Matthew 26:1-16

I love biographies. A good biography is both inspirational, it makes you want to do more for the Lord, it makes you want to pray more, it makes you want to serve the Lord more.

But there's another element, isn't there, in a good biography, you wonder how on earth did they get it all done?

And when it comes to people who are heroes, I think there's a really fine line between inspiration and encouragement.

People can be deeply inspiring, but they can also leave us mere mortals feeling a little discouraged, can't they?

Why aren't we more like them?

And what I often feel about heroes is often how I feel when I read about this woman in Matthew 26.

She is a woman who pays a terribly high price to honour Jesus.

She too is devoted to Jesus in an outstanding, super-Christian kind of way.

She too is prepared to make huge sacrifices in order to serve Jesus.

And I wonder how you react to her.

Does she inspire you?

Or does she just leave you feeling discouraged at the weakness of your own faith and your love for Christ?

And that's what I want us to explore this morning.

Now, before we get to the woman,

first we hear Jesus reminding us that he is going to die.

Firstly, that he is going to pay the price.

So look with me at Matthew 26 and verse 1.

Jesus is bringing his public teaching in Matthew's gospel to a close.

And now the attention moves to preparing his disciples for what is about to take place.

And he says to them,

Jesus has predicted his death, hasn't he, on several occasions.

But now he adds a crucial detail.

He tells them when.

He tells them when he will be handed over to be crucified during the Passover.

The Passover, we know, was that Jewish festival,

which recalled the exodus from Egypt.

That great moment when God brought his people out of Egypt.

When he sent that plague on the firstborn son of the Egyptians,

but he literally passed over the firstborn son of the Israelites.

And those Israelite houses were distinguished, weren't they,

by the blood of the lamb on the door.

And so there was this annual reminder of God's kindness and deliverance,

secured by the blood of the lamb.

And here you find Jesus telling his disciples that it's during that time,

the time of the Passover,

that he will give his life, he will pay the price.

He's beginning to suggest to them, isn't he,

that he is the new Passover lamb.

He is the new way to be safe in the face of death.

His blood will protect them.

Jesus dropped the hint, doesn't he?

In a couple of days, during that first Lord's Supper,

he'll explain it further.

But at this point, Matthew doesn't stop to explain it.

He just simply tells us what Jesus is predicting.

And what Jesus is predicting is exactly what the Jewish leaders are plotting.

It's striking, isn't it?

In verse 3, he uses the word then.

If this was a film,

I think we'd have a scene where Jesus tells his disciples

he's about to be crucified,

and then we'd cut straight to the palace of the high priest.

And the camera would zoom in on this conversation taking place.

And we'd hear them planning and plotting Jesus' arrest and crucifixion.

It's a stunning reminder to you and I, I think,

that Jesus is not going to be caught by surprise.

What is about to happen is about to happen

because God has planned it,

and Jesus foreknows it.

The chief priests and the elders,

they're in their headquarters.

They no doubt think that they are in the process

of taking control of the situation.

But they're not, are they?

Jesus is in control of it.

And what they are planning is exactly what Jesus has predicted.

And ironically, I think Matthew tells us they are in the palace.

They're behaving as if they've got some kind of sovereignty.

But in reality, Jesus is sovereign here.

And we see this even in what they said.

Look at verses 4 and 5.

And they plotted together in order to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him.

But they said, not during the feast,

lest there should be an uproar among the people.

They wanted to avoid killing Jesus during the Passover

because they didn't want to stir up trouble

for themselves among Jesus' followers.

The population of Jerusalem,

it swelled enormously during the Passover festival.

So politics is always a little bit more risky around that time.

But of course, Jesus already told us, isn't it,

that he would be killed during the Passover time.

It was then he would be handed over.

And so it proved to be that Jewish leaders are not in control.

They can't even do what they propose to do.

The events that are about to unfold will unfold exactly as God wants

and exactly as Jesus predicts.

But having reminded us so explicitly of the price that Jesus is soon to pay,

Matthew then chooses to tell us of the price this nameless woman pays.

