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welcome to everyone you can turn with me in your Bibles to Psalm 45 for our call to worship Psalm 45 Psalm 45 I'll begin reading in verse 1 to the chief musician set to the lilies a contemplation of the sons of Korah a song of love my heart is overflowing with a good theme I recite my composition concerning the king my tongue is the pen of a ready writer you are fairer than the sons of men grace is poured upon your lips therefore God has blessed you forever gird your sword upon your thigh o mighty one with your glory in your majesty and in your majesty ride prosperously because of truth humility and righteousness and your right hand shall teach you awesome things your arrows are sharp and the heart of the King's enemies the people's fall under you your throne O God is forever and ever a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of your kingdom you loved righteousness and hated nests therefore God your God has anointed you with the oil of gladness more than your companions all your garments are scented with myrrh and aloes and cassia out of the ivory palaces by which they have made you glad Kings daughters are among your honorable women that your right hand stands the Queen in gold from OFIR listen o daughter consider and incline your ear forget your own people also in your father's house so the King will greatly desire your beauty because he is your Lord worship him and the daughter of tyre will come with a gift the rich among the people will seek your favor the royal daughter is all glorious within the palace her clothing is woven with gold she shall be brought to the king in robes of many colors the Virgin's her companions who follow her shall be brought to you with gladness and rejoicing they shall be brought they shall enter the king's palace instead of your father shall be your sons whom you shall make princes in all the earth I will make your name to be remembered in all generations therefore the people shall praise you for ever and ever amen will please turn with me in your hem books to number 210 that's 210 we'll stand as we sing together [Music] [Music] well let us pray father in heaven it's a joy to gather again on this Sabbath evening to come before you to acknowledge that you are God Most High that you are the great and glorious and the true and living God the God who made the world the God who governs the world and the God who redeems his elect out of the world and we praise you for redemption we praise you for the blessedness of the Christian gospel we thank you Lord God Almighty that you have saved us from our sins that through the life and the death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ we have everlasting life so god we want to give all glory and praise and honor to You Father Son and Holy Spirit and we acknowledge that you are good and that you do good and that you are most merciful to your people and tonight father as we gather for worship help us by the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit to come before you with reference and with great joy and as well as we look to the to the Lord's Supper as we participate in this tonight may we reflect anew on the on the the glories of the death of our Lord Jesus Christ we know Lord God Almighty that it's through his life and his death and his resurrection from the dead that we have both the forgiveness of sins and the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ so God we ask that you would be present in our midst we ask that you would draw out our hearts and worship and praise and adoration that we would see Christ is altogether lovely in chief among 10,000 and Lord God to that end we ask that you would forgive us for all of our sins and unrighteousness as your people we confess remaining corruption as the Apostle says the flesh lusts against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh and these are contrary to one another and Lord God we pray that you would be merciful to wash us and to purify us and to cleanse us and that precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ we ask God for any who've come here tonight that are still in their sins we pray that this would be the day of salvation that your word would come with power by the Spirit of God and that you would apply these things and show sinners their need for the Redeemer and show sinners the glory of the Redeemer and his ability to save to the uttermost all who draw nigh unto the Father through him we ask God that you would bless our local church we thank you for the Supper as it reflects the unity of the spirit and the bond of peace and help each one of us to endeavor to preserve that as well our Father help each one of us in terms of our spiritual growth to grow in the Grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus we know that these sacraments are a purpose by you for the strengthening and the confirmation of our faith and we pray that even tonight we would understand this as a means of grace we ask as well that you bless those in our congregation that are suffering that have ongoing physical trials we think of mrs. Boult we just commit our sister into your gracious care we continue to remember Bev and ask that you had caused her to reflect upon always the goodness of her Lord we pray for Dawn Neufeld and for John Proctor we just ask that you look with favor upon these brothers and strengthen them with might and the inner man so that Christ may dwell richly in their hearts through faith and we give praise to you for answer to prayer with reference to Linda and we pray God that you would continue to work in her body continue to give her the grace to grow in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Lord God blessed the Brethren that are heading out on Tuesday to the Philippines we pray that they would know traveling mercies we pray that they would be protected by you when they're in a foreign place and that they would be given the opportunity to do good to man both physically and spiritually give them the ability God to speak the truth of the gospel to those with whom they come into contact and may they be able to alleviate some of the suffering and some of the pain and an impoverishment that has occurred there we also pray our God that you would be gracious to the church and Sri we thank you for Pastor Mike and pray that you would bless that brother as they gather together for worship tonight we pray that you would be found in their midst and Lord bless that church and caused them to grow in the Grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ we think of the work in Vernon and we just commit them to you Lord God and we pray that you raise a man up she would lay a burden upon a man and send him there to labor in the word and in doctrine God we pray that you would preserve that body that you would keep them together that you would cause them to glorify and honor you