This morning we'll be looking at chapter 26, verses 6-13. The Gospel of Matthew, chapter 26, verses 6-13. If you're using your pew Bibles, you should be able to find this on page 1057. We hear now the Word of God. Now when Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, a woman came to him with an alabaster flask, a very expensive ointment, and she poured it on his head as he reclined a table. 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. But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a beautiful thing to me. For you always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me. In pouring this ointment on my body, she has done it to prepare me for burial. Truly I say to you, whoever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her." Let us once again bow in prayer and seek the Lord's blessing. Our gracious and almighty Heavenly Father, we pray that You would be with us as we look at these words. We pray, Lord, that You would be at work by Your Spirit, through Your grace, molding us more into the image of our glorious Savior, Jesus Christ. We pray, Father, that You would also, by Your Spirit and grace, bless my mind and my mouth, that I may think and speak clearly this morning. It is in the name of our holy and risen Savior, Jesus Christ, that we do pray. This morning as we look at these verses, the overall theme that we'll be looking at this morning is an encouragement not to grow weary in doing good works. It can be a wearisome task doing things that are beneficial for the Kingdom of God. It can drain us of financial resources, it can drain us of physical resources, of mental resources, emotional resources, everything. It can be a very wearying task. And each child of God is called to work for the Kingdom, to work for the glory of Jesus Christ. And as Scripture encourages us not to grow weary in this work, here as we look at these verses this morning, we're going to be looking at that theme as well. And the reason being is that any work done for the Kingdom of God, no matter how seemingly small it might be, is never a work done in vain. We may not see the fruit of it in life, but it is a work that has eternal consequences, no matter how small it may seem. It is a great and necessary work to be doing works for the glory of Christ, for the Kingdom of God. And so as we look at these verses, our theme will be, let us not grow weary in doing the good works God has called us to do in the name of Jesus. So let us not grow weary in doing the good works God has called us to in the name of Jesus. Now as we look at these verses, the first point that we'll be looking at is a seemingly small work. This is in Matthew chapter 26, verses 6 and 7. It starts out now when Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper. A woman came to him with an alabaster flask, a very expensive ointment, and she poured it on his head as he reclined at the table. Now, the first thing that we notice here is that Jesus is reclining and having dinner. He's with a man who is known as Simon the leper. Now, it could be that this man was a former leper and that one of the lepers that Jesus had healed in his ministry. If you recall to mind the instructions that were given by God as far as leprosy was concerned, those who had leprosy were to be outside of the camp, residing away from the congregation. Leprosy in scripture is a symbol of uncleanness, of something that cannot be a part of the covenant community. They were to be ostracized, they were to be kept outside. Now in the Old Testament, it wasn't just people that had leprosy. All kinds of things could have leprosy. People could have leprosy, our clothes could have leprosy, a house could have leprosy. There was actually instructions where if you had a leprous spot, show up in your house, that the priest would have to come and if it kept persisting, they would have to tear down your entire house, you'd have to build a new one. So it's a symbol not just of a disease, but of uncleanness. And at the root of it is the uncleanness, what it represents is the uncleanness that we all have apart from Christ. Now, as we consider Jesus here is at the house of Simon the leper. Either this was a man who had been healed, but was known in his community as one who had leprosy. So that became something you could imagine, you know, as he maybe wore that with a badge of honor. If it was a man that was healed from this disease, walking around healthy and secure, but saying, you know, I'm Simon the leper. You know, know what Jesus has saved me from, what he has healed me from in my uncleanness. Or it could be a man who was accustomed of Jesus to interact and to eat and to dine with those who society saw as unclean. This could be a man who currently had leprosy. We don't know. But we do know that he was Simon the leper. And he was someone who was known in his community who had either been healed by Jesus of the leprosy that he had or maybe continued to have it here. And Jesus yet was eating at his house. It was something that would have been shouldn't have been done in the case where if he still had his leprosy, he would have still been ceremonially unclean. But if that is the case, it shows for us, as we see throughout the Gospel accounts of Christ's willingness to come and to interact and to eat and to have fellowship with those that were considered unclean. And what it shows us, brothers and sisters, is the truth that we have all experienced if we are in Christ this morning. That Jesus Christ has come to someone unclean. He has come to us. We are all by nature unclean, apart from Christ. And as He comes and He ministers to us, and by faith, through God's grace, that our hearts are softened and we come to believe in Him, He has come to dwell with those who are once unclean. And we can praise God for that wonderful truth. The next character here that is brought out is a woman. A woman comes up to Jesus at the house of Simon the leper. Not much more is said about her in the Gospel of Matthew, but