"Now when Jesus was in Bethany, at the home of Simon the leper, a woman came to Him with an alabaster vial of very costly perfume, and she poured it on His head as He reclined at the table. But the disciples were indignant when they saw this, and said, "Why this waste? For this perfume might have been sold for a high price and the money given to the poor." But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why do you bother the woman? For she has done a good deed to Me. For you always have the poor with you; but you do not always have Me. For when she poured this perfume on My body, she did it to prepare Me for burial. Truly I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be spoken of in memory of her."
What is Jesus worth to you? Is Jesus so precious to you that we would be willing to pay that price? It has been rightly said
In Philippians 3:7-8, Paul writes, "But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ.More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ."
Our sin may seem trivial, insignificant to us because we have been practicing them so long, we've developed such a high tolerance for them! They've become more of a way of life than a sin, part of who we are. We learn to justify our sin, as if God is somehow ok with it. To deny what is clearly taught in God’s Word, is to challenge God’s sovereign authority. Let's face it, if you're not living a very good Christian life, there are going to be consequences to those actions.
In 1987, U2 released their critically-acclaimed album, The Joshua Tree. Bono words imply the pursuit of a number of things, only to be left empty, devoid of true fulfillment, wanting something more. Today, Bono is a committed Christian. If we find ourselves with a desire for which there seems to be no earthly satisfaction, may I suggest, we're looking in the wrong place.
The bottomline is, if you don’t value Jesus above everything else, if Christ alone isn't enough, you don’t have saving faith. It isn’t genuine. For the sake of your own souls, learn the truth about sin from the One Who will judge all sin.
Let us pray
Amen
Today's Message: The Alabaster Box-Encounters with Jesus
As we examines the Scriptures, we find that corruption of sin saturates our nature, the conflict between the Spirit and the flesh is ever-present, urging us to gratify our sinful desires of the flesh. Sin is the greatest obstacle that any of us face, however, that obstacle is different for each of us. We must learn to rely upon the Holy Spirit to restrain such desires. We come to Christ, not to seek that which would be a blessing to us, though we are blessed, but to focus on the Words of God, giving us direction and guidance, that our lives should be oriented toward him, grateful to praise and worship the One Who has given His life to redeem us.
No passage depicts the conflict between human flesh and the Holy Spirit quite like Galatians 5:16–26, which says, "But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness,
carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I
have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. Let us not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another."
We pick up with our study of Matthew, with a story on the Saturday, six days before the Passover, before the crucifixion of Christ. If you will recall, we were still on Wednesday. In the midst of all of the chaos, Matthew intentionally takes us back
in time to reveal something to us that has already happened
before the conspiracy against Jesus and the betrayal of Jesus took place. It was not uncommon back in Jesus’ day not to write things in chronological order; they often ordered events together to show a comparison or contrast. We are invited to witness this beautiful anointing of Jesus.
Open your Bibles to the twenty-sixth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew. Matthew 26:6-13. I
invite you to follow along with me as I read the entire passage to refresh our minds, then, we will focus our study today on verses six through thirteen.
The precious anointing of Jesus. So, let's open our hearts and our minds
to see what the Spirit of God has
to say us today. Matthew 26:1-13.
"When Jesus had finished all these words, He said to His disciples, "You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man is to be handed over for crucifixion."
Then the chief priests and the elders of the people were gathered together in the court of the high priest, named Caiaphas; and they plotted together to seize Jesus by stealth and kill Him. But they were saying, "Not during the festival, otherwise a riot might occur among the people."
"Now when Jesus was in Bethany, at the home of Simon the leper, a woman came to Him with an alabaster vial of very costly perfume, and she poured it on His head as He reclined at the table. But the disciples were indignant when they saw this, and said, "Why this waste? For this perfume might have been sold for a high price and the money given to the poor." But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, "Why do you bother the woman? For she has done a good deed to Me. For you always have the poor with you; but you do not always have Me. For when she poured this perfume on My body, she did it to prepare Me for burial. Truly I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be spoken of in memory of her."
Let's look at verse 6, "Now when Jesus was in Bethany, at the home of Simon the leper." When Jesus first came to Bethany from Jericho, He came to the home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. He was invited to be a guest for supper at the home of Simon, a former leper, who wanted to show his gratitude. Simon was no longer a leper, because Jesus healed him from leprosy. Leprosy in that day was infectious disease, attacking the skin, nerves and mucous membranes. Lepers were considered outcasts, because it incurable by man, Jesus was the only cure. Simon was a fairly common name, in fact, there are ten Simon's in the New Testament. Verse 7, "A woman came to Him with an alabaster vial of very costly perfume, and she poured it on His head as He reclined at the table." John identifies her as Mary of Bethany, the sister of Martha and Lazarus, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.
Matthew doesn’t tell us her name because he was protecting her, John wrote his account 40 years later, and perhaps it wouldn't have been an issue then. But we just don’t know why Matthew
John says that Martha was serving at this gathering and that Lazarus was
sitting with Jesus. We know this is a completely different anointing, than the one recorded in Luke 7, which occurred at the home of Simon the Pharisee, where the woman was a sinner, anointing His feet with the perfume, because Matthew tells us Jesus is at the home of Simon the leper. This fits in with the preparation for the cross. Some have suggested the presence of Mary, Martha and Lazarus, may indicate that Simon may have been some sort of relative.
