Anointed for Burial
Notes
Transcript
Anointed For Burial
Anointed For Burial
SESSION SUMMARY
In this session, we will see a contrast between the generosity of a young woman and the greed of Judas as displayed in Jesus’ anointing at Bethany. These two encounters, with Judas and the woman, encourage us to consider our own hearts in light of the opportunity we have to express our devotion through visible acts of worship.
SCRIPTURE
Matthew 26:6-16
The Point
Our heart’s condition is revealed either by our giving or our greed.
INTRO
Option 1
Not much can compete with the joy of a young child on Christmas morning.
For days, or even weeks, boys and girls have probably seen decoratively wrapped presents under a tree decorated with ornaments and lights.
Their anticipation builds until it is nearly ready to erupt in joy as paper and bows fly through the air in an unwrapping frenzy on Christmas day.
What are some of your most memorable Christmas presents?
Not much can compete with that feeling—with the exception of the joy the parents experience.
For months, mom has planned the perfect present and enlisted dad to purchase and hide it away somewhere in the dark recesses of the attic.
Weeks earlier it was wrapped with love. Days before, it was placed under the tree, where it waited until the child’s anticipation meets with the parents’ desire to see their child’s joy.
In those moments, it is abundantly clear that it is more blessed to give than to receive.
Option 2
When we think of receiving or giving gifts, we tend to think of birthdays or Christmas, right?
People often ask, “What did you get for Christmas?” or “What did you get for your birthday?”
In those times, it can be easy for us to focus on our own wish lists, or even the present that didn’t make it under the tree or in the birthday bag.
But what about the times we are able to give gifts to others?
Think about the last time you gave someone a gift. What was your favorite part of giving that gift?
Was giving the gift worth the cost of buying it? Why or why not?
The moment we unwrap our gifts, the anticipation is gone.
Maybe we even find ourselves wondering what we want to add to our wish lists for next year.
However, the Bible teaches an entirely different focus. As believers, our focus is to be tied to the gospel, tied to God.
He is the ultimate gift Giver—He gave His Son to give us freedom from our sins and eternity with Him.
God showed His love for us in His giving.
We can also show our love for others in the way that we give.
THE POINT
Our heart’s condition is revealed either by our giving or our greed.
This quarter opens up with a scene that teaches us about generosity and devotion, while it closes with one of greed and deception.
Our main characters include Jesus and His disciples, and Mary, the sister of Lazarus (whom Jesus raised from the dead).
Even though this story teaches us important virtues and sins, it primarily offers us a look at the beginning of the week leading up to Jesus’ crucifixion.
MARY ANOINTED JESUS’ HEAD WITH OIL
Our scene begins with Jesus and His disciples in the house of a man named Simon.
What took place may seem a little strange in our modern social experiences, but we learn very quickly that what happened under this man’s roof should be viewed as an act of devotion and generosity.
6 Now when Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, 7 a woman came up to him with an alabaster flask of very expensive ointment, and she poured it on his head as he reclined at table. (Matt. 26:6-7)
At first glance, it is difficult to appreciate what was happening in this scene.
For starters, who among us would be at all honored by someone sneaking up behind us and pouring an entire bottle of olive oil or strong perfume on our heads?
We would probably be humiliated, if not extremely confused.
However, anointing oil was used for a number of purposes in Scripture.
People are most familiar with it in its function as symbolic of an Israelite office or authority.
For example, priests were to be anointed with oil (Ex. 29:7), as were kings (1 Sam. 10), and even prophets (1 Kings 19:16). Additionally, certain objects were anointed, as was the case with the tabernacle (Ex. 40:9).
What all of these examples have in common is the consistent theme of setting apart a person or thing for devotion to God.
By looking forward, it becomes clear that Jesus was anointed in preparation for the task ahead of Him, namely His death and burial.
Mary’s original intentions were not entirely clear.
In this act of devotion, was she expressing her belief that Jesus is the Christ, the anointed one of God?
Or was she one of the first in the Gospels to truly understand that the messianic mission marched through a tomb?
Whether Mary was initially and intentionally aware of the significance of her action or not, Jesus clearly saw the act as stretching beyond the present into the future.
In this simple glorious act, she prepared Jesus for burial.
JESUS PRAISED MARY’S GIFT OF DEVOTION
An early nineteenth century copy of the Declaration of Independence was purchased for four dollars and later resold for over two million dollars.
An Andy Warhol sketch was purchased for five dollars and appraised for two million dollars.
A Song Dynasty bowl was purchased for three dollars and sold for over two million dollars.
Occasionally, national news will share the story of an epic find of some great fortune among long forgotten and discarded boxes in an attic or garage.
As many often say, “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.”
Essentially, this is what caused the disciples wanted to ask about the waste of the oil.