in that community and Lord blessed the persecuted Church as the gospel goes forth throughout the earth we see the sorts of division in various countries and cities that we see in Iconium in acts 14 and Lord God we pray that in the midst of such suffering and trial the Church of Christ would continue to march onward that they would be steadfast that they would not relinquish their hold upon the truth and that father you would use that truth for the saving of more sinners in these lands and God for those steep and false religion we pray that you would turn them from their useless idols to the true and the Living God and Lord bless our time together now continue with us and help us as we sing as we pray as we look to Scripture and as we partake of the supper and we ask these things through Jesus Christ our Lord amen we could turn with me again in your hymn books to Psalm 51 see Psalm 51 C as in Charlie will sing the first five stanzas so that Psalm 51 see when you find that please stand and we'll sing together [Music] well please turn with me in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 26 Matthew chapter 26 our focus will be verses 6 to 13 the anointing at Bethany but I did want to read verses 1 to 16 so beginning in Matthew chapter 26 at verse 1 now it came to pass when Jesus had finished all these sayings that he said to his disciples you know that after two days is the Passover and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified then the chief priests the scribes and the elders of the people assembled at the palace of the high priest who was called Caiaphas and plotted to take Jesus by trickery and kill him but they said not during the feast lest there be an uproar among the people and when Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper a woman came to him having an alabaster flask a very costly fragrant oil and she poured it on his head as he sat at the table but when his disciples saw it they were indignant saying why this waste for this fragrant oil might have been sold for much and given to the poor but when Jesus was aware of it he said to them why do you trouble the woman for she has done a good work for me for you have the poor with you always but me you do not have always for in pouring this fragrant oil on my body she did it for my burial assuredly I say to you wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her then one of the twelve called Judas Iscariot went to the chief priests and said what are you willing to give me if I deliver him to you and they counted out to him thirty pieces of silver so from that time he sought opportunity to betray him amen will let us pray father thank you for the written word of the living and true God thank you for this passion narrative and what it tells us concerning our Lord Jesus Christ and certainly it answers questions concerning how he would save his people from their sins and what he met in chapter 20 28 when he says the son of man gave his life to to ransom many God we thank you for this great act this great act of redemption wrought out by the Lord Jesus Christ for us man our salvation we pray now that your spirit would guide and direct us we pray that your spirit would draw from us further devotion and worship and love and adoration to our Lord Jesus Christ may we see and may we admire this woman and may we indeed engage in likewise and again forgive us now for our sin and we pray through Christ the Lord amen well as I said in prayer this Matthew chapters 26 to 28 is the passion narrative and it's the description of the death of our Lord Jesus Christ and as we embark on that we're not going to go through the whole thing but I thought over the next several Lord's Supper services we would take our sermon material from this section of Matthew's Gospel but as we look at this particular passage it is intriguing because we have conspiracy in verses 3 and 4 there's a conspiracy on the part of the religious leaders to destroy Jesus and then you have betrayal by Judas Iscariot in verses 14 to 16 so sandwiched between this conspiracy and betrayal you have an act of devotion and when we look at the parallel passages there's a parallel in John's Gospel in John 12 1 to 8 and there's a parallel in mark 14 at verses 3 to 9 John tells us when this occurred and Matthew doesn't give us any indication concerning the timing which suggests that Matthews sort of insertion of this narrative here is more thematic and theological in nature some have suggested that it sort of sets the stage or sets the tone for how we appreciative devotion worship adoration appreciation for our Lord for what he has done for us in terms of salvation so I want to look at the devotion of this particular woman under three considerations first the anointing at Bethany in verses 6 and 7 secondly the complaint of the disciples in verses 8 and 9 and then finally the response of our Lord Jesus Christ in verses 10 to 13 it's a very instructive passage on the way that we should appreciate and go toward our Savior but it's also instructive with reference to discipleship we can have some issues and we can have some challenges and I think it's represented here by these disciples in their response to this woman but in the first place we ought to appreciate the setting as I said the parallel passages in mark 14 will refer to that a little bit there's a couple of details in there that are not given to us here in Matthew and then John 12 1 to 8 now what differences exist especially in John can be harmonized we're not going to spend a lot of time on that there's another instance of a similar type of an anointing in Luke chapter 7 that woman which was a sinner comes and anoints the Savior but those are different accounts that happened in Galilee this takes place in Bethany Bethany is just outside of Jerusalem on the east side and in terms of the the chronology up to this point we've been on the Tuesday of the Passion Week not a lot happens on Wednesday but then on Thursday all sorts of things happen but as I said this particular instance took place the previous Saturday and that's what John indicates for us so again that Matthew puts it here he wants us to spend some time reflecting on the glory of the Savior and on the devotion requisite to what the Savior's undergoing in terms of his cross work now the reference to Simon the leper here in verse sets he had been healed if he had not been healed then they would not have been allowed to be near him and the the leper doesn't sort of tar and feather him for life but it distinguishes him because Simon was a very popular and a very common name so they're in the house of Simon the leper now in terms of the setting we ought to appreciate the woman her identity she is Mary the sister of Martha and Lazarus we see that again in John's Gospel in John chapter 12 they lived in Bethany this is that Mary that we've seen and or that you see in Luke that that is busy