Morning Service 27th Jan 2008
mat 26v6-13.
service given to Jesus, for Him alone.
Intro v6 : The passage is very straight forward.
6 While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of a man known
as Simon the Leper,
Jesus was in a persons home! - a place of refuge.
Note: the chapter starts 2 days before the Crucifixion, but in
v6 goes back in time to the night before the Triumphal Entry.
Matthew is writing thematically rather than chronologically.
(see John12)
Bethany was a place Jesus evidently liked!
It was the home of Mary, Martha and Lazarus.
It was the place from where he left to go back to heaven.
It was only 2 miles from Jerusalem.
It was also the place where John baptised and thus where Jesus was
baptised.
So here he was baptised for ministry, anointed for death and
ascended to glory!
Beth - means house / home.
With this setting in place a remarkable act of service takes place.
1) What was that service?
12 When she poured this perfume on my body, she did it to
prepare me for burial.
Preparing the Lord for his burial.
Commentators disagree about how much Mary actually understood about
her actions.
But with the time drawing closer and the constant foretelling of
Jesus maybe Mary was beginning to understand!
For us the thing to focus on is this “preparing”.
The word is used about John the Baptised, he prepared the way for
Jesus to come into his ministry.
Here Mary is preparing Jesus to go to his last Act in that ministry
- dieing for his people .
Application:
As believers today what is our role?
Simply to prepare the way for Jesus to do his work.
That is our aim, but how do we do it? What does this service of
preparing involve?
2) What did the service involve?
Sacrifice - very expensive perfume
7 a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very
expensive perfume, which she poured on his head as he was reclining
at the table.
The perfume was worth about a years wage! This was no cheap
Superdrugs own brand.
If we are not willing to sacrifice then we will be of no use in the
Kingdom of God.
Unwillingness to sacrifice shows that we have not grasped the gospel
at all!
Humility - serving in the face of public scandal & rebuke
8 When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. "Why
this waste?" they asked. Our service for the Lord might look extreme
to those looking on! And even to those who follow Jesus our actions
can sometimes seem strange!
Thus service takes great humility. We don’t mind what people say. We
don’t mind having nothing to show for our service - the whole jar of
perfume was used up!
Preparing the way for Jesus needs the John the Baptist motto “John
3:30 He must become greater; I must become less.”
Love - her humility & sacrifice were given happily because she
loved Jesus!
How do we know Mary loved Jesus? Because of the commendation Jesus
gives her.
Love is probably the most important aspect of our service. Unless we
really love Jesus we will not be able to serve!
Mary loved Jesus because Jesus had done so much for her and her
family.
For us to love more we need to see more, understand more of what
Jesus has done for us.
3) What did the Lord think of the service?
He accepted it as a “beautiful thing.”
Why was it such a beautiful thing?
The act in and of itself was relatively simple. What made it so
beautiful?
Because of who she done it for! She did it for Jesus. Cared not a
jot about anything else. She only had eyes for Jesus her Lord.
That is the heart of service.
Who are we doing it for?
For what others will think, for ourselves, for the impact /
impression etc.
Who do we serve?
Only as we serve Jesus do we do “beautiful things”.
Application: Serve Him.
Does not matter what we do, big or small - only matter who we are
doing it for!
Conclusion:
Finally the memory of her.
She will be remembered for ever as the one who did a beautiful thing
for Jesus!
Jesus is of course the One who makes this whole scene special.
The beautiful thing is only remembered because of Jesus.
People around the world have done all kinds of amazing things, but
they are forgotten.
The woman did a relatively simple thing, but because of who she did
it for, she is remembered.
Jesus is the One who make the difference. Prepare the way for Him to
do his work.
evening service 27th Jan 2008
Jesus gets himself ready for the Cross.
This morning we saw how an act of service done to Jesus prepared him
for his burial.
Tonight we see how he prepares himself for his final act as Messiah
through soul suffering and prayer.
What do I mean by that?
Well the whole life of Jesus was one of growing and maturing into
the work for which he had come. He did not go to the cross at any
old point in his ministry.
His whole life was lived with the aim of preparing him for the
Cross.
Thus He went at a specific point when he had been made ready for it!
He had to learn obedience to the Fathers will before he was able to
die for us!
Hebrews 5:8-9 8 Although he was a son, he learned
obedience from what he suffered 9 and, once made perfect,
he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him
In our text tonight we see the final stage of this process.
Through his soul suffering and turning then in pray to the Father he
is made ready for the cross.
Hebrews 5:7 is the best commentary of this night of prayer:
“During the days of Jesus' life on earth, he offered up prayers and
petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him
from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission.”
So what did Jesus go through that night in the garden for us?
1) sorrow and trouble v37-38.
All along he has known what was to come, but now with it so close at
hand the reality of it becomes a pressing burden.
Shows the full extent of his incarnation. He did not laugh off
death, like some comic book hero. He felt it, this was real. Death
was approaching the Lord of Life. Terrifying. Something he could
never have experienced.
When Lazarus died John records the great emotional turmoil that
Jesus felt in his soul over it. (Jh11v33)
Only death provoked such responses from Jesus.
Why? Because it is so unnatural, so hideous, uncreated consequence!
2) agonising, submissive hours of prayer. 39,42,44
All his life Jesus talked with the Father. But on this night he
wrestled with the Father.
Gen 32v24 Jacob wrestled with God all night.
What was his prayer?
3) abandonment by his closest friends at his most needy point.
40,43,45
4) betrayal v45
