we get to that part where it's a bit confusing.
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  SPEAKER_01: Jesus says, leave her alone.
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  SPEAKER_01: This is, again, why I'm kind of suspicious of their outrage.
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  SPEAKER_01: They seem to really be focused on her.
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  SPEAKER_01: Not so much the money, but her.
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  SPEAKER_01: Leave her alone.
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  SPEAKER_01: They scolded her.
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  SPEAKER_01: Leave her alone.
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  SPEAKER_01: Why do you trouble her?
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  SPEAKER_01: So Jesus is really standing up for her at this point.
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  He senses this isn't so much an attack on how she used her money,
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  but on her as a woman.
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  SPEAKER_01: That's just how I'm reading it.
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  SPEAKER_01: We might do this again in a year or two,
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  SPEAKER_01: and I'll read it differently,
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  SPEAKER_01: but that's how I'm reading it right now.
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  She has performed a good service for me for you always have the
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  poor with you and
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  SPEAKER_01: you can show kindness to them whenever you wish,
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  SPEAKER_01: but you will not always have me.
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  SPEAKER_01: And, uh, to, to your point earlier on, this seems a little contradictory.
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  SPEAKER_01: Uh, last week's story, Jesus expressed, um,
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  Real outrage that the religious leaders were putting such guilt
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  onto the poor and
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  the widows that these poor and widows were giving everything
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  they had and then
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  SPEAKER_01: going home and just dying because they had no one to care for them.
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  SPEAKER_01: And Jesus says, that's not what God wants.
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  SPEAKER_01: God wants you to care for the poor.
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  SPEAKER_01: It's clear over and over again in the Bible.
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  One of the things that really hacks off God in the Bible is
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  when we don't care for
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  SPEAKER_01: the poor,
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  SPEAKER_01: the outcast,
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  SPEAKER_01: or the stranger,
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  SPEAKER_01: or the alien.
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  SPEAKER_01: Can't read the Old Testament without getting that sense.
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  SPEAKER_01: Few things anger God more than that.
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  SPEAKER_01: And yet Jesus seems to be saying,
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  SPEAKER_01: yeah,
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  SPEAKER_01: yeah,
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  SPEAKER_01: she spent,
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  SPEAKER_01: you know,
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  SPEAKER_01: a couple thousand dollars on this.
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  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it could have been given to the poor.
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  SPEAKER_01: But, you know, they're just always around.
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  SPEAKER_01: You can be kind to them anytime you want.
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  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
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  SPEAKER_00: He seems to be saying, I'm worth it.
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  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
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  SPEAKER_01: Yep.
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  And he seems to,
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  almost a nonchalant approach to the,
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  you can be kind to them anytime you want.
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  SPEAKER_00: Right, yeah.
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  Yeah,
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  so that,
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  and it doesn't,
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  it seems contradictory on both of those things.
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  You know,
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  you don't often see Jesus saying,
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  come pray,
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  you know,
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  I'm worth it.
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  SPEAKER_00: type thing, at least in a very selfish way.
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  SPEAKER_00: And you don't see him saying,
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  SPEAKER_00: don't worry about the poor,
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  SPEAKER_00: which he seems to in this language right here.
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  SPEAKER_00: Right, right.
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  SPEAKER_01: I mean, it's not that he doesn't care about the poor.
• 16:40
  He's just saying,
• 16:41
  you know what,
• 16:42
  you have plenty of opportunities to help them out.
• 16:45
  SPEAKER_01: And you can be kind to them.
• 16:49
  SPEAKER_01: Whenever you wish...
• 16:52
  SPEAKER_01: Which isn't really what the Scriptures say.
• 16:56
  SPEAKER_01: We're not called to be kind to them whenever we wish.
• 16:59
  SPEAKER_01: We're called to be kind to them always.
• 17:04
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 17:05
  SPEAKER_01: So this is a very interesting passage of Scripture.
• 17:08
  SPEAKER_01: And so I think that there are at least three things going on here.
• 17:15
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 17:15
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 17:16
  SPEAKER_01: First of all,
• 17:17
  SPEAKER_01: I think Jesus is saying something significant about the poor,
• 17:21
  SPEAKER_01: even though it doesn't sound like he is.