worshipping the Savior while her sister Martha is busy serving the Savior and Martha sort of complains about that so what we find here is characteristic of this woman she is devoted to the Savior and she will spare no expense in demonstrating that that devotion and note the particular activity what she does verse 7 tells us a woman came to him having an alabaster flask a very costly fragrant oil and she poured it on his head as he sat at the table now this was a practice that was done in certain context as I've already said Luke 7 that woman which was a sinner does a similar thing as well the act is consistent with the anointing of Kings first samuel chapter 16 Samuel anoints David as king also the act is interpreted by Christ as a preparation for his burial and thus it confirms what he's already announced in verse 2 look at it 26 - he says you know that after two days is the Passover and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified he interprets this act on her part as preparation for his burial so he's affirming the reality of his own death and this woman seems to understand that as well and therefore she pours out this very costly and fragrant oil but in the final analysis what this was was a spontaneous act of extravagance directed to the Lord of glory it was a spontaneous act of extravagance in terms of cost in terms of value in terms of price such that it causes these disciples to recoil with horror and even severely or shortly criticized ER but it's an expression of her worship it's an expression of her devotion it's an expression to her evaluation of the Lord Jesus Christ the oil according to John 12 3 was worth 300 denarii I that is a year's salary for a working man Davies and Allison make this observation the high price contrasts sharply with the low price Judas settles upon to betray Jesus in the following narrative he bargains for thirty pieces of silver well she takes this three hundred denarii I worth of costly and fragrant oil and she pours it on his head now that then dripped down onto his body which ultimately reached his feet because in John 12 it toes that she put the oil on his feet some say well here its head and there its feet that's a contradiction no typically oil is subject to the laws of gravity just like every other created material such that if you put it on somebody's head it does naturally and with that appropriate tendency go down the body and ultimately end up on the feet so there is no contradiction there is utter consistency between the narratives but oftentimes what the authors are doing are highlighting theological and thematic concerns now let's look secondly at the complaint of the disciples notice what we have in verses 8 9 but when his disciples saw they were indignant saying why this waste for this fragrant oil might have been sold for much and given to the poor their attitude the extravagance of the woman's act was met with a horrified response by these pragmatic disciples think about it for just a moment you're Jesus and you're sitting there and this woman pours this costly oil upon your head it drips down to your body and ends up on your feet and the people that are closest to you say why this waste what do you mean why this waste that is an indirect criticism of the Lord Jesus Christ and a direct criticism of this particular woman any devotion that we express to the Savior is never a waste any extravagance that we spend relative to the Savior is never a waste now we need to be wise we need to be prudent we need to be planners we need to be all of that but this woman displays to us as well the reality that we need to be abandoned with reference to the worship of our Christ that nothing is too good for him that nothing is too glorious for him that he far surpasses any creaturely thing that we can ever do in terms of our appreciation toward him one wonders what these disciples would have thought in first Kings chapter 6 to 8 first Kings chapter 6 and 7 is the building of Solomon's Temple as we went through that particular narrative Wednesday night Bible study we saw that the very hinges of the door were made out of solid gold what the disciples say why this waste of course they wouldn't because they know Yahweh of Israel is worthy of such extravagance they unlike this woman had not yet appreciated that with reference to Christ they certainly loved him they were certainly followers of him but in terms of giving up this sort of a monetary gift to him they weren't at that particular place yet so they in their pragmatic pragmatism says or in their pragmatism they asked why this waste now the parallel in John 12 4 and 5 indicates that that came from Judas Iscariot but from Mark and from Matthew we see that Judas's poison seeped into the veins of these other men and they are hyper critical of this particular woman now note their complaint the question why this waste as mentioned is an indirect criticism of Jesus himself and a direct criticism of the woman imagine if you're you know somewhere you go to somebody's house and you're sitting at their table and and you know the persons of the house offer you a piece of pie and some of the family come later right why'd you waste the pie on him you know that that would be a bit of a dig what you you probably wouldnt want to munch that pie if you thought you were the object of waste with reference to that pie I mean this is subtle brethren but it's very poignant it's very point pointed in terms of a dig not only at the woman but at the Savior as well and then note the reason or rationale for their concern verse 8 tells us when his disciples saw it they were indignant saying why this waste for this fragrant oil might have been sold for much and given to the poor again this is not altogether out of line in fact Jesus teaches in the gospel records that we should remember the poor Jesus indicates that in John Matthew chapter 19 remember when he preaches the law to that rich young ruler he says go sell everything you have and give to the poor Matthew 25 the Olivet discourse and the yeah there's the sheep and the goats well what distinguishes the sheep and the goats in that particular situation Sovereign Grace before you answer their works remember Sovereign Grace they were sheep and goats when they appear before God Almighty they were already sheep and they were already goats the external manifestation of their choice having been chosen by God is good works done to the least of these my brethren so Jesus commands care for the poor Jesus commands that sort of kindness to try to ameliorate the downtrodden and the poor so there is a surface level reasonableness to their suggestion but ultimately they misunderstand the scenario and I think at this point it's very helpful to remind ourselves that Christ is not antisocial justice now those two words are very powerful and very often employed in modern society perhaps you've heard the words social justice