Broken And Spilled Out
Matthew 26:6-13
Today I want us to look at our test that is found here in Matthew. This story is also recorded in Mark 14:3-9 and in John 12:1-8, in which other details are given.
We pick up with our story on the Saturday before the crucifixion of Christ, or on six days before the Passover. We are in a town called Bethany, which is two miles from Jerusalem. Bethany was a place of love where Jerusalem was a place of hate.
Note with me three things here that I find in this passage that are worthy of our attention. I pray that God will take some truth from His word today and touch some heart so that we can serve Him more.
I. Gift She Brought
II. Gift She Broke
III. Gift He Blessed
No follow with me:
I. Gift She Brought (6-7)
As we read our passage we learn that she brought an alabaster box full of ointment.
Note three things with me:
A. Place She Came
The Bible tells us two things about the place that she came.
• Came to Bethany
This is the town in which means “House of Affliction.” Is a place in which some of the most important things in Christ ministry took place. It is the place where Lazarus was raised from the dead.
• House of Simon the Leper
Simon the leper was a man that had been healed by God. Some believe that he was the father of Lazarus and his sisters. Some believe he was Martha’s husband.
B. Perfume She Carried
Our text calls it a very precious ointment. Mark and John call it spikenard, which was a perfume that contained myrrh and nard.
She was carrying it in an alabaster box. That was a box that was made from stones of lime and sulfate that was carved and kept expensive perfume in.
Luther says that it was a box that looked like a closed up rose bud.
C. Purpose She Conceived
Mary was going to worship the Lord and show her devotion to Him.
During this time two types of people would have spikenard poured on them.
• Kings would have it poured on them.
Mary was showing her faith in the fact that she realized that Jesus Christ was the true and eternal king.
• Doctors would have it poured on them.
Mary realized that Christ was the great doctor in the fact that Simon had been healed. But she also knew that He was a spiritual doctor in the fact that she had been healed.
II. Gift She Broke (7b-10)
Not only do we learn that she brought a gift, but we learn that she broke this gift.
Notice three things with me concerning the breaking of this gift.
A. Reason for Breaking
Christ says in verse 12 that the gift was broken for His burial. Mary realized that Christ was the Son of God and that soon He would be crucified and buried. But she knew that His body did not have to be preserved because He would arise from the grave in three days. So she decided to give Him this costly perfume before He died.
B. Ridicule for Breaking
There will always be someone who will mock and ridicule you for serving God.
Note two things about this ridicule:
1. Worried about Waste
The disciples said that pouring all of it on Christ was wasting the perfume.
Let me say that when something is done in the name of Christ and is done from the heart, God sees it as a gift from above and will reward our efforts.
2. Worried about Wages
The disciple Judas said that the perfume could have been sold for 300 pence, which was almost 1 years wages.
He was the keeper of the bag and he was more concerned about getting money that he could spend than he was in getting money that could be spent on the poor.
C. Response to Breaking
Christ praised her because He said that the work was done upon Him.
The work that praises Christ the most is the work that is done in His name. Christ would be honored today if some of us would break ourselves before Him and pour ourselves out so that we could be used up by Him.
III. Gift He Blessed (11-13)
Finally we learn that the gift she brought was the gift God blessed.
Notice three things in closing about this gift.
A. Words He Said
Christ tried to tell them that the poor would always be around to serve, but Christ would soon be gone.
In other words He was saying, “Serve me will you still have a chance to serve me.”
B. Worship He Saw
The Lord saw that this lady was full of worship. He saw two things about it:
1. Cost of Her Worship
She had saved along time to buy the ointment that she poured out on Christ. It was worth almost an entire years wages.
2. Carrying out of Her Worship
He saw that she had traveled to the place where Christ was and did not care who was present to see her worship the Son of God.
C. Witness She Set Forth
Christ said that the thing she done would be remembered in the years to come as a memorial to her. We are remembering the faith of this lady right now as we have preached this word to you.
Today I close by asking you, “Would you be willing to be the ointment that is poured out and used up for the glory of God?”
