Guys Can Be Such Idiots!
“Why trouble ye the woman? For she hath wrought a good work upon Me.” Matthew 26:10
Yes, I know that’s not the point of this story. However, I do think there is something to be said for the fact that men, at times, find it hard to listen to the women in their lives.
Yeshua is in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper. While there, a woman comes in bearing an alabaster box of very expensive ointment. The gospel of Mark states that the ointment could have been sold for more than three hundred pence. Some estimate that amount was approximately equal to the yearly wages for a rural worker. That’s a lot.
So what happens next? … Sounds like a local congregation, doesn’t it?
Instead of admiring the insight of this woman and encouraging her, these guys blow the whole thing out of proportion and exhibit their ignorance. Perhaps they felt some shame, embarrassment? Or, perhaps, there were some hidden motives behind this agitation that weren’t immediately apparent. Or, both?
As it turns out, a peaceful, well-meaning moment was turned into an uncomfortable and unsettling experience for everyone. The moment went from total calm to head spinning stressed out confusion.
Wonder if Satan had anything to do with that? And right in “church” no less. We forget that Satan does show up unrecognized in our midst at times. In the Garden, the woman was deceived by the serpent, Satan. Here in our story the men are deceived by Judas, Satan. He was the real instigator in both of these scenarios. And I have a sneaking suspicion he might also be the one who shows up in the marriages of godly couples endeavoring to separate what God has joined together.
I’ve been married 40 years. It’s been long enough for me to realize, and admit, that we men at times are so … in our own way. Pig headed. Stubborn. Proud. Too small to admit we need help or that we have made decisions that weren’t quite right - wrong even?
Amazingly, in our story, this humble woman is the only one to have understood that Yeshua had mentioned, a few different times, that He was headed to death. James and John even had their mother ask Yeshua if they could have the choice seats in His upcoming administration. In hindsight I bet they wished they had never approached Yeshua about it. They got more then they had bargained for. James was the first of the apostles to be put to death for his faith in Yeshua.
We get to the end of this unfortunate display and Yeshua makes an incredible statement. He says that “Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, there shall also this, that this woman hath done, be told for a memorial of her.” (Matthew 26:10). Yeshua Himself memorializes this woman for all generations to come. And so it has been. She is constantly brought to our attention as … the insightful woman all these guys wished they’d been at that moment.
Ever wished you’d taken your cues from the women in you life? It takes a strong man in Yeshua to admit he, at times, lacks insight and perspective. Godly women are placed into our lives by God for our help. We need them. They are there, standing in the shadows, if we’re willing to seek them out and listen to them.
Men, we need to submit ourselves to the God-given revelation that it is not good for us to try to go it alone. We can’t. We weren’t meant to. And that’s the way God wanted it. How many husbands wished they had learned, been more willing, to seek guidance from their better half? How many husbands never do?
Granted, the woman isn’t always right either. She kind of proved that in the Garden. Paul says it was the woman that was deceived, not the man. (1 Timothy 2:14) However, man can’t abrogate his role of headship, nor is he to put on an impenetrable helmet. He has to find the balance.
I think the happy gathering that was envisioned so many years ago at Simon’s house might have been more pleasurable if the men had gotten out of their own way and actually heard what Yeshua had been trying to tell them all the time … He was headed for death. The Kingdom Rule would come later.
Men, let’s stop troubling the women in our lives. God has placed them in our lives because we need them. This isn’t a solo act we’re involved in. There are other cast members necessary to the drama of our lives. It’s best to learn that lesson sooner than later.
Don’t want to end up looking like the idiots in our story, do you?
In case you’re wondering … you don’t!