warrior well if we ask the Bible is God concerned about justice in society the answer is yes but the modern social justice warrior as they go about their good deeds tend to have little concern for the death of babies at the hands of abortionist they have little concern for the death of the elderly and the infirm at the hands of murderous doctors and legislators social justice today has more affinity at least in some contacts with Karl Marx than it does with Jesus Christ but just excepting for a moment that Christ sanctions the practice of social justice which he gots he doesn't say don't ever give to the poor he says go ahead and give to the poor the thing that we as God's people need to keep in mind that on the one hand yes we have that Second Great Commandment command it to us that we love our neighbor as ourselves and an expression of that oftentimes is engaging in what we'll call social justice trying to protect those who are defenseless trying to help those who are vulnerable but not redistributing wealth and trying to sort of form a utopia Society that's an odd strange variant of social justice is up but the point is if we are engaged in those sorts of doings we're not forbidden from doing that we mustn't neglect devotion to Christ you see this happen with churches churches need to be relevant churches need to speak to society churches need to go out and do wonderful things that's all good and well as long as the churches don't abandon the place of worship they don't abandon the place of the sacraments they don't abandon the place of the preaching of the word that's our chief calling the other expressions of our love to fellow man are embedded in us as well but we ought never to do the one at the sacrifice or expense of the other and I think the tendency is is extent among Christians to be an either or either I'm going to be the social justice contender or I'm going to be you know engaged in acts of piety well the Bible enforces upon us not in either/or but a both end were supposed to worship we're supposed to expect Express extravagant displays of love and affection for our Jesus we're also supposed to try and help people along the way so they criticized this particular woman in fact according to the parallel in mark 14 5 they criticized her sharply they were not pleased whatsoever that she took this costly oil worth 300 an area and broke it over the head of the Savior that upset them that provoked them that evoked from them this complaint now the criticism of others concerning our use of time money or energy in the service of the Savior ought not to deter us notice that this woman doesn't say okay I'll never do that again no Mary is a devotee to the Lord Christ notwithstanding the severe criticisms of her fellows she continues and what the Lord Jesus Christ ultimately shows his approbation for her the approbation of the Savior is ultimately the one thing needful not what do everybody else think of this dealer thing Spurgeon said it this way she did well to take counsel with her own loving heart and then to pour the precious nard upon that deer head which was so soon to be crowned with thorns she thus showed that there was at least one heart in the world that thought nothing was too good for her Lord and the best of the best ought to be given to him may she have many imitators in every age until Jesus comes again so the disciples didn't quite see it the way that CH Spurgeon saw it and I think the way that CH Spurgeon saw is the way we ought to see it Christ is worthy the bride says he is altogether lovely he is chief among 10,000 he is most high most glorious most wondrous certainly he is worthy of 300 denarii I of this costly oil broken over his head and dripping down his body and as we move on the tax we see that Christ affirms this so we've seen the anointing at Bethany second the complaint of the disciples let's look thirdly and finally at the response of the Lord Jesus Christ verses 10 to 13 Christ was aware of it now we might argue he was aware of it according to his divinity because he knows the hearts of men but he was aware of it according to his humanity because he heard them complain he heard them criticize her he heard they're sort of offers of resistance in terms of this particular act on their part so he is aware of it and notice how he praises the woman verse 10 he says why do you trouble the woman for she has has done a good work for me what did they say why this waste why did you give this last piece of pie to him why did you break this costly oil on his head why this waste look at how Jesus frames it why do you trouble the woman for she has done a good work for me what they interpret as a waste Christ interprets as a good work the act they call a waste is a good work or in the via NIV it's a beautiful thing and this was in fact a beautiful thing consider the particular scene as well in a sort of society where men were you know a bit above the women I'm not trying to be mean or vicious or anti social justice I'm just simply suggesting that for her to do what she did in this context was an expression of great faith in the Savior and an expression of great devotion to the Savior in that she does this notwithstanding the the criticisms of these of these men the Act demonstrates that it is lawful to show diversion a devotion rather and worship to Christ in a very costly way now the tax does not necessitate that the text doesn't say okay in order to truly honor God on the Lord's Day you should go by you know the most expensive Italian suit that you can find in Vancouver because after all god is great and God is worthy of that that's not what the text is expressing but the text is expressing that when we do devote time energy money resources wealth or whatever in the cause of God most high as expressions of devotion to Jesus that's not a waste see the church is often criticized for doing things that builds up her ability to worship to praise and express devotion well in a world filled with downtrodden and poor you can hear sorts of the criticisms outside why would you spend new hymn books when you've got a whole raft of homeless people living just down the street why would you maintain a sanctuary that looks decent when you've got all these people in this community that could use some help again we're not denying the place of offering help and assistance but we also ought not to shrink back from expressing love and affection and adoration and devotion to the Savior and now please hear what I'm saying there's no monetary value there's no sort of qualification if you spend this much then you're really worshipping Jesus the point of the passage is is that Christ is altogether lovely cry his chief among 10,000 and that whatever service we spend on him can never be a waste but he calls it rather a good work it's a beautiful thing according to other translations now he addresses their concern for the poor notice what he