54 - Matthew 26:13

’Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, there shall also this, that this woman hath done, be told for a memorial of her.’ -Matthew 26:13. This gospel: what gospel? there was no mention made of any gospel. Our Lord speaks as though his life were a gospel: for him to live and move, to see and be heard of men, was to give them glad tidings, even Heaven’s announcement of peace on earth, good-will towards men. And this is true. "What we call the Gospel is just the photograph of Christ taken by the evangelists: no, not the photograph, not a picture; a picture would show him simply as he was at one particular moment, would show him quiescent, speechless; the representation of the Gospel shows him in hundreds of circumstances and relations, shows him acting and suffering, and reproduces the gracious words that fell from his lips. It is not a picture of Christ, it is Christ himself, radiating hope, light, and glory into the heart of the believer. This gospel is this Christ. But observe: mention of his burial introduces the mention of this gospel. The life of Christ, without his death, would not be a gospel. There would be no glad tidings in a life of simple holiness. What man needs to deliver him from his prison-house is not to know the perfect will of God. The two commandments on which hang all the law and the prophets had been given from the beginning. By the law is the knowledge of sin. By the holy life of Christ is that knowledge intensified. As no man can come to the Father save through Christ, so no man can come to Christ save through his death. This is the truth which was taught in the discourse contained in John 6:53.: "Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you."

There are some who preach a gospel to which the death of Christ is not essential; they fancy that man is ready to turn to God if he could only be sure of forgiveness, ready to turn from sin if he could only be sure of help, - a notion that the Bible everywhere condemns; and they fancy that God is indifferent to all past violations of his law, if the sinner will consent to receive his forgiveness and his love, - a notion that is equally in conflict with all the teachings of God’s word. "Without the shedding of blood there is no remission" of sins. Man is "dead in trespasses and sins."

Jesus speaks of his burial. He knew that he was to be crucified with malefactors within three days, and buried under circumstances which would not allow of the anointing of his body by his disciples. He knew that he was going down into the grave; that his disciples would be scattered, and become as trembling sheep deprived of a shepherd in the midst of ravening wolves; and yet he calmly speaks of "this gospel" as to be preached in all the world. He was perfectly conscious that his words and acts, and all that happened to him and through him, would be related in all the languages of men, and that from age to age there would be multitudes of disciples running the gauntlet of all forms of persecution in order to tell men of the way of salvation through his blood. What an almost infinite unlikelihood there was of the fulfilment of such a prophecy!

If one or two of the disciples had been appointed amanuenses, and had accompanied him with style and tablets in hand, taking down his words as they were spoken, and recording his miracles as they were wrought, the prophecy would not have been so startling. Often he spoke to those who had no ears to hear, and saw his words dissipated in air. But he knew that after his death would be the Spirit, bringing to the remembrance of the disciples what they had heard, and making the truth wondrously effectual in their hearts.

How very differently the act of Mary impressed Jesus and his disciples! They found fault with it, and believed that in doing so they were simply applying principles which Christ had taught them. Jesus certainly had taught them to avoid everything like wastefulness, to consider the poor, and forego matters of mere self-indulgence. When did he ever give the slightest intimation of a desire to receive costly attentions like this? They felt that they knew the Lord’s mind thoroughly with regard to this matter, and so they hesitated not to reprove Mary for throwing away several hundred denarii upon the ointment. And if the question had come up before the money had been expended, there is little reason to doubt that Jesus would have disfavoured the expenditure. Observe, however, that it is Judas who takes the lead in censuring the sister of Lazarus: he coveted the money for his own uses.

Money is not the only thing too precious to be wasted. Since Jesus had raised her brother from the dead, two months ago, she had been treasuring and economising in expectation of a day when she should have an opportunity of showing impressively her affection and gratitude. Every mite of the sum laid out on this box of ointment represented love, reverence, devotion - feelings too holy in the sight of Jesus to be slighted. If she had met with censure from him instead of approbation, she would have been inexpressibly humiliated and disappointed. It was very far indeed from the thought of Jesus to allow her to go away cast down and ashamed. He will not reject the tribute of her love. He accepts it, and guards against all possible evil inferences by giving it a special significance. ’It is against my burial’ he says. ’You will not have the opportunity of showing regard in this form after my death, and I accept it now by anticipation.’ And that all may know that love to Christ is that which is of highest value in the estimation of Heaven, it is decreed that the same gospel which proclaims to all mankind the love of God in Christ shall tell the appreciation in which he holds the love of man responsive. God gave the word, and great is the company of those who at this day are publishing throughout the world the account of that interesting transaction in the house of Simon, at Bethany, three days before the Lord of glory was so wickedly done to death.