Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Foreign his crucifixion and his death.
[00:00:09] This series will be extremely heavy as we get a front seat view into all that Jesus went through as our suffering servant Messiah. But the series is also going to be encouraging to our faith where we'll be reflecting on and remembering all that his suffering means for us who believe both in this life and the life to come. Jesus truly is our everything.
[00:00:33] As we begin, I want you to remember what the writer of Hebrews penned close to 2,000 years ago in Hebrews 12:1:3, a passage that I memorized, you know, many years ago and which says, therefore, since we're surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders in the sense that Sir Lesly entangles and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.
[00:00:57] Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him, endured the cross scorning its shame, and who sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
[00:01:08] Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
[00:01:16] Jesus endured the cross for the joy set before Him.
[00:01:22] How could something so horrible as to be betrayed and falsely accused, to be abandoned by friends, to be beaten, tortured, mocked, ridiculed and crucified and die a death of a common criminal? How could that suffering be considered joy to Jesus?
[00:01:39] Well, I think of three things.
[00:01:42] First of all, Jesus was faithful and obedient to the Father's will. He carried out God's plan of salvation, and through that he gave great pleasure to the Father.
[00:01:51] Secondly is other side.
[00:01:59] And thirdly, in his great love for you and me, he knows what his suffering has accomplished for us. He has redeemed us. He has bought us at a costly price, his shed blood.
[00:02:10] And why? It says in John 3:16 for God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son that whoever believes in him shall not perish.
[00:02:18] Foreign Incredible Love what amazing grace.
[00:02:27] No greater love is anyone than this that he lay down his friends.
[00:02:33] So let's get started.
[00:02:35] If you have your Bibles open, turn with me to Matthew chapter 26 to remember that as we approach this passage, we're entering into the final, most intense week of Jesus earthly life.
[00:02:48] The air is thick with anticipation, with tension, a sense of impending doom for some and profound hope for others.
[00:02:57] So turn in your bibles to Matthew 26, and before we read there, let's pray, Father, as we start out the series this week, the Passion of the Christmas, we're so thankful for the love get to Jesus.
[00:03:16] And Jesus, we are so thankful that you.
[00:03:21] And as we focus on all the things that you went through and all the suffering that you endured, Lord, may it move our hearts, May it touch our hearts. May it transform our hearts and our lives.
[00:03:37] Go to those kind of links to buy us back to himself. What a costly price.
[00:03:42] What a wonderful Savior.
[00:03:45] So may you.
[00:03:46] But may the name of Jesus be lifted up this morning that you would draw us closer to yourself.
[00:03:53] And we pray that in your name, man.
[00:03:57] Matthew 26, verses 1 through 16.
[00:04:02] When Jesus had finished saying all these things, he told his disciples, you know that the Passover place after two days and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.
[00:04:11] And the chief priests and the elders of the people assembled in the courtyard of the high priest, who was named Caiaphas. And they conspired to arrest.
[00:04:21] Not during the festival, they said, so there won't be rioting among the people.
[00:04:26] While Jesus was in Bethany, at the house of Simon the Leper, a woman approached him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume.
[00:04:37] When the disciples saw it, they were indignant. Why this waste?
[00:04:41] They asked.
[00:04:42] This might have been sold for a great deal and given to the poor.
[00:04:46] Aware of this, Jesus said to them, why are you bothering this woman? She has done a noble thing for me.
[00:04:52] You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.
[00:04:56] By pouring this perfume on my body, she is prepared.
[00:04:59] And one of the 12, a man called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priest and said, what are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?
[00:05:08] Pieces of silver for him? And from the time he started looking for a good opportunity to betray him.
[00:05:18] So it's the week of Passover, the most significant feast in the Jewish calendar commemorating the deliverance of the Israelites. God's the book of Exodus tells us that God's chosen people were enslaved in Egypt and were being ruled harshly and placed in slave labor by Pharaoh, God raises up a deliverer by the name of Moses, who he would use to lead his people to freedom and a destination that is known as the Promised Land.
[00:05:47] After a series of plagues produced by God and Pharaoh's heart repeatedly and increasing stubborn refusal to let God people go, God performs one final plague.
[00:05:58] God instructs each family of Israelites to sacrifice the lamb and to place the blood of the lamb on the top and the sides of the door frames.
