Poured Out

Since January we have looked at the last week of Jesus’ life in Jerusalem in Matthew 21-25. In Matthew 26, Jesus’ teachings have come to an end, and the stage is set for him to pour out his life for us on the cross. He again predicts his impending death to his disciples, and the religious leaders conspire to have him killed. But before any of this happens, Matthew interrupts the flow of the story to tell of a women who poured out her life for him:

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.’ (Matthew 26:6-13)

We know from John 11-12 that this was Mary, sister of Martha and Jesus brought her brother Lazarus back from the dead. If the woman in Luke 7 was the same person, she was also remembered as a ‘sinful woman’ whose love for Jesus was reflected in how much she had been forgiven. The ‘beautiful thing’ she did for Jesus was not a teeth-gritting act of the will, but a complete pouring out of herself. We know that the jar of perfume was worth about a year’s wages (John 12:5), and instead of selling it or giving it to the poor, she ‘wasted’ it by pouring it out for him. We know from the stories in John and Luke that she also poured out her dignity for him by washing his feet with her hair and tears. This invited public scorn because of her seeming wastefulness, and her audacity because of her sinful reputation.

She prepared Jesus for his burial in the way he would pour himself out for the world. The beautiful thing he did was also because of his great love for us. He poured out even more of his ‘riches’ by giving up his life, and he poured out even more of his dignity by being subjected to ridicule, torture, and death by crucifixion.

We will witness this pouring out the next two Sundays.  This Sunday we will explore the Last Supper through his arrest in Gethsemane (Matthew 26:14-56) and next Sunday we will explore his trials before the Sanhedrin and Pilate, and then his crucifixion (Matthew 26:57 - 27:54). Our meetings will have a different format - with multiple readers and multiple times of worship - and we pray you will understand more deeply how much he poured out for you.