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6 And when Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, 7 a woman came to Him having an alabaster flask of very costly fragrant oil, and she poured it on His head as He sat at the table. 8 But when His disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, "Why this waste? 9 For this fragrant oil might have been sold for much and given to the poor." 10 But when Jesus was aware of it, He said to them, "Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a good work for Me. 11 For you have the poor with you always, but Me you do not have always. 12 For in pouring this fragrant oil on My body, she did it for My burial. 13 Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her." ~ Matthew 26:6-13
Today, we continue our study of Matthew 26 where the Apostle Matthew does what he has done frequently throughout his account of the gospel; he brings together certain events which occurred at various times during the Lord Jesus last week on this earth and deliberately place them side by side to make clear the gospel message and its veracity. Emphasized in today's passage is Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus, who six days before His crucifixion, poured costly perfume over His head. In so doing, Mary pictured the Paschal Lamb of the Old Testament which spoke annually to the people of their coming Messiah.
In v.6-7 of today's passage we read, "6 And when Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, 7 a woman came to Him having an alabaster flask of very costly fragrant oil, and she poured it on His head as He sat at the table."
Simon the ex-leper was one of the people whom the Lord Jesus had healed earlier. While gathered at his house, according to the other gospel writers, Mary the sister of Martha and Lazarus poured a hand-carved Indian bottle full of spikenard upon the head of the Lord Jesus. She did this just six days before He would be sacrificed on the cross. According to the other gospel accounts, she anointed the head of the Lord Jesus first, and the perfume ran down along his body until it covered his feet. This was a picture of the Old Testament sacrificial lamb who was anointed just six days before it was sacrificed at Passover. Mary spared no expense, a reflection of her deep devotion to the Lord Jesus. She did this great act of worship out of her gratitude for the raising of her brother from the dead.
In v.8-9 of today's passage we read, "8 But when His disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, 'Why this waste? 9 For this fragrant oil might have been sold for much and given to the poor.'"
Surprisingly, the disciples of the Lord Jesus did not recognize what was happening so they complained about Mary's actions. The perfume was worth about a year’s wages and the disciples reasoned it could be used to help the poor. They thought helping the poor was a more worthy cause than her worship of God. According to John's Gospel, it was Judas who raised this objection first, influencing the other disciples. Judas illustrates a very important principle here: "A man sees in his eyes that which is in his heart." There will always be people who place a monetary value on things. They know the price of everything but the value of nothing. They think money is the answer. It is not! Our worship of the Lord Jesus as God is the answer to all of our needs and desires. All of this underscores: what we love, we worship.
True worship is defined by the priority we place on who God is in our lives and where God is on our list of priorities. True worship is expressed through the choices we make, allowing God to define us. When we encounter Him, He marks us, and He makes us more hungry for Him. Worship is a heart transformed by God expressing itself regardless of the cost. Our hearts grow in our worship of God at the expense of our pain. Simon had lost all of his feeling due to his leprosy. Mary and Martha had lost their brother to death. Lazarus had gotten sick and died. This is what it looks like to have a personal relationship with God! Our pain fuels our worship of our Him!
In v.10-12 of today's passage we read, "10 But when Jesus was aware of it, He said to them, 'Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a good work for Me. 11 For you have the poor with you always, but Me you do not have always. 12 For in pouring this fragrant oil on My body, she did it for My burial.'"
In response to the complaint of the disciples, the Lord Jesus reminded them that in our most vulnerable of moments our hearts are potentially drawn closest to Him. Mary's worship, fueled by the resurrection of her brother enabled her to see the importance of this preparation for His burial. The recording of this act of worship was not shared by Matthew or Mark in its chronological order. Due to that, many miss the fact that it happened six days before the Lord Jesus was crucified. This anointing happened on the Saturday before the Friday when the Lord Jesus was crucified.
There is a clear connection between our pain and our worship of the Lord Jesus. The pain Mary had experienced at the death of her brother was unbearable. In His book, The Problem of Pain, C.S. Lewis penned one of his most famous lines ever. He wrote: "Pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pain: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world."
Locating and listening to God through the pain in our heart is a major step to getting to the place of real worship. Instinctively, we avoid pain. In order for us to really know reality, we must entertain our pain and let it do its work deep within us. Our pain is designed is to prepare our hearts to experience God. So often we run from our pain, not realizing that it aids us in our pursuit of our Heavenly Father. It is through our brokenness that we see God’s true strength as He meets us right where we are in the moment. God uses our pain in order to clearly write the lessons of His grace on our hearts and set our affections upon Him. This is where our worship is truly formed.
In v.13 of today's passage we read, "Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her."
And here, more than 2,000 years removed in time, thousands of miles removed in geography, we are still reminded of Mary's act of worship. Here we are in another culture, another language honoring this woman who sacrificed so greatly. True worship always is produced by a heart that has been to some degree transformed. This transformation of heart always includes a measure of pain. Perhaps, the greater the pain, the greater our worship. We miss out on such depth because we elude pain so often. Simon, the Leper lost his physical feeling due to his leprosy. Mary and Martha hurt so badly due to the loss of their brother to death. Lazarus got sick and died. Mary reminds us that worship isn’t a place to forget our pain, it’s a place to bring it. But even more, worship tunes our hearts to God in such a way that it helps us to know Him more deeply.
