A valuable life

Matt 26:6-13 Waste: The anointing of Jesus.

-Start with testimony and that we will be leaving Bangladesh, so I prayed about what I would like to share with you all before we leave.

You only get one life… unless you are Hindu, then you might think that if you are good then you will be a cow or something, just not at Korbani time… But, for those of us who are disciples of Jesus, we believe that the life that we are living now, is the only one we will get. Life is a gift (upohar). That is why we try to hard to help sick and dying people at the hospital to recover. That is why we as Christians help those who are hurting or in danger. We protect (Rocca cortay) children. God made us in His image (ঈশ্বর আমাদেরকে তাঁর মূর্তিতে তৈরি করেছেন।), so all human life is valuable. Psalm chapter 90 says that we have 70 years to live, 80 if you are strong. That is still generally true for people in Bangladesh. Because God gave people the ability to think and learn about science (beegan), we now know how to live in a healthy way and we can take medicines that help illness, so we can maybe live to 90 or 100 or more. Even if you live to 100, that is only a very short time that we are alive on Earth. James 4 says that our life is like a vapor (bashpo moto). How do we know that the way we are spending our lives is valuable? What makes a life valuable? First, our life is valuable because we are made in the image of God. He created us and we belong to him. For that reason, we are valuable. We were bought with the blood of Jesus. For this reason, God wants us to use our lives in a way that will honor him and not only be only for our own benefit.

Read Matthew 26:6-13

What did the original audience of this Bible passage understand the meaning to be? This story is found in all 4 gospels. God thought that this story was important for His children to know.

From John’s gospel, we know the woman in the story is Mary the sister of Martha and the brother of Lazarus. “Mark and John in their Gospels tell us that the perfume (attar) is nard or spikenard, which comes from India and is used for embalming dead bodies.[1]” “worth “a year’s wages” (John 12:5; lit., “300 denarii”)[2]I did an internet search about the cost of spikenard and now 5mL is 8,000 tk. I think that she likely used 100mL or more of the perfume, which means that she used It cost about 1.5 lakh taka! Mary gave great sacrifice (beeshorjon) of her wealth (don) to offer this perfume. She pours (tala) the perfume on Jesus’ head. This is the act of anointing (অভিষেক). Anointing was done to show honor and the show special identity of a king or an important person. So, by offering the perfume, she is anointing Jesus as king, but she is also preparing him for death since this perfume was to be used for dead people. In the other gospels, Judas (jeehuda) was the one disciple who thought that the money should have been given to the poor. But all the disciples were very upset that Mary seemed to be wasting this perfume. Jesus knew that their desire was not to help poor people but to seek their own power. Jesus had said several times that He was going to die, but the disciples did not seem to believe or understand this. Mary instead (porebortay) did believe Jesus’ words and was offering (beeshorjon) him something valuable to prepare for the time that he would die. Jesus knew that he was being prepared to be put to death. He also knew that he was worthy (jogo) to be anointed and loved in this way, more than the poor, since he is the Messiah.

Immediately following this event, Judas prepared to betray (beshash-gatokata) Jesus.

Woman honored to all nations: Verse 26: “Truly, I say to you, wherever cthis gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told din memory of her.”[3]

This story about the woman who sacrificed what is valuable for Jesus will be told wherever the story of Jesus is told. First, we see this in that all 4 gospels talk about this story. Even here in Bangladesh the story has been told. The story about this woman’s offering (prostob) is in Bangla and has been told in many more languages. She gave honor to Jesus as the Messiah and now God honors her life and story. Jesus knew that you would hear this message today. When Jesus looked at this woman’s sacrifice (boledan), he could see you and that you would hear this valuable message today.

This woman’s life has great value. Even though she knew that she was a sinner and did not deserve to come close to Jesus, but she wanted to honor and worship Jesus, so she gave what she had of value to give Jesus the proper honor that He deserves. For this reason, God chose to give her special honor too. How amazing it is that an ordinary sinful woman can be remembered in the Bible and that her story will be told in many nations and in many languages. It makes me think about who will remember my story. I do not think that people from many nations will remember me, but this sinful woman has been given great honor. Even if you are a big person here in Bangladesh, have lots of money, a big house, big car, or are in another country, what true value will your life have and will have your life story remembered? This woman was not a rich person or a very holy person. What made her life valuable is how she chose to worship Jesus and to serve him, not what her life or accomplishments were.

