"Then Mary took a twelve-ounce jar of expensive perfume made from essence of nard, and she anointed Jesus’ feet with it, wiping his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance. But Judas Iscariot, the disciple who would soon betray him, said, “That perfume was worth a year’s wages. It should have been sold and the money given to the poor.”
His knowledge of what to do was there but his heart really was stuck on himself. Judas a disciple of Jesus and a believer had no trouble learning from being with Jesus, but he had trouble with dying to himself and giving up his old life. Look what it goes on to say in verse 6, "Not that he cared for the poor—he was a thief, and since he was in charge of the disciples’ money, he often stole some for himself." We can't live our lives as we did before accepting Christ, we all fall short but we must open our hearts so God can make us grow. We are no longer slaves to our old lives but if we don't believe that we are made new through Christ Jesus we won't be able to change.
In John chapter 10 verse 9 it says, "Yes, I am the gate. Those who come in through me will be saved. They will come and go freely and will find good pastures." It is not just believing like Judas did, it is taking the action of going through the gate, Jesus Christ. Jesus came for the sick but He never wanted the sick to stay sick, He came to heal them. When you are healed you are no longer sick. That is why He would tell them, " go and sin no more." We need to see that what we hold onto is what we will be. If it is what we were, we are always going to be who we were, and then we will be no different than Judas who knew what to do but never got past his love of money. And his life didn't end well. But if we are in Christ then we will be the new creation that desires to be like Him. Jesus is clear about giving our lives up, in Luke chapter 17 verse 32 Jesus says, "If you cling to your life, you will lose it, and if you let your life go, you will save it."
Have you let your life go? I need to pray that all the time because this world is happening all the time. If I don't read and study His word for transformation I can be a believer that looks good on the out side but am the same on the inside and that doesn't do God or me any good. I want to end with 2 Timothy chapter 2 verse 22 which says, "Run from anything that stimulates youthful lusts. Instead, pursue righteous living, faithfulness, love, and peace. Enjoy the companionship of those who call on The Lord with pure hearts." We don't avoid all people but we never get caught up in the conversation of the world that might bring us back to our old way of thinking. Lets stay strong and ask God for wisdom so we can show our faith to be true and our belief to be something we pursue. Amen