Preacher Ko Lingkang

Who is Jesus to you? (Matthew 26:3-16)

Introduction
As we come to the week before Good Friday and Easter, it is helpful to meditate on some of the incidences that occurred prior to the crucifixion of Jesus on the cross at Calvary. The passage for our meditation is Matthew 26:1-16, where a string of events reveal various attitudes that different people had towards Jesus in the last few days before His death on the cross. As we consider these different groups, we must ask ourselves, which category do we fall under?

Hated Enemy? (v. 3-5)
The first group of people in this passage would be Jesus’ enemies - the priest, scribes and elders of the people. They had long despised the ministry of Jesus, and the influence that He wielded over the people. They were jealous of his popularity and hated His message. On numerous occasions, He had publicly admonished them for their hypocrisy and openly contradicted their teachings. Thus, they were plotting to get rid of this man. They wanted to kill Jesus.

It did not matter to them that He was performing real miracles. For example, in John 11, Jesus performed perhaps the most astonishing miracle in raising Lazarus from the dead. Instead of acknowledging that His powers are indeed divine and could only have come from God, their concern was the political threat that Jesus posed. They cared only for their personal careers, and not of the eternal implications of what God’s Messiah should mean to them. Although they did not seem to deny the reports of Jesus’ miracles, yet their hardened hearts refused to believe, but instead began plotting to kill him. The high priest even unwittingly argued that "it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not" (John 11:50). In his mind, he only had a purely political agenda, but his words would prove prophetic in the sense that Jesus would indeed die, not to save Israel from the Romans, but for all the children of God to save them from the eternal consequences of sin (John 11:51-52).

Nevertheless it is clear that to the unbelieving, Jesus is nothing more than a hated enemy that they would want nothing more than to be rid of once and for all. Till today that continues to be the case, for the message of the gospel condemns those who refuse to believe, exposing their sin, guilt and hypocrisy. Is this how you regard Jesus and His Word? Do you hate Christ and the gospel, you see it as something that perhaps impinges upon your sinful freedoms or immoral lifestyles?

Precious Saviour? (v. 6-7, 10-13)
In stark contrast to the religious leaders of the day, we see Simon the Leper and Mary the sister of Lazarus. While we do not know anything about Simon’s background, it is certain that he was no longer a leper, for he could welcome people to his house and host the meal for Jesus. It is not unlikely that he was one who was healed during Jesus’ ministry, and thus welcomed Jesus out of gratitude and thanksgiving.

The parallel account in John 12 shows us that the Mary here was the sister of Martha and Lazarus, also including details of how on top of pouring the ointment on Jesus’ head, she also wiped the feet of Jesus with her hair.

It must be noted at this juncture, of how costly the ointment or perfume was. Judas’ later estimate of it in John 12:5 was that it could have been sold for 300 pence (denarii), one denarii being the daily wage of a common labourer. It was no doubt a costly endeavour, and a sacrifice of something that was extremely valuable to Mary. Some commentators have observed that this box of ointment could have been a sort of family heirloom, to be used in small quantities only on special occasions. That is why it was so shocking to the disciples when she would break the box and pour all of it over Jesus’ head.

Yet Mary did so, because to her, Jesus was certainly worthy of receiving such a costly gift. To her, it was the least that she could do for the One who would soon go to the cross to die for the sin of the world. She was the one who sat at the feet of Jesus (Luke 10:39), and understood when Jesus said that "the Son of man is betrayed to be crucified" (Mat 26:2). Knowing that her time with the Saviour was short, she took the opportunity to anoint Him in preparation for His burial.

Jesus certainly accepted her gift and praised Her actions highly. He described it as a "good work", and declared that there will be a perpetual memorial of her great act of faith and love – just as we are doing right now in studying this passage.

Because Jesus was the precious worthy Saviour to her, there was no gift so costly, no sacrifice too great, and no deed too difficult, if it is done in consecration to Christ. Is this the attitude that we have for Jesus as well?

Virtuous Teacher? (v. 8-9)
Sadly, the disciples were not as effusive in their love and devotion to Jesus. Perhaps it was because they had spent so much time with Jesus, that they were so accustomed to His presence with them. They had continually ignored His warnings of how He would soon be leaving them, and killed in Jerusalem. Their concern was not so much for the impending death of Jesus, but for the monetary value of the gift. Though Judas was the one who instigated this critical remark (John 12:4), the rest of the disciples were equally guilty, for the Bible records that "they had indignation", and not just Judas alone. They could not understand why Mary would chose to do such a thing, and viewed her pious devotion as just a foolish waste. The saw more merit in promoting a social cause than caring about Jesus great sacrifice.

They might have even thought that Jesus would side with them, for just in the previous chapter, Jesus had exhorted them to feed the hungry and give drink to the thirsty. However, the issue here is not about whether it is right to have the concern for the poor or not. Jesus explained that it was a matter of priority and timing. They were at a pivotal moment in history, where Jesus, the Emmanuel, was in His last few days on earth in this human body. It was not at all unreasonable to pour some perfume as a sort of a loving farewell gesture, to show their regard for Jesus, who would soon be dying a most painful death on the cross. The poor would always be around for them to help, but not such a unique opportunity to show love and devotion to Jesus.

In this instance, the disciples showed their lack of understanding at what was going on. They saw Jesus as simply a virtuous teacher who exhorted them to good works, and not the Son of God whose death on the cross would pay the price for their salvation. Though they would come to understand this in time to come, at this moment, Jesus to them was but a good moral leader whom they were trying to impress. While it is true that Jesus does want us to live lives pleasing to Him, we must not allow our relationship with Him to be mere moralism, forgetting the most important fact that He is indeed our Saviour who through grace has washed all our sins away.

Opportunity for Personal Gain? (v. 14-16)
The final and perhaps most tragic response to Jesus, would be that of Judas Iscariot. He was one of the twelve disciples, having followed Jesus throughout the three and a half years of His public ministry. He had witnessed all the miracles of Christ, and listened to His teachings. There was no excuse for him to not know Jesus.

Sadly, he had a completely wrong notion of Jesus’ ministry, and a selfish motive for following Him. His only concern was for his own personal gain, and how he could benefit from this relationship. His expectation was for an earthly kingdom to be established, and was perhaps looking forward to assuming a place of prominence with Jesus as ruler. Now after three years, Jesus only had negative predictions of His own demise, and no aspirations or initiatives made towards overthrowing the Roman government.

Perhaps Jesus’ attitude towards Mary’s actions – what he deemed as a terrible waste – was the last straw. He had enough of his unfruitful association with Jesus, and now sought to squeeze a last ounce of personal gain from the relationship, by selling his master to the chief priests! It was his own initiative, whereby he approached the chief priests and propose a plan to deliver Jesus secretly to them. It was his greed that drove him to demand a payment in return for the betrayal. It was his selfishness that sold the son of God into the hands of the wicked Jews.

Are we like Judas? Do we come to church with ulterior motives? Is the question foremost in our thoughts of ‘what is in it for me’, rather than ‘what can I do for the Lord’? Have we too been deceived by the philosophy of the prosperity gospel, thinking that in coming to Christ, our lives will be physically and materially rewarded? Such attitudes are sinful, and are what caused Judas to betray Jesus. When our hopes and expectations are not fulfilled, and we feel that we are not benefiting enough from our idea of Christianity, will we also want to reject Jesus?

Conclusion
As we consider Jesus on the cross, may we always regard Him as our precious beloved Saviour. He died for our sins, and is indeed worthy of our full and complete consecration. As we ponder on the finished work of Christ on the cross, and His victorious resurrection, may we renew our zeal and love for Him.