Matthew 26:1-13: “Jesus Forewarns Of His Crucifixion /
Pharisees Plot To Kill Jesus / A Woman Anoints Jesus’ Head”
by
Jim Bomkamp
1.
INTRO:
1.1.
In our previous study of the gospel of Matthew, we
finished up chapter 25, which really was the end of the apocalyptic discourses
of Jesus, and it was also the end of His teachings in general
1.1.1.
We studied last then the Sheep and Goats Judgment
which will occur at the end of the 7 yr. Tribulation of the Book of Revelation
1.1.1.1.We discussed
why we believe that this will occur at the end of the 7 yr. Tribulation Period
1.1.1.1.1.We saw that
this judgment could not be the Great White Throne Judgment of Non-believers
which is found in Revelation chapter 20, which is shown to occur at the end of
the Millennial Reign of Christ, for at that judgment there will be none of
God’s sheep, for everyone will be thrown into the Lake of Fire for the Great
White Throne Judgment is a judgment of condemnation
1.1.1.1.2.We saw also
that this judgment could not be the ‘Bema Seat’ Judgment which is described in
2 Cor. 5 and 1 Cor. 3, for that judgment is a judgment of rewards and is just
for believers, and there is not a goat in the bunch
1.1.1.1.3.We saw that
it must be the case then that this judgment will occur at the end of the 7 year
Tribulation, and that it will be a separation of those who have come to Christ
during the Tribulation Period and who thus are God’s sheep and those who have
resisted Christ during that time and thus are goats
1.1.1.2.We saw that
from Daniel 12:11-13 that there was a timetable for the end of all things and
that from the time of the ‘Abomination of Desolation’ until the end there were
two sets of days given by Daniel, 1,290 and 1,335, and that Daniel said that
the one who attained to the 1,335 days would be blessed. This then is good evidence that the
descripancy of the 45 days is the time that it will take for this Sheep and
Goats Judgment to occur, and that those who made it to the 1,335 days were the
sheep to whom God would let into His Millennial Kingdom
1.2.
In this next section of the gospel of Matthew, we now
will begin to study the events that occurred just leading up to Christ being
crucified upon the cross of Calvary
2.
VS 26:1-2 -
“26:1 And it came about that when Jesus had finished all these words, He
said to His disciples, 2 “You know that after two days the Passover is coming,
and the Son of Man is to be delivered up for crucifixion.”” - We see here that Jesus has ended His Olivett
Discourse and that He tells His disciples that He will be crucified in two days
2.1.
There has been much debate throughout the centuries about the exact
timeline of events that occurred during this last week of Christ’s life, and
the only event whose timeline everyone has agreed upon is that Christ was
raised up from the dead on Sunday.
2.1.1.
A point to keep in mind when determining these time lines for the events
that occurred during this last week of Jesus life that for us in America a new
day begins at 12 midnight, however in
Jesus a new day began at sundown. I
believe that much of the confusion about the timetable of events during this
last week of Jesus’ life has occurred because of this difference of when day’s
begin and end.
2.1.2.
It appears most likely that Christ’s Triumphal Entry into
2.1.3.
His driving the money changers out of the temple occurred on Monday.
2.1.4.
His teaching in the temple leading up to His leaving the temple and going
to the
2.1.5.
His Olivett Discourse then most likely occurred on Tuesday, and then here
in our study where we pick up today, He is finishing up His Olivett Discourse
by saying that in two days He would be crucified. This would then mean that, contrary to
Tradition which taught that Jesus was crucified on Good Friday, Jesus was most
likely crucified on Thursday.
2.1.5.1.In Matt. 12:40, we saw that Jesus told His
disciples very clearly that He would spend three days and three nights in the
heart of the earth after His crucifixion, “40 for just as Jonah was three days
and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so shall the Son of Man be
three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”
2.1.5.2.Those who have held to Jesus
having been crucified on Friday have a real problem with this verse because if
Jesus was crucified on Friday then He would have only spent parts of two days
in the earth after being crucified.
Those who hold to this position do an interesting ‘soft shoe’ to dance
around this verse, however it seems very unlikely that He was crucified on
Friday.
2.1.5.3.This would also mean that it
was during the day on Wednesday, the day before the Passover Feast, that Jesus
would have sent out His disciples to buy a lamb for them to eat together for
this Passover Feast.
2.1.5.4.The Last Supper would have
occurred then before midnight on Thursday.