[00:06:08] Kill every firstborn male whose home was not covered by the Blood of the Lamb.
[00:06:14] Every Egyptian family lost their firstborn sons at night because of fear refusal to let God's people go.
[00:06:21] But the homes that were covered by the blood were passed over.
[00:06:26] We can see that Moses raised up as their deliverer.
[00:06:32] God points to the promised future Lamb of God, Jesus who came to shed his blood for our forgiveness and salvation.
[00:06:41] So in Jesus Day, the Jewish people made preparation for the Passover by clearing all the leaven out of their houses.
[00:06:48] And on the 14th month they were solemnly slew a lamb for sacrifice and threw its blood on the altar.
[00:06:58] This for an evening meal was done in the company of 10 or more people in private homes.
[00:07:04] And from the early days the Passover feast was joined with the feast of union. So that the celebration actually lasted for a week.
[00:07:13] All it's meant that there was a high excitement and anticipation among the people.
[00:07:17] It was the year's highlights.
[00:07:22] This was a time of pilgrimage, of families gathering, of remembering God's mighty acts and their longing for the Messiah to come.
[00:07:32] Lamb of God to make a sacrifice for our sins and the deliverance of the world.
[00:07:38] God's perfect timing is more than symbolic. For at this time he provided the one and only remedy that ails us all.
[00:07:48] Far more eternally impactful is unfolding and in our text today, Matthew pulls back the curtain on three distinct yet deeply interconnected scenes and see a costly devotion and a painful, chilling betrayal all centered around a king.
[00:08:13] The main point I want to bring forth is of the gospel.
[00:08:20] A gospel that is costly, a gospel that demands everything, and a gospel that reveals the true condition of the human heart.
[00:08:31] So first let's take a look at the wicked conspiracy and Read again verses 1 and 2.
[00:08:40] When Jesus had finished saying all these things, he told his disciples, you know that the Passover takes place there for two days and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.
[00:08:52] What we know is that Jesus knows everything. He knows the exact timing, he knows the method of his death. He knows the purpose behind it.
[00:09:02] And it's not a surprise to him. It's the very reason why he came.
[00:09:07] He had predicted his crucifixion several times before and does so once again.
[00:09:13] He uses this favorite title for himself, the Son of Man. A title that Jews who knew their scriptures would identify as a prophetic title that could be found and Daniel's book.
[00:09:24] Immediately Matthew shifts our focus to the other side of the spiritual battlefield, to a group of men secretly conspiring to commit a wicked deed. So let's read on verses three through Five.
[00:09:36] Then the chief priests and the elders of the people assembled in the courtyard of the high priest, who was named Caiaphas.
[00:09:42] And they conspired to arrest Jesus in a treacherous way and kill him.
[00:09:46] Not during the festival, he said. So there won't be rioting among the people.
[00:09:52] So here we see the religious establishment of the day, the very people who should have recognized and welcomed their Messiah, actively plotting his demise.
[00:10:00] The chief priests, the Sadducees, the elders, the Sanhedrin, they're all gathering to plot Jesus death.
[00:10:09] These were the spiritual leaders, the guardians of the law, the ones responsible for guiding the people in the worship of God. Yet their hearts were hardened.
[00:10:17] They saw Jesus not as the fulfillment of prophecy, but as a threat to their power and their position and their comfortable status quo.
[00:10:27] Be honest with me this morning.
[00:10:30] Raise your hand if you tend to be a conspiracy theorist.
[00:10:45] Good comeback, Lucas.
[00:10:49] But our world often sees seems filled with conspiracies, doesn't it?
[00:10:55] Throughout our lifetimes, there have been many.
[00:10:58] And some of these that I'm going to mention, maybe you hold on to, like the JFK assassination where there were actually multiple shooters and it was orchestrated by the FBI.
[00:11:10] Or that you believe actually the Apollo moon landing was faked.
[00:11:15] Or there's an area 54 where the government has been hiding all the evidence of extraterrestrial beings or weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, or that the United States government actually orchestrated 9 11.
[00:11:32] Or the COVID up of President Biden's failing help and cognitive ability, or the assassination of Donald Trump, or most recently, the claims of the Trump administration is covering up the Jeffrey Epstein evidence.