Look at verse 6.

Now when Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper,

a woman came up to him with an alabaster flask,

a very expensive ointment,

and she poured it on his head as he reclined at table.

It is nothing if not extravagant.

And Matthew tells us, doesn't he,

that it was very expensive.

Expert reckon it was some kind of heirloom,

an alabaster jar that had been handed down.

People say that it was the equivalent to a year's wages.

And so whichever way you look at it,

this wasn't some bottle of perfume that you pick up at the chemist.

It was an extremely generous gesture.

You notice that's how the disciples saw it.

They thought it was a waste.

And they take the moral high ground by pointing out

what could have been done with the money.

Look at verse 8.

And when the disciples saw it,

they were indignant, saying,

why this waste?

For this could have been sold for a large sum

and given to the poor.

They think the woman's actions are bizarre and unnecessary,

even frivolous.

And it's hard for you and I

not to sympathize with the disciples.

It's a pretty strange thing for this woman to do.

If someone spends a lot of money

buying a present for me,

I'd prefer if it was something that I could use,

wouldn't you?

And I reckon that is how the disciples felt

about this gift to Jesus.

It's not as if Jesus was any richer

walking away from this moment.

But nevertheless, the money has been spent, as it were.

And you can't help thinking,

they've made a good point, haven't they?

About how the poor may well have benefited

from the equivalent in cash.

But Jesus thinks they're missing the point.

They call it a waste.

He calls it beautiful.

Verse 10.

But Jesus, aware of this,

aware of what they were thinking,

said to them,

why do you trouble the woman?

For she has done a beautiful thing to me.

And verse 13.

Truly, I say to you,

wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world,

what she has done

will be told in memory of her.

Jesus is honoured

by the actions of this woman.

He's honoured by the extravagance of her action.

And it says something about how much she values Jesus.

What she thinks that Jesus is worth.

What he deserves.

It is not economically rational,

but it is something that transcends economics.

But I hasten to add,

it doesn't transcend reason.

This is a thoughtful and well-judged action,

even if it is extravagant.

And the woman believes in her heart

that Jesus' presence is a rare jewel.

And this moment of history,

and this moment of her life and his life,

honouring him,

is actually more important than giving to the poor.

And amazingly, Jesus agrees.

And that's why he says,

what she has done

will be told in her memory.

She has honoured him.

And now he says,

I will honour her.

She too will be honoured.

And indeed,

the fact that we are reading about her today,

as literally millions have done so throughout history,

is evidence Jesus was right.

And it's fascinating that Jesus honours her

in this way.

When you think of all the people

down throughout history,

all the people in the New Year's honours list

that you can't remember who they are,

all the great titles,

and all the great achievements,

and all the letters after their name,

and many of them have been completely forgotten.

And she is known.

This woman,

who in Matthew's account

doesn't even have a name,

she is remembered by every generation

who reads these words.

Known and remembered

for what she did to Jesus.

And that is why I think

she is nameless here.

Because what Jesus wants to honour

is not who she is,

but what she's done.

Because what she did

gives honour to Jesus.

It alerts us to Jesus' worth.

It tells us that Jesus

is someone

worth paying a very high price for indeed.

And that is why Jesus sees

her extravagant act of devotion

as a thing of beauty.

But Jesus sees, doesn't he,

an even deeper significance

in her actions.

Possibly a significance

that the woman

didn't even grasp herself.

Look at verse 12.

In pouring this ointment on my body,

she has done it

to prepare me for burial.

Jesus sees her act of anointing

as a special kind of anointing,

the kind of anointing

that dead bodies were given.

The pouring out of the perfume

was like Jesus being embalmed.

And Jesus sees this

beautiful moment

as a step

in his preparation

for that moment

to which his whole life

has been heading.

The moment when he would

pay the price,

when he would lay down his life

for his people.

And in a way,

she couldn't have understood that

at this point.

that even this woman

would be saved

by the death

that her anointing

prepared him for.

The last three verses

of our passage,

Matthew brings

into the foreground

this issue

that has been in the shadows

for this whole section.