2.1.5.5.At the end of the Feast of
Unleavened Bread there was a Sabbath, and this would have been on Friday. So, there were back to back Sabbaths, and in
fact this Sabbath that occurred on Friday is referred to as a ‘high Sabbath’ in
the gospels. Therefore, it appears that
the Jews wanted to get Jesus off of the cross before the Sabbath at the end of
the Feast which began on Friday, and that therefore He was placed in the grave
on Thursday just before sundown when Friday would have begun.
2.2.
Notice here that Jesus tells His disciples that He is going to be
crucified on the Passover. It was very
important that Christ be crucified on the Passover as the lambs were being
slain all across
2.2.1.
The Passover was instituted to remember that point in time when the angel
of death passed over the houses of the Israelites when they were in
2.2.2.
In 1 Cor. 5:7, Paul wrote about Christ being our Passover, “7 Clean out the old leaven, that you
may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Christ our Passover
also has been sacrificed.”
2.2.3.
In Heb. 9:22, the scripture teaches that ‘…without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness’ of sins.
2.2.4.
In 1 Peter 1:18-21, we read about how that Jesus was that Lamb without spot or blemish
pictured in all of those blood sacrifices to cover sins, and it was the
incredible price of His precious blood which was required to be sacrificed in
order for everyone’s sins to be covered and forgiven, “18 knowing
that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your
futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, 19 but with precious blood,
as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ. 20 For He was
foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last
times for the sake of you 21 who through Him are believers in God, who raised
Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.”
2.2.5.
In and of ourselves, and by our own works of righteousness, there is
absolutely no way that any of us could ever be accepted by God since He is
totally holy and righteous, therefore it is only through the blood of the
perfect spotless Lamb of God covering our sins that we can be brought into
fellowship with God. Paul wrote about
this in Rom. 3:20, “20 because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in
His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.”
2.3.
The ‘Last Supper’ which Jesus had with His disciples was a celebration of
the Passover Feast, which was on that evening transformed by Jesus into that
which was known as the celebration of The Lord’s Supper. Thus, we see in the New Testament that when
the church got together to remember the Lord through the Lord’s Supper, they
had a meal together, and this time was also called the ‘Breaking of Bread’,
which brings out the idea of it being a feast.
3.
VS 26:3-5 - “3 Then
the chief priests and the elders of the people were gathered together in the
court of the high priest, named Caiaphas; 4 and they plotted together to seize
Jesus by stealth, and kill Him. 5 But they were saying, “Not during the
festival, lest a riot occur among the people.”” - The chief priests and elders were gathered
together at this time trying to find a convenient to quietly have Jesus put to
death without causing a big disturbance
3.1.
Jesus was held in great admiration by the common people, therefore it
would have been a very bad situation for the chief priests and elders to
crucify Jesus where the masses of people were together since a riot could
ensue.
3.2.
We see here that the man who was considered the high priest was
‘Caiaphas’, however at this point of time Rome appointed the high priests that
it saw fit to guide the Israelites, and so every few years they would appoint a
different high priest.
3.2.1.
The Romans did this in spite of the fact that the Law of Moses instituted
that the high priest was to be in office for the duration of his life.
3.2.2.
Annas, the father in law of Caiphas, had been the previous high priest
and he was the high priest recognized by the people. So, effectively in
3.3.
We begin to see here immediately from this story that there was nothing
legal that was happening here concerning how the chief priests and elders
planned to deal with Jesus. They were
not at all concerned with handling the matter with Jesus according to the Law
of Moses which required proper charges filed, a public trial in which arguments
could be made on both sides, etc. This
was nothing other than a plot to perform a cold blooded murder. It was conceived by those who were the
highest religious leaders of the land however they were men who did not fear
God in the least nor were concerned about carrying out their charges in a
manner that would show their submission to God and bring honor and glory to
God.
4.
VS 26:6-13 - “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
4.1.
In Mark’s account of this story, Mark 14:3-5, we learn that this perfume was worth over
300 denari, which in that day was the equivalent to a year’s wages, “3 And
while He was in Bethany at the home of Simon the leper, and reclining at the
table, there came a woman with an alabaster vial of very costly perfume of pure
nard; and she broke the vial and poured it over His head. 4 But some were
indignantly remarking to one another, “Why has this perfume been wasted? 5 “For
this perfume might have been sold for over three hundred denarii, and the money
given to the poor.” And they were scolding her.”
4.2.
In John’s account of this story, John 12:1-3, we learn that Mary,
Martha, and Lazarus were also present and that it was Mary who used to sit at
Jesus’ feet who anointed His head with this perfume, “12:1 Jesus,
therefore, six days before the Passover, came to
4.2.1.
As Mary had been so attentive to Jesus’ teaching, it appears that she may
have been the only person at that particular time who truly understood Jesus’
words when He spoke of His impending death and resurrection, and thus in the
greatest of devotion and worship she went to huge expense to anoint Jesus body
‘for burial.
