THE ANOINTING OF THE KING
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Matthew 26:1-13 |
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And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these sayings, He said unto His disciples, “Ye know that after two days is the feast of the Passover, and the Son of Man is betrayed to be crucified.” Then assembled together the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders of the people, unto the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas. And consulted that they might take Jesus by subtilty, and kill Him. But they said, “Not on the feast day, lest there be an uproar among the people.” Now when Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper, There came unto Him a woman having an alabaster box of very precious ointment, and poured it on His head, as He sat at meat. But when His disciples saw it, they had indignation saying, “To what purpose is this waste? For this ointment might have been sold for much, and given to the poor.” When Jesus understood it, He said unto them, “Why trouble ye the woman? for she hath wrought a good work upon Me. For ye have the poor always with you; but Me ye have not always. For in that she poured this ointment on My body, she did it for My burial. Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, there shall also this, that this woman has done, be told for a memorial of her.” KJV |
When Jesus had finished saying all these things, He said to His disciples, “As you know, the Passover is two days away – and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.” Then the chief priests and the elders of the people assembled in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas, and they schemed to arrest Jesus secretly and kill Him. “But not during the festival,” they said, “or there may be a riot among the people.” 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.” NIV Also read: Mark 14:1-9 |
In Matthew we have the Lord Jesus portrayed as the King and in Mark we have Him portrayed as a Servant. The King is at the top of the realm and the servant is at the bottom.
How can it be that they are joined together when it comes to the final anointing in the earthly ministry of the Saviour?
John shows us the answer in Revelation 5. He was in heaven and the book of judgment was placed before everyone to see if anyone could open its seals and look into it.
But no one was found worthy. Showing that we are not fit to judge one another:
“For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”
Not one person in that vast company moves.
Not one can even look on that book. John started to weep at the tragedy of human failure; but the angel said to him: Weep not, for, behold the Lion of the tribe of Judah has prevailed to open the book and to look thereon.
And John says: And I beheld… a Lamb as it had been slain.
- Here is a Lion that is a Lamb.
- A King who is a Servant.
- The Mighty to Save who is the Meek to Serve.
- The One who Ruled from the Throne then Ruled from the Tomb.
- In Him Majesty is married to Mercy, and Greatness to Goodness. In Him is Light that is the twin of Love.
- In Him Holiness is in harmony with Happiness and Justice smiles on Justification. His Character demands the Perfect Purity that His Cross provides, leaving us with perfect peace.
- In Him is God’s final Claims and our fullest Cleansing both of which are totally satisfied.
- In Him we hear that welcoming voice: Draw nigh to God and He will draw nigh to you.
- In Him we find the Gulf is Gone. The Distance has Disappeared, and the Enmity is Erased.
- In Him Sins are Blotted out, Self is Crucified, and Satan is Vanquished.
We gaze on Him in wonder as we hear His Father saying: This is My beloved Son in whom are all My delights.
Then with wonder we exclaim: This is my beloved Saviour who satisfies my longing soul and fills my hungry soul with good things.
It is here we feel the warm embrace of the Father’s love and know that we are HOME! and it is this Paradise that is ours forever.