[00:11:43] I mean, there's just a whole litany of potential conspiracies. And why are we so lean? Why do we lean towards believing in conspiracies?
[00:11:54] Well, I think it's because of how often it's been proven in the past that men in power want to keep their power and prestige and their control and their wealth.
[00:12:02] So they try to manipulate circumstances secretly to their design, purpose and ends.
[00:12:08] It's no different here.
[00:12:10] Religious leaders of the Jewish people, those who were looked up to as a spiritual elite with positions of power and authority, recognized that this upstart Jesus character was gaining a following. And they hated him for it.
[00:12:24] He could ruin everything for them.
[00:12:27] They could see their positions of prestige and power go. So in their fear of losing it all, they secretly gather at the home of the high priest and plot an assassination.
[00:12:37] Things that are done in secret by men in power.
[00:12:42] Think about the context. It's Passover in Jerusalem. A City at the time with maybe 50,000 residents and would often be overflowing with pilgrims. It was estimated that often six times the population would actually gather for the Passover feast. 300,000 people gathered in Jerusalem.
[00:13:01] The atmosphere would be charged with religious fervor and naturalistic sentiment.
[00:13:06] The last thing that these authorities, these people in power, wanted was a riot started by those sympathetic to Jesus.
[00:13:13] They wanted to maintain control. So they decided not during the feast, you see, they wanted a quiet and secret assassination.
[00:13:23] The scene reveals the world's deep seated opposition to Christ.
[00:13:27] From the very beginning, darkness has sought to extinguish the light.
[00:13:31] The conspiracy is not just a historical event. It's a timeless illustration of the human heart and rebellion against God.
[00:13:38] When the light of truth exposes the darkness of sin and self righteousness, the natural human response, apart from God's grace, is often to try and silence that voice, that light that's exposing the darkness.
[00:13:53] But here's the profound truth about the gospel.
[00:13:58] God is sovereign.
[00:14:01] This plot, this conspiracy, was not a disruption to God's plan.
[00:14:05] It was an integral part to it.
[00:14:09] Man's evil intentions were perfectly woven into God's sovereign design. The cross was no accident. It wasn't merely the conspiring of wicked men. It was the divine appointment, the very means by which God would reconcile the the world to himself.
[00:14:23] Applauding of these leaders, their fear, their desire for power, control, all of it was ultimately serving the greater purpose of God's redemptive plan.
[00:14:34] The Gospel begins with the recognition that humanity in its sin plotted against God and God in his love provided the solution. How incredible is that?
[00:14:48] Move on. Let's take a look at an act of costly devotion.
[00:14:53] Let's read verses 6, 13.
[00:14:57] While Jesus was in Bethany, at the house of Simon the leper, a woman approached him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume.
[00:15:03] She poured it on his head as he reclined at the table.
[00:15:06] When the disciples saw it, they were indignant. Why this waste? They asked.
[00:15:12] This might have been sold for a great deal and given to the poor.
[00:15:16] Aware of this, Jesus said to them, why are you bothering this woman?
[00:15:20] She's done a noble thing for me by pouring this perfume on my body. She's prepared me for burial. Truly, I tell you, wherever this gospel proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.
[00:15:36] So immediately following the dark conspiracy by those in power, Matthew transports us to a different scene, a different atmosphere, one filled with relaxation and food and fellowship, delight and love of a Savior and the extreme Radical devotion of one woman who poured out her love for her Lord and Savior by anointing him.
[00:15:58] Bethany, home to Mary, Martha and Lazarus, was a small village just two miles outside of Jerusalem was a place of refuge and friendship that Jesus could always go.
[00:16:09] His host this time is Simon the leper.
[00:16:12] And I think this detail is significant.
[00:16:16] In that society, a leper was an outcast. It was considered ceremonially unclean that no one would dare touch or even come within walking distance of a person stricken with leprosy.
[00:16:28] They were cast offs to caves outside the city when coming into town, were required to shout unclean. Unclean.
[00:16:38] The fact that Simon was back in his house and hosting this dinner for Jesus must mean that he was healed and more than likely by Jesus.
[00:16:48] And that Jesus is dining in his house speaks volumes about his compassion and willingness to associate with those marginalized in society.
