How Much is Jesus Worth to You? - Matthew 26:1-13

©Copyright January 14, 2018 by Rev. Bruce Goettsche

Eddie was the slickest of the slick lawyers. He was 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.

Eddie lacked nothing in life yet he offered to squeal on Al Capone. Why? Because of his son.

Eddie had spent his life with the mob. He wanted more for his son. He wanted his son to have a name he could be proud of. To do that, he had to clear his own name. He took a risk so his son could have a clean slate. He never got to see his dream come true. When the mob learned what he had done two shotgun blasts silenced him forever.

Was it worth it. Eddie would tell you that it was. His son Butch received an appointment to Annapolis. He was a World War II Navy pilot. Butch downed five bombers in the pacific night and saved the lives of hundreds of crewman on the carrier Lexington. As a result, Butch received the Congressional medal of honor. The family name had been cleared.

Every time you fly into Chicago and land at O’Hare International Airport it is a reminder of the son of Eddie O’Hare. A man who loved his son extravagantly.[1]

This morning we are going to look at another extravagant act of love. We turn our attention to Matthew 26 and the story of Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus. But first we look at what was going on behind the scenes.

When Jesus had finished saying all these things, he said to his disciples, 2“As you know, Passover begins in two days, and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.”

3At that same time the leading priests and elders were meeting at the residence of Caiaphas, the high priest, 4plotting how to capture Jesus secretly and kill him. 5“But not during the Passover celebration,” they agreed, “or the people may riot.”

Jesus said the Passover was in 2 days which makes this most likely the Tuesday of the last week of Jesus’ life (known as Holy Week). Jesus said he would be crucified at that time. Jesus knew exactly what was going to happen, and when. This reminds us first, of the sovereignty of God. God orchestrated the timing perfectly to coincide with Passover which celebrated the lambs that were killed to spare the people. The symbolism should not be missed: THE Lamb of God would give His life to save us. It is likely that the whole Passover event was designed by God to point people to THE Lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world forever.

Second, note also that Jesus went willingly to be crucified. Though what happened to Him was certainly a miscarriage of justice, Jesus was not someone who got caught up in a bad situation. He was not caught unaware. He knew exactly what was happening and walked right into it. Why? Because He had come to earth to give His life as a sacrifice for our sin. Eddie O’Hare had absolutely nothing on Jesus when it came to love.

In verse 3, if this was a movie, the scene would change to a room in the home of the High Priest, a guy by the name of Caiaphas. Understand that the celebration of Passover for the Jews was like celebrating Christmas for us. All around, people were in a festive and good mood. Yet, in this secluded room this group of Jewish Religious leaders were plotting to kill Jesus. They had had enough of this guy. He was winning the people over and that would not be tolerated. This meeting shows the depth even religious people will go to protect and promote their own position of power and influence.

There is some ambiguity about what their stipulation is. Did they decide they should not do this during Passover because of the crowds of people (in which case they were overruled by God’s plan)? Or, were they saying they did not want to make a public scene of arresting people during the celebration. (explaining why they arrested Him at night so they could have his “trial” while most of the people were asleep and knew nothing about what happened.)

THE ACT OF MARY TO PREPARE JESUS TO DIE

Now let’s turn to Mary. To fully understand what was going on you have to put the account in Matthew together with the account in the gospel of John12:2-8 where we learn some additional details. Here is what Matthew tells us,

6Meanwhile, Jesus was in Bethany at the home of Simon, a man who had previously had leprosy. 7While he was eating, a woman came in with a beautiful alabaster jar of expensive perfume and poured it over his head.

John fills in some of the details,

Six days before the Passover celebration began, Jesus arrived in Bethany, the home of Lazarus—the man he had raised from the dead. 2A dinner was prepared in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, and Lazarus was among those who ate with him. 3Then Mary took a twelve-ounce jar of expensive perfume made from essence of nard, and she anointed Jesus’ feet with it, wiping his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance.

