Anointing for Death

6While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of Simon the Leper, 7a 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.

8When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. “Why this waste?” they asked. 9“This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor.”

10Aware of this, Jesus said to them, “Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me. 11The poor you will always have with you,^a but you will not always have me.12When she poured this perfume on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial. 13Truly I tell you, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”  (Matthew 26:6-13)

Thoughts: Bethany is about an eight mile walk from Jerusalem.  Jesus had a good base there- where he raised Lazarus from the dead right in the center of town.  In the Gospel of John it describes this same event but has Mary, sister of Lazarus, anointing his feet.  But such details do not contradict Matthew- his anointing could have included head, foot and other places (as the anointing of a priest did).
     John also indicates Judas, who was greedy, was the one who questioned the waste of the oil on Jesus.  Perhaps Jesus' answers disappointed Judas enough where he immediately afterwards arranged to betray Jesus.
       Jesus' reply to the criticism of waste in worship was clearer in another gospel where he says, "the poor you will have with you."  This teaches us that Jesus- who just the chapter before championed the poor- also made room for spending things in worship.   Some secularists have a hard time seeing the church as anything but a poor- helping charity.  But Jesus points out the place for worship here.
      Jesus knew this was an anointing for his death.  This anointing is not a burial anointing, but rather an anointing indicating He called to die.  The name "Christ" or "Messiah" means "anointed one."  He was anointed as a king and a prophet and a priest- but He is also anointed for a task.  His task was to be the sacrificial lamb whose vicarious suffering paid for our release from sin.  

Prayer: Lord, help me to answer my call in life from you.  Help me to appreciate your calling and anointing. 

A cross predicted and Planned

1When Jesus had finished saying all these things, he said to his disciples, 2“As you know, the Passover is two days away—and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.”

3Then the chief priests and the elders of the people assembled in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas, 4and they schemed to arrest Jesus secretly and kill him. 5“But not during the festival,” they said, “or there may be a riot among the people.” (Matthew 26:1-5)

Thoughts: Myrtle Beach South Carolina used to swell from 30,000 people in the winter to over 300,000 in the summer.  That is a little bit like Jerusalem that swelled in Jesus' day from 80,000 to about one million at Passover.  Roman soldiers were always more nervous at Passover with all of the people.  in fact, most of the rebellions against the Romans occurred over the Passover Feast. 
      Matthew records that Jesus predicted he would be "handed over" which has a bit of betrayal inference in the words.  He specifically predicted he would be crucified.  Before the leaders decided that Jesus should be killed, Jesus predicted it.  None of this happens apart from God's knowledge and ultimately God's will.  There are many who say God does not will evil.  In a sense that is true.  One day He will put an end to it.  But in the between time, God uses even evil to accomplish His purposes.  The cross is certainly a visible symbol of human evil that God used to pay for sins and that led to the triumph of the resurrection. 

Prayer: Lord, help me to see that my life is in your hands.  This chaotic and sinful world is not on its own.  Give me grace to hold onto you in the chaos around me.  

Jesus Speaks Up Against Apathy

41“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

44“They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’

45“He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’

46“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” (Matthew 25:41-46)

Thoughts: The negative side of Jesus description of the sheep and goats reminds us that the unrighteous do not care.  Apathy to the needs of others is a sign of unrighteousness and uncaring toward Jesus.  Similarly in the parable of the Good Samaritan- the Levite and the priest passed by on the other side.  Apathy is a symptom of selfishness and naval gazing.  Jesus would have us to have eyes to see the needs of others and then to do something about them. 

Prayer: Lord, give me a heart of compassion, and eyes to see those in need.  

The righteous care

34“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

37“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

40“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ (Matthew 25:34-40)

Thoughts: The righteous- are not just those who do right to get to heaven, but the righteous are those declared righteous by their belief.  The really great debate is who is righteous- it is not the so called, "good."  No good person is perfect, and heaven is a perfect place with not just kinda- perfect people in it.  Rather- the righteous are those who are God's children.  These righteous ones will not be bad - but will seek to please their Lord- doing what He says.  We know this.  Those who believe and practice their belief will do good out of love for the One who calls them. 
     What do these righteous do?  This is not an exhaustive list of good, but it certainly is a minimal list.  Helping the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick, and those in prison.  In other words care for the human beings who are hurting. 
     When we care fro the least of these, we care for our Lord.  

Prayer: Lord, give me grace to see the needs around me and then care for them as I would care for you.  

A Contrast in coming

31“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.(Matthew 25:31-33)

Thoughts: When Jesus died he died in utter humility- with nothing- naked, and wounded, scorned, mocked, and tortured.  But in contrast,  He comes back in power, with angels, and sitting on a throne.  The last will be first indeed.  The Lord of love is also the judge.  He will judge most mercifully and fairly.  Some hate the idea of God as a judge.  But with no judge there is no guarantee that evil will be defeated and judged. 
    Everyone comes before the Lord.  God is our Maker and we must come before Him to answer for our lives.  God divides into two parts-life and death; sheep and goats.  There is no third choice- no purgatory or half in and half out. 
    There is good news in that evil and selfishness will be judged.  There is good news in that the Lord of love and mercy is the judge.  While Jesus' point in this parable is to care for people- especially the hurting, believing in Jesus gives assurance and hope even in the face of judgment. 

Prayer: Lord, I cling to you as my God and my judge.  Let me live for you.  

Matthew 25:26-30

26“His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? 27Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.

28“ ‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. 29For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. 30And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’(Matthew 25:26-30)

Thoughts: The servant who only received on talent and hid it in the ground only thought he was afraid.  The master did not call him afraid but called him wicked and lazy.  This is the problem- we tend to excuse our behavior to our benefit.  The master's point was that if he was afraid he still could have worked to find a way to make interest.  It is the too-easy way to just hide it in the ground. 
     We lose our talents and abilities if we do not use them.  It is almost like a muscle that atrophies and get's weaker without use.  If we do not use our abilities, we get rusty and lose confidence.  But God will still accomplish His purposes even if we refuse to be used to glorify Him.  God will raise p someone else and we will be left out and useless. . In the end, we head ourselves toward despair and despondency if we do not try to do something in our lives for God.  We are created and called to use our talents and abilities for Him.  

Prayer: Lord, use me.  Soften my heart with courage that I might be used by you. 

Not Trusting God

24“Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’ (Matthew 25:24-25)

Thoughts: The servant was so afraid of his master's harshness that he was paralyzed.  The man did not trust his master.  So there are people that think God is not fair.  They think God takes what is not his (as this man thought of his master).  Some do not believe God is a God of love and mercy.  They think God is God who is unfair, hateful, and they don't want to worship Him or give Him honor.  Many who do not believe in God make up a God that it is impossible to believe in.  Truth is, God is much more fair than we can begin to think. 
This man's fear kept him from trying.  Some are paralyzed from trying to do good or bear fruit for Christ.  You can almost hear a sucking in of horror that this man did not trust his master and told him so.   

Prayer: Lord, help me to grow in trust in your mercy and love.