[00:16:59] Think for a minute. Who's present.
[00:17:02] I would have loved to been there.
[00:17:04] You got a ragtag group of disciples, former fisherman, a tax collector. One who would betray him, another who would disown him.
[00:17:12] You got two women who are second class citizens in that society considered of no value.
[00:17:19] A man who had died was brought back to life. And a former leper.
[00:17:26] What a gathering.
[00:17:29] I find it fascinating that Simon is still identified by Matthew as Simon the Leper.
[00:17:36] How would you like to have your most shameful, painful past, your former suffering stuck on the end of your name?
[00:17:42] Tom the adulterer.
[00:17:45] Jill the alcoholic.
[00:17:49] Jason the drug addict.
[00:17:54] I thought about it and I have to say that I love that Matthew identified him this way.
[00:17:58] I have come to believe that it is my past suffering and sin and failures. Those that Jesus has forgiven me of and healed me up and delivered me from are the things that have become my badge of honor that brings him glory.
[00:18:15] He's taken my guilt and my shame and now there's no judgment, no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Amen.
[00:18:24] You have a story, you have a testimony. And just like Simon the Leper's name shouts from the pages of Matthew's gospel, allow your painful past to shout out through your life that Jesus has set me free. Glory, honor and praise to my Savior. Amen.
[00:18:39] We're not meant to hide these things anymore in embarrassment.
[00:18:43] We're to declare this is what our Savior has done for us.
[00:18:51] Then a woman enters.
[00:18:53] Matthew doesn't name her, but John's gospel identifies her as Mary Lazarus, sister.
[00:19:00] In a previous story, she was the one who sat at Jesus feet in humble devotion when he did take in his every word.
[00:19:08] She Brings an alabaster jar, very expensive perfume, a fragrant oil.
[00:19:13] And alabaster was a soft white stone, often carved into beautiful slender bottles with narrow necks, sealed to preserve the precious contents.
[00:19:22] The oil itself is likely pure nard, an incredibly valuable perfume.
[00:19:28] And John tells us that it was worth 300 denarii, roughly a year's wages for a common laborer.
[00:19:35] Some scholars suggest that it was possibly an inheritance that was passed down to Mary.
[00:19:42] This would have been her life savings, her most prized possession.
[00:19:48] And through her act of devotion, she reveals who really is her most prized possession of all.
[00:19:53] And it's Jesus.
[00:19:56] And what does she do?
[00:19:58] She pours it on Jesus head. Not a drop, not a dab, trying to preserve the rest for her future, but the entire flask. An extravagant, seemingly wasteful act.
[00:20:11] Her brother Lazarus and sister Martha, possibly nearby, must have known. Maybe. They gasped, Mary. This is what we were counting on in the years ahead to provide for ourselves in our old age.
[00:20:23] But Mary knew who her provider was.
[00:20:28] The disciples, ever practical or indignant and ever so dull to the spiritual ramifications of the things going on around them.
[00:20:36] And they respond to this act of devotion with judgment. When the disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, why this waste? For this could have been sold for a great deal and given to the poor.
[00:20:49] What a waste.
[00:20:53] Their reaction seems reasonable, doesn't it?
[00:20:57] After all, we know through the scriptures that charity is good.
[00:21:01] Jesus had just encouraged them a chapter before all to be generous towards the poor, the downtrodden, the disenfranchised society.
[00:21:09] In one of his final teachings, he says in Matthew 25:35, 40 for 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 took me in. I was naked and you clothed me. I was sick and you took care of me. I was in prison and you visited me.
[00:21:25] Truly, I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these my brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me. So what is Jesus trying to tell them here?
[00:21:33] He's not trying to tell them that the poor are insignificant.
[00:21:37] He just taught them about the importance of us as his representatives, his ambassadors in the world to care for them.
[00:21:45] Jesus entire life and his ministry and his teaching and the miracles he performed exemplified his passion for the poor, for the sick, for the downcast and the oppressed.
[00:21:56] His words here do not demonstrate his indifference towards the poor, but his attempt to refocus those present to the reality of what was about to occur. And that in this Moment, moment in these approaching hours that your heart for good works is secondary. What matters now is where is your heart for me? Where is your heart with me? Where is your heart with the gospel, the work of redemption I'm about to accomplish for you.