says for you have the poor with you always but me you do not have always so he says something contrary to Connie's and socialists he says there will always be poor people on earth intriguingly that communism and socialism actually creates more poor people as Churchill says it's the equal distribution of misery and this reality that the poor will always be on earth is something we need to take into consideration that doesn't mean we step over them and we mock at them and we don't try to help and we don't try to ameliorate the downtrodden and the poor but brethren this will never be a utopia on earth there will always be sin there will always be curse there will always be the presence of the effects of sin in this present world and so Jesus makes this statement for you have the poor with you always but me you do not have always now the wording seems to me that of Deuteronomy 15:11 which their calls for generosity to the poor as Israel is prepared to go into the land of promise as Israel is being prepared by Moses on the plains of Moab to enter into the Promised Land we see you shall open your hand wide to your brother to your poor and needy in your land so there was that mandate Deuteronomy that they were to tend to the poor Jesus affirms that Jesus is not either/or in here he's not saying well devotion to me is everything no he is simply saying that you'll always have the poor you can always give 300 denarii I to that but me you will not always have he's speaking about and he's confirming what he's already said in verse two that he's going to die now we have the promise of 28:20 that he is with us even to the end of the a but that is a spiritual presence of our Lord with his church in terms of his physicality he would ascend on high he led captivity captive and he give gifts to men he would go back to heaven so he says you're always gonna have the poor you're always ability have the ability to go out and to give them 300 denarii I you're always able to do that but me you don't always have in other words seize on the opportunities that you have for devotion for worship and for these expressions of affection to your Blessed Lord so he's not denigrating kindness to the poor in fact in the parallel in mark 14 7 and whenever you wish you may do them good in 25:41 he said that he is honored when good is done to the least of these my brethren to Christ is an anti poor Christ is an anti Deuteronomy Christ affirms those passages but he's simply saying leave the woman alone and that's precisely what he says in the parallel in mark she's done or she did what she could this is her expression of devotion this is her expression of faith this is her expression of adoration to the Lord this morning in our confession study I referred to that instance in Samuel when David in second Samuel chapter 6 whirls about in front of the Ark of the Covenant now I made the connection that just because David does that it doesn't legitimize or authorize or sanction dancing in the church my encouragement to all of you as I encourage them this morning when you're King David of Israel and you've secured military victories and you're with the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord go ahead and whirl about it go ahead and dance until your socks fall off because that's never going to happen you cannot take that passage and argue therefore we ought to have danced in the public worship of God at any rate when gave it does that what's the response of his wife she hated him in her heart the only woman that I know of in the Bible where it says she loved someone and then hated that same someone she despised it she thought it was a compromise of his royal dignity she thought that it somehow jeopardized what everybody else might think of him what's David's point God Almighty is in the midst of us God Almighty has vindicated us God Almighty is worthy of me whirling about that Ark of the Covenant you see brethren these men make the same observation in this context and Jesus tells them essentially back it down so he praises the women he highlights the presence of the poor then notice he highlights the prophetic significance of the act verse 12 for in pouring this fragrant oil on my body she did it for my burial again this confirms verse 2 you know that after two days is the Passover and the Son of Man will be delivered to be crucified this statement points to the inevitability not only of his death but of his resurrection it not only points to the reality that he's going to go in that grave but the disciples would have remembered the several instances prior when he not only pointed out his death but his inevitable resurrection and this anointing is consistent with what's going to happen in terms of Jesus the Messiah doing what he does for the salvation of sinners the statement interprets our actions according to the messianic overtones specifically the fact that the Messiah had to die in order to save his people from their sins so Christ not only praises her Christ not only recognizes the place of the poor but he also highlights the prophetic significance of what this woman had done listen to arty France he says the woman's extravagant loyalty off sets the shameful horror of crucifixion again you're not supposed to just jump in and forget everything else around this in a few moments or in few verses down Jesus is going to be betrayed by Judas or this plan will be concocted they've already conspired in the first section and then there's this devotion extravagant devotion by the part of this woman and then there's this betrayal concocted by Judas with the religious leaders Christ will then Institute the supper Christ will then go to guess M&E and Christ will then stay before the Jewish Sanhedrin so all of this stuff is confirmatory of what is going to transpire relative to his mission he goes on France does that is why it must always be remembered not simply as a model of uncalculated devotion though it is certainly that but as an affirmation of the value of his death from the point of view of faith us knowing Jesus the way we know Jesus we now know and we are convinced there is nothing too good for him right 300 denarii is chump change we should give every bit of denarii I in light of what he's going to do on the cross in light of the redemptive work that Christ undertakes on our behalf is there anything that we could ever offer up to even begin to repay him absolutely positively not this is an attempt on the part of the woman to try and repay him it's an attempt on the part of the woman to praise him to adore him to express that devotion to him worship brethren is a response to what Christ is wrought on behalf of sinners but then notice he highlights a perpetual memorial to her this is beautiful verse 13 assuredly I say to you wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her proverbs 10:7 says the memory of the righteous is blessed but the name of the wicked