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Chapter 77 A Good Work Done for Christ ÒAnd it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these
sayings, he said unto his disciples, Ye know that after two days is the
feast of the
passover, and the Son of man is betrayed to be crucified. Then assembled together
the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders of the people, unto the
palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas, And consulted that they
might take Jesus by subtilty, and kill him. But they said, Not on the feast day, lest there be an uproar among
the people. Now when Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper,
There came unto him a woman having an alabaster box of very precious
ointment, and poured it on his head, as he sat at meat. But when his disciples saw it, they had indignation, saying, To
what purpose is
this waste? For this ointment might have been sold for much, and given to the
poor. When Jesus understood it, he said unto them, Why trouble ye the woman? for she
hath wrought a good work upon me. For ye have the poor always with you; but
me ye have not always. For in that she hath poured this ointment on my body,
she did it for
my burial. Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached
in the whole world, there shall also this, that this woman hath done, be told for a
memorial of her.Ó (Matthew 26:1-13) Commenting on this passage, J. C.
Ryle wrote, ÒWe now approach the closing scene of our Lord Jesus ChristÕs
earthly ministry. Hitherto we have read of his sayings and doings. We are now
about to read of his sufferings and death. Hitherto we have seen him as the
great Prophet. We are now about to see him as the great High Priest.Ó I would not exalt one portion of
Scripture above another; but the last three chapters of MatthewÕs Gospel,
along with the accounts given by Mark, Luke, and John of our SaviorÕs
sufferings and death as our Substitute, ought always to be read with peculiar
reverence and careful attention, and ought to be read often. This truly is Òholy
ground.Ó Here we
see the Seed of woman crushing the serpentÕs head. Here we see that one great
Sacrifice to which all the sacrifices of the Old Testament pointed. Here we
see that blood shed which Òcleanseth us from all sin,Ó and that Lamb slain who Òtaketh
away the sin of the world.Ó In the substitutionary death of
our Lord Jesus Christ the Holy Spirit shows us how God can be both just and
the Justifier of the ungodly. The things contained in these chapters are of
such peculiar importance that all four gospel narratives contain a detailed
account of them. Frequently, with regard to other matters, when one of the
gospel writers refers to something, the other three say nothing about it; but
when it came to the events surrounding our great SaviorÕs great sacrifice for
sin, the Holy Spirit inspired all four Gospel writers to describe that event
of all events in great detail. The Message of the Bible ÒAnd it came to pass, when Jesus had finished
all these sayings, he said unto his disciples, Ye know that after two days is
the feast of the passover, and the Son of man is betrayed to be crucifiedÓ (vv. 1-2). — Throughout his
earthly ministry the Lord Jesus carefully and constantly called the attention
of his disciples to his sin-atoning death at Calvary. The connection of these first two
verses with the preceding chapter is not accidental. Our Redeemer had just
been talking about his glorious second advent, the end of the world, the day
of judgment, and the eternal states of the righteous and the wicked. Then,
without the least pause, he directs our attention to his own crucifixion and
death. While the wondrous predictions of the end were still ringing in their
ears, he tells his disciples once more of his sin-atoning death. He reminds
them that before he reigns as the King of Glory, he must die as the Substitute
for sinners. Before he takes his crown of universal monarchy, he must endure
and satisfy the wrath of God as our sin-offering. Before he could sit down on
the right hand of the Majesty on high, he must put away the sins of his
people by the sacrifice of himself. We can never attach too much
importance to the sin-atoning death of our Lord Jesus Christ. The focal point
of Scripture, upon which our minds ought to ever be fixed, is the death of
Christ. Without the shedding of his blood, there is no remission of sins.