• 17:23
  I think what Jesus is saying to the Christian community is you
• 17:29
  will always have the
• 17:29
  SPEAKER_01: poor among you.
• 17:33
  SPEAKER_01: And let me say it this way.
• 17:36
  If you're a true Christian community,
• 17:37
  you should always have the poor among you.
• 17:41
  SPEAKER_01: Because that's my value.
• 17:44
  SPEAKER_01: And so the Jesus community,
• 17:45
  you'll always have the poor around you because I'm in the midst
• 17:48
  of the poor.
• 17:49
  SPEAKER_01: That's where I am.
• 17:52
  SPEAKER_01: That's what I'm about.
• 17:54
  SPEAKER_01: And so he's not saying, well, you know, whenever you wish.
• 17:58
  SPEAKER_01: He's saying,
• 17:59
  SPEAKER_01: look,
• 17:59
  the essence of being a Christian community is to have the poor
• 18:02
  around you,
• 18:03
  SPEAKER_01: to be surrounded by the poor.
• 18:04
  SPEAKER_01: Because if you want to know where I am, it's not the halls of power.
• 18:08
  SPEAKER_01: It's among the poor and the vulnerable.
• 18:10
  SPEAKER_01: That's where you'll find me.
• 18:12
  SPEAKER_01: And that's where you should be.
• 18:13
  SPEAKER_01: And that's who you should be surrounded with.
• 18:16
  SPEAKER_01: Now, that's really not necessarily the case.
• 18:20
  SPEAKER_01: for most of our churches.
• 18:22
  SPEAKER_01: And yet there are many churches who,
• 18:23
  SPEAKER_01: even though they may not have a lot of poor people in their neighborhood,
• 18:28
  SPEAKER_01: they're finding ways to be available to the poor in other ways.
• 18:32
  SPEAKER_01: So I think that's the first thing.
• 18:33
  SPEAKER_01: I think Jesus is saying something radical here.
• 18:35
  SPEAKER_01: I think he's saying in terms of the Christian community,
• 18:39
  SPEAKER_01: as we read it today,
• 18:41
  SPEAKER_01: not only you will always have the poor among you,
• 18:43
  SPEAKER_01: you should always have the poor among you because they're God's priority.
• 18:49
  I think secondly,
• 18:50
  he is speaking in this moment to a particular moment in time.
• 18:58
  SPEAKER_01: And you said he's sort of making it all about him.
• 19:00
  SPEAKER_01: I don't think it's that he's making it all about him.
• 19:02
  But I think what he is saying is that something significant is
• 19:05
  happening here in this moment.
• 19:11
  SPEAKER_01: All the signs are there.
• 19:13
  We've just said a few verses earlier that the religious leaders
• 19:17
  now put into motion
• 19:18
  SPEAKER_01: ways to arrest him and kill him.
• 19:21
  SPEAKER_01: And Jesus is acknowledging that this woman, let's say it's Mary, gets it.
• 19:29
  She's reading the signs and she understands that Jesus is about
• 19:37
  to be executed.
• 19:40
  Or at the very least,
• 19:40
  something very wrong is going to happen with Jesus.
• 19:45
  SPEAKER_01: And she seems to recognize that the disciples don't.
• 19:51
  SPEAKER_01: She's attuned to the moment.
• 19:54
  SPEAKER_01: And I think Jesus is saying, pay attention to her.
• 19:57
  SPEAKER_01: She's on to something here.
• 20:01
  SPEAKER_01: This isn't just a meal where we're hanging out and everything's fine.
• 20:06
  SPEAKER_01: She's seeing...
• 20:08
  SPEAKER_01: what's happening here, and you're missing it.
• 20:14
  SPEAKER_01: And then I'll say the third thing, and then we can dig into it.
• 20:18
  SPEAKER_01: The third thing is,
• 20:19
  SPEAKER_01: I think that this is a mini...
• 20:24
  SPEAKER_01: I'm going to use the word parable,
• 20:25
  SPEAKER_01: even though this is an actual story,
• 20:27
  SPEAKER_01: not a parable.