will rot Ecclesiastes 7 1 a good name is better than precious ointment you see Christ is saying that wherever this gospel is preached what this woman has done needs to be told also so they severely criticize her Christ praises her they severely chide her Christ wants to memorialize her you see Christ approves of this kind of worship Christ approves of the type of worship that isn't restrained by the thoughts of others what will somebody think if they hear me sing just a little bit louder remember when one of our sons it was Josh he was a little boy he would sing loud I mean just loud he was like yeah it's just a little kid sitting back there and just belt it out and I remember his sisters would kind of kind of I'm not picking on his sister's here but you know this kind of kind a little bit a little bit too much it's not too much Christ is altogether lovely a chief among 10,000 Christ is worthy that's the point of the passage John Gill says this woman got a good name and obtained a good report by her precious ointment and if this woman's action was to be told for a memorial of her much more what Christ has done and suffered should be told as a memorial of him we see this already fulfilled in the early church John writes later than Matthew John 11 to says that this Mary is the one who took this costly oil and poured it on the head of Christ even prior to John 12 where the actual record is given so in the early church it was already known throughout the preaching of the gospel the ages of the church it's known what Mary does here was perpetual it was memorialized the truth of this statement throughout the ages listened to rile rile says the deeds and titles of many a king and Emperor and general are as completely forgotten as if written in the sand that's not even like us right once we go it's as if our names were written in the sand I think our lot our wives and our husbands all remember think they will write and our kids will remember us finally I hope the grandkids will remember us fondly but generals world leaders emperors czars presidents prime ministers those names were as it were written in the sand he says but the grateful act of one humble Christian woman is recorded in 150 different languages and is known all over the globe the praise of man is but for a few days the praise of Christ and doroth forever the pathway to lasting honor is to honor that's the emphasis of the passage devotion sandwiched in between conspiracy and betrayal we the people of God ought to appreciate what this woman does for the Savior as he's about to embark on the redemptive task of saving us from our sins now in terms of the practical lessons afforded by the passage I want to bring out a few in the first place with reference to disciples with reference to you and I there is a tendency to judge and criticize the actions of others now if you're going what really you haven't reflected accurately upon an open Bible in your own heart the tendency is there to judge others in this context they have the gall to say why this waste it's a terribly belittling thing both indirectly to the Savior the recipient of the thing but as well to the woman the doer of the thing we need to guard our hearts if someone isn't transgressing God's law shut your mouth if somebody isn't lacking conformity unto God's law then be quiet if somebody goes about it in the manner that's just a little bit different than you then keep your mouth closed as well there is a tendency to insult the Savior by this act now I don't think these men were malicious I don't think these men were evil I don't think these men were pernicious but they weren't thinking when they say why this waste again I was Jesus I'd probably be thinking what am I chopped liver I mean come on he's the second person of the triune God come down for us men and for our salvation took on our humanity submitted himself to the law always did what was pleasing to the Father is about to embark on crucifixion for the sins of his people he is going to suffer in a way that you and I we'll have to because of what he's done and they say why this waste and then the tendency is I've already said to practice an either-or Christianity rather than a both and brethren we have two great Commandments love the Lord your God with all your heart soul mind and strength that's our worship that's our devotion that's our expression of faith and praise and adoration to the true and living God but we're also governed by the second which is like unto it love your neighbor as yourself those are our acts of kindness or acts of benevolence or acts of goodness see there are two that regulate the conduct of God's people when we do in either/or we're not being responsible we need to be about both and the worship of God and a reasonable attempt to help those around us who are in need secondly in terms of a practical lesson the woman the woman spared no expense in her devotion to the Lord the question has been asked and I don't think it's wrong where'd she get this oil I mean 300 an area an entire salary for a working man where did she get it well there's all you know ideas or options or possibilities it could have been a family sort of a thing could have been an heirloom - passed down from generation to generation whatever the situation is she takes this very costly oil and pours it on the head of the Savior according to Mark's Gospel secondly she did what she could she loved that we're not going to be judged on what we couldn't do we will be judged on what we could do some of us can't you know afford to build a temple but that's just not going to happen but most of us can afford to show up all right we we do what we can and that's what's underscore in fact look at the parallel for a moment just so you can see it mark 14 mark 14 there's a couple of dynamics that come out that are absent in Matthew mark 14-3 and being in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper as he sat at the table woman had came having an alabaster flask a very costly oil of spikenard then she broke the flask and poured it on his head but there were some were indignant among themselves and said why was this fragrant oil wasted for it might have been sold for more than 300 denarii and given to the poor and they criticized her sharply but Jesus said let her alone that was my previous application leave them alone unless somebody's breaking God's law leave them alone don't mess with that don't you know intrude upon don't be the worship police don't be the devotion police don't be the Pharisees that regulate the conduct of your fellows based on your personal preferences or whims he says leave her alone why do you trouble her she has done a good work for me for you have the poor with you always and whenever you wish you may do them good but me you do not have always she has done what she could she has come beforehand to anoint my body for burial assuredly I say to you wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her turn to 1st Corinthians chapter 15 1st Corinthians chapter 15 where you see a general principle set forth by the Apostle in terms of our service unto the Lord 1st Corinthians 15:58 therefore my beloved brethren be steadfast immovable always abounding in the work of the Lord notice knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord Christ doesn't say what 300 denarii ah you couldn't have opted that you couldn't have done better she did what she could she didn't have anymore well she didn't have any more resources the very best that she had she pours it out on his head and then as well she did not seek man's approval but rather Christ's approval and she received it he commends her he memorializes her it's in the gospel we're talking about her right now she was memorialized in Scripture for her acts and I want to underscore this by saying it's not necessarily great accomplishments but rather great devotion to Jesus you know some people are useful in the kingdom in ways that others aren't but the ways that others aren't are still ways you do what you can you seek to honor the Lord consistent with what you have and what you are under God this woman sets forth that glorious example and then finally relative to the Savior look lessons with reference to the Savior in the first place he receives her devotion and worship were in acts 14 at Lystra the the folk are going to try to worship Paul and Barnabas they're gonna think that the gods have come down you've got Paul as Hermes because he's the speaker and you've got Barnabas who's Zeus and as a result these pagans want to bow and want to worship in their presence what do they do they say don't do that remember when Simon Peter shows up at Cornelius house Cornelius wants to worship Simon Peter Peter says no I'm a I'm a man just like you are when you get to the book of Revelation john wants to bow down to an angel and the angel says don't do that what does Jesus do does he say don't do that I'm not a glorious being I'm not altogether lovely no he receives this act of worship and devotion underscoring his dignity as the god man secondly he defends her from the criticism of the disciples isn't that beautiful don't let anybody ever tell you all Christianity has a bunch of chauvinistic pigs Christ is a defender of this woman Christ says to them leave her alone she did what she could he gave voice to her actions and he calls off the dogs and tells them to quit barking up her up her tree and then thirdly he acknowledges her contribution based on her ability that's good news you know people say well I don't have that well what you do have you should be willing to part with it for the cause of God in truth remember that widow's mites she gave from everything she had certainly there's others giving more money but she felt that pinch when she David I think I've said before that sacrifice really is sacrifice if sacrifice doesn't cost you anything it's not a sacrifice you see sacrifice costing Jesus everything and yet when it comes to believers giving we oftentimes try to cheap out we try to be misers we try to say well that woman only gave two mites yeah because that's all she had when you only have two mites and you give them praise God from whom all blessings flow but if we're sitting on a pile of mites hiding behind her two mites then we've misinterpreted that the thrust of the passage sacrifice should pinch sacrifice should hurt fourthly he confirms ongoing generosity to the poor he doesn't say look it's all about me it is all about him and part of what he says is to go out and look after the poor he confirms his crucifixion and his resurrection from the dead he confirms a worldwide missionary outreach to proclaim the Gospel assuredly I say to you wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her he confirms in some why he is worthy of such devotion and extravagance he is chief among 10,000 I mentioned that earlier Song of Solomon 5/10 over the last few years it's become sort of Christian in the popular Christian realm to interpret the Song of Solomon as a marriage manual between a husband and a wife it's between Yahweh and Israel's between Christ and the church that's who the Song of Solomon is about so we have this statement concerning Christ he is chief among 10,000 he is altogether lovely I'm reminded of a particular passage or comment on first Kings chapter 8 earlier I said what would they have sad about the extravagance in the temple what would they have said about those gold hinges if this was their response would they have been down with the temple and I think they would have been they're just not thinking consistently here but Ralph Davis comments on the extravagance of the temple in the Old Testament and if you haven't read first Kings 6 to 8 you should read it sometime you should get it in your head to see how Israel approached her God under the Old Covenant but Davis says I suggest that the splendor of the temple is meant to reflect the splendor of Israel's God that the temples gold points to Yahweh's glory it was a world in which Kings built or refurbished lavish temples as appropriate tributes to their gods and goddesses in such a world why should Yahweh look like a discount store deity with a government loan house if there is an indulgence that is sinful Luke 12 there is an extravagance that is godly mark 14 our woman who poured out this oil he says and perhaps the message of the temple gold is that nothing cheap should be offered to Yahweh but only what is a tribute commensurate with his splendor I think that's consistent with what we find here in Matthew chapter 26 this oil reflects the splendor of this Messiah will praise God Almighty that we have one who is altogether lovely and is chief among 10,000 if you don't have this one you need to you need to look to him in faith you need to believe the gospel you need to quit looking to your own works or your own accomplishments or somehow arguing yourself out of the kingdom because of some perceived ideas that are that are imbalanced with reference to God's sovereignty the gospel is preached and the gospel is simply this Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners we might suggest it this way in Romans 5:8 God commends his own love toward us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us the reality is this that he lived and died and rose and all those who look to him in faith will have everlasting life and then it's the hope and prayer of all of us or it should be that we express this kind of devotion and affection and adoration to this kind of Savior because he's worthy well let us pray our Father we thank you so much for this blessed Christ we thank you for the wonder the Incarnation we thank you for the wonder of his mission on earth we thank you especially for that that life that death that resurrection on the third day and God we know that he came to