He tells us,

matter of factly,

that Judas was one of

Jesus' 12 disciples.

And Judas goes

to the Jewish leaders

and he offers

to hand Jesus

over to them.

And the question

that he asks

in verse 15

gets to the heart

of the point

of this section.

Do you see what he asks?

What will you give me

if I deliver

him over to you?

What is Jesus worth

to you?

What is his cost?

He asks.

And their answer,

if you look at it,

is 30 silver coins.

So what a slave

was worth

in the Old Testament

is what shepherds

were paid.

Either way,

it's not a lot of money.

But Judas agrees

with the sum.

And so Judas

plays the part

of the economic realist.

Except that his act

is not really

rational at all.

Because in agreeing

with the sum,

he agrees

with the chief priests.

What was Jesus worth?

Not very much.

And of course,

this is what

the disciples

were struggling with

in verse 8,

weren't they?

They were not convinced

that Jesus was worth

what the women did.

The whole section

is about people

who undervalue Jesus.

The disciples

who thought

that the woman's

beautiful extravagance

was a waste.

Judas,

who would rather

profit

from Jesus' death

than prevent it.

And the Jewish leaders

who were

not only willing,

who were only willing

to part with

some loose change

to get what they wanted

all along.

In their own way,

all these characters

undervalue

Jesus.

And so together,

they provide the backdrop,

don't they?

The contrast

to this nameless woman.

That she alone,

of all the key players

in the story,

values Jesus

for what he's really worth.

She alone

sees Jesus

for who he truly is.

She alone

seems eager

that Jesus

gets what he deserves.

She is extravagant

while all the others

around her

are stingy

or worse.

And worst of all

is Judas.

He was one of the twelve,

one of Jesus'

closest friends,

those he confided in.

And yet,

he decides

that following

a so-called king

who was only

going to surrender

his life,

well,

it wasn't worth it.

Thirty pieces

of silver

would be worth

more than that.

And in verse two,

do you just notice

Jesus predicted

the words?

He says,

he would be handed

over to be crucified.

And at that point,

we didn't know

who by,

but by the time

we come to verse 16,

we make the discovery,

don't we,

that Jesus

will be handed

over,

will betray him.

You notice,

Matthew,

the ESV

doesn't bring this out,

but the words

should be there again

that sought

to hand him

over.

It turns out

that Judas

is the handover man.

And so,

the chain of events

has been started

that will lead

to Jesus' death,

the fulfillment

of his prediction.

And we see

something else

that these three

short sections

have in common.

Not only is Jesus

worth being debated,

but Jesus' death

is on view

at every point.

So,

verse four,

the Jewish leaders

are plotting

Jesus' death.

And then you have

the woman

with the alabaster jar

who is preparing

Jesus for death.

And then we see

Judas receiving money

to bring about

Jesus' death.

each in their own way.

These people

are participating.

But only one

had any hint

that Jesus' death

was part of what

Jesus made

Jesus worthy.

And only one

would benefit

from Jesus' death

and one would be

enriched far more

generously than she

had been generous

to him.

And it really is

the difference

between this nameless

woman and everyone

else in the story

that I think is at the

heart of this section

of Matthew.

Surrounded by people

who are participating

in killing Jesus,

this woman lovingly

prepares his body

for what he says

he must undergo.

And surrounded by people

who undervalue Jesus,

she sees his true worth

and she treats him

accordingly.

And so it is her action

that shines like a floodlight

against the dark backdrop

that these other

characters provide.

But as I said

at the start

of this sermon,

I am in danger

of finding this woman's

act more discouraging

than inspiring.

I'm left wondering

to myself,

what would I have done

if I'd have been

at that dinner party?

I'm left feeling

it's pretty unlikely

I would have done

what the woman did.

I'm left feeling

that her devotion

is hard to match.

Maybe my faith

is weak by comparison.

My love for Christ

is paltry compared

to hers.

And though I feel

in my heart

I should be inspired

by her,

in actual fact,

I can walk away

from the sermon

feeling deflated

and discouraged.