4.2.2.
Those who sit at Jesus’ feet as Mary was in the habit, will learn the
greatest nuggets of truth about Him and His ways.
4.3.
The disciples understood so little if anything of what true worship of
Jesus was about that they were indignant that this woman had wasted such a
great amount of money upon Jesus when they could have spent it upon the
poor. This story of Mary and of her
pouring out an alabaster vial of perfume upon Jesus portrays an incredible
picture for us of what true worship of God is to consist of:
4.3.1.
When we engage in ‘true worship’ of the Lord, we are
to give of ourselves to Jesus, and there is an intimacy that we are to have
with Him during that time.
4.3.2.
True worship must be costly.
4.3.2.1.Mary gave very costly
perfume to anoint Jesus in an attitude of worship, and worship that does not
cost us something is worship that is not going to be from the heart and thus
not worth much.
4.3.2.1.1.I believe that this is a
major reason that all of the offerings were commanded to be made in the Old and
New Testament as a part of worship.
4.3.2.1.2.One brother once said this
which I have found to be true, “If our worship of the Lord does not pass
through our pocketbook then it is not going to also pass through our heart”.
4.3.3.
True worship must involve humilty before God.
4.3.3.1.John records, as we saw
above in John 12:3, that Mary actually humbled herself and ministered in such
an intimate way to Jesus that she even wiped the Master’s feet with her very
hair.
4.3.4.
True worship must be a paying of ‘homage’ to God.
4.3.4.1.The Greek word, ‘proskuneuo’, that is used 60 times in the New Testament
and in each place in the KJV translated ‘worship’ is a word that was used for
paying homage to a ruler, and thus it literally means, ‘to kiss the
hand of’’,
and when a person paid homage to a ruler in Jesus day he would bow down before
him and kiss his hand or ring.
4.3.4.1.1.This word then paints a
picture of what true worship is to consist of.
True worship of God brings a person in humility to bow down in his heart
before the Lord, and acknowledge His greatness and supremacy over all, and in doing
so to give to the Lord the greatest of honor and respect.
4.3.5.
True worship is to be ‘for the Lord’, or
‘God-centered’.
4.3.5.1.Worship is not to be a time
taken up with the singing of songs, but it is to be a time of giving of
ourselves to the Lord and of expressing our love to Him, a time of singing of
songs to Jesus, not about Him or His works even. It is certainly not to be a time where we are
singing songs that are to rally us all together, rather it is to be a time that
is centered around Jesus, and for Him alone.
4.4.
Mary anointed Jesus with the fragrant perfume, and in Exodus
30:22-29 we
read that a fragrant perfume was to be rubbed upon all of the furniture in the
tabernacle as part of it’s consecration, “22 Moreover, the Lord spoke to
Moses, saying, 23 “Take also for yourself the finest of spices: of flowing
myrrh five hundred shekels, and of fragrant cinnamon half as much, two hundred
and fifty, and of fragrant cane two hundred and fifty, 24 and of cassia five
hundred, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, and of olive oil a hin. 25
“And you shall make of these a holy anointing oil, a perfume mixture, the work
of a perfumer; it shall be a holy anointing oil. 26 “And with it you shall
anoint the tent of meeting and the ark of the testimony, 27 and the table and
all its utensils, and the lampstand and its utensils, and the altar of incense,
28 and the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and the laver and its
stand. 29 “You shall also consecrate them, that they may be most holy; whatever
touches them shall be holy.”
4.4.1.
The scriptures teach in 2 Cor. 2:14-15 that as we walk in fellowship with Jesus that we
bring the ‘fragrance of Christ’ wherever we go, “14 But thanks be to God, who always
leads us in His triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of
the knowledge of Him in every place. 15 For we are a fragrance of Christ to God
among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing.”
4.4.1.1.In an attitude of the
deepest of worship Mary poured a fragrant aroma over the head of our Lord and
wiped His feet with her hair, however in doing so she was made to be a fragrant
aroma of Christ herself, for this always happens to those who come and give
themselves in worship before the Lord.
4.5.
It has been suggested that this event was probably the last straw that
pushed Judas over the edge, after which he determined to betray the Lord. Judas had already become extremely
disillusioned with Jesus when after making His Triumphal Entry into
4.6.
Jesus told His disciples prophetically that because of the great devotion
of this woman in going to this expense and humility to anoint His head with
this perfume that wherever the gospel would go her story would be recounted.
4.6.1.
This prophesy of Jesus has been fulfilled for this story was recounted by
the gospel writers, and here we are today retelling it ourselves.