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TEACHINGS of JESUS
from: the Gospel of Matthew
(originally written 1998 )



And it happened, when Jesus finished all these sayings, He said to His  disciples, You know that the Passover is coming after two days, and the  Son of Man is betrayed to be crucified." (vs1-2)
 
In the past Jesus has already told of His death. In ch16 He has told how  He will be betrayed by the religious leaders and be 'killed'. But now He  adds a bit more information. If He were to be killed by -only- the Jews,  He would be stoned. But now He is adding another detail, "crucified".  That indicates a "Roman" style execution.
 
Over the centuries antisemitic bigotry has labeled the Jews as "Christ  killers". It was the 'church' of Rome that commissioned series of  Crusades to free the Holy Land from 'pagans', and they also persecuted  the "Christ killers". Thing is... THEY, ROME, were the ones who  crucified Jesus. It was a Roman ruler, Pilate, who condemned Him. It was  Roman soldiers who beat His back to a bloody pulp. And it was Roman  spikes that nailed Him to a Roman cross. Yes, the Jewish leadership  asked for His death, but Rome did the deed. They were -both- culpable.
 
You see, God so loved the -WORLD- that He gave His only begotten Son.  (Jn3:16) When God looked down from heaven to see if He could find  anybody righteous, He saw that -ALL- had "turned aside". (Ps14:1-3) So,  the world's condemnation of God's Holy Son to death was a -joint-  effort. Both God's 'elect' as well as the 'heathen' world, jointly,  crucified Jesus. 

These next three chapters of Matthew contain a lot of information about  the -events- of the crucifixion. This series from Matthew has been  called the "Teachings" of Jesus (from Matthew), not necessarily a  historical chronology of the "life of Jesus". Thus, in keeping with that  theme, we will concentrate on the passages dealing with Jesus' teaching,  words, etc. Somewhat, as though we were considering His words from a  red-letter edition of the Bible. In the past we have considered  historical aspects, and I expect we will again in the future. Thus, we  are not omitting things from God's Word. Also, during the time-frame  under consideration, if we are thinking of Jesus' teachings, it might  seem appropriate to divert to John's Gospel for the upper room  discourse. But again, this series is from 'Matthew'. 

With that understanding, we find Jesus and company at Bethany. And a  woman comes with "very precious" ointment and pours it on Jesus' head.  (vs7) This is a different event from the one where Mary a few days  earlier anoints His feet. (Jn12) In both cases, there is indignation  from the disciples at such a "waste". In Mary's case, the value was  equivalent to a year's wages. In this case, the value is likely even  greater. In both cases Jesus shushes the outrage with the fact that  these anointings are for His "burial".

In Exodus ch12 is the first Passover. When we considered it in a recent  Walk-thru, we observed that many 'tithe' and 'firstfruit' offerings were  brought in 'as-is' condition, whether the animal had an illness or  blemish. But the Passover lamb was to be "without blemish". It was to be  perfect in every respect. 

As we see the life Jesus led, they were always at poverty level. Jesus  commented that all the animals have their burrows and nests, but the  "Son of Man has nowhere He may lay His head." (Mt8:20)
 
But there were two times when gifts of highest value and quality were  given. First, when He was born. The wise men brought gold, frankincense  and myrrh. Costly things of quality..."fit for a king". After all, they  had come seeking the "King of the Jews".
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And then, for His burial. Anointed with ointments of highest quality.  When the O.T. priests were commissioned for service to atone for the  people, they were anointed with special oil. (Ex29:21) The psalmist  says, "Behold! How good and how pleasant is the living of brothers, even  in unity. It is like the precious oil on the head that ran down on the  beard, Aaron's beard, going down to the mouth of his garments.."  (Ps133:1-2) When Jesus died, one of the things He accomplished was the  "uniting" of Jew and Gentile, alike, to God. Where we (both Jew and  Gentile) were at enmity with God, Jesus' death on the cross "reconcile/s  both in one body to God through the cross, slaying the enmity in  Himself." (Eph2:14-16) Jesus was being anointed for the Sin Offering...  Sacrifice of Atonement... going behind the Veil to open the way to the  Holy of Holies. 

The disciples didn't understand this. All they could see was dollar  signs. Just think of how many poor people that money could help! And  Jesus responds, "For you always have the poor with you, but you do not  always have Me." (vs11)
 
Notice this statement. There will always be poverty. No matter how many  government subsidies there are, or programs to get people on their feet,  there will always be need to help the poor. And the early Church made a  point of helping the poor, and requested that Paul, the 'rogue' Apostle,  do the same. (Gal2:10) 

But Jesus is saying to His disciples, I'm a special case. He would not  always be around, physically. They did not yet fully understand the  significance of His imminent death. But later Peter would write about  it, that before that time, even the prophets who wrote the O.T.  Scriptures did not understand. But that our redemption comes about "with  the -PRECIOUS- blood of Christ, as of an unblemished and unspotted  lamb.." (1Pt1:10-12,19) 

This anointing of Jesus' head; notice Jesus said that this act by this  woman would be recorded for history as a "memorial of her". (vs13) And  yet, notice, we are not given a -name- of that woman. People often  become upset if they don't have a -name- of the person ministering. I've  had people unsubscribe from VW's e-list for the very reason that I don't  promote 'me' (this writer), and readily tell them "all about me", so  that they can 'judge' me for my credentials or lack of them. That I  shouldn't be so "ashamed" of who I am. When people see the printed VW's  sitting by the door at my store, they often try to find out "who" writes  them? I always give evasive answers, that they are written by one of  God's servants, and never say that "I do it". On a couple of occasions  they have become rather insistent and vocal, trying to find out "WHO  DOES IT???" But I don't answer... 

Yes, the woman and her deed would be remembered. But -she- was not the  focus. "..but you do not always have Me" ...the Son of God. This time is  leading up to the most important event of all time and eternity, when  the Son of God would die for sinful man. His preciousness, holiness and  sanctification for the event was prepared by His anointing, since He is  God's Anointed, the Messiah, our High Priest (Heb8:1)