• 20:28
  It is a mini parable of the crucifixion of Jesus,
• 20:35
  where he will give his all.
• 20:38
  SPEAKER_01: For the sake of humanity.
• 20:40
  SPEAKER_01: This woman gives her all.
• 20:41
  SPEAKER_01: For the sake of Jesus.
• 20:44
  SPEAKER_01: To anoint him for what's about to happen.
• 20:47
  SPEAKER_01: To prepare him for what's about to happen.
• 20:50
  SPEAKER_01: And it becomes almost a precursor.
• 20:55
  SPEAKER_01: To the ultimate sacrifice that Jesus will make.
• 20:57
  SPEAKER_01: And that's why he says.
• 20:58
  SPEAKER_01: Wherever the good news is proclaimed.
• 21:00
  SPEAKER_01: People are going to remember this woman.
• 21:02
  SPEAKER_01: Because she embodied humanity.
• 21:06
  SPEAKER_01: what he was about to face on the cross.
• 21:10
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah,
• 21:10
  SPEAKER_00: so I was going to ask you,
• 21:12
  SPEAKER_00: when we read that,
• 21:13
  SPEAKER_00: it's easy to read,
• 21:15
  she will be remembered and discussed because of the enormity of
• 21:20
  the cost of the
• 21:21
  SPEAKER_00: gift that she bestowed on me.
• 21:24
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 21:24
  SPEAKER_00: But what I hear you saying is,
• 21:26
  SPEAKER_00: she will be remembered and discussed because she,
• 21:30
  SPEAKER_00: for whatever reason,
• 21:31
  SPEAKER_00: and in whatever way,
• 21:33
  understood the path that Jesus was on and he was getting very
• 21:38
  close to the crucifixion.
• 21:39
  SPEAKER_00: I mean,
• 21:40
  SPEAKER_00: I guess the one hint to me is it does say anointed or in another version,
• 21:44
  SPEAKER_00: it says she pre-anointed my body for burial.
• 21:47
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 21:49
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 21:50
  SPEAKER_01: So I think it's both.
• 21:51
  I think it's because she understood the enormity of the moment
• 21:54
  and because her gift
• 21:56
  SPEAKER_01: was so extravagant as a picture of what Jesus was about to do.
• 22:03
  SPEAKER_01: That if you want to know what
• 22:06
  SPEAKER_01: The cross is about, these are little glimpses of it.
• 22:08
  SPEAKER_01: Extravagant giving.
• 22:10
  SPEAKER_01: What does discipleship look like?
• 22:12
  SPEAKER_01: Extravagant giving.
• 22:17
  And we put some parameters around that last week,
• 22:19
  so people can go back and listen to that one.
• 22:22
  SPEAKER_01: Now, yes, I think you're onto something here.
• 22:27
  SPEAKER_01: This is the other part of that, that she recognized the moment.
• 22:29
  When you anointed someone,
• 22:32
  you usually anointed them for a particular task.
• 22:37
  SPEAKER_01: It was a way of blessing them.
• 22:39
  SPEAKER_01: It was a way of saying you've been set aside for this moment.
• 22:44
  SPEAKER_01: And so Jesus here,
• 22:46
  SPEAKER_01: she,
• 22:46
  SPEAKER_01: a woman,
• 22:46
  SPEAKER_01: by the way,
• 22:48
  SPEAKER_01: is anointing Jesus for the task of dying for humanity.
• 22:54
  SPEAKER_01: She's getting him prepared for that.
• 22:57
  And then,
• 22:57
  of course,
• 22:57
  he ties it into the anointing of her body for his death.
• 23:02
  SPEAKER_01: But she is,
• 23:04
  SPEAKER_01: just as David was anointed with oil to become the king of Israel,
• 23:09
  SPEAKER_01: and we have several anointings throughout Scripture,
• 23:12
  SPEAKER_01: she,
• 23:12
  SPEAKER_01: a non-religious leader,
• 23:14
  SPEAKER_01: by the way,
• 23:15
  SPEAKER_01: just some woman,
• 23:17
  SPEAKER_01: comes in and with an extravagant gift,
• 23:21
  anoints Jesus for the extravagant gift that he will give to
• 23:25
  humankind through his
• 23:26
  SPEAKER_01: death and resurrection.
