Sunday, March 18, 2007

The Anointing at Bethany - Matthew 26:6-13

Title: The Anointing at Bethany
Date: March 18, 2007
Text: Matt 26:6-13, Mark 14:3-9, John 12:1-8

Introduction

- as Jesus travels to Jerusalem, he passes through Bethany, about 2 miles from his destination
- during this week before his crucifixion, he uses Bethany as a base and walks to and from Jerusalem each day
- Jesus had acquaintances who lived in Bethany- Lazarus, Martha, Mary and Simon the Leper
- Lazarus was the person Jesus had raised from the dead
- Simon the Leper was probably one of the lepers Jesus had healed
- today, Jesus is staying at Simon the Lepers home, it is evening and they are sitting down for dinner
- something happens at dinner, which shows us two important lessons

1. Mary anoints Jesus' head and feet

- Matthew 26:6-13
- they are at the house of Simon the Leper
- Martha was there, serving as usual, Lazarus was there at the table, and Mary his sister was there as well - John 12:1-3
- it seems that the Mary who anoints Jesus' feet was Lazarus' sister
- Matthew and Mark record that she anointed Jesus head
- John records that she anointed and wiped his feet with her hair
- when we examine the whole pictures she must have anointed both his head and his feet, or the ointment dripped onto his feet - each writer looks at the event from the way he saw it happen
- the ointment was very expensive, and was in an alabaster container, a translucent semi-precious stone
- the disciples valued it at 300 denarii, around a year's wages - some say that the spikenard came all the way from the Himalayas
- Mary brings what is probably her most precious possession, to anoint Jesus
- she breaks the container in the process, it will not be used again
- she does this in faith, having believed what Jesus was saying, that he would be taken and killed by the religious leaders in Jerusalem
- she has anointed him for burial, and he was very precious to her
- the disciples on the other hand seem to have only looked at the value of the ointment and considered it a waste, and Judas says why did we not give this to the poor

2. Stay with Jesus, keep your focus

- the disciples had been with Jesus for three years, and listened to his teachings
- they had been involved in ministry, daily, they baptized people and they were sent out to preach and to heal the sick
- Jesus had told that he was going up to Jerusalem to be killed
- they did not seem to comprehend what Jesus was doing, nor the significance of Mary's act
- the disciples were all involved in doing things, they had no attention for what Jesus was saying
- Mary, however, had an awareness of what was important
- on a previous occasion, Martha had complained that she was having to do all the kitchen work on her own, but Jesus commended Mary for recognizing what was important - listening to Jesus' words
- we too can be all involved in God's work and yet not quite get it
- I can be so involved with doing the work of a chaplain, that I miss out on the important thing that God is doing
- we can all be so involved in the physical, that we cannot see or hear the spiritual
- we can be close to the Word physically, involved in religious activity and works, and still be far, far away spiritually
- what is important is listening for what he is saying, keeping focussed on what God is doing and where he is active

3. Mary was grateful for the gift of Jesus

- Mary gave her most precious possession to prepare Jesus for burial
- she was listening to Jesus' words, and she heard the pain in Jesus' voice as he told he was going to be killed
- she had been close to Jesus for a long time, he had brought her brother back to life after he had succumbed to some illness
- she had learned from Jesus about the resurrection, she had learned about the good news of another kingdom that was coming, which would never pass away
- she believed Jesus' words
- and she was grateful
- her life had been empty, but now it had purpose
- she was single, just like her brother and sister
- but her life had a purpose and she was grateful for all Jesus had given her
- what about us?
- how grateful are we for all Jesus has done in our life?
- he has set us free and given us a new beginning, a fresh start
- he has given us a reason to live and a purpose
- do we live our life as a prayer of gratitude to him?
- Jesus commends Mary for her act of devotion
- but he rebukes the disciples for only looking at the physical aspects of ministry, Jesus himself needed ministering to at this awful time in his life

Summary

- there are two lessons for us in this story
- firstly that we should keep our focus on God and what he is doing, and not be so bogged down in things we are doing that we do not hear what he is saying to us
- secondly, we need to express our gratitude to the one who called us by name, forgave our past, and gave us a fresh start
- let's concentrate this week on deepening our relationship with God - let's set ourselves to each day consciously stop and listen to what he is doing and saying to us
- let's be thankful for all he has done for us, and show our gratitude
- Jesus gave us his all, he held nothing back
- we can do nothing in return, but offer him our most precious possession, by being a living sacrifice, dedicated to his use

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