Some people are concerned because in verse 2 Jesus said it was 2 days until Passover. In John, we read this anointed was six days before Passover. Is this a contradiction which shows the Bible is not reliable? No, this story is put here as a contrast. We are going back and forth between those who loved Jesus and those who hated Him. The religious leaders wanted to get rid of Jesus at any cost. Judas was willing to betray Him for 30 pieces of silver. And right in the middle we have this picture of Mary’s extravagant love. This is not a contradiction . . . it is a great way to tell the story of the different ways of responding to Jesus. This story of Mary is also in the perfect spot to illustrate the parables Jesus told us in chapter 25.

John added some other important details. He reminds us that Bethany was the home of Lazarus, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. We are told Martha served and that reminds us of an earlier story when Martha was laboring away in the kitchen while Mary sat and listened to the teaching of Jesus. Martha was upset Mary wasn’t helping and Jesus told her Mary made the better choice.

Now we see them again. Martha is in her favorite place: helping in Simon’s kitchen. Jesus was eating and Mary came up from behind. She broke her flask with 12 ounces of perfume in it. Perfume in flasks like this were often heirlooms. We learn later that it’s value was worth a year’s wages. It is likely the most valuable item Mary owned. Mary took the most precious thing she had and used it to honor Jesus.

Jesus said Mary was anointing Him for His burial. I wonder, did Mary know that is what she was doing? Since she was always paying attention when He was teaching, did she believe Him when He said He would be crucified during Passover? When others seemed to find it hard to hear what Jesus was saying, did Mary “get it?” Or, was Mary simply showing Jesus extravagant love, grateful for His raising of her brother from the dead?

Either way it is possible that the smell of that perfume was still lingering as he was arrested and crucified. Think about how this scent of love would have encouraged Him.

AN ANGRY RESPONSE

Jesus was honored but not everyone was happy about it.

8The disciples were indignant when they saw this. “What a waste!” they said. 9“It could have been sold for a high price and the money given to the poor.”

10But Jesus, aware of this, replied, “Why criticize this woman for doing such a good thing to me? 11You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me. 12She has poured this perfume on me to prepare my body for burial. 13I tell you the truth, wherever the Good News is preached throughout the world, this woman’s deed will be remembered and discussed.

John tells us it was Judas who raised the objection. He made it sound noble. He said in essence, “think of how many people we could have helped if we had sold that perfume instead of wasting it in this frivolous way.” The gospels however tell us Judas used to skim some out of the treasury so it is likely he was more concerned about what HE could do with that money!

People are troubled by what Jesus said, “You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.” Some conclude that Jesus is saying, “We will never solve the problem of poverty, so don’t waste your time and money trying to help people.” I hope you know from your understanding of Jesus and our study of God’s Word that this is NOT what Jesus is saying. Just last week we read Jesus’ teaching that when we help even the “least of these” (we help other people in need) Jesus feels we are actually showing love to Him.

Commentator Daniel Doriani writes

Jesus was virtually quoting a law of Moses: “There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land” (Deut. 15:11

He continues . . .

Moses’ law promoted three principles:

If Israel was faithful, there would be no poor in the land (Deut. 15:4). Sin can cause poverty in several ways. Some become poor due to their own sin, such as drug or alcohol abuse, gambling, or failure to come to work. Others are poor because they are connected to people who sin—perhaps their spouse gambled or used drugs. Others are poor because they cannot find work. Some social structures also tend to create poverty. In general, therefore, faithfulness reduces poverty.

If we do see a brother who is poor, the Lord says “do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward your poor brother” (Deut. 15:7). Generosity reduces poverty.

The law does not recommend handouts as the first option. Moses recommends forgivable loans first. Next, the law urges that the poor be given work to do. For example, the law says, “When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Leave them for the poor” (Lev. 23:22).[i]

We are supposed to be giving people, living out our faith in practical ways that help other people. What Mary did was an extravagant act of worship. There is a balance here: we can honor God in extravagant acts when we have opportunity and we also honor Him with the simple acts of taking care of others.

APPLICATIONS

So what principles should we draw?

First, the Bible wants us to view all we have as a gift from God that should be used to honor Him. God does not want us to be indulgent or materialistic. The “more is better” mentality tends to make us materialistic (focusing too much on “stuff”) and it makes us selfish. Riches can become an idol that motivates us more than the Lord does.

