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.
Many times they have tried to lay hold of Jesus and take His life. Their hatred of Him and their desire to kill Him most likely began when He healed the lame man at The Pool of Bethesda on the Sabbath. Besides breaking The Law in their eyes, He called God His Father.
SORVEREIGNTY
John 10:18 NIV No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”
Joseph Caiaphas
History records him as being a treacherous and deceitful man. Although appointed by Rome he had enough Levitical lineage to satisfy the Jews.
This “leader” of the entire Jewish religious system was the only one allowed to enter the Holy of Holies and the one who led the other priests. He most likely was also the one profiting from the merchandising that was taking place in the Temple Court which angered Jesus enough to cleanse the Temple.
Joseph Caiaphas, the High Priest, stands in contrast to the true worship observed by Mary, the sister of Lazarus.
How ironical! The very time that the religious leaders desired to avoid taking Jesus is the time that it happened. When they wanted Him, they could not touch Him because of God’s sovereign intervention. When they do not want Him, they are forced to deal with God’s predetermined plan.
Jerusalem was swelling in numbers at this time!
Word of Jesus ministry had spread throughout the area.
The Passover would have 2 million worshippers.
256,500 Sacrificial Lambs were slaughtered (1 lamb to 10 people)
EXTRAVAGANT LOVE
Matthew 26:6-9 NIV
While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of a man
known as Simon the Leper,
Matt. 26:6 NIV
THE PARTY
Jesus withdrew to spend some time with His friends before Passion Week. This would be the last Sabbath Jesus would observe prior to His death. (Sabbath rest was from sundown on Friday until sundown Saturday)
The meal was most likely on Saturday night after the Sabbath had passed but prior to His Triumphal Entry on Sunday. Mary and Martha helped serve the meal.
Jesus’ final Sabbath rest is important. Let’s not discredit Jesus’ need to prepare Himself for what He was going to face.
Jesus is 100% human as well as 100% God.
He felt pain.
He understood suffering.
THE PLACE (Bethany) east of Jerusalem
Simon the Leper’s Home
The gathering was at the home of Simon the Leper. We have no ability to verify if this is one of the other cleansed lepers mentioned in the gospels. Whether cleansed by Jesus (which was most likely the case) or by God, this leper had been cleansed or everyone would have been in violation of the Mosaic Law.
THE PARTICIPANTS
The Disciples
Judas
Jesus
Mary, Martha and Lazarus (recently back from the dead).
THE PERFUME OF PRAISE
“…a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on his head
as he was reclining at the table.”
Matt. 26:7 NIV
As everyone was reclining a miraculous event occurred.
Suddenly!
Unexpectedly!
Calculatedly!
Mary enters the picture snapping the neck off an alabaster vial of costly perfume.
She poured it on Jesus’ head
Mary (according to John) poured it on Jesus’ feet
She rubbed it in
The fragrance permeated the room
She anointed Him for death
She used her hair (which was to a Jewish woman her glory) to wipe off the excess.
Mary had to violate Jewish Customs on two accounts to accomplish this anointing:
1. She entered into a room where a group of men were reclining and dining together.
2. She let her hair down (a woman’s glory) in public.
Mary’s gift was an extravagant offering to her Lord.
Alabaster jar of myrrh was very precious and expensive
12 oz of pure nard as The Scriptures state
An aromatic herb grown high in the pasture land of the Himalayas (India/Tibet)
It had to be harvested, processed and transported by camel to Israel.
We are unsure why she had it.
Perhaps she had purchased it prior to knowing Christ. Often, perfume like this was a commodity saved for investment purposes (to our knowledge the First National Bank of Jerusalem had not been formulated). It may have reflected her entire life’s savings.
We do, however, know its value.
It was worth 300 Denari. 300 Denari reflected an entire worker’s yearly wages. They made a Denari a day. In today’s terms it was worth $30,000-$50,000.
200 Denari in that culture could feed 5,000 men and their families bread for a day.
WHY HAD SHE DONE THIS?
She Knew Jesus was going to die!
Mary understood and believed that Jesus was going to die. She was sensitive to Jesus’ needs. The others were unaware of what was going to take place. Jesus had told them many times but either they did not understand it or chose not to believe that it would take place.
Here is one such incident:
Mark 10:32-34 NIV They were on their way up to Jerusalem, with Jesus leading the way, and the disciples were astonished, while those who followed were afraid. Again he took the Twelve aside and told them what was going to happen to him. “We are going up to Jerusalem,” he said, “and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles, who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him. Three days later he will rise.”
HOW DID SHE KNOW?
She had an intimate relationship with the LORD Jesus Christ!
She was always at Jesus’ feet.
Luke 10:39 NIV She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said.
Hebrew Idiom “Sitting at one’s feet” = to learn from that person
A child was to learn at the feet of their parents
A student learned at the feet of his Rabbi
Acts 22:3 NIV “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city. Under Gamaliel I was thoroughly trained in the law of our fathers and was just as zealous for God as any of you are today.
