The Easter Series: When Your Purpose is About to be unveiled.

Estimated reading time: 12 minutes

What happens when your purpose is about to be unveiled? In John 12, we see Mary anoint Jesus with oil. Mary, as an act of worship, was anointing the feet of Jesus with oil to prepare for His burial. Jesus was about to step into His purpose, which was to redeem humanity. And everything prior to that was only leading to His unveiling.

Table of Contents

• Mary silenced every other noise and did what she felt led to do. 
• Lessons to learn from this. 
  • You will know when the time of your revealing is near. 
  • Your Purpose will come to pass, and you can never miss it. 
  • Have the confidence to go against the grain when pursuing your purpose because Jesus is with you. 
  • Surrender is key in your walk with God and the fulfillment of your purpose.
  • Lay down your crown for God and give Him the honor that is due Him
    • Let us for a second look at the sacrifices He made as Jesus Stepped into His purpose.
• Conclusion

Sometimes when preparing for our purposes, we will find ourselves doing things that we do not understand. Maybe you have found yourself desiring to do something that is different from the norm. That could be a sign that God is preparing to launch you into your purpose. As you know by now, God created us to fulfill a specific mandate because He called us to solve a problem in the world. You are not a mistake and you did not come here on earth by accident. God knew exactly when your mother would give birth to you even though your coming was not planned.

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Anyway back to our story, Mary as a show of her appreciation to Jesus and as a sign of humility and worship, washed the feet of Jesus, spending a fortune to get the alabaster jar of oil and using her hair to wipe the feet of Jesus. She recognized that Jesus was Lord. Have you ever felt the urge to do something unorthodox for Jesus? Have there been moments where you felt the need to do something different for Jesus? 

Six days before Passover, Jesus entered Bethany where Lazarus, so recently raised from the dead, was living. Lazarus and his sisters invited Jesus to dinner at their home. Martha served. Lazarus was one of those sitting at the table with them. Mary came in with a jar of very expensive aromatic oils, anointed and massaged Jesus’ feet, and then wiped them with her hair. The fragrance of the oils filled the house. John 12:1‭-‬3 MSG 

There comes a time when we will need to silence the noise and allow Jesus to take the center stage in our lives. Mary knew her act would attract criticism, but she was okay with that. 

Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples, even then getting ready to betray him, said, “Why wasn’t this oil sold and the money given to the poor? It would have easily brought three hundred silver pieces.” He said this not because he cared two cents about the poor but because he was a thief. He was in charge of their common funds, but also embezzled them. John 12:4‭-‬6 MSG

Mary silenced every other noise and did what she felt led to do.

1. She went to the table where only men were allowed to sit knowing very well she was not welcomed there. 
2. Instead of doing what every other woman was doing, she went against the grain. Her sister was preparing food while she was anointing the feet of Jesus. 
3. She got the very best oil for Jesus. That was her sacrifice, even Judas noted that the oil was very expensive. 
4. She used her hair to wipe the feet of Jesus. What she held dear, she used for Jesus. The hair was viewed as a woman’s crown. So Mary used her source of pride and joy to wipe the feet of Jesus. (In 1 Corinthians 11:15) but that if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For long hair is given to her as a covering.
5. Mary knelt down as a sign of humility and surrender. 

Lessons to learn from this.

You will know when the time of your revealing is near.

Mary anointed Jesus with oil in preparation for the burial of Jesus. God was about to reveal Jesus’ purpose to the world. He was going to become the slain lamb, the lamb without blemish, and spot to atone for the sins of humanity. Every step was leading up to the reason He came to earth.

Your Purpose will come to pass, and you can never miss it.

We often think that we have missed out on our purpose or calling because of how long it takes for it to come to pass. This, however, is not the truth. There is always a set time for the purpose that God has called you, and everything you do will point to that purpose. God hid Jesus for 30 years before He revealed Him. His true purpose, which was to Redeem humanity, He accomplished at 33 years. And everything He did pointed Him to that day. God says that God ordains your and my steps, and this as you can see is true. He raised Lazarus from the dead. This then created a ripple effect that led the Pharisees to want to kill Jesus in a bid to shut down His ministry. 

That was a turnaround for many of the Jews who were with Mary. They saw what Jesus did, and believed in him. But some went back to the Pharisees and told on Jesus. The high priests and Pharisees called a meeting of the Jewish ruling body. “What do we do now?” they asked. “This man keeps on doing things, creating God-signs. If we let him go on, pretty soon everyone will be believing in him and the Romans will come and remove what little power and privilege we still have.” Then one of them—it was Caiaphas, the designated Chief Priest that year—spoke up,

“Don’t you know anything? Can’t you see that it’s to our advantage that one man dies for the people rather than the whole nation be destroyed?” He didn’t say this of his own accord, but as Chief Priest that year he unwittingly prophesied that Jesus was about to die sacrificially for the nation, and not only for the nation but so that all God’s exile-scattered children might be gathered together into one people. From that day on, they plotted to kill him. So Jesus no longer went out in public among the Jews. He withdrew into the country bordering the desert to a town called Ephraim and secluded himself there with his disciples. Meanwhile, the high priests and Pharisees gave out the word that anyone getting wind of him should inform them. They were all set to arrest him. John 11:45‭-‬54‭, ‬57 MSG

So don’t ever feel like you missed your chance when it looks like your day of unveiling is taking long. Everything you are doing now is preparing you for your day of unveiling. And even in moments where you feel you have gone astray, God will redirect you and get you back on track. He will work everything out for your good because He called you for His Purposes. 

Have the confidence to go against the grain when pursuing your purpose because Jesus is with you.