John tells us who this woman is. It is Mary, the sister of Lazarus. And in John's account in chapter 12, verses 1 to 8, Martha has been preparing and cooking a meal. It's not the same account as when Mary was sitting at Jesus' feet and Martha was busy about preparing the meal, but I guess it seems to be a pattern among these two sisters where Martha at the house of Simon the leper was preparing the food. She was preparing the meal for Jesus and the disciples to eat. And Mary comes with her expensive, very costly, alabaster flask of perfume, and she anoints Jesus. Now, Matthew mentions that she anoints his head as he's reclining at the table. Back in this day, they didn't sit at tables and chairs like we do. He would have been kind of lounging probably on one side, on his elbow, and she would have come and she would have, according to Matthew, she put it in his hair and anointed him in this way. John tells us it was his feet. So he would have been lounging, and she comes up and anoints his feet. And John actually shows it with her tears. She cleans and anoints his feet with her hair. Now, whether or not it's the head or the feet, it's most likely both. And what one gospel writer is focusing on one thing, another gospel writer is focusing on another aspect of it. But the point is, that Mary here anoints Jesus, anoints Him. And if we were in that society and we were looking at it, this would have been an ordinary thing. This wouldn't have been something extraordinary and flashy. It would have been something very ordinary. If everyone around them knew and had been listening to what Jesus had been telling them, that He was about to go to His death, they would have seen this display of affection and longing for Jesus and remorse of what was coming as appropriate. His body was being prepared for burial, as Jesus tells us later in this text. Preparing a body for burial was an ordinary task. It wasn't anything extraordinary. And this is what makes this task as I describe it, a seemingly small thing. It wasn't extraordinary. It was just an ordinary thing that would have been done to anyone who had died. Their body would have been anointed. But I say a seemingly small because we find out that it came at great cost to Mary and her family. Matthew doesn't tell us how much this ointment cost or this perfume. But Mark tells us it would have cost 300 or it's about 300 denarii Which was about a year's wages? There's a great cost for someone in this society for someone in any society you know do the math in your head and what you would make in a year and Then just seemingly wasting it for the kingdom of God as it was viewed in the eyes of the disciples. So it was a seemingly small task in that it wasn't some extraordinary task or work that she did. It was something very ordinary of the day. But yet it did come at a great cost. Some examples of seemingly small works that we can do. Anything that we can volunteer for the help and the support of the body. We, just a few months ago, solidified a mission statement for our church, and the Ephesians passage that we use from Ephesians 4, verses 15 and 16, reference how we are the body of Christ and we have been knit together, all the joints and various sinews, for the purpose of building one another up in love. Now the works that we do for the kingdom of God can be viewed in this light. Works that building up our brothers and sisters in Christ and building up this particular congregation. They may be anything from volunteering to do small works in building maintenance or grounds maintenance. They may be volunteering for Sunday school. They may be volunteering for the nursery. They may be volunteering to bring a meal to someone who might be in need. Anything. Coming alongside of someone who may be struggling and in pain Any way to support a seemingly small thing Yet all of these works They do and they can't have a real cost Say that someone has a need of moving or of having a lawn mowed There's time and there's physical effort that is expended in that instance Maybe there's a financial concern that needs to be met. We could give financially. All these things, they cost, they will cost something, whether it's time, whether it's a physical exertion, whether it's mental or emotional exertion as we share the burdens of our brothers and sisters in Christ. But something to remember is that God calls us to all of these things. It's who we are as Christians, as brothers and sisters. There's a reason why God uses the analogy of a body to describe his church, is that as a body has different parts and different aspects to it, we are all called in various ways to build one another up and support one another. We all have different roles, different functions, different gifts, different things that we have been prepared for, that we have been called to. Yet we are to work together, supporting, upholding one another in love. in the various callings that God has given to us. Even if it seems like a small and ordinary thing, we shouldn't look past and overlook those seemingly small works for the kingdom. Even if it costs us time, money, physical, mental, emotional exertion, we should be seeking to look at and to do those seemingly small works. Now, our second point this morning is that the works that we are called to, these seemingly small works for the kingdom of God, they will face opposition. And we see that in verse 8. Now, as Mary has just anointed Jesus with this very costly, expensive ointment, when the disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, Why this waste? For it had been sold for a large sum of money and given to the poor. So the disciples aren't happy. That's what Matthew tells us. But again, John kind of sheds more light on the situation. And that was especially one disciple in particular that wasn't happy about what just happened. And that was Judas Iscariot. He may have been the first to voice his opposition and maybe stir up some of the disciples. It just says here that Jesus knew what they