LENT WEEK 6 || COSTLY DEEP DEVOTION || MATTHEW 26:6-11

Welcome to week 6 of the Lenten season. This week, as we move away from the psalm. 22, and we now

enter into a quiet but weighty space between two powerful movements.

As we close out Psalm 22, we hear the haunting cry, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" These are not just words spoken by King David. They are the words of Jesus himself, words he would echo from the cross. This psalm invites us into the depths of suffering, into the tension of trusting God even when he feels distant. And if we sit there long enough, we begin to feel the weight, the silence... the vulnerability... the raw honesty of faith that refuses to let go. But before we move to celebration, before Palm Sunday arrives, let us allow scripture to slow us down and bring us into a very different scene in Matthew 26:6-16. We enter a private moment. There's no crowd, no stage, no public applause. Come in with me. Zoom in with me— a woman walks in carrying an alabaster jar, 

something valuable... 

something costly... 

and without hesitation, she breaks it and pours it out on Jesus. 

It's extravagant, 

intentional, and to some in that room, they think it’s even wasteful. 

But what they didn't realize or understand was that this was worship—costly, deep-devotion worship. 

At the same time, in the background of this story, brother Judas—yes, our dear brother Judas—is making a different decision. He is choosing to exchange Jesus for something far less valuable.

Here is where we're confronted with a question. What does my devotion actually cost me?

That's the thought for this week as we meditate on Matthew 26:6-16. 

That's what I want you to consider. What does my meditation actually cost me? My devotion, my worship. What does it cost me? 

Psalm 22 asks us, " Will I trust God in suffering? But at this moment in Matthew, we're being asked, " Will I love him when it requires something of me, because in the next few days, we will arrive at Palm Sunday. Spoiler alert: we'll be looking at Psalm 118:26. 

The streets will be filled.

Voices will arise, and cries will go out into the streets, "blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord."

But before we get there, just before we get to public praise,  we must enter into private surrender. 

Before the palms are lifted high and waving, 

oil is to be poured out.

Beloved today as you prepare your heart for whats ahead, consider this, Am I simply showing up for the celebration, or am I bringing something costly, valuable?

My deep devotion, my worship to lay at the feet of Jesus.

Let me encourage you, Let your worship this week be more than words. Let it be intentional. Let it be surrendered.

Because true devotion isn't formed in the crowd. It is revealed in the quiet moments where only God can see you.