Matthew 26, Mark 14, John 13
Mark 14: 1-9
The Come Follow Me manual says, “With a humble act of worship, the woman described in these verses showed that she knew who Jesus was and what He was about to do (see Matthew 26:12). Why do you think her actions were so meaningful to the Savior? (see verse 13). What impresses you about the woman and her faith?”
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She hath done what she could!
Quote #1 Sister Linda Burton said, “My beloved sisters, we can be assured of Heavenly Father’s help as we get down on our knees and ask for divine guidance to bless His children. Heavenly Father; our Savior, Jesus Christ; and the Holy Ghost are ready to help.... As we consider the “pressing calls” of those who need our help, let’s ask ourselves, “What if their story were my story?” May we then seek inspiration, act on impressions we receive, and reach out in unity to help those in need as we are able and inspired to do so. Perhaps then it might be said of us, as the Savior said of a loving sister who ministered to Him: “She hath wrought a good work. … She hath done what she could.”21 Mark 14:6, 8 I call that extraordinary!” (I Was a Stranger, April 2016)
Quote #2 Elder Holland said (Are We Not All Beggars, October 2014), “Given the monumental challenge of addressing inequity in the world, what can one man or woman do? The Master Himself offered an answer. When, prior to His betrayal and Crucifixion, Mary anointed Jesus’s head with an expensive burial ointment, Judas Iscariot protested this extravagance and “murmured against her.”7 [See Mark 14:3–5 see also Matthew 26:6–9 John 12:3–5
Jesus said:
“Why trouble ye her? she hath wrought a good work. …
“She hath done what she could.”8 Mark 14:6, 8 emphasis added.]
“She hath done what she could”! What a succinct formula! A journalist once questioned Mother Teresa of Calcutta about her hopeless task of rescuing the destitute in that city. He said that, statistically speaking, she was accomplishing absolutely nothing. This remarkable little woman shot back that her work was about love, not statistics. Notwithstanding the staggering number beyond her reach, she said she could keep the commandment to love God and her neighbor by serving those within her reach with whatever resources she had. “What we do is nothing but a drop in the ocean,” she would say on another occasion. “But if we didn’t do it, the ocean would be one drop less [than it is].”9 [Mother Teresa of Calcutta, My Life for the Poor, ed. José Luis González-Balado and Janet N. Playfoot (1985), 20.] Soberly, the journalist concluded that Christianity is obviously not a statistical endeavor. He reasoned that if there would be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over the ninety and nine who need no repentance, then apparently God is not overly preoccupied with percentages.10 [See Malcolm Muggeridge, Something Beautiful for God (1986), 28–29, 118–19; see also Luke 15:7”
Quote #3 Elder Holland continued, “So how might we “do what we can”?
For one thing, we can, as King Benjamin taught, cease withholding our means because we see the poor as having brought their misery upon themselves. Perhaps some have created their own difficulties, but don’t the rest of us do exactly the same thing? Isn’t that why this compassionate ruler asks, “Are we not all beggars?”11 Mosiah 4:19 Don’t we all cry out for help and hope and answers to prayers? Don’t we all beg for forgiveness for mistakes we have made and troubles we have caused? Don’t we all implore that grace will compensate for our weaknesses, that mercy will triumph over justice at least in our case? Little wonder that King Benjamin says we obtain a remission of our sins by pleading to God, who compassionately responds, but we retain a remission of our sins by compassionately responding to the poor who plead to us.12 [See Mosiah 4:11–12, 20, 26
In addition to taking merciful action in their behalf, we should also pray for those in need.”
Other thoughts about this story and this woman?
Judas:
Mark 14: 10-11
Matthew 26: 1-5, 14-16
He was under the influence of the adversary.
President Joseph Fielding Smith (Doctrines of Salvation, Volume 1, page 61): “Every soul coming into this world came here with the promise that through obedience he would receive the blessings of salvation. No person was foreordained or appointed to sin or to perform a mission of eil. No person is ever predestined to salvation or damnation. Every person has agency. Cain was promised by the Lord that if he would do well, he would be accepted. Judas had his agency and acted upon it. NO pressure was brought to bear on him to cause him to betray the Lord, but he was led by Lucifer. If men were appointed to sin and betray their brethren, then justice could not demand that they be punished for sin and betrayal when they are guilty.”
