Crucifixion Foreseen

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Crucifixion Foreseen

Matt. 26:6-13

6 Now [de] when Jesus [Iesous] was [ginomai] in [en] Bethany [Bethania] , in [en] the house [oikia] of Simon [Simon] the leper [lepros] ,
7 There came [proserchomai] unto him [autos] a woman [gune] having [echo] an alabaster box [alabastron] of very precious [barutimos] ointment [muron] , and [kai] poured it [katacheo] on [epi] his [autos] head [kephale] , as he sat [anakeimai] at meat.
8 But [de] when his [autos] disciples [mathetes] saw [eido] it, they had indignation [aganakteo] , saying [lego] , To [eis] what purpose [tis] is this [houtos] waste [apoleia] ?
9 For [gar] this [touto] ointment [muron] might [dunamai] have been sold [piprasko] for much [polus] , and [kai] given [didomi] to the poor [ptochos] .
10 When [de] Jesus [Iesous] understood [ginosko] it, he said [epo] unto them [autos] , Why [tis] trouble ye [kopos] [parecho] the woman [gune] ? for [gar] she hath wrought [ergazomai] a good [kalos] work [ergon] upon [eis] me [eme] .
11 For [gar] ye have [echo] the poor [ptochos] always [pantote] with [meta] you [heautou] ; but [de] me [eme] ye have [echo] not [ou] always [pantote] .
12 For in that [gar] she [houtos] [autos] hath poured [ballo] this [touto] ointment [muron] on [epi] my [mou] body [soma] , she did [poieo] it for [pros] my [me] burial [entaphiazo] .
13 Verily [amen] I say [lego] unto you [humin] , Wheresoever [hopou] [ean] this [touto] gospel [euaggelion] shall be preached [kerusso] in [en] the whole [holos] world [kosmos] , there shall also [kai] this, that [hos] this woman [houtos] [autos] hath done [poieo] , be told [laleo] for [eis] a memorial [mnemosunon] of her [autos] . KJV-Interlinear

6 Now when Jesus was in Bethany, at the home of Simon the leper, 7 a woman came to Him with an alabaster vial of very costly perfume, and she poured it upon His head as He reclined at the table. 8 But the disciples were indignant when they saw this, and said, 'Why this waste? 9 'For this perfume might have been sold for a high price and the money given to the poor.' 10 But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, 'Why do you bother the woman? For she has done a good deed to Me. 11 'For the poor you have with you always; but you do not always have Me. 12 'For when she poured this perfume upon My body, she did it to prepare Me for burial. 13 'Truly I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done shall also be spoken of in memory of her.' NASB

There is a time and place for everything. There is a time to help the poor, and there is a time to worship. Which is the more important of the two? Worship always comes before everything in life, but not to the exclusion of other things in life. There is always time for both. Any self righteous person would jump on the previous statement and make the comment that he had no time for the poor because he was spending his time in worship. A very phony and convenient excuse for avoiding ones responsibility in charity.

As Jesus says here, the poor are always with us. There is no program in which the poor will be eliminated from society. That is a problem of humanity which humanity will never solve. But our study here is what? The poor and their needs? No. The price of perfumed oils? No. The place where this event took place? No.

What we have here are the disciples (the twelve) who upon the instigation of Judas began to criticize Mary for using such an expensive oil, when it could have been sold and the proceeds given to the poor.

A few quick verses for reference. The price of the oil was about 300 denarii, or a years wages. That makes it expensive, Mk. 14:3-5. Not only did Mary use the oil on Jesus, but she dropped the bottle and it broke. All of the oil was lost. Oh, the criticism!!

The gathering was in Bethany at the home of Simon the leper. Since lepers were never allowed to mingle with the common folk, we surmise that Simon had, had leprosy, and was cured. Since there was no known cure for leprosy, then Jesus must have cured Simon at some point during the prior three years.

Those additional folks who were present were, Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, John 12:1-3. Martha served the meal. Mary also used the oil on Jesus' feet, John 12:3. Judas was the instigator of the criticism over the use of the oil, John 12:4-5.

Now for the washing. Oils were often used to prepare the dead for burial. Mary seems to understand what Jesus has been saying regarding His leaving soon. She understood that before a resurrection, there had to first be a death and a burial, and that there would be no resurrection for anyone unless Jesus Christ went to the Cross to pay the price of redemption for all of mankind.

So the real issue here is that the one woman, Mary, clearly understood what was happening historically, and that the disciples were still in the fog with regard to all of this. They spent their time arguing over who would be the greatest in the kingdom to come. They spent their time in awe of the stone Temple which had withstood the ages, been destroyed and rebuilt, as though it had some form of life of its own.

When Jesus gets arrested, where do we find the disciples? Nowhere. They will fade like little mice in the dark. After the Cross, they will be totally disenchanted, disillusioned, and at a loss of exactly what they are to do next. Leaderless, they will provide excellent examples of little sheep who have become totally lost and incapable to finding their own way home. They remained in Jerusalem only because of the huge crowd and the Passover Feast, otherwise if the burial had lasted longer than the three days and three nights, they would most likely have gone home.

Mary gives from her most expensive possession, to the Lord whom she has grown to love with her entire being. Not because He is a man, but because He is her savior and the Son of God. She recognized her tremendous blessing in having lived during this time in history, and having the opportunity of being so close to Jesus Christ. Very few people in history have received this blessing. The greatest event in all of history was about to unfold before the twelve and they did not understand it. Mary did.

Judas was the keeper of the money and he only wanted, was to sell the oil for the money which he could take for himself. The disciples were caught up in the criticism, because they had very little independent innovative thought emanating from their own brains.

The priests and elders are in the dark rooms plotting how they can rid themselves of Jesus. They hate the very person who is going to give them an opportunity of salvation. Mary is a 'nobody' person (by their priestly standards), and she gives of herself and her name is recorded for all in history to know. What are the names of the priests and elders who fancied themselves so prominent in society?