This is a real battle for believers in America. We see ads everywhere. Targeted advertising has a way of putting things that interest us before us everywhere we go on the Internet. Amazon and other online stores make buying easy and caters to impulsiveness. It is easy to become materialistic. Some people have used this passage to justify extravagant indulgences.

The Bible urges us to be good stewards of what we have been given because everything we have is a gift from God. He entrusts resources to us to invest in building His kingdom.

Second He wants us to share what we have with those who have needs. In Acts 4 we read this description of the early church,

All the believers were united in heart and mind. And they felt that what they owned was not their own, so they shared everything they had. 33The apostles testified powerfully to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and God’s great blessing was upon them all. 34There were no needy people among them, because those who owned land or houses would sell them 35and bring the money to the apostles to give to those in need. (Acts 4:32–35).

This is different from communes or socialistic or communist governments that are designed for no one to own property and where everything is, in a sense, thrown into one big pot and then distributed to the masses. In the early church, everyone still retained ownership of what they had. The text tells us that they FELT it was not their own and willingly shared what they had. When there was a need they would sometimes sell, or give up, some of what they had to meet various needs. This was a voluntary act!

The Lord wants us to care for the poor and needy. He wants us to meet needs that others have. However, we don’t always meet those needs by giving people money. Sometimes they need a friend, or a job, or have some other need. Some people simply do not manage money well. They get caught up in the desire to have what everyone else has even though they cannot afford it. The Our job is to meet NEEDS not cater to a person’s indulgences.

When talking to the Pharisees about being overly concerned with externals Jesus said,

So clean the inside by giving gifts to the poor, and you will be clean all over. (Luke 11:41)

Jesus says the way to show your faithfulness is to be generous with those in need.

This applies even to people around the world. Every time we have a concert we hear about the chance to support children in other countries who have nothing. We may never eliminate the problem but if all of God’s people sought to reach out practically and compassionately we could make things a lot better than they are right now.

He wants us to Express Love to God with our Resources. This is what Mary was doing. There are times when we should honor the Lord in an extravagant way.

I love the story of R.G. LeTourneau. He was a man who was diligent about giving to the Lord. He gave God 10% even when he had little. As he became more successful (and he became VERY successful) he increased the amount he gave until he was giving 90% of his income and living on 10%! He started Le Tourneau University, supported his church and lots of missions. Imagine what would happen if more of us had the attitude of LeTourneau.

Am I saying we should not enjoy our money? I don’t think so. I think it is fitting for us to enjoy the fruit of our labor. I do not think people are bad if they take a nice vacation to drive a nice car. I do believe we would be wise to realize that one of the best ways to enjoy the fruit of our labor is to discover the joy of giving to others.

Does this mean we should not have nice houses of worship? I think that depends. If we are spending money to point to the majesty and glory of the Lord (think some of the great cathedrals), I think it may be OK. However, much of what we give to honor the Lord is really just a way to indulge ourselves. It may be tax deductible but God is not fooled. It is always good to ask “Who is this for?” We want to represent God well, so we should pursue excellence. However, excellence and indulgence are not the same thing.

Mary gave an extravagant gift to show her love to the Savior. When was the last time you did something extravagant to honor the Lord? You may give a car to someone who needs one. Give a place to stay to someone who is need. Perhaps you can pay to meet a medical need someone has. You may be able to give a big donation, or land, or stocks to the church to build an addition, make a major repair, or hire additional staff. Look around and pay attention. There are many needs around us. Be creative. Have fun doing something extravagant. By definition, we cannot do this all the time . . . but have you ever done so? If you haven’t, then you are missing out on great joy.

The Lord wants us to honor Him with our time AND our resources. So, we come back to the main question: “How much IS Jesus worth to you?” I would hope we would love and honor Him as much as Eddie O’Hare loved his son.

[1] Max Lucado, And the Angels Were Silent (Portland, OR: Multnomah, 1992), 51–52.

[i] Daniel M. Doriani, Matthew & 2, ed. Richard D. Phillips, Philip Graham Ryken, and Daniel M. Doriani, vol. 2, Reformed Expository Commentary (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2008), 427–428.