The Lord Jesus values our valuing of Him. How encouraging! He appreciates our appreciation of Him, finding Him precious in a world that still despises Him.
In Matthew 26 the Spirit of God assembles contrasting accounts, so that we may see the Lord Jesus’ heart concerning man’s thoughts of Him. In the first paragraph (vv.1-5) the Lord Jesus declares that He will be delivered up, and the Spirit of God records the desire in the hearts of the religious leaders to kill Him. Their despising of Christ stands in sharp contrast to “all these sayings” (v.1) in the previous chapters, where the Son of Man is seen in glory and authority at His coming. Yet now the Son of Man is hated and rejected. His “market value” to them was zero or less.
However when Christ was in Bethany, a very different view of Him was displayed (vv.6–13). A woman, sensing the mounting rejection and hatred of Christ, took what was of great value and poured it out upon Him. The ointment she poured out was “very precious,” a Greek word meaning weighty and costly. The imagery is that of a balance with weights placed on it to measure the quantity and, therefore, the value of the item on the other side. The Lord Jesus was on the balance, with the question: “How much would need to be placed on the other side to equal His weight?” “How valuable is He?” Because her ointment was of great value, she saw pouring it upon the Lord Jesus as an opportunity to display her estimate of His worth. To her, He was very precious.
The disciples viewed this act as a “waste,” a year’s salary that had lost its value, but the Lord Jesus valued it. Realizing that He would soon be crucified and buried, she saw an opportunity to express her assessment of Christ. In fact, she was the only one who had this opportunity to honor Him. The other women who came after He arose from the dead were too late. She disagreed with the world’s estimate of Him, and the Lord Jesus disagreed with the disciples’ estimate of her act of worship. It was not a waste, but rather a demonstration of Christ’s value to her. It was the response of a heart that, through intimacy and love, understood Christ’s heart and desired to show its loving appreciation of Him. Because Christ appreciated her expression so much, He desired that all who hear the gospel also hear of what she did, so that they might learn to do likewise (v.13).
Her action stands in dramatic contrast to the thoughts of one of the twelve, who had spent so much time near the Lord Jesus. He saw Christ as of so little value that he was willing to give Him up for money, even at a price set by others (vv. 14–16). While the religious leaders sought an opportunity to kill the Lord Jesus and Judas sought to deliver Him up for money, the woman in Bethany sought an opportunity to honor Him. While others sought to be rid of Him or to gain from Him at His expense, she sought to give to Him.
When Christ gathered with the twelve for the Passover, His mind and words were occupied with the thought of being delivered up—and that by one of those who were so near to Him (vv.17–25). To “betray” or “deliver up” is literally to “give from with.” One would give Christ away, turning Him over to others rather than keeping Him with oneself. Such treachery. This betrayal of intimacy and despising of nearness affected the Lord’s heart. The one who thought so little of Him was so close to Him that he would dip his hand in the dish in fellowship.
As these things occupied His mind, the Lord Jesus took bread and the cup and told His disciples to eat and drink of these things, which symbolized His body and His blood (vv.26–29). The ascended Lord, in revealing this to Paul, emphasized that it was on the “night in which He was betrayed” that He took bread (1 Cor. 11:23). It was while He was in the midst of being despised and rejected that He called upon His own to remember Him. Today, in a world that still rejects Him, He directs us to call to mind who He truly is and desires us to show that, unlike the world around us, we think He is of great value.
The Lord pointed out to His disciples that this opportunity would end (v.29), for He will not always be in rejection. He will one day drink of the fruit of the vine with us in the kingdom of His Father, where He will be honored universally. However, we now have the unique opportunity to demonstrate that we appreciate Him in a world that does not, just like the woman with her precious ointment. We who believe know His preciousness (1 Pet. 2:7), and as priests, we offer spiritual sacrifices that please God as we speak of Christ’s value. We have been redeemed by His blood, so we speak from personal knowledge of His value. While some may think our expression of His worth is a waste, the Lord Jesus values it. May this thought encourage our hearts to speak well of Him whenever we gather to break bread in remembrance of Him.
Though the world rejects Christ, we know His value to us. We do not want to miss this unique, passing opportunity to join a redeemed gathering, saved by His blood, that has personally experienced His value as Savior and therefore proclaims the true value of the Lord Jesus. We hear His request on the night of His betrayal, that we who know Him should declare His value as we break bread. How motivated we are as we remind ourselves that the Lord Jesus appreciates our personal expression of appreciation for Him as we remember Him together in this day of His rejection.
As we gather for the Lord’s Supper, we can hear Him ask, “How much do you think I am worth?” Our minds seek to answer with questions such as these: Who is He that gives Him worth? What has He done that is valuable? What in His character makes Him attractive? Where would we be without Him? What is excellent in His effect on us and others? How is He superior to others? What people, pictures, and stories in Scripture illustrate His worth? What principles display His value? What is God’s opinion of His worth?
As we weigh Him in the scales of our minds, we can answer the question, “What is your Beloved more than another beloved…?” (Song. 5:9), and load accolades on the One who died for us. May our full hearts overflow with a good theme that spills out onto our tongues (Ps. 45:1) and leads the assembly in telling Christ that we value Him: “Lord Jesus, You are so worthy in so many ways…!” What a joy to tell the Father what we think of His Son: “We agree with Your assessment, seen in Your raising Him from the dead and seating Him at Your right hand!”
Like the woman in Matthew 26, may we seize this passing opportunity to honor the rejected Christ, acknowledging Him as Lord in a rebellious world.