Any thoughts/comments about Judas?
John 13:1-2,
John 13: 4-10,
I love the depth of humility and love the Savior demonstrates here. In the world, usually the master is waited on by the servants, but like in so many things, the Savior turns things on their head. He washes their feet.
D&C 88:139
Church History Topics: Washing of Feet explains:
During the Last Supper, Jesus took a towel and a basin of water and washed the feet of the disciples.1 Some Christian groups followed this New Testament precedent, washing feet as a token of humility or brotherhood.2 A revelation to Joseph Smith in December 1832 required participants in the School of the Prophets to participate in the washing of feet. The Lord commanded the elders to “clean your hands, and your feet, before me” as witness that they were “clean, from the blood of this, wicked generation.”3 Joseph Smith and other members of the school first participated in this ordinance during the school’s first session in January 1833.4 As the construction of the Kirtland Temple neared completion, Joseph Smith explained to members of the school that the “ordinance of washing of feet” was a restoration of the New Testament practice “calculated to unite our hearts” and prepare the elders for an endowment of spiritual power.5 He further taught that the ordinance needed to be performed in a place “aside from the world.”6 Accordingly, on March 29 and 30, 1836, about 300 priesthood holders from the Kirtland area, including Joseph Smith and other Church leaders, met to wash one another’s feet.7
Any thoughts/comments on this ordinance OR on Jesus washing the feet of the apostles?
John 13: 14-17
What can we learn from these verses?
John 13: 21-25
I imagine the hurt of this betrayal.
Elder Maxwell: “Therefore, how can you and I really expect to glide naively through life, as if to say, “Lord, give me experience, but not grief, not sorrow, not pain, not opposition, not betrayal, and certainly not to be forsaken. Keep from me, Lord, all those experiences which made Thee what Thou art!”
Matthew 26: 20-25 “Lord, is it I?” They recognized that they were vulnerable, didn’t want to believe it could be them but also recognized their weakness. Such a good question to ask. Camille Fronk Olson said this is a question we should ask after each conference talk and each sacrament meeting talk and each lesson...Is it I? Is there something in this lesson that convicts me or that I need to repent of and change?
John 13: 26-30 They don’t seem to know that it is Judas...it seems that this conversation was perhaps private or veiled enough for Judas to recognize that the Lord knew what He had done without revealing it to everyone else.
John 13: 33-35
HOW can we love as the Savior loves us? He says this is the mark of disciples.
In April conference, Elder Soares said, “One of the most evident signs that we are drawing closer to the Savior and becoming more like Him is the loving, patient, and kind way with which we treat our fellow beings, whatever the circumstances.”
Elder Soares also said, “My dear brothers and sisters, as we strive to develop attributes like the Savior’s, we can become instruments of His peace in the world according to the pattern that He Himself established. I invite you to consider ways we can transform ourselves into uplifting and supportive people, people who have an understanding and forgiving heart, people who look for the best in others, always remembering that “if there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.”24
Similarly, President Nelson said, “My dear brothers and sisters, how we treat each other really matters! How we speak to and about others at home, at church, at work, and online really matters. Today, I am asking us to interact with others in a higher, holier way. Please listen carefully. “If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy”10 that we can say about another person—whether to his face or behind her back—that should be our standard of communication.”
How can we love others as Christ loved us? How do we do that when the person is unkind or rude or hurtful? How do we turn the other cheek and love our enemies?
*Share personal experience.
Sacrament:
Matthew 26:26-30
MARK 14:22-25
HOW HAS THE SACRAMENT BLESSED YOUR LIFE? HOW DO YOU MAKE SACRAMENT FOCAL POINT OF YOUR WORSHIP? WHAT HELPS YOU KEEP MIND FOCUSED ON SAVIOR (RECOGNIZIGN THAT THIS IS MUCH EASIER WHEN YOU DON’T HAVE LITTLE KIDS)
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