Expository Summary - Matthew 26:6-13

The following is a concise and expository summary of Matthew 26:6-13 by Rob Smythe on Pilgrim's Toolbox. For more scripture summaries and spiritual growth resources visit www.pilgrimstoolbox.com. || ||

For this entry, I want to talk about the idea of greatness. I just took a trip to Rome with my brother. It was an amazing trip. And what made it amazing was seeing huge buildings like the Coliseum 2000 years old and paintings like the ones by Michelangelo from the 16th century. You look up at these things and you say, “Wow!” You can’t help but be struck by their greatness. We know they’re great because they’ve stood the test of time. And so similarly, in our passage today, Jesus gives a picture of true greatness, of a person who has stood the test of time. Verse 13 is really the climax of our passage. Jesus says, “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.” Now, we’ll get into what she’s done later, but I just want you to notice that this woman is being remembered here. So clearly, Jesus sees something great in what she’s done, so much so that she’s worth remembering wherever the gospel is preached in the whole world.

But with the idea of greatness comes a problem. Whenever we think of greatness, our minds quickly run to our achievements, to our gifts, to our selves. And recently I was thinking about just how slimy this longing for greatness can be. We long for people to look at us in 2000 years and say, “The famous Rob Smythe . . .” and then go on with a list of all our accomplishments. So our problem is that we usually equate fame and accomplishments with greatness. But Jesus sees greatness in a totally different light. And this is his point: True greatness, something that’s actually worth remembering, makes much of Jesus even in his death. True greatness makes much of Jesus, not ourselves, not our accomplishments, but Jesus and even in his death.

And those are my two points. (1) True greatness makes much of Jesus (6-11). And (2) True greatness makes much of Jesus even in his death (12). And all of this leads us forward to v. 13 where Jesus says, “What she has done will also be told in memory of her.”

True greatness makes much of Jesus (6-11)
Now, just a bit of the context for our verses: in Matthew 26, Jesus is just outside Jerusalem and is within a week of his crucifixion. The Jewish leaders solidify their plan to kill him in verses 1-5. And after our verses, Judas finally decides to betray Jesus. And in between these two sections where Jesus’ rivals are trying to do away with him, we see a woman anointing his head with oil. Look at verses 6-11 with me. They begin, ‘Now when Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper (probably a man whom Jesus had healed), a woman (and we learn in John’s Gospel that this is Mary the sister of Martha) came up to him with an alabaster flask of very expensive ointment, and she poured it on his head as he reclined at table.’

Now to pour ointment on a person back then wasn’t anything new. But in Mark, we learn that this ointment was worth nearly a year’s wage! It’s like 30,000 dollars in today’s terms. So we read on in verse 8, “And 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.’” Shockingly, Jesus doesn’t agree with the disciples, but says in verse 10, “Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a beautiful thing to me (literally, ‘she has worked a good work to me’).” And he goes on to give the reason, “For you always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me.” And the original word order emphasizes, ‘Me.’ “But me you will not always have.”

Now as I thought about this verse, walking down the streets of Rome with my brother, seeing the poor begging for money, some missing limbs, some even begging on their knees with their faces to the ground and holding a cup held out in front of them, I wrestled with what Jesus is saying here. These are real people with real lives! That’s what makes this statement so shocking! These aren’t just faceless manikins. These are people. And yet, Jesus who knows the needs of the poor far more deeply than we’ll ever know, who healed the sick and cast out demons, who told people to sell their possessions and give to the poor, this same Jesus could say that it’s not a waste what this woman did to him. Why? Because Jesus himself is greater than all the good works we can do. Now get this: This woman is great not because of her accomplishments, but because she is a floodlight to Jesus. And, my friends, that’s what we need today in our churches! That’s what we need for our souls. This is greatness: not to accomplish great things in this life, even spiritual things, not to be written down in the history books, but to make much of Jesus. George Whitefield, a famous preacher of the Great Awakening in the 18th century, when some of his followers wanted to form a denomination in his name, said ‘Let the name Whitefield perish, but Christ be glorified!’ And so it is, friends, with us. Let our names perish, but Christ be glorified! And the paradox is that when you make much of Jesus like Mary did, he makes much of you like he did of Mary. “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” (13). So, be like Mary. And if anyone remembers you, let it be for this: that you made much of Jesus.

True Greatness makes much of Jesus even in his death (12)
Jesus says in verse 12, “In pouring this ointment on my body, she has done it to prepare me for burial.” In saying this, Jesus is saying that Mary’s actions aren’t just actions of praise, but actions of preparation for his burial. He’s about to die. And back then, criminals weren’t anointed before burial, because they weren’t worthy of it. But Mary shows that Jesus is worthy of it here.

Now we don’t know if Mary knew what she was doing, but at the very least, she knew that even if Jesus died, he was worth the waste of ointment. And the difference between her back then and us now is that she saw that Jesus was worth it even if he died, but we see that Jesus is worth it because he died.

So this is the heart of greatness: making much of a Christ and Christ crucified. As the saying goes, “No cross! No crown!” And just think about it: the way to greatness is to make much of the one whose death on the cross shows you that you are a miserable sinner, who is hopeless in and of yourself, and without Jesus, can never be saved. It’s such a paradox! Why would you ever make much of a crucified King? And yet, as you look at what Jesus did on the cross for you, you see that you are far more loved than you can ever imagine. This is how we solve our struggle for greatness! See the love of God at the cross! See his nail pierced hands! Look upon his wounded side! And say, “My Lord and my God!” Make much of Jesus, and like Mary, he will make much of you. “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” (13). It’s a paradox through and through. Therefore, true greatness makes much of Jesus even in, or I should say, especially in his death. May that be true of us.

- Books
o The Cross-Centered Life by C.J. Mahaney (89 pp.).
o Humility by C.J. Mahaney (176 pp.).

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