HG140-144 Matthew 26:1-20, Mark 14:1-17, Luke 22:1-16, 24-30, John 12:2-8
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1 It was two days before the Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread. The chief priests and the scribes were looking for a cunning way to arrest Jesus and kill him. 2 “Not during the festival,” they said, “so that there won’t be a riot among the people.”
3 While he was in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, as he was reclining at the table, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured it on his head. 4 But some were expressing indignation to one another: “Why has this perfume been wasted? 5 For this perfume might have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor.” And they began to scold her.
6 Jesus replied, “Leave her alone. Why are you bothering her? She has done a noble thing for me. 7 You always have the poor with you, and you can do what is good for them whenever you want, but you do not always have me. 8 She has done what she could; she has anointed my body in advance for burial. 9 Truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.”
10 Then Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Jesus to them. 11 And when they heard this, they were glad and promised to give him money. So he started looking for a good opportunity to betray him.
12 On the first day of Unleavened Bread, when they sacrifice the Passover lamb, his disciples asked him, “Where do you want us to go and prepare the Passover so that you may eat it?”
13 So he sent two of his disciples and told them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him. 14 Wherever he enters, tell the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher says, “Where is my guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?” ’ 15 He will show you a large room upstairs, furnished and ready. Make the preparations for us there.” 16 So the disciples went out, entered the city, and found it just as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover.
17 When evening came, he arrived with the Twelve.
This is Jesus’ final week before his crucifixion, just two days before Passover. The time is approaching quickly and there are plots coming in thick and fast. No longer are any questions being asked of Jesus by the leaders…no longer is there any dialogue…the time for talk was over…now was the time to take his life. The Kingdom of Satan was pitted against the Kingdom of God. It was a time of revealing hearts to the light of day. The Passover is coming and the preparation is beginning.
The Chief Priests and Scribes knew that they could not take Jesus lawfully but only by trickery, deception, fraud, scam, and dishonestly. All they were waiting for was the opportunity and an answer was coming in the heart of a disciple, a friend of Jesus.
Jesus and the disciples were in the little town of Bethany on the outskirts of Jerusalem in the home of Simon the leper. We know that this is also the home town of Lazarus, Mary and Martha whose house they frequented when they were down from Galilee. And into Simon’s home came Mary, the one of whom we read elsewhere sat at Jesus’ feet and whose brother Lazarus had been raised from the dead.
And she broke an alabaster flask which was filled with perfume and poured it over the head and feet of Jesus. The whole house would have been filled with the scent of spikenard. It would have caused the senses to be filled with the memory of those who had died for it was the kind of perfume they anointed someone who had just died. But what was the response from the disciples? The comments were not kind saying why waste it like this and she should she should have given it to the poor especially as it was worth about £29,000 in today’s money
There’s Judas thinking – yeah – I’m poor – you should have given it to me! This whole complaint was not because they were humanitarians and wanted to share the wealth, it was about greed.
The unfortunate thing when there is greed is that it leads to all sorts of other sin:
9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition.
Yet chasing money is one of the strangest of pursuits because when we die it is all left behind. But for those caught up in it, the present is the only reality.
Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations 3575 After the Rolling Penny
An article in The Christian Observer refers to an interesting painting that portrays man’s sinister lust for gold and its consequences. Harry Montgomery says of that unforgettable portrait: “It depicts a narrow highway along which a gold coin is rolling. The road is crowded with men and women who rush madly after the treasure. Their eyes are aflame with greed and their faces drawn with intense desire.
“In their midst rides a man on a horse.
Clinging fearfully to him is his devoted wife. In his eagerness to reach the coveted gold, he is roughly pushing her aside, for she is a hindrance to him in his race for wealth. He tramples on all who block his way, leaving them crushed and bleeding.”
In a sad but true story:
Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations 3581 Cardinal’s Last Walk
From the time he became a naturalized Frenchman until he died in 1661, Cardinal Mazarin, the successor of Richelieu, was supreme in the councils of the French court.
When about to die, he dragged himself through the rooms of his gorgeous palace. Pausing weakly at every step, he gazed first on one side and then on the other, letting his eyes wander over each of the magnificent objects which he had collected in a lifetime.
Someone hiding behind the tapestry overheard him saying—”All these must be left behind … and that, too, what trouble I have had to obtain all these things. I shall never see them again. Where am I going?”
The disciples covered their criticism with a veneer that looks holy, that is, their concern for the poor, but it is a ‘holier than thou’ attitude. As if they would have sold such an item to give the money to the poor. It’s an attitude we have to be careful about because it is all too easy to fall into this as Christians – thinking that we are better than others when in fact we are all in need of a Saviour. Humility leads to gentleness, pride leads to harshness. The criticism that was levelled at Mary was very hostile and she must have felt intimidated.
And it was Judas who started it off because he was a thief and wanted the money for himself and so he complained about what Mary did and it did not take long for there to be a virus in the midst of them all. When one complains it starts off a fire that sets other people aflame in the wrong way…they all start to complain. What was the sin that stopped the Israelites entering the Promised Land and dying there in the desert? Murmuring, complaining and unbelief.
But what was the point of this criticising? They could not put the perfume back into the broken jar, could they? Their criticising was not going to end in anything good. The criticisers only had their focus on money and things of this life. Jesus wasn’t saying that you should not help the poor either but when you can. However, it wasn’t their money, their perfume…she could have just used it for herself – and she was within her rights, they had no right to speak anything.
