Fragrant Worship

Cornerstone Church June 5, 2005

FRAGRANT WORSHIP

Matthew 26:1-16

The Illustration:

“After being away on business, Tim, thought it would be nice to bring his wife a little gift. ‘How about some perfume?’ he asked the cosmetics clerk.

She showed him a bottle costing $50.00. ‘That’s a bit much,’ said Tim, so she returned with a smaller bottle for $30.00.

‘That’s still quite a bit,’ Tim complained. Growing annoyed, the clerk brought out a tiny $15.00 bottle. ‘What I mean.’ Said Tim, ‘is I’d like to see something really cheap.’ So the clerk handed him a mirror.”

Real love is more costly and risky:

“Artful Eddie lacked nothing. He was the slickest of lawyers. He was one of the roars of the Roaring Twenties. A crony of Al Capone, he ran the gangster’s dog tracks. He mastered the simple technique of fixing the race by overfeeding seven dogs and betting on the eighth.

Wealth. Status. Style. Artful Eddie lacked nothing.

Then, why did he turn himself in? Why did he offer to squeal on Capone? What was his motive? Didn’t Eddie know the sure-fire consequences of ratting on the mob?

He knew, but he’d made up his mind.

What did he have to gain? What could society give him that he didn’t have? He had money, power, prestige. What was the hitch?

Eddie revealed the hitch. His son. Eddie had spent his life with the despicable. He had smelled the stench of the underground long enough. For his son, he wanted more. He wanted to give his son a name. And to give his son a name, he would have to clear his own. Eddie was willing to take the risk so that his son could have a clean slate. Artful Eddie never saw his dream come true. After Eddie squealed, the mob remembered. Two shotgun blasts silenced him forever. Was it worth it?” Max Lucado pg. 45-46 And the Angels Were Silent

Key Question:

Is your heart gripped

by the Greatness of God?

It is a valid question in light of Communion this morning!

The answer to that question is revealed by:

How you live!

How you worship!

This morning we are going to look at an individual whose heart was Gripped by the Greatness of God.

Her name is Mary

She is the sister of Martha and Lazarus

The Word of God our GPS System

We need other texts from the Word of God to triangulate our position.

There are two accounts where a woman named Mary worships Jesus.

Mary at Simon the Leper’s House

Mary at Simon the Pharisee’s House

The accounts in Matthew 26:1-16 and Mark 14:1-10 are flashbacks included in a location to contrast another happening. The Luke passage clearly reflects another incident.

John’s gospel record states that this was six days before The Passover. The Gospel of John is the most chronological record of the Passion Week. Undoubtedly, John took great care to substantiate an apologetic of the Christ.

Saturday Night after the Sabbath but before Jesus’ Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem.

OUTLINE:

I. Extreme Loathing – Matthew 26:1-5

II. Extravagant Love – Matthew 26:6-9

III. Eternal Legacy – Matthew 26:10-13

IV. Estranged Loyalty – Matthew 26:14-16

Until this point, everything in the life of Christ has been a prologue to the great conclusion: The Cross of Christ. There is no gospel without the cross of Christ. Mankind was absolutely bankrupt and unable to atone for their sins apart from the atoning work of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross.

1 Cor. 2:2 NIV For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.

EXTREME LOATHING

Matt 26:1-5 NIV

When Jesus had finished saying all these things, he said to his disciples, “As you know, the Passover is two days away—and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.” Then the chief priests and the elders of the people assembled in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas, and they plotted to arrest Jesus in some sly way and kill him. “But not during the Feast,” they said, “or there may be a riot among the people.”

THE PREMEDITATION OF GOD

Jesus pronounces with certainty when His death will take place. Jesus tells His disciples that He will die in two days at the beginning of Passover.

Jesus was not taken as a martyr by some injustice. Jesus is fulfilling the predetermined plan of God. Before the foundations of the world, before man was ever placed on this globe, God the Father and God the Son arranged for Jesus to be the Sacrificial Lamb of God that would take away the sins of the world.

THE PREMEDITATION OF THE RELIGIOUS LEADERS

How foolish these religious leaders were. They are huddled away, in the court of Caiaphas, The High Priest, plotting Jesus’ death.