Mary listened at Jesus’ feet during their last dinner engagement when Martha fussed at her. She paid attention to what Jesus said when He raised her brother.
John 11:25-27 NIV Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” “Yes, Lord,” she told him, “I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world.”
She Listened!
She Learned!
She Loved!
Do you study the Word to know the Lord as Mary did?
Mary’s heart had been Gripped by the Greatness of God!
Mary didn’t ask:
How much is this going to cost?
Do I have the time to do this?
What will others think?
She did not miss an opportunity to do something for Christ. She worshipped wholeheartedly. She gave herself to God!
THE CRITICS
When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. “Why this waste?”
they asked. “This perfume could have been sold at a high price
and the money given to the poor.”
Matt. 26:8-9 NIV
WHAT A WASTE!
Judas reflects the attitude of a selfish/materialistic individual. He masterfully calculated financial values but did not understand human values.
Mary’s extravagant gesture was a pure offering of love and adoration to the Lord.
Since when is love governed by logic?
Logic had not touched Simon the Leper
Common sense hadn’t cried for Lazarus
Judas was a thief. He cared nothing for the poor. What hypocrisy! He held the box of money, as the treasurer, and constantly helped himself. His heart motive shined through.
ETERNAL LEGACY
Matthew 26:10-13 NIV
Aware of this, Jesus said to them, “Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me. When she poured this perfume on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial. I tell you the truth, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”
Matt. 26:10-13 NIV
Jesus rebuked them for criticizing what Mary had done. Why?
The Completeness of Mary’s Worship
She placed Christ first before everything else
She gave Him her all
Because of her lavish abandon Jesus would never say that Mary just did what she could.
She knew she couldn’t do it all, but that didn’t immobilize her from doing something!
She did not measure out grudging drops for the Lord:
Here is a drop for your head
Here are two drops for your feet
Is your devotion to Christ costing you anything?
Are you ever inconvenienced for Him?
What would you be willing to sacrifice for Jesus:
A comfortable home?
A successful image?
A large bank account?
Your family for Christian service (as missionaries and workers)?
Perhaps, you are content to give Him only:
1/2 of your heart
1/2 of your wallet
1/2 of your time
1/2 of your talents
The perfume scented the house.
Use your imagination. A little bit of perfume and the house would smell! A whole vial broken and the scent must have permeated everything!
Often when I wear cologne one of my daughters will hug me and tell me how good I smell at the end of the day!
Perhaps the smell lingered on Jesus throughout the rest of the week as He neared the cross.
Because Mary had used her hair (yielding all of her humanity to Christ) her sacrificial gift fragranced her life.
She was a sweet-smelling savor to God and others.
How about you this morning? Is your life fragranced by the sweet aroma of Christ upon it?
Or, is your life without fragrance, odorless as you hold on to your possessions and desires?
Mary’s Worship was insightful in that it prepared Jesus for death
Our Lord’s promise to her was that her act would be forever immortalized (like the widow and her two mites) forever!
ESTRANGED LOYALTY
Matthew 26:14-16
Then one of the Twelve—the one called Judas Iscariot—went to the chief priests and asked, “What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?” So they counted out for him thirty silver coins. From then on Judas watched for an opportunity to hand him over.
Matt. 26:14-16 NIV
What a contrast!
The religious leaders weighed out thirty pieces of silver to give to Judas to rat on Jesus. It was the price of a gored slave.
Exod. 21:32 NIV If the bull gores a male or female slave, the owner must pay thirty shekels of silver to the master of the slave, and the bull must be stoned.
Judas didn’t receive much compared to what Mary’s Worship cost her. The two individuals are so entirely different.
Comparison:
Judas
Harsh words
Sold Christ for
30 pieces of silver
Pilfered the bag
Judas turned attention
away from Jesus
Mary
Kind words
Gave 2.5 times
more to Christ
Broke her jar open and gave it
Mary turned the focus
on Jesus
Radical love and devotion is it worth it?
What about Artful Eddie, the Chicago mobster who squealed on Al Capone? Eddie would have been proud had he lived.
“He would have been proud of Butch’s appointment to Annapolis. He would have been proud of the commissioning as a World War II Navy Pilot. He would have been proud as he read of his son downing five bombers in the Pacific night and saving the lives of hundreds of crewmen on the carrier Lexington. The name was cleared. The Congressional Medal of honor which Butch received was proof.
When people say the name O’Hare in Chicago, they don’t think gangsters--they think aviation heroism. And now when you say his name, you have something else to think about. Think about it the next time you fly into the airport named after the son of a gangster gone good.
The son of Eddie O’Hare.”
Max Lucado pg. 51-52 And the Angels Were Silent
Who do you want to be like this morning?
Is you love for Christ Extravagant?
Or, are you playing it safe?
Original Question:
Is your heart gripped
by the Greatness of God?
God the Father’s heart
was gripped by love for you!
Why else do you think He sent HIS SON to rescue you from sin?
This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us
and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
1John 4:10 NIV