were saying, so it might have been a loud thing. It was probably something maybe Judas went to disciples around him and said, why did this happen? Like, this could have been sold for a large sum of money. And Jesus, aware of what was going on, then confronts them as a whole. So Judas Iscariot here is the one who is really bothered by this action. And he may have stirred his fellow disciples to be bothered by it as well. Now some might think he has a valid objection. I mean, he could have been, it could have been sold for a year's wages. Imagine all the good that we could do with the combined year's wages. And the amount of poor that we could help. The various burdens that we could meet physically. There's a lot of good work that could be done with that amount of financial resources available. And that's what Judas is pointing out. We could have helped a lot of people with this money. Why such this waste? Well, although it sounds like a very loving and genuine concern on the part of Judas for the poor, yet John also explains to us that he didn't really care about the poor at all. Judas's reason for being so upset by this action was, as John describes him, as a thief. Judas was a thief, John says. And he was in charge of the money bag of the disciples. And he would often dip his hand into it and take from the funds that Jesus and his disciples had. So the only reason why Judas was really upset about this was not that they could help the poor, because Judah saw that's a large sum of money that he could have dipped his hand into and brought out his own reward. Well, John shows us the true nature of this opposition. It wasn't out of love or concern for those in need, but out of selfish ambition. Now, as we consider the works that we are called to, these seemingly ordinary tasks, to build one another up, to come alongside one another, to help when we're in need. When we see a need of the church in general, in our covenant community here, of meeting that need, we all have, I list two classifications of Judases that we all have. The first is an internal Judas. That small voice that brings some opposition to why would you want to do that? You know, we may all have the experience of maybe we see a need, something that needs to be met, and there's this small little voice inside of us that says, well, you're just doing that so you would be recognized, you know, for doing a good work, so that you would look like a good person. Or some other opposition that this internal Judas trying to get us to not do some good work that God has called us to do. But we also have external Judases. It'd be those from the outside or even those around us who might raise some opposition to some good works that we may be doing here in the church. Regardless whether it's an internal opposition and a wall going up where I don't want to do that, I don't have the time for that, I don't have the resources for that, I don't have the gifts for that. Or maybe it's something from the outside coming in and saying, well, that's not a good thing to do. That's not right. That's not where we need to be focused. When we continue doing seemingly small works for the kingdom of God, brothers and sisters, we have opposition. If it's truly for the glory of God and the glory of Jesus and the building up of the church, I think what Jesus is calling us here is to ignore those inner Judases and those external Judases. To hold fast to what God has called us to do, to support one another, to build one another up in love, and encourage the growth and the expansion of this body. And lastly, brothers and sisters, in this third point, take comfort in knowing these works are never in vain. Again, this is a seemingly small work. Mary As Jesus points out, as He rebuts the disciples' opposition, He asks, why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a beautiful thing to me. That phrase, beautiful thing, is literally translated as a good work. She has done a good work for me. She was preparing Jesus' body for burial, He says. And as He says in this text, wherever this good news, wherever this gospel is proclaimed, that what this woman has done will be proclaimed as well. And I'm here as, for the past 2,000 years, this has been fulfilled. Wherever this account, wherever the gospel has been proclaimed, this, what Mary has done, has been proclaimed with it. In this seemingly small, yet costly work, good work that she did for the edification and the glory of Jesus Christ. That leads us in this final point. I want to talk about the effect of seemingly small works. We may look at something as, well, that's small and insignificant. I don't really need to do that, or somebody else can do it. But if it's a genuine need that needs to be met, then no matter how small it may look, we are called to the good work in building one another up and building up this body. Now, as VBS is coming up shortly here, VBS can seem like something that's small and insignificant. But I know we have people sitting among us today who have benefited greatly from VBS as children. They are children of God now because of some of the teaching and instruction that we received in something so seemingly small as Vacation Bible School. So no matter what might be needed, it's a good work for the kingdom, the building up the kingdom, to come to the help and to the aid of something like this, to make the time and the sacrifice to the seemingly small yet good work in the kingdom. Another example is Sunday school. You know, teaching Sunday school can seem like a very small thing. Whether it's a children's class or an adult class, it can seem like something that's small and insignificant. It really does have lasting, lasting effects. In fact, just last weekend, as Jordan and I were at Presbytery, one of the things I mentioned before Presbytery is when I took one of my systematic exams, I didn't do all that well. Just to be completely honest, my first systematic exam did not go well. I had a dear brother in Christ, who's also a cousin