You may be seated. Some time ago, there was a man, a pastor who was speaking with me about a man in his church who he thought would be an excellent man to be a preacher of the gospel. And so he was being examined by his presbytery. And the presbytery asked him the question, somebody asked him the question, what is the gospel? Think about it in your own life, in your own mind. How would you answer that question? What is the gospel? They didn't accept his answer. I don't know what it was, but according to the person who told me, there are different ways that that question could be answered. Here are some things that I think of. There's the motive for the gospel. Jesus Christ, says Paul to Timothy, came into the world to save sinners. That's the gospel in a nutshell. Jesus came into the world to save sinners. That's why he came here. What did he do? 1 Corinthians chapter 15, verses 3 and 4, where Paul writes, for I deliver to you as of first importance that Christ died for our sins and was buried and the third day he rose again according to the scriptures. There's the activity of the gospel, what Jesus did in accomplishing our salvation. What about our duty in the gospel? Remember, there was a jailer in Philippi who said to Paul and Silas, what must I do to be saved? And they didn't give any of either of those verses that I've just recited for you, but they said, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved, you and your household. That's the gospel. And Jesus called out one day, Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you shall find rest for your souls." There's the gospel. There's the result of the gospel. Christ was sent into the world to save sinners, and he did that by dying on the cross for our sin. And he calls us to trust in him. And then there's the result of the rest that he gives to us for our souls. Well, we're going to look at an act that Jesus calls the gospel. And it's something that a lady did one day. Something that she did to Jesus. And he says, this gospel will be spoken about her. Matthew chapter 26. And so for our scripture lesson, we'll begin there with Matthew chapter 26. We're going to read the first 14, first, yes, 14 verses. Actually the 16, first 16 verses. When Jesus had finished all these sayings, He said to his disciples, you know that after two days the Passover is coming and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified. Then the chief priests and the elders of the people gathered in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas, and plotted together in order to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him. But they said, not during the feast, lest there be an uproar among the people. When Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, a woman came up to him with an alabaster flask of various expensive ointment and poured it on his head as he reclined at table. When the disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, Why this waste? For this could have been sold for a large sum and given to the poor. But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, Why do you trouble this woman? For she has done a beautiful thing to me. For you always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me. In pouring this ointment on my body, she has done it to prepare me for burial. Truly I say to you, wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her. Then one of the 12, whose name was Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests. and said, what will you give me if I deliver him over to you? And they paid him 30 pieces of silver. And from that moment, he sought an opportunity to betray him. We've just read this account of Mary, because you see, it's John who tells us that it's Mary. He doesn't say explicitly that it's Mary the sister of Lazarus and of Martha, but it's very evident from the way that John puts it forth that that's who it is. And we're going to read that account of this same event in John chapter 12. Mark records the same event for us in Mark 14. And he gives almost the same events, not quite. But you'll notice that here we have Jesus' announcement, I'm going to go to Jerusalem and be killed. Then the scene shifts to the palace of the high priest. And they're saying, well, how can we do this? How can we kill him? Notice that they've already decided what has to happen. How can we kill him? When and where? How is this going to happen? And then we are given the account of this lady who comes and pours ointment on Jesus. And immediately after that, we have Judas solving everything for the chief priests. I'll do it. I'll show you how you can have this Jesus and you can kill him. Let's go and look at John's account because even though it's different, it does not contradict what is given to us by Matthew and Mark. Luke doesn't really tell us about the anointing of Jesus in this particular case. He does have another event where Jesus is anointed by a woman and that's anointing his feet as is the case here in John. John chapter 12. Six days before the Passover, Jesus therefore came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus raised from the dead. So they gave a dinner for him there. Martha served and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at table. Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples who was about to betray him, said, why was this ointment not sold for 300 denarii and given to the poor? He said this not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief. And having charge of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it. Jesus said, leave her alone so that she may keep it for the day of my burial. For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me. And so we'll end our reading of his word at that point and ask that God would indeed use it in our hearts and lives for his glory. You'll notice a number of differences between these two accounts. The context here is of Jesus' announcement to the disciples, I'm going to go up to Jerusalem and I'm going to be killed there. I'm going to be crucified. And then we have these three different scenes given to us. The first one at the palace of the high priest, where they're gathering together and conspiring, how are we going to do this? When can we do it? Because we don't want to get in trouble with the people. We want to do this in such a way and at such a time that we won't get into trouble. Then we have the event of this woman. And you'll notice that Matthew and Mark only tell us that it was a woman who came and did this, whereas John is the one who tells us it was Mary. And he doesn't exactly say it was Mary, the sister of Lazarus, but we have to assume that that's who it was because there were a number of Marys in the New Testament, in the gospel accounts, and he surely would have identified it if it had been somebody