[00:22:18] That's what Jesus is pointing out for them.
[00:22:23] While Matthew speaks of the disciples being indignant, John 12:6 reveals the true heart of one of these disciples, Judas Iscariot.
[00:22:32] He wasn't concerned for the poor. He was a thief who used the pilfer from the money bag.
[00:22:38] His indignation was reared in greed. And he may have been the one who was actually leading the criticism.
[00:22:46] Jesus, who always sees the heart, defends the woman.
[00:22:50] He tells them all to stop bothering her, for she has done a noble thing. I believe it's John who says, she's done a beautiful thing and pouring this fragrant oil on my body. She's done it to prepare me for my burial.
[00:23:08] Then Jesus says something extraordinary.
[00:23:11] Wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her. And this morning is actually fulfillment of that very prophetic word, isn't it?
[00:23:22] That it's written in our scriptures for us to read over and over is a fulfillment of that prophetic word.
[00:23:27] As we teach about this woman and preach on this woman, it's a fulfillment of what Jesus says, that she's being honored for her great act of devotion.
[00:23:39] A beautiful thing, a noble thing. What a commendation.
[00:23:44] Jesus saw beyond the monetary value, beyond the disciples criticism, and into the heart of radical selfless devotion.
[00:23:52] She understood something profound that even the disciples who walked with Jesus daily didn't fully grasp. She was preparing him for burial.
[00:24:02] In a culture where anointing a body for burial was a customary act of respect, Mary's act was prophetic.
[00:24:10] She was performing a funeral rite for a living man, anticipating his impending death and burial.
[00:24:17] And Jesus, who would die as a common criminal in the middle of two known thieves, would not even have received an anointing because criminals were not considered worthy.
[00:24:28] This woman's act is a gospel act. It embodies the spirit of the gospel. The gospel is about Jesus giving his life, his body, his blood as a sacrifice for us.
[00:24:38] And our response to that gospel should be one of costly devotion, pouring out our lives in worship and service of him.
[00:24:46] Her act of worship, her extravagant love, directly pointed to the core event of the gospel, Jesus death and burial.
[00:24:56] You know, I remember hearing a story told by a fellow pastor about a young woman who had just graduated from a prestigious university with a Degree in engineering.
[00:25:07] And she had a lucrative job offer waiting for her. A clear path of financial success and a comfortable life.
[00:25:13] But as she prayed and sought God's will, she felt a profound call to serve in a remote, undeserved community overseas, working with children who had been orphaned through the war.
[00:25:23] Her friends and family were bewildered. Why this waste? They might have thought you could do so much good here and make a real difference with your skills and resources.
[00:25:33] But for her, it wasn't a waste. It was her alabaster jar, poured out in costly devotion to the one who had poured out his life for her.
[00:25:43] She understood that some things are more valuable than money or comfort. The call of Christ and the love for those he died for. Her life became a living testament to the gospel that she believed in.
[00:25:56] And many of you know that our very own Cassian Julie Concord made this same medical decision.
[00:26:04] Jesse, who had been educated and was in training to be a lawyer with aspirations towards a lucrative career and ample financial resources to provide for his family, made the decision instead to pursue pastoral ministry and take a lesser paying tent making job to provide for his loved ones.
[00:26:22] And I believe that probably many in his extended family and their extended family say, what a waste.
[00:26:28] You got this great education, you got this financial future, all paved the way for you. What are you doing?
[00:26:38] But theirs was an act of devotion, of service to their king that they thought was more valuable than all the money that he could have earned being a lawyer.
[00:26:49] These are the kind of decisions that are not rare for those who have fallen in love with Jesus.
[00:26:57] Consider this. What is your alabaster jar?
[00:27:01] What is the costly thing, that most prized possession?
[00:27:08] Let me ask you another question.
[00:27:10] Are you holding it back, saving it as some kind of security for your future? Or are you willing to pour it out for Jesus?
[00:27:18] Is it your time, your talents, your financial resources, your career aspirations, your comfort and leisure, Your reputation?
[00:27:28] The gospel calls for radical devotion, not just practical calculation.