But what I've come to see

as I've studied

this passage this week

is if I walk away

like that,

I've completely

missed the whole point.

Because Matthew

doesn't want me

to be discouraged

by this woman

and nor does he want

me to be inspired

by this woman.

He wants me,

he wants you

to see Jesus.

He wants you

and me to see

what she saw.

That is the secret.

That's what makes

this woman willing

to honour Jesus

so extravagantly.

What makes this woman

so willing

to pay such a high price

to serve Jesus?

She sees

what Jesus

is worth

and because she

sees Jesus

clearly,

what she does

is the most natural

thing to her

in the world.

And what I want

to impress upon you

today

is that it is

a massive mistake

to see something

like this

and see something

like this woman

does

and marvel

at her faith.

It's a mistake

because it falsely

assumes that what

makes this woman

different to me

and you

is that she has

more faith.

stronger faith

or something

like that

and that's the

very thing

that creates

discouragement

but in fact

if there is

a difference

between me

and her

it's simply

that she sees

Jesus more

clearly than I do.

That she has

seen Jesus

more clearly

than I do

and that is

the mistake

I think I make

with biographies

and heroes

of the faith

I think that

it's the amount

of faith they

had or the

strength of

their love

for Jesus

but in actual

fact

their lives

are simply

a product

of the fact

that they

have seen

Jesus

more clearly

and they

know deep

in their

soul

what Jesus

is worth

and that is

the way

with everyone

who pays a

great price

to serve

Jesus

and honour

him

extravagantly

there are

no

super

Christians

but there

is a

super

Christ

and there

are Christians

who see

that

who see

Jesus

for all

he's worth

and there

are Christians

whose vision

of Jesus

is blurred

and they

are therefore

pretty stingy

or worse

and what

would it

take

I wonder

for you

and I

to give

a year's

salary

to the

work of

the kingdom

of God

what would

it take

for you

and I

to surrender

a life

of comfort

and to

sacrifice

greatly

for Christ

church

what would

it take

for you

and I

to hand

over

our

biggest

fears

to Jesus

and to

go wherever

he wanted

and to

speak

in the way

that he

wants us

to

what would

it take

this

nameless

woman

would tell

us one

thing

this

morning

she

would

tell

us

to see

Jesus

to know

who he

is

to know

him as

the king

who died

who is

worthy

and when

you know

his true

worth

deep in

your soul

there'll

be nothing

you'd rather

hang on to

than him

and there'll

be nothing

at all

to fear

in surrendering

yourself

to him

come to think

of it

what would

it take

to just

give a

tenth of

your salary

to the

work of

the church

or simply

to pray

more

what would

it take

for us

to repent

of those

sins

that we

constantly

battle

with

what would

it take

for you

and I

to speak

more

enthusiastically

about Jesus

to family

and friends

what would

it take

for us

to love

more

graciously

those we

find it

really

difficult

to love

love

and this

nameless

woman

would say

the same

thing to us

this morning

see

Jesus

you see

this passage

isn't really

about the

woman

it's about

the man

whose head

she covers

with perfume

she is

nameless

he is not

and at the

end of the

day we

don't need

to know

her name

but we

do need

to know

what compels

her to act

in the way

that she

did

and what

this passage

keeps thrusting

before us

is what

is Jesus

worth

and the

answer

is that

Jesus

is worthy

of what

this woman

did for him

and much

much more

Jesus name

is a name

that we

do know

because at

the end

of the

day

we do

need to

know him

and the

more we

know him

the more

we are

more likely

we are

to see

that what

the world

regards

as a

total waste

being as

a Christian

living as

a Christian

Christian

priorities

even giving

of ourselves

to kingdom

ministry

the world

sees that

those things

are a waste

but actually

they are

beautiful

in the

sight of

God

more to

the point

the more

that we

know him

the more

likely we

are to

see

that what

we sometimes

regard as a

waste

is beautiful

to him

and I

want to

bring you

this message

today

because as

you seek

to share

the gospel

with those

around you

you and I