of mine, Pastor in Laramie, Illinois, Bob Hemphill. You all know Bob Hemphill. He actually commented as they were, presbyters were taking a vote after I was examined and they were voting to sustain the exam or not. Actually said, you know, Ryan, I love you, but I don't know if I can sustain this exam. You know, I was nervous. And it was my first exam. And I've, my mind went blank on a lot of questions. And, but where I stood firm and when I did well, was because of the training that I had received in my home congregation. The faithful Sunday School teachers who over the years taught me well the truth of Scripture came to my support and God used that in a mighty way as I took that first exam. So as we consider something like VBS or Sunday School, seemingly small tasks, they can have a great and lasting effect on the kingdom of God. Because we could actually be in those instances being the tools through which God is teaching and instructing the future ministers in his church, future elders, future deacons, future Sunday school leaders who would also then teach and instruct the next generation. Now, Why did Mary do this? That's one question that I had as I looked at this. She did this out of, we don't know how much of a sense that she had of what was actually coming. It was obviously a prompting of the Holy Spirit that she come and she anoint the body of Christ for His burial. But in it, there was obviously not a concern in her of the cost, what it was costing her. It cost her a year's wages to do this. It was a great cost to her. Her focus was on Christ and anointing Him, and in that she did a good work for Christ, for His kingdom. In essence, as we consider the works before us in various ways and various things, needs here in the church, needs outside of the church, needs of brothers and sisters in Christ, however seemingly small, what we all must strive for, every single one of us, myself included, is a heart that looks at, is this a glorifying and edifying thing for Christ, for the body of Christ? Not so much What is this going to cost me? I might miss such and such. I might have to sacrifice this and that. But let's look at instead, how will this build up the body of Christ? How will this glorify Him in our midst? Psalm 127, which we'll be singing shortly, the words are there, you know, unless the Lord builds the house, the builders build in vain. Now in that truth, what we learn is the positive aspect of that is as we are confident that Christ is building something, that any work to that end, no matter how small, is not in vain. It is a good work. It could be a joyful work, building up the body of Christ. But if Christ is not the focus, if His glory in the building up of Christ is not the focus, that's where we falter, brothers and sisters. Every single work that we have the opportunity to do, we must keep in mind that this is for the building up of Christ. And in that light, we can do it joyfully, knowing that no matter how small it may seem, how insignificant it may seem, that if it's done for Christ, It is not in vain. And that is the source of why we don't have to grow weary in doing good works for the Kingdom of God. Now, as we close, I want to point out that any good work we do, brothers and sisters, it doesn't earn us any credit. We're not putting money into a bank account before God. The good works that we do can't earn God's approval. Now, do they please Him? Sure, yes. But they don't make Him love us anymore. He cannot love us any less, and He cannot love us any more than He already does. Because if we are in Jesus Christ, He doesn't see us, He sees His Son. He sees His righteousness. As He has taken that righteousness and placed it upon us, and given it to us, and it becomes ours. So when He looks at us, He loves us. So there's nothing that we can do to make Him love us any more The point of this sermon, brothers and sisters, is what can we be doing to build one another up in Christ? To encourage one another in Him? That we might more fully comprehend and understand the glorious riches that we have in Him. The salvation that we have through Christ alone. And the love that has been shown to us through the sacrifice of Christ. And as we work together to glorify Christ and to build up His body, let us remember that any task for this effort is not in vain. Any task, no matter how seemingly small, is purposeful and good and will be used to build up the body of Christ. And so, brothers and sisters, let us not grow weary. in doing the good works that God has called us to do for the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. Our gracious God and our Heavenly Father, we do thank you for the works that you have given to us to do in Christ. As your servant the Apostle Paul wrote in Ephesians 2, verse 10, that we are your workmanship. We are created in Christ Jesus to do good works. which you have prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Now, these good works are not works done to earn your approval, to earn our salvation. Our salvation is only through faith in Jesus Christ by your grace alone. But Lord, these are good works done out of thankfulness for what you have done for us in Christ. May we, Lord, as various opportunities before us now and in years to come. We don't know how you'll work, how you'll move, and the opportunities that you'll bring forward to give this body work to do. We pray that regardless of what it may be, that as we look to glorify You and to build up the body of Christ, we pray that we would not grow weary in doing the seemingly small things, the ordinary tasks, to build up this body of Christ. Whether, no matter the cost, it may be a great cost to us financially, or of our time, or of our physical, mental, and spiritual strength. Lord, we pray that you would give us the strength and the grace that we need to do and accomplish the good works that you have given us to do in Christ Jesus. To your glory, honor, and praise. It is in the name of Jesus Christ that we do pray. Amen.