other than the sister of Lazarus. The leaders only needed the when and how to rub out Jesus. And so they were glad to have Judas come to be their accomplice, to take care of that. But amid all this conspiring is this incredible display of love that is given to us by Mary. She's there at the dinner. Matthew puts all these events together purposefully because there's something about that work that Mary does that is the gospel, as Jesus has said. This gospel will be spoken of her. Normally, when I want to preach a passage, I would take what, for example, Matthew has to say and just deal with that and not be looking at the other accounts. Because it's very clear to me that these gospel writers have a particular purpose in the way that they write what they write. And so they put in certain aspects. and leave out some things that the others would put in. But this time we're looking more as if this were a harmony of scripture, looking at the different accounts that are given to us from the gospel writers, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Now you'll notice some differences, but they are not differences that are irreconcilable. we are told by John, as well as, I believe it's Mark, who tells us that this was in the home of Simon the leper. Now, when you hear that they're eating at the home of Simon the leper, there are certain assumptions that you ought to make, that this guy no longer has leprosy. because a good Jewish person would not go into the home of someone who had leprosy. In fact, he wouldn't have a home in the city, he'd be outside. John is the one who tells us that they put on a dinner for Jesus. And you can understand why Simon would want to do that, if indeed Jesus has healed him. Now, we aren't told that. But it seems to me a logical deduction to bring from this account, that Jesus had healed him from his leprosy. So no wonder he puts on a dinner in honor of Jesus, and no wonder that Mary wants to be there too, as well as Lazarus. Wouldn't you be thrilled to have Jesus raise your brother or sister from the dead? Incredible, you thought you had lost that loved one forever, but no, here he is alive again, and why? Because of Jesus, because of what Jesus has done. There's another difference we see in these accounts that Matthew and John give, and it might sound like it's more than can be overcome, but I don't think it is at all. And in the Matthew and Mark accounts, he says that this lady poured out the ointment on his head. That's not what John says. She anointed his feet with the ointment. Now, the very fact that you have in one place that his head was anointed and in another that his feet were anointed, That's not a contradiction, is it? It's just not either one of them telling the whole picture, the whole story. In fact, in one of these accounts, Jesus is talking about the very fact that she has anointed my body for the burial. Now the typical way of anointing would be to pour it out on the head. In fact, for those of you who were here for the previous hour when we were singing in Psalm 23, we had, you anointed my head with oil. You anointed my head with oil. That's the normal thing you would find. It's also what you find in Psalm 133, where the oil is poured out on Aaron's head and goes down on his beard and onto his robes. And so there's a copious amount of oil, of ointment that is being poured out on Aaron as he is anointed. But it raises the question, why in the world would John talk about the feet of Jesus rather than the head? It seems to me that we have the answer by looking at the very next chapter of John's account. Because there, Mary, in chapter 12 that we have read, is showing herself to be a servant, anointing the feet of Jesus. And I think John is looking ahead to John chapter 13, not that he had it numbered, of course, but that we have them numbered that way, where Jesus takes off his robe wraps a towel around himself and washes the feet of the disciples, showing himself to be a servant. We need to see the incredible love that Mary is showing here. And that is the gospel. It's the love that Jesus has shown to us A love that we are to reflect to the world around us and that Mary was able to reflect to those around her. Because Christ came to love sinners in what seems to me to be the most extreme way possible. For him to come to earth and to deal with the horrors that he finds on earth. I hope that you can see this as a rather sanctified imagination of something that we don't have any record of, but imagine an angel before Jesus' incarnation saying to the Son of God, are you sure you want to do this? Do you realize what a crucifixion is like? And here you have enjoyed the presence of your Father He's gonna turn his face away from you. You won't be able to enjoy the favor of your father. Excuse me. And Jesus' response would be, yes, but it's what my father told me to do. And I'd love to do the will of my father. And I also love those people who are destined to eternal damnation. And I want to spare them from that. And I'm the one who is in the perfect position to do that because I'm going to go down there and be a man as well as God. And so I will have the perfect way to do it. He chose this, we are told by the writer of Hebrews, who for the joy set before him. What's the joy that is set before him? Is it not the fact that he is doing the will of his father? That's what makes him joyful. He loves to do the will of his father and our father. We'll be singing later from Psalm 40, to do your will is my delight, oh my God. And we who are saved by grace are those who are then to reflect the love that Jesus has shown to us in its greatness. In Ephesians chapter five, the apostle says, to us men who are husbands. Husband, love your wife as Christ loved the church. I think a lot of times we'd like to stop there, husband, love your wife. Okay, I can do that. As Christ loved the church and gave himself for her. That ups the ante a great deal, doesn't it? It's an all-in situation. Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church. But the rest of you, don't get the feeling smug about it as that's something the men are only to do. Because earlier in that same chapter, Ephesians chapter five, Therefore, be imitators of God as beloved children and walk in love as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. This is a duty every one of us has, to show the love that Christ has shown to us, to reflect that love in a marvelous way. Full disclosure here. I have been greatly helped in this by a man who, being dead, yet speaketh. A.B. Bruce, who was a Scottish theologian, pastor and professor, wrote an excellent book that Maggie's grandfather told me I should get. And when he told me a second time to get it, I finally got it. And after I'd had it on my shelf for a while, I finally began to read it to see what a wonderful book it is. And it's in his chapter on the anointing at Bethany that I was so impressed that I was encouraged to preach on this subject. No, I'm not giving everything that he gave in that chapter. But there are some things that he did set forth, and there are three headings I want to mention here as to how we are to pour out our love for Christ in response to his love for us. The first is by pure love, by a pure love, but not something that is adulterated by our own selfishness, not something that, We just conjure up ourselves, but rather it's something that we recognize what Christ has done. And we've already mentioned it. Think of Simon and Mary. Wow, he took away my leprosy. Well, she says, he gave me back my brother. Think on those things. Don't let them just go through your mind in one ear and out the other. But realize what an incredible thing that was. He gave my brother back to me. He took away my death sentence. So it's no wonder we love him. It ought to be the response. And as you think of what Christ has done for you, And here's where we often fall short in failing to recognize the depth of our sin and how fully we have offended Christ. And yet he said. I will go. And do my father's will. Even when it means dying on the cross and having my father's face turned away from me, I will go. in order that these people may be delivered from sin and the sure death that is theirs. Christ came showing us this love by his own character and recognizing our need, he poured himself out in love for us. So it is a pure love, but it is also the self-sacrificing character that is given to us here. This is not something that the disciples indicated is a waste. I graduated with a degree in one of the sciences. I tend to think of things being done in order to get the most out of whatever we do. Kind of a utilitarian look at doing things. And like the disciples, I probably would have said with them, what a waste. Look at that ointment that he's that she's poured out on Jesus. What a waste. A lady could have used just a little bit of that for every day for the next couple of years. And you pour it all out all at once? We could have used that money to give it to the poor. And they would be a lot better off. Wouldn't that be a lot better use of this? But that was the selfless character of Mary, and it's also the selfless character of Christ. There's a contrast that Mark and John give to us. On the one hand, here is this ointment. And they estimate the ointment to be at 300 denarii. How much did Judas get for betraying Jesus? One-tenth of that. Thirty pieces of silver. But you see, it was only proper for Mary to pour all of this out and for Christ then, having loved us in the same way, to come to earth, to deal with us, to deal with our sin, to endure the cross and all of its trials. And just how magnificent was that? All of the gospel writers, well, Matthew and Mark and John, all tell us that this was expensive. This wasn't just a little thing. But Jesus says of Mary, she did what she could. She did what her ability allowed her to do. And we might wonder how she had saved up enough to have a year's worth of a working man's wages in order to purchase this ointment in an alabaster box, alabaster flask, to pour it out on Jesus, to break it and pour it out there. It's similar to what Jesus says concerning the widow who just has a very small amount to put in the offering box. She did what she could. She gave everything that she had. And so it is that Christ came and gave everything in order that he might be our Redeemer. He poured himself out with this magnificence and that's why we read what we did about the offerings by Solomon. An incredible number of bulls and sheep. Why do we look at this? through Jesus Christ is calling us to be alabaster flasks that would be poured out for Jesus. It's who you and I are to be because of how much we recognize Christ has done for us, how he has loved us, and what my love then is in response to what he has done for me. And here's the anomaly of it all. You are to be that broken alabaster flask that is pouring out the ointment and the ointment never stops flowing from the flask. Now that doesn't make sense, does it? How can you have it broken and you're pouring it out and it never comes to an end? Well, how did that lady in the Old Testament pour out the oil into all the vessels until her son said, there isn't another one, mom. She was able to keep pouring until there was no more need. And so it is that you and I are to be so with Christ that we would see his glory, that we would see his love and be so overwhelmed by his love that we as broken flasks would be poured out and never emptied. Thereby reflecting Christ with unselfishness being lavish in our love for the Lord. Now, you might ask, how can we be doing that? What are some ways we can do that? How hard are you working at being rid of sin in your life? Are there certain sins that continue to crop up? And you say, well, that's too hard to get rid of, so I'll just let it go for a while. Or will you be loving the Lord lavishly to say, I must get rid of it by the grace of Christ working in me? What about your observance of the Sabbath? The time that you have is a time that is given to you by Christ, by the Lord God. He didn't say you can have 6 days and 23 hours. He didn't say remember the Sabbath morning to keep it holy. He remembered the Sabbath day to keep it holy. I love football, but I can't watch it on the Lord's Day. I love the Lord because He is the one who has dealt so graciously with me. Now that doesn't mean I have used the Sabbath the way I should, in drawing near to Christ. How is it that you use the Lord's day? How do you use your finances? Maybe you get a... a windfall of some sort. And you say, oh boy, look what we have now. How can we spend it? Now we have many more plans that we can come up with in order to spend it. I remember a man saying in my presence one time, it makes me ask, why has God given me this money? Why has he provided it for me? Are your finances things that you see that God has given to you? And do you view them as something that God wants you to use for his glory, out of love for him? This is the gospel that is announced to you. You partake of it through obedient faith. Weave the gospel into the fabric of the character of your life. See that it is there because you know what Christ has done. And it brings you so much joy that you can't do anything less. Make sure that the flask is always full by being with Christ. and learning from him. Let's pray. Father in heaven, thank you for the love that Jesus has shown to us. Make us to be alabaster flasks that are broken open and always pouring out that ointment, that sweet aroma of the gospel that others might know Christ and rejoice in him. So guide us in that, we pray in Jesus' name, amen.