need to

remember that

what people

don't need

them need

us to tell

them is

kind of how

much faith

they ought

to have

they don't

really need

us to tell

them how

empty their

lives are

if they're not

Christians

they don't

primarily need

me to tell

them about

a Christian

worldview or

about a

Christian

ethical

standpoint

they don't

even need

I think a

kind of

basic set of

Christian

propositions

that we

want them

to believe

in

but what

they

primarily

need

and what

in fact

they

desperately

desperately

need you

to do

is to

introduce

them to

Jesus

and they

need you

to introduce

them to

Jesus

with all

the passion

and conviction

and earnestness

of those

who know

Jesus

well

and can

know about

how much

he is

worth

and so

you don't

need me

to primarily

tell you

how important

evangelism

is or

what method

you ought

to use

or how

to answer

all the

difficult

questions

that people

ask you

of course

those things

are important

but if we

get trained

in those

things without

pointing people

to Jesus

actually what

we produce

is more

discouragement

than inspiration

and what

you need

more than

anything else

is to

see Jesus

clearly

and to be

absolutely

gripped by

a compelling

sense of

what he is

worth

and that is

what I

most need

and what I

most need

is not

more time

not more

resources

not more

generous

donors

not more

ministry

partners

I need

all those

things

but what

will really

sustain me

for the

tiring

and responsible

work of

Christian service

what do

we need

more than

anything

you need

to see

Jesus

you need

to see

him for

what he's

worth

and at

the end

of the

day

I have

found

that the

only thing

that sustains

Christians

through trials

and temptations

and exhaustion

and exhilaration

of living

as a Christian

is a

worshipful

heart

and there's

only one

thing that

creates a

proper

worshipful

heart

and that

is

knowing

Jesus

because

when we

know him

we'll

appreciate

him

and we'll

value him

and we'll

pay great

costs

and we'll

make great

sacrifices

because we

know that

he is

worthy

of it

and we'll

pay small

costs

and we'll

take small

steps of

Christian

progress

for the

same

reason

and we

will

appreciate

Jesus

even when

we're not

doing

anything

it will

simply be

the settled

conviction

of our

souls

that there

is no

higher

privilege

and there

is no

greater

blessing

than

knowing

Jesus

and it'll

be a joy

that we're

absolutely

gripped by

and the

most faithful

Christians

are those

who've been

gripped by

the joy

of knowing

Jesus

and that

is because

those who

know

Jesus

best

are those

who know

the price

that he

has paid

the most

expensive

and the

most generous

price that

ever could

be paid

and those

who know

Jesus

best

know that

this

nameless

woman's

extravagance

towards him

was just

a shadow

of his

extravagance

towards us

and in the

light of that

nothing we

could ever

do for him

will ever

be too

high a

price

those who

know Jesus

best know

that there

is no

cost so

great that

they wouldn't

gladly pay

it

for he

was

and he

is

and he

always will

be worthy

of it

and as I

thought about

this story

this week

I think

it's become

a favourite

of mine

not because

this woman

inspires me

but because

this act

reminds me

of how

worthy

my Lord

is

and this

woman

reminds me

that every

sacrifice

that you

have made

for Christ

is utterly

sensible

and this

woman encourages

me to keep

surrendering to

Jesus

and she

does that

not by

pointing to

herself

but by

pointing to

Christ

God

and that

is a

very

different

kind of

inspiration

and I

don't know

about you

but I

know what

this woman

says to

me

she says

that I

need to

pray this

simple

prayer

that Jesus

would open

my eyes

so that

I

would see

him

more

clearly

when

Jesus

was at

Bethany

in the

house

of

Simon

the

leper

a woman

came up

to him

with an

alabaster

flask

of very

expensive

ointment

and she

poured it

on his

head

as he

reclined

at

table

and when

the

disciples

saw it

they were

indignant

saying

why this

waste

for this

could have

been sold

for a

large sum

and given

to the

poor

but Jesus

aware of

this

said to

them

why do

you trouble

the woman

for she

has done

a beautiful

thing to

me