8 And when the disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, “Why this waste? 9 For this could have been sold for a large sum and given to the poor.” 10 But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a beautiful thing to me. 11 For you always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me. 12 In pouring this ointment on my body, she has done it to prepare me for burial. 13 Truly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.” (Matt. 26:8-13)
For the disciples there was no compelling reason to empty an entire bottle of valuable oil on Jesus’ head.
However, they missed the significance of the act of devotion and expressed their belief that her gift is wasted.
But by demeaning this woman and the value of this act, the disciples unknowingly demeaned Jesus Himself and His coming death and resurrection.
Of course, the disciples’ desire to provide for the poor is noble as well.
After all, the Bible commands us to care for the poor and the apostles exemplified such a longing.
Take a look at these passages that command us to look after the poor:
Whoever has a bountiful eye will be blessed,
for he shares his bread with the poor.
Whoever closes his ear to the cry of the poor
will himself call out and not be answered.
But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him?
Only, they asked us to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do.
But the Bible also suggests that there is a time for all things (Eccl. 3:1-8).
For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.
There is a time to give your oil to the poor and there is a time to use it in devotion to Christ.
Not only did Jesus praise her action, but He also declared that it would be forever etched in the story of the gospel as an example of devotion and love.
Throughout Scripture, the people of God are marked by their giving.
Going Further with The Story
This was an extravagant gift.
Matthew noted that it was expensive, John affirmed that it was a pound of pure nard (12:3), while Mark was even more specific.
According to him, the value of the nard is roughly 300 denarii (Mark 14:5).
Considering that a denarius was roughly equivalent to a day’s wages, this jar was worth nearly one year’s salary.
Imagine someone today taking $50,000 and setting it on fire, and you will understand the confusion of the disciples.
Now, imagine someone giving her life savings for the sake of Christ and you will understand Mary’s devotion.
Since women were generally not able to have jobs that would provide such income, this was probably a family heirloom that was not only worth a lot of money, but also had sentimental value.
JUDAS’ PLANNED JESUS’ BETRAYAL
While we see a picture of devotion and generosity in Mary, the story here also shows greed and betrayal. Take a look:
14 Then one of the twelve, whose name was Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests 15 and said, “What will you give me if I deliver him over to you?” And they paid him thirty pieces of silver. 16 And from that moment he sought an opportunity to betray him. (Matt. 26:14-16)
Matthew immediately moved from the anointing to the betrayal, and what was implied in his account was made explicit in John.
According to John 12, it was Judas who led the chorus of condemnation of the woman’s anointing, and it was not from love of man, but of money.
Thus, when he went to the chief priests and asked for payment, his motivations had already been exposed.
Judas was not driven primarily by religious or theological conviction, but by greed.
The contrast between Judas and Mary could not be more striking.
Mary was willing to forfeit wealth for Jesus. Judas was willing to forfeit Jesus for wealth.
The contrast between Judas and Jesus is even more stunning.
Judas sacrificed others for his own gain.
Jesus sacrificed Himself for the gain of others.
May we strive to be like Mary who gave her most precious possession for Christ, but even more so to be like Christ Himself, who gave Himself fully and freely that we might be set free from the bondage to greed and lust.
99 Essential Doctrines: Christ as Sacrifice
There are several signs, symbols, and pointers in the Old Testament that foreshadowed Christ as being the sacrificial Lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world.
However, unlike the sacrificial system of the Old Testament, whose sacrifices were unable to take away sin (Heb. 10:4), Christ’s sacrifice on the cross was able to permanently “once and for all” take away sins.
CHRIST CONNECTION
People are complex—all of us have experienced moments in which generosity and giving have brought great joy.
At the same time, there are moments when we exhibit a greediness that snuffs out the call of generosity on our lives.
To make matters even more confusing, greed sometimes rears its ugly head in moments of generosity.
Consider those who give to the poor, hoping that others will see them and praise them for their generosity.
Consider those who show generosity, with the hope or expectation that they will receive something in return.
In all cases, we must be willing to examine our own hearts.
In this session, we have seen the contrast between the generosity of a young woman and the greed of Judas in the account of Jesus’ anointing at Bethany.
Again, the example of these two characters serve as opportunities for us to consider our own hearts in light of the opportunity we have to express our devotion through visible acts of worship.
As we dive deep into our own motivations, our heart’s condition is often revealed by this complex pattern of giving or greed.
If our motivation for giving is to receive praise from others, or to gain something in return, that is nothing more than greed.
If our outright greed moves us to withhold generosity, then we have revealed that God’s call on our lives is secondary to our comfort.
It also shows that we treasure things other than God, and long for our glory over Christ’s.
The Bible is clear, the people of God are marked by their joyful giving (2 Cor. 9:7).
Even when our complex hearts reveal the deadly mix of generosity and greed, the power of the Spirit allows us to repent and honor God.
As God has given to us His Son out of the overflow of His heart, so He calls and compels His people to express their devotion through visible acts of worship.
We should follow Mary’s example, demonstrating love and devotion in our generosity.
Let’s Pray