What can you offer??: The Woman in this story offered one thing, her jar of perfume (attar). That was what was in her hands which she could offer. As we saw, this offering (prostob) was very expensive and was a great sacrifice (beeshorjon). Her jar of perfume was the right gift because it identified Jesus as king and prepared Him for His death (এটি যীশুকে রাজা হতে দেখায় এবং তাকে তার মৃত্যুর জন্য প্রস্তুত করে). This gift to Jesus was an act of worship. Worship is giving worth to something. People work many hours to get money even neglecting (abahella) their families. This is the worship of money. Some people stay up all night praying or doing idol worship (puja). That is worship, but it is not the worship of the creator God. We were made to worship the God of the Bible, but we often choose to give worth to things and to false gods that do not deserve worship. What do you have to offer to Jesus that is a true sacrifice (beeshorjon)? Is it really a sacrifice or is it a small part and you hide the rest for yourself? God knows your actual heart and belief. You cannot hide your true desire. What does your worship of God cost you? The woman’s offering cost her a year’s worth of wages. We worship God in various ways. Is your worship through song with joy or weak? Is your worship through fellowship one that gives encouragement to your brother and sister in the Lord or do you run to your house right after the church service ends? When you worship God by giving your tithe, do you give with joy or do you give 2 taka from your 1000 taka weekly salary? What you worship shows what you give worth to. Is God valuable to you? Is your salvation from sin valuable or just a cultural tradition? Finally, is your life’s worth for your own benefit and glory or to worship and to serve the Lord God?

Valuable life vs wasted life:

People who do not love God or understand what living as a child of God is will see worship and will see serving God as a waste (নষ্ট). Do you love God more than you love your house and land? Do you love God more than your job and money? Do you love God more than your children’s education and your future? Your worship, your offering (beeshorjon), and your life show what is your true heart and what you truly worship. When Jesus’ disciples saw the woman anointing (abeesheck) Jesus with the perfume, they said, “why this waste”. They did not see the value in the worship of the woman. Their mind was on the present Earth and the poor. The thought to help the poor is of course not a bad thing. But was it the best thing? No… The best thing was to offer worship to Jesus while the woman had the opportunity, but the disciples could not see that. They rebuked (taron) the woman, but then Jesus rebuked them for their attitude.

We as Christians can also have our thinking in the wrong place. We think that how we use our money is good, but is it the best? We think that the job we choose is the best for our life, but does it allow us to worship God? We look at people who dedicate their life to being a pastor, going to Bible college, taking less money to serve the church and many people say, “what a waste!” just like the disciples. But in response, what would Jesus say to that? Jesus would say, “why are you giving them trouble? They are doing a beautiful thing”.

To conclude, you only have one life. God gave you your life as a valuable gift to be used for His glory. The woman in the story gave her most valuable gift to worship Jesus. For this reason, she has been given a name of honor in the Bible and her story has been told in all nations where Jesus has been preached. So, what do you have that you can offer to Jesus in worship? Your money, your time, your joyful song, your job, even your entire life?? God has given us all of these things as a gift anyway. God is the owner (malek) of them. We only offer them back to Jesus as an act of worship. Do not be like the disciples and see worship and service of God as a waste. We were made to worship God with our lives. Our ability to worship God is what gives us worth ourselves. Use your life, your abilities, your belongings, and everything as an offering of worship to God. The same God who gave His one and only son Jesus so that anyone who believes in Him will now perish but will have everlasting life forever in Heaven.

-Let’s pray!

[1]Andrew Knowles, The Bible Guide, 1st Augsburg books ed. (Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg, 2001), 437. [2]Louis A. Barbieri Jr., “Matthew,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 82. c [ch. 24:14] d Acts 10:4 [3] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version(Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Mt 26:13.