• 23:28
  And that's why these stories dovetail together because they're
• 23:32
  both about an
• 23:32
  SPEAKER_01: extravagant sacrifice for the sake of humanity.
• 23:39
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 23:39
  SPEAKER_00: And this is where I remind myself,
• 23:40
  SPEAKER_00: too,
• 23:41
  that there's some beautiful poetry going on here and not so
• 23:44
  much journalistic
• 23:45
  SPEAKER_00: literary interaction with the scripture.
• 23:48
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 23:49
  SPEAKER_00: And then,
• 23:50
  SPEAKER_00: Tim,
• 23:50
  SPEAKER_00: I want to say on this point of your your church community,
• 23:56
  SPEAKER_00: your Christian community,
• 23:58
  SPEAKER_00: having the poor among you.
• 24:00
  SPEAKER_00: You made the point,
• 24:02
  SPEAKER_00: and rightly so,
• 24:02
  SPEAKER_00: that there's some churches that may find that their location and their,
• 24:08
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 24:08
  SPEAKER_00: the folks that tend to go to that particular church,
• 24:10
  SPEAKER_00: there doesn't seem to be poor among you.
• 24:12
  SPEAKER_00: But I would challenge those churches,
• 24:15
  SPEAKER_00: and this is just John talking,
• 24:16
  I would challenge those churches just to think and pray about
• 24:19
  the fact that the
• 24:21
  SPEAKER_00: more you find yourself lacking in the poor,
• 24:25
  SPEAKER_00: the more your neighborhood and community grows geographically.
• 24:28
  SPEAKER_00: In other words, you're
• 24:29
  SPEAKER_00: Your church might have,
• 24:31
  it might be the neighbor in Rwanda that your church wants to
• 24:35
  work with rather than
• 24:36
  SPEAKER_00: your neighbor right down the street.
• 24:39
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 24:39
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 24:39
  SPEAKER_01: And again, you're right.
• 24:41
  SPEAKER_01: There are socioeconomic things in place in our culture today where,
• 24:48
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 24:48
  SPEAKER_01: if you're living in a neighborhood where the average home is $300,000,
• 24:51
  SPEAKER_01: you're probably not going to,
• 24:54
  SPEAKER_01: you're going to have some cash poor people.
• 24:57
  SPEAKER_01: You're going to have some people in some financial difficulty.
• 25:00
  SPEAKER_01: Sure.
• 25:01
  But when we think about the poor,
• 25:03
  we're thinking of people who are close to destitute.
• 25:06
  SPEAKER_01: They're not sure where the next meal is going to come from.
• 25:08
  Probably living in,
• 25:09
  you know,
• 25:10
  less than fantastic places,
• 25:12
  maybe even homeless,
• 25:13
  houseless.
• 25:14
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 25:16
  SPEAKER_01: And you're right.
• 25:17
  Not all of us live in those communities where that
• 25:20
  socioeconomic group of people is around us.
• 25:23
  SPEAKER_01: But that doesn't mean we shouldn't be involved in their lives.
• 25:27
  SPEAKER_01: In fact,
• 25:27
  SPEAKER_01: we should be involved in their lives as a congregation,
• 25:33
  SPEAKER_01: not going in to fix things,
• 25:38
  SPEAKER_01: not going in to impose on them,
• 25:42
  SPEAKER_01: But to love and say, how can we support you today?
• 25:45
  SPEAKER_01: What is it you need today?
• 25:47
  SPEAKER_01: I'm not going to tell you what you need.
• 25:49
  SPEAKER_01: I'm not here to tell you how to live your life.
• 25:51
  I am here because Jesus says you're important to him,
• 25:54
  and we want you to know that.
• 25:55
  SPEAKER_01: So how can we help?
• 25:57
  SPEAKER_01: That's right.
• 25:58
  SPEAKER_01: We need a lot more of that.