save his people from their sins that's in Matthew 1 Matthew 26 to 28 demonstrates how that is the case and I pray that everyone here would be looking unto Him in faith for those of us who by grace our believers may we express that devotion that worship and that adoration in ways that are consistent with his dignity and with his glory and with his majesty and for those who aren't believers we pray that you would grant them grace to see that he is chief among 10,000 to see that he is altogether lovely to see that he is alone the one who is able to save sinners and we ask this in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ amen we'll read that after the brothers pass out the bread and wine but I did want to make a few comments prior to them passing out the elements in the first place the ordinance of the Supper is for believers it is for those who have by grace believe the gospel those who are seeking by grace to live in a manner that is consistent with God's Word the ordinance of the Supper is for believers as I said that are dealing with their sin you'll never have the cause of the occasion to come to the supper because you've had a perfect week it's not gonna happen there's no perfect week in the Christian life but if you're dealing with sin you are trying to live the way the Apostle Paul says in acts 24 I strive to maintain a conscience void of offense toward God and toward men not that you are sinless and perfect because then no one would ever be able to take the supper on this side of heaven so it's for believers it's for believers who are seeking to deal with their sin as well the bread and the wine remain bread and wine we differ fundamentally and substantially no pun intended with the substantially there with reference to Roman Catholicism their doctrine of transubstantiation is an abomination they teach a change of the elements into the actual body and blood of Jesus they then engage in an unbloody sacrifice of atonement that's not what we're doing we do this according to to Jesus we do this according to Paul in 1st Corinthians 11 in remembrance of me there's a remembrance element we remember the life the death specifically of our Lord Jesus we remember his broken body we remember his shed blood the Bible also teaches that it is a means of grace it's not just a memorial but there is God coming to the center by the Spirit Christ coming to the redeemed Center by the spirit and confirming faith strengthening faith causing us to receive benefit from this particular activity and then finally the focus of the Supper is ultimately on Christ if you have sin that you need to confess as the brothers are passing out the bread confess it ask the Lord to forgive you you don't have to wait for three months to do so two things you can confess sin where you're at right now if there's something in your heart that you need to deal with go ahead and deal with that but with reference to the actual participation in the supper we're not doing this in remembrance of us it's not a time for us to be introspective it's not time for us to just get hung up on how bad we are you've got you know six other days you can do that you go right ahead but in terms of the supper its Christ that we focus upon hopefully you'll all be able to recite the Murray quote that I'm about to give you it is the Lord we are remembering so frequently believers become so introspective that preoccupation with themselves excludes preoccupation with Christ we want to be preoccupied with him well if the brothers could come and pass out the bread please remain seated and we'll sing number 276 don't take the bread yet because we'll read that section we'll pray and then we'll take the bread together but we'll sing 276 and again remain seated [Music] in matthew 26:26 we read and as they were eating Jesus took bread blessed and broke it and gave it to the disciples and said take eat this is my body well let us pray our God we thank you for this work of Christ on behalf of sinners we thank you God that he went to such lengths for us for our salvation we give praise to you we know that that apart from the sacrifice of the Lamb of God the world would still be in its sin so we give praise to you for this great transaction this act of love this act of mercy this act of kindness and compassionate as well an act of justice and righteousness because in Christ because in the gospel you are both just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus we give praise to you for including us we give praise to you for the benefits that we receive from the broken body of our Lord Jesus Christ and we pray in his most blessed name amen we'll take together well you can turn to 336 all the brothers pass out the fruit of the vine remember that the wine is in the outer or the juice rather I'm sorry the juice is in the outer ring wine is in the center part of the thing so 276 again remain seated the juice is in the outer ring I'm sorry 336 sorry about that Lucas 336 [Music] [Music] continuing in verse 27 then he took the cup and gave thanks and gave it to them saying drink from it all of you for this is my blood of the new covenant which is shed for many for the remission of sins but I say to you I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my father's Kingdom and when they had sung a hymn they went out to the Mount of Olives let us pray God thank you for the blood of Jesus Christ your son that does cleanse us from all sin Paul says in Hebrews without the shedding of blood there is no remission and how we thank you for the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world how we thank you for that blessed reality that there is that fountain open for sin and uncleanness and we give praise to you that it has washed us that it has purified us and God made this encourage us to worship to devotion and to expressions of praise and adoration to our great God and we pray this through Jesus Christ our Lord amen we'll take together well please turn with me in your hem books to number 3 5 - 350 - will stand as we sing together [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the everlasting covenant make you complete and every good work to do his will working in you what is well pleasing in his sight through Jesus Christ to whom be glory forever and ever amen God may this be true for each of us may you go with us now we watch over us in this coming week may you sanctify us by your grace and may you give us that ability to grow in our understanding of who Christ is and may we express worship consistent with who Christ is bless and strengthen each one in this congregation again look with favor upon those who are not well physically look with favor upon the team that is traveling to the Philippines and God bring us together next Sabbath day to worship you in spirit and in truth and we pray these things through Jesus Christ our Lord amen you may be seated for a brief time of meditation you