[00:27:33] It asks not for our leftovers, but for our first and best. Take to heart Mary's example and pour it all out for Jesus.
[00:27:44] I love the words. I've always loved the words of Jim Elliott, who was martyred for his faith by an unreached jungle tribe. He came to love and serve and were friendly. Applety, he wrote in his journal before his death. He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.
[00:28:02] He is no fool. She is no fool who gives what he or she cannot keep to gain what he or she cannot lose.
[00:28:16] Let's move to our third and final scene, the painful betrayal. Let's read verses 14, 16 one more time.
[00:28:28] And one of the 12, the man called Judas Iscariot went to the chief priest and said, what are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?
[00:28:35] So they went out 30 pieces of silver for him. And from that time, he started looking for an opportunity to betray him.
[00:28:43] Another opportunity to raise your hand.
[00:28:46] Have you ever been betrayed by a family member or a friend?
[00:28:52] That's.
[00:28:54] It really hurts.
[00:28:56] It stings. It cuts the heart deeply.
[00:29:01] When it happened to me 16 years ago by a co pastor, I was thrown for a loop. It sent me reeling.
[00:29:09] I seriously questioned if I would ever return to pastoral ministry. My entire family struggled and were disillusioned for some time.
[00:29:18] Don't think for a moment that just because it was Judas and the fact that Jesus knew it was coming, that it didn't seriously wound his heart.
[00:29:28] From the gathering of Jesus, with his closest friends celebrating, reclining over a meal together, and a beautiful act of devotion where Mary anoints Jesus with expensive perfume, we plunge back into the darkness of conspiracies and betrayal.
[00:29:42] It's a chilling contrast.
[00:29:45] Just moments after the woman poured out her most valuable possession for Jesus, one of his closest companions, one of the 12, goes to the very people plotting his death and asks, hey, what will you give me for him? How much can I get if I turn him into you?
[00:30:00] 30 pieces of silver.
[00:30:04] Without taking a closer look, I think we tend to think that Judas acquired a fortune for his betrayal of Jesus.
[00:30:10] But According to Exodus 21:32, this was the price given for a slave injured by an ox.
[00:30:18] It was a paltry sum, a pittance for the Son of God, the King of Kings.
[00:30:25] It wasn't Judas's lack of money that was the issue.
[00:30:28] John tells us that he already was stealing from the money bag. It was about a heart consumed by greed. A heart that was valued. Contemporary gain over eternal work.
[00:30:38] The tragedy of Judas is not just that he betrayed Jesus, but that he did so from a position of intimacy.
[00:30:46] He was one of the 12.
[00:30:49] He hung out with Jesus every day for three years.
[00:30:55] He'd walk with Jesus. He heard his teachings, he witnessed his miracles, perhaps even perform miracles himself.
[00:31:02] Yet his heart was never fully surrendered. He saw Jesus as a means to an end, perhaps hoping for a political messiah who would bring him power or wealth. And when Jesus didn't fit his expectations, he was willing to sell him out.
[00:31:19] Can be a stark warning for you and I.
[00:31:23] How do we betray Christ today?
[00:31:27] Perhaps not with 30 pieces of silver. But in more subtle ways, when we prioritize our comfort, our reputation, our financial security, our worldly desires over obedience to Christ, we are in a sense selling him out.
[00:31:44] When we know the truth of the gospel but refuse to live it out in our daily lives, when we compromise our convictions for the sake of fitting in, when we remain silent about our faith or fear of rejection, are we not in some measure choosing a cheap gain over the priceless worth of Christ?
[00:32:02] There's a story I found that was told by a pastor concerning a man, his congregation, whose faith was admired by one and all.
[00:32:11] This young man was incredibly gifted in his field. He was a devout Christian active in serving the church and spoke passionately about his fate.
[00:32:20] He landed a dream job at a company known for its high pressure, cutthroat environment.
[00:32:24] And slowly and subtly, things began to change.
[00:32:28] He started missing church, justifying it with work demands. He began to adopt the company's aggressive ethics, compromising his integrity in small ways than larger ones.
[00:32:39] He stopped talking about his faith, fearing it would hinder his career advancement. He wasn't literally selling Jesus out, but he was selling out his convictions, his walk with God. For the promise of worldly success.