• 26:00
  SPEAKER_01: And,
• 26:00
  SPEAKER_01: of course,
• 26:01
  we've got a lot of stress and strain right now in our country
• 26:05
  with a lot of those
• 26:06
  SPEAKER_01: kinds of programs being cut by our government.
• 26:09
  where churches and religious organizations and nonprofits are
• 26:14
  going to have to step up a bit.
• 26:17
  I'm not sure that we have the wherewithal to sort of bridge the
• 26:21
  gap between what
• 26:22
  SPEAKER_01: the government was giving and what nonprofits and so on can give,
• 26:24
  SPEAKER_01: but we can do something.
• 26:26
  SPEAKER_01: It's a time of need for all churches,
• 26:28
  SPEAKER_01: for example,
• 26:29
  SPEAKER_01: and Christians to say,
• 26:32
  SPEAKER_01: okay,
• 26:33
  SPEAKER_01: how do we have the poor among us?
• 26:36
  SPEAKER_01: And how do we serve them?
• 26:37
  SPEAKER_01: And how do we love them?
• 26:39
  in the name of jesus not as their superiors but as their
• 26:42
  brothers and sisters and
• 26:44
  the early church the early church sort of had that for a while
• 26:47
  um but it didn't
• 26:50
  last long before even then those socio-economic challenges
• 26:54
  would get in the way of
• 26:56
  SPEAKER_00: that yeah and i don't think uh you know uh
• 27:00
  SPEAKER_00: As far as a call to action,
• 27:01
  SPEAKER_00: we don't mean this critically at all,
• 27:03
  SPEAKER_00: but certainly with changes in the federal budget,
• 27:07
  SPEAKER_00: it's just a great opportunity for everyone to pause,
• 27:12
  SPEAKER_00: to look up a little bit and say,
• 27:13
  SPEAKER_00: who's in my community?
• 27:15
  SPEAKER_00: And how do I care for you?
• 27:16
  SPEAKER_00: How do we band together and care for each other?
• 27:18
  SPEAKER_00: Yep.
• 27:20
  SPEAKER_01: So in this story, this woman, Mary, prepares Jesus for what's up ahead.
• 27:29
  SPEAKER_01: Next week,
• 27:30
  SPEAKER_01: We're going to find that Judas does the same thing,
• 27:32
  SPEAKER_01: only his way of preparing Jesus is far more sinister.
• 27:35
  SPEAKER_01: And we're going to look at the betrayal next week.
• 27:39
  SPEAKER_01: And we may ask the very intriguing question,
• 27:44
  SPEAKER_01: is Judas going to heaven or to hell based on what he did?
• 27:47
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 27:49
  SPEAKER_01: That's not really in the story.
• 27:50
  SPEAKER_00: That's a good one.
• 27:51
  SPEAKER_01: Not really in the story,
• 27:52
  but certainly one that we can play around with after we sort of
• 27:54
  dug into the
• 27:55
  SPEAKER_01: scripture a little bit.
• 27:57
  SPEAKER_01: Folks, if you enjoy the podcast, please share with your friends.
• 28:00
  SPEAKER_01: It's available always on your favorite platforms or podcasts or go to
• 28:04
  SPEAKER_01: RecklessGrace.com slash Substack.
• 28:09
  SPEAKER_01: Is that what it is?
• 28:10
  SPEAKER_01: RecklessGrace.com slash Substack.
• 28:14
  SPEAKER_01: And you can get the podcast there.
• 28:15
  SPEAKER_01: You also get my once a week post.
• 28:18
  SPEAKER_01: And John, thank you.
• 28:20
  SPEAKER_01: Hopefully Terry will be back with us next time.
• 28:22
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 28:25
  SPEAKER_00: That's great Barry Manilow music.
• 28:28
  SPEAKER_01: you're going to have to,
• 28:29
  SPEAKER_01: next time we're on,
• 28:30
  SPEAKER_01: you have to tell me what song this is making you think of.
• 28:32
  It doesn't sound anything like Mandy or I write the song or
• 28:37
  could it be magic?
• 28:38
  SPEAKER_01: All right.
• 28:40
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks everyone.