This is the foundation doctrine of Holy Scripture. Without it there is no
gospel in the gospel. Without the doctrine of the cross, the Bible is a
meaningless book. It is, as Ryle stated, Òlike a clock without a dial or a
spring, a building without a foundation, or a solar system without a sun.Ó We must never minimize our LordÕs
incarnation, fail to follow his example, ignore his parables, forget his
miracles of mercy, or despise his words of instruction; but he intends for
us, above all things, to makes much of his cross. I delight to think of his
second coming, heavenly glory, and the day when our God shall make all things
new; but these things, great and glorious as they are, are meaningless
without our SaviorÕs death upon the cursed tree. The doctrine of the
atonement is the master-truth of Holy Scripture. This is and must be our
daily bread. ÒChrist died for our sins!Ó What can be more marvelous? What
can be more inspiring? What can be more instructive? Some, like the Greeks of
old, sneer at this message and call it foolishness. Others, like the Jews of
PaulÕs day, looking for signs and wonders, stumble over it and perish; but to
those who are saved by the grace of God, Christ crucified is the power of God
and the wisdom of God. The
message of the Bible is the gospel of ChristÕ substitutionary atonement (Luke
24:27, 44-47; 1 Pet. 1:25). That is the message GodÕs servants are sent to
preach (1 Cor. 2:1-2). The sacrifice of Christ for us is the motive and
inspiration for devotion, faith, godliness, worship, and obedience (1 Cor.
6:19- 20). The doctrine of the cross is the glory of the redeemed (Gal.
6:14). Vicious
Hypocrisy
ÒThen
assembled together the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders of the
people, unto the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas, And
consulted that they might take Jesus by subtilty, and kill him. But they said, Not on the feast day, lest there be an uproar among
the peopleÓ (vv. 3-5). What
a display we have here of the hypocrisy and viciousness of self-righteous,
lost religionists! Little needs to be said about these men. They were lost,
religious zealots. They were the religious leaders of the day. They spent
their lives in religion. They did all that they did in the name of God. But
they were lost. And you can mark this down, as a general rule, the most
vicious people in this world are lost religionists. Here are Òmen of the
cloth,Ó as they say, consulting on the business of trumping up an excuse for
murdering the Son of God because they despised his doctrine; and they did it
in the name of God! Weak Brethren GodÕs people in this world are sinners still. And we all,
at different times and in different ways, behave in such a way that we make
manifest what weak, sinful creatures we are. Such shameful weakness we see in
the response of our LordÕs faithful disciples to the humble devotion of
another, as she bows before and worships the Lord Jesus.
ÒNow when
Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper, There came unto him a
woman having an alabaster box of very precious ointment, and poured it on his
head, as he sat at meat. But when his disciples saw it, they had indignation, saying, To
what purpose is
this waste? For this ointment might have been sold for much, and given to the
poorÓ (vv. 6-8). Remember, these were our LordÕs disciples: loving John, bold Peter,
and faithful James. They, along with the rest, were indignant at this dear
women; but they were led astray by the actions of one wicked man, whom they
mistakenly respected. When Judas spoke against this woman, so did the others
(John 12:4-5). Judas was probably the most prominent and highly respected man
in the church at this time. His word and opinions carried weight. Observing the bad behavior of these saints, as it is recorded here,
we should learn two things and lay them to heart. First, we should never harshly and rashly condemn one
another when our weaknesses are manifest. Frequently, genuine believers are
led into evil actions by the influence of others, actions which are contrary
to their character. I do not excuse the evil done by these disciples. It was
a horrible thing that they did to this woman. But their actions did not
reflect their true character. Second,
self-denying,
self-sacrificing acts of devotion and commitment to Christ are seldom
understood by others, not even by other believers. Can you imagine how
shocked this woman was when she heard the response of her brethren to what
she had done? She only intended to honor her Lord. She wanted to show, in
some public way, how much she loved him and how thankful she was for his
goodness and grace to her. The sad fact is, if you are committed to Christ,
if you are inclined to do some unusual thing for his honor and the interest
of his kingdom, because of your love for and gratitude to him, you need not
expect the approval of others. Others will always consider that which is done