Anytime you feel led to do something that is unorthodox for God, Jesus is with you and will be the one to silence the noise for you. Jesus knows how it feels to face criticism and when what you are doing is from God, you should always know that there will be a backlash. Take heart, however, because God is with you and He will silence the noise by approving what you are doing. 

Jesus said, “Let her alone. She’s anticipating and honoring the day of my burial. You always have the poor with you. You don’t always have me.” John 12:7‭-‬8 MSG

Going against the grain is difficult, especially in a world where we celebrate the status quo. But when you focus on pleasing God instead of fearing people, then everything will turn out okay. Whatever God is asking you to do, He knows you have the capacity to do it even though you have never done it before. Being a pioneer is difficult, but you have the grace for it. 

Surrender is key in your walk with God and the fulfillment of your purpose.

Let go of your comfort zone when God calls you up for a task. Mary disregarded her comfort. She knew very well that she would face backlash. But that did not deter her from anointing the feet of Jesus. She lay down what was comfortable for her. What has God asked you to lay down today? What does God want you to do that you are afraid to do? Will you allow Jesus to help you overcome your fear and lean into what Jesus is asking of you? Are you willing to surrender your comfort zone to Him? Will you step out of the boat when Jesus asks you to? 

Lay down your crown for God and give Him the honor that is due Him

The sacrifice Jesus made was tremendous. And we should give Him the glory that He deserves. This comes from giving Him the very best. Mary used her hair, which was considered her crown and source of beauty, as a sign that she was willing to lay down what she considered valuable to her for Jesus’s sake. The fact that she used the alabaster jar of oil, which was the very best to anoint the feet of Jesus, also shows that she did not have a problem making a sacrifice for Jesus. The alabaster jar was believed to be worth a year’s wage in those days. No wonder Judas was annoyed. He felt like that money was wasted anointing the feet of Jesus. Have you ever imagined how costly it was for Jesus to die on the cross for you?

Let us for a second look at the sacrifices He made as Jesus Stepped into His purpose.

1.  He gave up His Godly nature to come here on earth. He gave up the comfort of heaven to dwell among us in this polluted world. 
2. Jesus was born in the lowliest of circumstances so that He can be accessible to all. This was to also show that He was not born for the rich only, but for the entire human race. 
3. He became poor so that you and I could become rich. 
4. Jesus was misunderstood and oftentimes faced backlash, but He did all that because He knew the price was you and me. 
5. Jesus’ body was disfigured because of all the beatings He had to endure. And never once did He use His power to stop them because He knew He had a purpose to accomplish. One is for us to receive healing through His stripes. 
6. He paid the debt for you and me. Let’s not forget that He paid the debt of sin. He did not commit. Not once did He sin when He was here on earth. Mind you, HE experienced all the emotions we experience, like loneliness because He was misunderstood; He experienced grief because He suffered the losses of His earthly father Joseph, His cousin John the Baptist, and also Lazarus, as we are told, He wept before resurrecting Him. 
7. Jesus shed His Blood that was perfect so that we can have our sins forgiven. His Blood also grafts us into the new covenant. 

In the same way, he took the cup of wine after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood. Do this in remembrance of me as often as you drink it.” 1 Corinthians 11:25 NLT 

Jeremiah explains the same covenant in Jeremiah 31.. 

“The day is coming,” says the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. This covenant will not be like the one I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and brought them out of the land of Egypt. They broke that covenant, though I loved them as a husband loves his wife,” says the Lord. “But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel after those days,” says the Lord.

“I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. And they will not need to teach their neighbors, nor will they need to teach their relatives, saying, ‘You should know the Lord.’ For everyone, from the least to the greatest, will know me already,” says the Lord. “And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins.” Jeremiah 31:31‭-‬34 NLT

This covenant is what Jesus gave to us when He gave His life for us and shed His blood. 

Let’s not forget the fact that He took on our curses to give us His blessings. After all, the one who is hung on the tree is cursed. So picture this? The Darling of heaven crucified for you and me. What an amazing love that Jesus lay His life down for us and He made us co-heirs with Him. He died for you and me before we even accepted Him. But He endured the agony of the cross because He was looking forward to the reward and that was you and me. Beloved of Jesus, you are debt-free. All this is because of Jesus’ sacrifice.

• THE CHARACTER TO EMBODY IN THE WAITING!
• WHEN YOU ARE RUNNING ON EMPTY!
• JESUS IS THE ONE WHO TRANSFORMS!
• IT IS NOT OVER UNTIL GOD SAYS SO!
• HOW TO BE MARY IN MARTHA’S WORLD.

Conclusion

Mary’s act of sacrifice should give us the zeal to want to do that. She did all that before Jesus went to the cross. Now that you and me know what Jesus did already, how much more are we to lay our lives for Him? He redeemed us and translated us out of the kingdom of darkness into His marvelous light. We did nothing to deserve such a sacrifice but He loved us anyway to do it. The soldiers and the Jews ridiculed and mocked Jesus for our sake. Therefore, I encourage you not to count the cost when you are doing something for Jesus. Let Him be an example of what you have the capacity to do. Whatever you can lay down for Jesus, go ahead and do it for there is a reward waiting for you.

Generations after generations will hear about Mary’s act. You know every sacrifice you make for God has a reward on the other side. Now I am not telling you to do it so that you can get a reward. I am only telling you that even after all Jesus did, He still rewards us for our faithfulness. How amazing is that?

Always remember that God will reveal your calling and purpose when the time is right. And everything you are doing today, where you are today, is preparing you for your purpose. Your day of unveiling is near. Do not lose hope. It might look like it is taking a long time, but when it comes, it will be sudden. There will be a cross that you will have to carry and some things you will have to lay down so that you can take on your purpose. But just know THAT God has equipped you for it and graced you to take on the mandate. You have what it takes to fulfill your purpose.