Matthew 26:1-12 When Jesus had finished saying all these things, he said to his disciples, “As you know, the Passover is two days away—and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.” Then the chief priests and the elders of the people assembled in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas, and they schemed to arrest Jesus secretly and kill him. “But not during the festival,” they said, “or there may be a riot among the people.” While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of Simon the Leper, 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. When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. “Why this waste?” they asked. “This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor. Aware of this, Jesus said to them, “Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me. When she poured this perfume on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial. Truly I tell you, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”
The schemers the murderers were meeting in a palace to devise their wicked plan to kill Jesus. We see Jesus in the home of Simon the Leper, probably not as opulent or well-finished as Caiaphas’ palace. Caiaphas was the high priest; he had succeeded greatly in the Jewish society, but Jesus was not so successful in gaining material goods from this world. Then a teacher of the law came to him and said, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” (Matthew 8:19-20) There would be no palaces for the followers of Jesus. In Jesus’ reply to the teacher of the law, he wanted the man to know he would sacrifice a lot to follow Jesus, personal belongings or even a home. Religious leaders lived in luxury and were even adored, but he as a follower of the Messiah might live a life of uncertainty caught up in altercations. A committed disciple of Jesus might not know where his next resting place for the night would be or whether he would have a full meal for his health’s sake. Paul describes his life of following Christ as one of turmoil and constant struggles and persecutions. He shares with the Corinthians a litany of trials and disputations that he had endured in following Christ. In addition to the threats of death and physical abuse he suffered, he states, I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. (2 Corinthians 11:27) He had been cold and naked, without adequate housing or food to eat. He said he was constantly on the move. He did not have his meals and drink served by servants as did the high priest. He gave up everything to serve God. He counted all that he left behind as dung. As a young man he was destined for adulation and fame because of his zeal for the Jewish religion. He was a fast-track man on his way to a leadership role in the Jewish society. He was under direct orders from the high priest to hunt down Christians and to bring them back to Jerusalem, so they might be forced to recant their belief in Jesus as the Messiah. But on the road to Damascus to carry out the high priest’s orders, Paul met Jesus, changing his view of his life one-hundred and eighty degrees. Jesus turned his life upside down. He counted all things lost for knowing Jesus.
This teacher of the law who came to Jesus really did not know what it would mean for him to follow Jesus. He saw Jesus as the Miracle Worker; he probably assumed Jesus eventually would rise to power in the Jewish nation, for he was the Miracle Worker. His disciples also viewed Jesus in that context even though Jesus had revealed to them that he would be murdered by the elite. They had experienced some of the physical hardships of following Jesus. They had eaten grain in the harvest fields to alleviate their hunger. However, they were completely unaware of what would happen to them in the immediate future. When Jesus was in the hands of the mob, they all fled. Peter, the bravest of them, lost his nerve when the servant girl claimed he was one of Jesus’ followers. He denied that he even knew Jesus. Jesus had told the disciples if you deny me before men, I will deny you before the Father. Then seizing Jesus, they led him away and took him into the house of the high priest. Peter followed at a distance. And when some there had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and had sat down together, Peter sat down with them. A servant girl saw him seated there in the firelight. She looked closely at him and said, “This man was with him.” But he denied it. “Woman, I don’t know him,” he said. A little later someone else saw him and said, “You also are one of them.” “Man, I am not!” Peter replied. About an hour later another asserted, “Certainly this fellow was with him, for he is a Galilean.” Peter replied, “Man, I don’t know what you’re talking about!” (Luke 22:54-60) Peter went away from that courtyard of the high priest weeping uncontrollably. He failed miserably in his support of Jesus. He had probably assumed he would be a man of prestige and power when Jesus took over the rein’s in Israel. But Jesus was not out to win the world, politically, economically, or socially. He was on the world’s scene to bring the kingdom of God to mankind, not to establish a better kingdom of men. When Jesus prayed He said, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. (Matthew 6:10 KJV) The apostles abandoned him and went into hiding. The assumption of the expert in the law about being someone important by being close to Jesus was quickly dashed. Jesus said, If you follow me, you will not even have a place to lay your head. Even worse, you might lose your head or your life for my cause. Hardly a good job description for someone seeking power and success in this world.
In the home of Simon the Leper, we see what it means to commit to Jesus. 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. This was costly perfume, equal to 300 days of labor, almost a full year of working for someone. This is an illustration of giving one’s life to the Lord out of love for him. As Paul left everything, this woman poured on Jesus this very costly perfume which represented much of her life. We do not know how this woman earned this amount of money, but we do know it was an important part of her life. The disciples who watched this scene assumed that she wasted it all on Jesus. When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. “Why this waste?” In expressing their distaste for such an extravagant act, they claimed, This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor. A good perspective, a good religious act proposed, but Jesus would have none of it. Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me. Jesus knew his immediate future, his coming execution and burial. He knew this woman performed an act that was precisely in the middle of God’s will; she did it to prepare me for burial. Giving to the poor is a good act, but Jesus tells them you will always have the poor with you; you will always have an opportunity to please God by giving money to the indigent. But this woman has performed today an act that will be remembered for generations because she has fulfilled God’s will by anointing me for burial. As we see with Paul, this woman committed much to following God’s will for her life. Our lives should demonstrate just as much dedication to God as we construct our journeys of faith. We who have the Holy Spirit resident in us have no excuse not to commit to God with passion. The world needs calamitous events or strong voices to sensitize them to God, but we who are hidden in Christ know a quiet, still voice that directs our lives. We need to heed that voice and to put away as Paul did so successfully the worldliness that binds us to the conventions of this life. Paul tells Timothy we should be focused like a good soldier on the will of the commander. No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer. (2 Timothy 2:4) Let us not be too much in this world, but be organized in our thoughts and activities to serve the Lord in season and out of season. Paul was in chains because he served the Lord; he taught Christ crucified and resurrected. If we are in chains or persecuted, let it be for no other reason than for our teaching of Christ crucified and resurrected. For this message is the only truth of life. Paul experienced much turmoil and struggle in declaring this message. But we also know if we are in a quiet time, a time of peace and dedication, God is in the midst of that period of life too as with the woman pouring expensive perfume on the Lord’s head. Paul said it best about the way to live: I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength. (Philippians 4:11-13) Paul never got to live as the high priest, no palace for him, and the woman never got to use this hard-earned ointment for herself, but both lived their lives in the center of God’s will, the epitome of a successful life for a follower of Jesus Christ.
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