[00:32:50] He chose the 30 pieces of silver, a pure advancement, over the costly devotion to the King.
[00:32:59] When it comes down to it, there is nothing to be gained in this world that's even close to the preciousness of price and a life fully devoted to him.
[00:33:09] Nothing.
[00:33:11] It all pales in comparison.
[00:33:16] It's so important for us all to remember that Judas betrayal, like the plot of the chief priest, also served God's sovereign plan.
[00:33:26] And to close, I think a scripture that was shared at Revive night on Friday by a member of invite church is so fitting here.
[00:33:35] It's Joseph words as he stood before the brothers, his brothers, that had betrayed him.
[00:33:41] And in Genesis 50:20, he told them what you planned for evil, God has intended for good to bring about what is happening now, the saving of many lives.
[00:33:52] And that's what's actually happening here, isn't it?
[00:33:55] A plot of assassination by the religious leaders, the betrayal of a close friend, brothers who betrayed a brother.
[00:34:07] It's a picture of what happened with Joseph and his brothers, of what happened to Jesus and what results is the saving of many lives.
[00:34:16] Once again, it's a type. It's a foreshadowing of what the future Messiah would do.
[00:34:22] It was prophesied and it was necessary for Jesus to be delivered to the cross. And even in the darkest acts of human depravity, God's perfect plan of redemption was unfolding.
[00:34:33] And you know what?
[00:34:34] If we believe that God is sovereign, then that is true for every single event that's happening in our world today and that's happening in your life.
[00:34:43] If God is sovereign, that says he can use it all, the good and the bad and the ugly, he can use it all towards his glory, his redemptive plan to accomplish his eternal purposes.
[00:34:59] Worship team, you can come back up.
[00:35:03] In these few verses, Matthew presents us with a profound tension.
[00:35:07] The world's conspiracy against a king, the costly devotion of a woman, and the cheap, painful betrayal of a disciple.
[00:35:15] At the heart of all three scenes is the Gospel, underscores the fallenness of humanity and the necessity of a sacrifice.
[00:35:23] The woman's costly anointing beautifully foreshadows Jesus, death and burial, the very core of the Good News. And Judas betrayal, while tragic, reminds us of the depth of human sin and how even evil acts can be woven into God's sovereign plan for our salvation.
[00:35:39] The Gospel is costly. It costs Jesus everything. His blood, his life, his separation from the Father on the cross. And it calls us to a costly response that calls us to pour out our lives in extravagant devotion, just like the woman with the alabaster jar. It calls us to value Christ above all else, to see his worth as infinitely greater than any earthly gain.
[00:36:03] When it comes to Christ, there's no such thing as a wasted offering.
[00:36:08] And the question before each of us today is which heart in today's story will define you?
[00:36:18] Will we be like Judas, valuing temporary gain over eternal work, subtly or overtly betraying Christ? Or will we be like the woman Mary, pouring out our lives in costly, extravagant devotion, understanding the profound significance of Jesus in his sacrifice brought the gospel is not a cheap grace.
[00:36:38] It's a costly grace is purchased at an infinite price, and it calls for a costly response. May we, by God's grace, choose to live lives of radical, selfless devotion, allowing the truth of the Gospel to transform our hearts from one of cheap compromise, one of extravagant love for our king?
[00:37:01] The title this morning's message was why such waste?
[00:37:06] Are you pouring out the best years of your life on worldly trinkets, 30 pieces of silver? Or in pouring your life out in costly devotion to Jesus?
[00:37:15] Is God asking you to give up a pursuit, a position, a person or a pleasure so that your love and devotion of Christ could increase?
[00:37:23] How is God asking you to turn up the temperature of costly devotion to Jesus and to the Gospel?
[00:37:29] I want to give you some time right now to reflect on that with the Lord in the privateness of this moment, you get a chance to meet with God.
[00:37:40] Ask him to reveal it to you.
[00:37:44] What is it that is this costly possession of mine, this person of mine in my life, this position or place that I'm valuing more than you?
[00:37:57] And just simply say, father, speak. Your servant is listening.
[00:38:01] And he'll speak and reveal that to you.
[00:38:04] And simply answer with a yes, Lord, I choose you over all the rest.
[00:38:12] So go ahead and spend that time in prayer right now.