But she was moved because Jesus was there. We react often without thinking and we can destroy the spirit of someone who wants to get on with the work of the Lord simply doing what they can.
She did what she could…
So Mary gave…in fact the whole bible is about giving…God gave man life, created the world for him and gave him dominion over every other creature. He gave man a home in the garden of Eden and, when man fell, he gave him a promise of redemption. He gave the Israelites a law. He has given us the church and the promise of eternal life. But, above all else, He has given us His Son. The very essence of Christianity is the cross where God so loved the world that he gave.
The Bible is also the story of man giving back to God. Cain and Abel brought gifts to God. When Noah got off the ark, he gave an offering to God. The Jews gave tithes to God; not just one, but three different tithes plus free-will offerings. They gave as much as 15-30% of their income to God. And the church is to give. “Let every one of you lay by in store as God hath prospered him" (I Corinthians 16:2). An accurate description of the New Testament church is that we should be a fellowship of givers.
Mary gave her precious perfume. And it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out why Mary did that. Jesus had given her brother back to her from the dead. But did I not say that the value of this perfume would have been around £29,000 in today’s money - and to tip it out on Jesus was an extravagant, all giving love. Once she had done it there was no going back. What an amazing thing Mary did.
She has done what she could. And that’s exactly what Jesus wants out of each and every one of us. She did everything she could. Have we done what we could with what God has given us?
Mary wanted to show some expression of her devotion for Jesus. For Mary, speech didn’t seem to come easy. Hers was a silent nature, very much unlike her sister Martha. So she took her most valued and expensive possession, the perfume that she had probably been saving for her own burial and the anointing of her body later on, and broke it and poured it over Jesus.
And at once Jesus recognised her good work for what it was. And for that he made it clear that she would be held in remembrance all over the world because of it and today His Word came to pass for we are talking about her today. Jesus honours those who honour Him. She did what she could. Not what she couldn’t. But all she could do she did do.
Where you put your finances, your heart will be. Not just with finances but with time, effort, and gifts. Take what you have and give it to God. We give because we love our Lord Jesus Christ. It’s not about taking. It is about surrendering to Him. He does not need anything from you – he spoke and the universe came into being – he needs nothing from you – but we give to Him because of His great love towards us.
What a testimony this woman left! She has done what she could. She laid up treasures in heaven rather than on earth. It’s not about having great abilities, for those who do have greater responsibility to use what has been given to them, but it is about using what you have and doing what you can. I don’t know about you but that relieves me – God is not expecting me to do what I cannot – but everything I have and am is to be used for him.
But Judas’ testimony was something completely different – also a legacy that will last forever but for the wrong reasons.
Straight after Mary did this Judas only took another day to carry out his evil plan of betrayal. When Judas was not given the money for the sale of the perfume he was incensed not by the smell of the perfume but by his anger and disappointment in Jesus, and Satan entered him.
Why anger and disappointment?
Firstly, Jesus did not give in to Judas and his greed. So Judas could see no more profit and the opportunities for gain had gone even with being the money man. Being with Jesus was only going to lead to poverty as far as he was concerned. And so he went to get profit from the chief priests and scribes instead. Greed is one of those sins that leads down a very slippery slope. It is one of those things we are to put to death or it could be the death of us.
Secondly, Judas was a zealot. He was of a group of people who wanted to overthrow the Roman occupation in the same vain as the Maccabees got rid of the Greeks 3 centuries before. And just before this woman came with the perfume Jesus told them again that He was to be crucified. After Mary did this deed He said that this was for my burial. Judas thought that this is the talk of a weakling and not one who would achieve the goals of ruling again over Israel. Judas desire for power and wealth suddenly made his goals align with the Chief Priests and Scribes.
And so, before the Passover meal the contract on Jesus head had been agreed and paid for. He was to be delivered alive.
The road for Jesus was paved with pointers to the cross…nothing could prevent it from happening…it was the reason He came. He was now anointed for burial…the time was at hand…his death was imminent. God’s purposes cannot be thwarted.
For those plotting to betray and to kill they thought they were on the path to stop Jesus from being a thorn in the their sides – how wrong they were – for one day he will judge them, and that justly rather than in their unjust ways. Jesus said of Judas: it would have been better for that man that he had not been born. What an indictment! What an awesome and terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Everything that could have been done was done for Judas – he knew the Saviour, knew His acceptance, knew all about Him but still behaved treacherously and betrayed his friend who happens to also be Lord of all. Wow! How blind Judas was by greed…
We have to watch our hearts, friends. Let’s walk in the Spirit rather than the flesh: the former leads to freedom, the latter to corruption. Do we think that it could only happen to Judas? Betrayal happens all the time and how wrenching it is when it is a friend. Whether bitterness or jealousy or greed let us be careful that our hearts are not calloused in such a way because this is a path not easy to get off.
Let’s be involved in things that will last for eternity; let’s make sure we are not criticising others who are simply doing their genuine best.
The amazing thing is that the Passover lamb was being prepared…when the blood of the lamb would be on the lintels of our hearts and lives…where the judgment of God would pass over us, if we have trusted the Lord Jesus there is now no judgment for those who are His. We love Him because He first loved us.
Benediction
Benediction
33 Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!
36 For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.
Bibliography
Bibliography
Tan, P. L. (1996). Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations: Signs of the Times. Garland, TX: Bible Communications, Inc.