Giving Everything to Jesus

INTRO

The last few lessons have been tense, ramping up with a macro look at the information about the end times. Today, we’ll use a micro look at the human side of these events. Matthew 26 begins with Jesus telling His disciples that there will be a plot to kill Him (vv. 1-5).

TEACHING

Matthew 26:6-9: Bethany was a small village on the Mount of Olives, where the house of Simon was, who was possibly the father of Lazarus, Mary, and Martha. Simon suffered from a “serious skin disease,” probably leprosy. The only cure for leprosy was the touch of God. This is the crazy backdrop of the anointing that’s going to take place, in preparation for the King (Mark 14:3-9; John 12:1-8). While there, a woman (based on other accounts it was Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus) came with a jar of expensive oil. According to John 12:3, Mary had “a pound of fragrant oil–pure and expensive nard.” The perfume was worth 300 denarii (John 12:5). Biblical scholars suggest that 300 denarii was what most workers earned in a year. Mary poured it over Jesus’ head and feet, while the disciples questioned her sacrifice.

When we think of Mary, we can use the phrase “radical brokenness.” Wiersbe points out that Mary is mentioned three times in Scripture, always at the feet of Jesus: (1) Mary sat at His feet and listened to Him teach––Luke 10:38-39; (2) after the death of her brother, she sat at His feet and grieved (John 11:28-32); (3) and she worshipped at His feet as she anointed Him with perfume (John 12:3).¹People who are broken are attracted to truth––to the feet of Jesus. Mary anointed Jesus’ head and His feet and wiped His feet with her hair (John 12:3). She gave up all of her finances and then gave up “her glory” before the King (1 Corinthians 11:13). She gave everything she had in preparing the King.

Our question should always be, “What can I do to prepare for the King?” The disciples, however, were the complete opposite and became indignant at Mary’s actions. In John 12:4-5, Judas is identified as the one with the most issues about the cost of the perfume. Why did Judas care? He was in charge of the finances, and possibly he thought Jesus would be the political king and he would rise in power with Him.

In John 17:12, Jesus called Judas the “son of destruction,” which is also the “son of waste.” Judas had every opportunity to turn his life around, but instead, he opened it up to Satan (John 13:2). Judas spent three years as a disciple and was given power in the process, but somewhere along the way, he ignored the truth. When he began to express his emotions and his concerns, he took them to the religious authorities, not to Jesus. He gave up nothing but accepted 30 pieces of silver instead. “After Judas ate the piece of bread, Satan entered him. Therefore, Jesus told him, ‘What you’re doing, do quickly’” (John 13:27). This doesn’t mean that Judas was the martyr, because he could have said no. The prophecies continued to point to someone close to the Messiah who would betray Him (Psalm 41:9; 55:12-14). Judas had the choice to turn his brokenness to the Lord, and instead, he turned to Satan.

Matthew 26:10-13: Jesus responded that Mary had done a noble thing for Him in preparing Him for burial. By giving up a year’s worth of wages, and by letting her hair down to use on Jesus’ feet, Mary truly prepared the way for the King. Mark 14:3b has this description: “A woman came with an alabaster jar of pure and expensive fragrant oil of nard. She broke the jar and poured it on His head.” That’s the picture of how we should all come to the Lord––not with timidity, but with boldness, ready to give up everything to Jesus.

Once the bottle was broken, the bottle could not be recorked or reused. Whether Mary knew it or not, what she did is a picture from the Old Testament. Second Kings 9:6 says: “Then take the flask of oil, pour it on his head, and say, ‘This is what the Lord God of Israel says: “I anoint you king over Israel.”’ The young prophet poured the oil on the king’s head. Because of the oil on his head, Jehu was prepared in the way of a king. Wiersbe said that since Mary had listened to Jesus’ teaching, she knew He would soon die, and that “His body would not need the traditional care given to the dead because His body would not see corruption (Psalm 16:10; Acts 2:22-28).”²

There are two kinds of people––the Mary's and the Judases. Based on Matthew 25, Mary is a sheep and Judas is a goat. Mary was taking care of Him, which is a foreshadowing of taking care of the brethren. Judas took care of himself. Jesus said that everyone who heard about His death would also hear about how Mary gave up everything to prepare Jesus for His death (v. 13). Can you imagine if she had been worried about what others thought of her actions?

Matthew 26:14-16: Judas went to the chief priests and asked what they would give him if he turned over Jesus to them. They paid him 30 pieces of silver, and he began to look for an opportunity to betray Jesus. The account of Judas’ betrayal is in the rest of Matthew 26:47-51. Mary kissed the King in worship; Judas kissed the King in betrayal. Mary, in her brokenness prepared the way; Judas, in his pride prepared the way.

CLOSING

Douglas Sean O’Donnell wrote: “Mary loved Jesus above all . . . Mary also loved Jesus with costly love . . . She loved Jesus for who He said He was.”³My prayer is this: Don’t try to work your way out of what God is asking you to do. If you do that, you’re going the way of Judas.