for Christ a waste. Honored of Christ Others rarely recognize and honor that which is
done for Christ, that which is truly done for Christ. But God our Savior
declares, ÒThem that honour me I will honourÓ (1 Sam. 2:30). And he honored
this woman who honored him. ÒWhen Jesus
understood it,
he said unto them, Why trouble ye the woman? for she hath wrought a good work
upon me. For ye have the poor always with you; but me ye have not always. For
in that she hath poured this ointment on my body, she did it for my burial. Verily I say unto
you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, there shall also this, that this woman
hath done, be told for a memorial of herÓ (vv. 10-13). In these verses our Lord Jesus
shows us what high regard he has for anything that is done for him. Others
found fault with what she had done; but the Master quickly rebuked the
fault-finders and honored the woman. Those who honor him, he will honor. Not
only did he approve of her sacrifice and accept it, he gave her the highest
honor imaginable in this world for what she had done. He called her work a
good work (v. 10). She had done what she could, what she was able to do and
had opportunity to do for him. And our Savior established her work as a
memorial to be proclaimed throughout the world (v. 13). Since Christ was pleased with what
she had done, I am sure this dear soul was indifferent to the opinions of others
about what she had done for her Lord. Their opinions mattered nothing. Her
faith, love, and devotion to Christ gave her courage and boldness in the face
of opposition. If I am conscious that I am doing
something as unto the Lord, for the glory of Christ, in the interests of his
kingdom, and for the furtherance of the gospel, the opinions of men, either
their approval or their disapproval, are of no consequence to me. As David
said to his envious, cowardly brothers, we ought to say to those who would oppose
our work for our Master. — ÒIs there not a cause?Ó If we would serve Christ, we
simply must not allow the opinions of men to rule, or even influence our
actions (John 2:5; Gal. 1:16). This
woman is held before us as a noble example to follow. Our Lord holds her up
as an example of what we should be and do as his servants in this world. Let
me show you several things about what this dear lady did, by which her work
shows itself to be indeed a good work done for Christ. 1. It was a work done
for the glory of Christ alone. — She was wrapped up in, absorbed with,
and consumed by the Lord Jesus Christ. She cherished him. This perfume was
meant for no one but him. She had no regard for herself, the consequences of
her actions, what she might lose, or what she might gain. She wanted nothing
but to honor Christ. 2. This was an act of
pure love. — This is exactly what LukeÕs narrative of this event
teaches us (Luke 7:36-52). The one thing that motivated this woman to do what
she did was love for Christ (1 John 4:19; 2 Cor. 5:14). When our hearts and
lives are ruled by love for Christ, they are well ruled. 3. This was a work
requiring considerable cost, self-denial, and sacrifice. — If you read
the accounts of Mark and John, you will find that this ointment was worth
nearly a yearÕs wages (300 pence - Compare Matt. 20:9-13). 4. This great sacrifice
was the result of thoughtful, deliberate preparation. — This was
something she had been planning for some time. She had been saving this rich,
costly perfume specifically to use it for ChristÕs honor at the appropriate
opportunity (John 12:2). 5. This womanÕs
sacrifice was made silently. — She said nothing; she drew as little
attention to herself as she possibly could. She said nothing about what she
would like to do, what she planned to do, what she was doing, or what she had
done. She just did what she could. 6. This was the response
of a believing heart to the sacrifice of her Lord. — This woman appears
to have been the only one of the LordÕs disciples who clearly understood at
the time how he must accomplish our redemption by his death as our
Substitute. 7. This was an act of
faith. — She anointed him for his burial, but she did so in
anticipation of his resurrection (Isa. 53:10-12). The primary object of
embalming was and is a belief in the resurrection of the dead. I
see in this incident a blessed foretaste of the honor that shall be given to
GodÕs elect on the Day of Judgment. In that great and glorious day, no honor
done to Christ shall be forgotten. The speeches of orators, the feats of
warriors, the deeds of the greatest politicians, the trophies of athletes,
the poetry and literature and art produced by men, all shall be forgotten;
but this work, and the least work of any and every believing man and woman, even
the giving of a cup of cold water in Christ name shall be remembered and
honored before men by God himself! So do what we can for our Redeemer and his
honor as he gives us opportunity (1 Cor. 6:19-20; 10:31; Rom. 12:1-2; 1 Cor.
15:58). |
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