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The Week That Changed The World Devotional March 7

by David Joynt on March 07, 2024


MARK 14:8 | 8 She has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand for its burial.

 

In the very middle of Mark’s gospel, in chapter 8, Jesus begins to prepare His disciples for holy week and His crucifixion. The weight of this knowledge must have been immense. Crucifixion was the ultimate public degradation and the normal rituals of anointing the body were set aside. Death led directly to burial without any care or attention. Jesus understood the trauma and humiliation to come and the abandonment and betrayal He would experience. We know from the garden of Gethsemane prayer how difficult this was for Him. This moment of devotion was a beautiful encouragement, a reminder of the power of His ministry, prior to the end. Everyone needs encouragement under trial.

 

When did you last go out of your way to encourage someone under trial?

 

 

Gracious God,

Give me the words and gestures I need to encourage those around me who are under pressure.

Amen.

 

About the Author
David Joynt

Dave Joynt began his service as a pastor at Valley Presbyterian Church in Paradise Valley, Arizona in September 2014. This meant a move away from the Northeast, where he has a long history, growing up in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and then serving congregations in Delaware and New Jersey for a total of 23 years.

Dave was nurtured in a great church in Bethlehem where his parents, Anne and Carey, served as elders. He graduated in classics from Lehigh University where his Father taught, and then from Oxford, where he met his wife Julia. Ordained in 1988, he completed a Ph.D. from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1993.

He and Julia have a son, Tristan, and a daughter, Madeleine.

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