So, Jesus is the guest of honor at this gathering at Simon's home, when Mary enters the room with an alabaster box of perfume. Luke 10 tells us Martha was distracted with all her preparations and Mary was seated at the Lord’s feet, listening to His word. Later, Luke says Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her. Worship is better than service. Mark's parallel account indicates "the alabaster vial of very costly perfume of pure nard," or spikenard, which had a strong, distinctive aroma, that
clings to skin and hair and continues to give off its unique perfume, it's aroma was an indication the very best had been offered, we learn elsewhere it was worth about a year’s wages. It may have even been a dowry, but it was probably all that she really possessed. Alabaster was a thin, almost transparent, marble like material which was often used for special moments like this. Though it's called a box, it's really a vile or bottle.
It was customary to wash the feet and anoint the head of a guest in your
house, but Mary goes above and beyond. John 12 says that she anointed
Jesus’ feet and wiped them with her hair. She then breaks the container,
and pours all of its contents on Jesus’ head.
Verses 8-9, "But the disciples were indignant when they saw this, and said, "Why this waste? For this perfume might have been sold for a high price and the money given to the poor."
John tells us that that the disciple was "Judas Iscariot, one of His disciples, who was intending to betray Him, *said, "Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and given to poor people?"
However, led by a traitor, apparently the other disciples agreed with him. In reality, the money never would have gotten to the poor, Judas knew things were coming to end, he was after whatever he could get before it did.
Can you imagine how Mary must have felt, after pouring out everything she had as an act of worship, then she gets criticized and ridiculed by the disciples.
I believe her heart must have been broken, just like the alabaster box! How many today knowing what we now know would even think to worship the Lord in such way? Mary, in an unselfish act of love, adoringly poured out an entire vile of expensive perfume, the equivalent of a years wages. Many today begrudgingly put a few dollars in the collection plate, saying "Well, that's all I can afford this week." I believe the problem is most people won’t just give for the sake of worship, they will however give in response to a need.
John goes on to tell us, "Now he said this, not because he was concerned about the poor, but because he was a thief, and as he had the money box, he used to pilfer what was put into it." Because she has done a good deed, she understood what the disciples didn’t want to understand, that He was going to die, Jesus abruptly puts a stop to their criticism.
Verse 10-11, " But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, "Why do you bother the woman? For she has done a good deed to Me."
The word bother is the word "kópos," that means to strike a crushing blow that is so hard, it seriously weakens or debilitates. The selfless act of love and worship by one humble woman recorded in the New Testament has been translated into more than 1,617 languages and is known all over the world. The key to lasting honor, is to honor Christ. In the original language, "good deed," was a beautiful work, an outward sign of the inward good.
John says "Therefore Jesus said, "Let her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of My burial." Mary’s act of devotion will serve as the anointing for His death. I believe that we are part of the fulfillment of that prophecy here today. By the way, it was customary to first bathe and then anoint the body of a dead person. After the body
was anointed, the flask that contained the ointment was to be broken
and laid with the body in the tomb. Jesus knew that He would be put to death as a criminal, and that He would be buried without the proper anointing. Although, we can't be dogmatic as to whether or not Mary interpreted her actions in this way. Mary walked away smelling like Jesus did, having wiped His feet with her hair. When we use what we have to worship Jesus, others can sense that we have been with Him. What good is your gift of worship, if you keep it to yourself? I encourage you to use it for the glory of God and to the benefit of those around you.
Verse 11-13, "For you always have the poor with you; but you do not always have Me. For when she poured this perfume on My body, she did it to prepare Me for burial. Truly I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be spoken of in memory of her.”"
Jesus is not neglecting the teaching of Scripture to meet the needs of the poor, He is merely indicating it's a matter of priority. There’s a time for charity, and a time for worship, this is a time for worship. Don’t be so focused on earthly needs that you neglect to worship Jesus Christ. Jesus is greater than a sanctuary renovation, even the ministering to the poor. He is greater than everything! Let Mary's anointing be an encouragement to you that you may sacrificially devote yourself to Christ above all else.
In Closing..
We must never disregard or devalue anyone else’s acts of service. It's a sad thing to see Christians too busy complaining about others to worship our Lord and Savior. I have heard people complain about preachers because they preached on a verse they didn't like, or the message went over the time they felt was allotted. Or that the choir didn't sing praise and worship music they wanted to hear.
To
Mary, He was worth everything that she had. To Judas, He was worth
thirty pieces of silver. Some of you expect a pat on the back for
missing your favorite TV program or ballgame to come to church, or
putting a a dollar in the offering plate every other week, or are
pleased with ourselves when we give ten percent. A tithe is a specific amount, in the Old Testament, it was the first ten percent of your first-fruits, tithing isn’t for God’s benefit. He doesn’t need our money. It's a way to show that we put God first, to show trust God we trust Him with our lives and our finances. I never preach on tithing because the New Testament standard is to give what is purposed in your heart, not reluctantly. Giving is more about the heart than it is about the money.
I would to encourage you just pause for a moment to ask yourself, "What is Jesus really worth to me?"
Even if you don't attend a local church, there are plenty of ministries and organizations that are doing great work for the Lord that could benefit greatly from your gifts. The amount isn't as important as long as you're taking steps to be more generous with what you have, you're on the right track. May you prayerfully consider giving some of what you've been blessed with back to the Lord, to show even more thanks for His blessings!
May it be so..
And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen
the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen
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