Precious
1 Peter 2:4
To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious, (1 Peter 2:4)
The stone once rejected by man but cherished of God and His children . . . He, the Lord Jesus is most precious. Everything about Christ is precious. He was, and is despised by man; yet, to those who are under the blood of His sacrifice, He is precious. But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: (1 Peter 1:19) We have been brought into that preciousness by the One who is precious. God the Father sees in His Son the one who is most precious of all. Christ, Himself, is preciousness; as He is holy, as He is righteous, as He is grace, and on and on . . . He is also precious.
(1 Peter 2:9) But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:
Through our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ whereby we receive grace, we are called to show forth the preciousness of Him who has called us into His marvelous light. Think of all the things of the world that the word ‘precious’ is attached to; whether they be jewels or minerals, or material possessions, or a child most loved and who is precious. The things of this world in comparison to His preciousness has no value. He is the Holy One of God, and He is precious. Turn to the Gospel of Matthew, 26, verse 7.
(Matthew 26:7) 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. In this scene in Bethany (Bethany means ‘house of affliction’) is one so dear that the Lord Himself declared this happening to be for a memorial for this woman.
Let us look through her eyes and heart. Before her was the Sovereign of all creation. A man unlike any other man, and her heart and her soul were completely committed to Him; she must anoint Him for His burial. The alabaster box was probably saved for many years, maybe for her own burial. So precious was this ointment that when she anointed the Lord Jesus, the disciples showed indignation against the woman that the ointment should have been sold, and the money given to the poor. They had walked with Him throughout Galilee, Judaea, they had gone out on His command to teach and convert disciples. They had seen the works and miracles that He had performed; and yet, they could not see what this woman saw. She saw the Lord Jesus as precious. It was not the ointment to her that was precious, but the One who was anointed. The Holy Spirit had opened her eyes and heart to the preciousness of Christ. If there was nothing else in the world but her alabaster box, she would have gladly given it and all it’s preciousness for the Lord of glory.
All this took place in the house of Simon, and to add to this, Simon was a leper. Although the Lord had cured Simon of his leprosy, under the Old Testament law of the leper, even one who had been healed from leprosy was still considered a leper. Although cured he still bore the marks of this dreadful disease. We, as redeemed sinners, are still classified as sinners; however, we have been cured by the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ and we walk in the newness of life. But we, like the leper, still carry the scars of our past life and sin. To clarify what I have just written, a man much greater and much more knowledgeable in the word of God, after his redemption classified himself as the chief of sinners, that was the Apostle Paul.
To understand the dread of leprosy as a judgment from God, one must read in the Book of Leviticus the law of the leper (Leviticus 14). Pay special attention to the sacrifice that had to be offered and the condition for which it was to be offered. Then compare those offerings to the offering of your Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Leprosy was so dreadful that the lepers would have to cover themselves, and were placed apart and separated from the rest of society. We see Simon, in Matthew’s gospel, as a cleansed leper taken from the grasp of death by the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ; for the one who sat at the table was the Judge of the whole earth. It was He who gave the law of the leper, and it was He who placed the sentence of death upon Adam. But Simon was cleansed as a symbol of the power of God in renewing the sinner unto eternal life.
In their midst was the one who was going to conquer death for us, and yet was being anointed for His own death. In Simon’s house, the redeemer of the soul was sat at meat, the Spirit of God moving through the room, a room filled with old world smells; and then this woman comes forward, she sees only one, all her attention is on the man of sorrows. He was humble, yet He did many miracles. He was kind, and thought of all those around Him. He fed multitudes, raised Lazarus from the dead, opened the eyes of the blind, and cured the lepers. He also cast out the fiercest opposition against Him in the demons. He was tender hearted; yet, He could make a scourge of three cords and cleanse the Temple of evil, all this for God the Father, And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father’s house an house of merchandise. (John 2:16)
He sits still now as the woman anoints Him for His burial. The room is filled with the sweet odor of spikenard, the sense of smell was divinely filled because of the presence of the King and the spikenard.
While the king sitteth at his table, my spikenard sendeth forth the smell thereof. (Song of Songs 1:12)
A bundle of myrrh is my wellbeloved unto me; he shall lie all night betwixt my breasts. (Song of Songs 1:13)
My beloved is unto me as a cluster of camphire in the vineyards of Engedi. (Song of Songs 1:14)
Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair; thou hast doves’ eyes. (Song of Songs 1:15)
Behold, thou art fair, my beloved, yea, pleasant: also our bed is green. (Song of Songs 1:16)
The beams of our house are cedar, and our rafters of fir. (Song of Songs 1:17)
In this wondrous song there is much to behold. It is a song of love for the King, He is all the desire of her heart. That is, the heart of those who make up the Bride of Christ. When He is not near, we are frantic for just a glimpse of Him. When He is near we rejoice in His tender love, and the smell of spikenard fills the room. What it must have been when that alabaster box was broken, and the room was filled with both the smell of glory and the smell of death; for she was anointing Him for His burial. The Lord gives us, in this section of Matthew a prophetic word when He declared that this woman is anointing Him for His burial. Those who think that the Lord Jesus was not Omniscient need to read, as the world says ‘the small print,’ they will see that this man, the Lord Jesus Christ was not only Omniscient but Omnipresent, and Omnipotent; and for such a One, this woman anoints Him for His burial. This is one of the few, very few, acts of kindness performed to the Lord of glory throughout His entire sojourn on earth. I want you to search the gospels and see what little kindnesses man showed to the Lord Jesus Christ. This might lead you to understand why in the Gospel of John He would not commit Himself to man, for He knew what was in man, and He knew the heart of man.
But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men, (John 2:24)
And needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man. (John 2:25)
In my sojourn I have met many who considered salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ as an anointing to only receive blessings from the Lord. Although it is true, that the Lord blesses His people, it is not a motive that we have in our hearts. This woman had no motive to anoint Him. She was so taken with His Person, that all of hers was His, she knew that He felt for her, though divinely, in the same way. For He was on a path to lay down His life for the chief of sinners, and for all those who have come short of the glory of God. We, as sinners, must always remember the redeeming power of the Lord Jesus Christ. All these qualities that the Lord possesses are what gives the fullness of the Godhead bodily in Him. In the 26th chapter of the Gospel of Matthew we have a chapter of conspiracy. It begins with the priests and the Levites, and the rulers of the Jews; this conspiracy continues into the presence of the Lord in the person of Judas Iscariot, who sold his soul for 30 pieces of silver, the price of a slave in the days of the Lord Jesus. This chapter begins with conspiracy, and conspiracy moves throughout it’s verses, and it ends with the disciple Peter weeping for his betrayal and denial of the Lord Jesus Christ in verse 75. And Peter remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And he went out, and wept bitterly. (Matthew 26:75) Also notice that this chapter is the longest chapter in Matthew. A chapter devoted to betrayal and unified evil also opens to us through this woman a reflection of His Light in her heart in a dark and evil world. Her actions would become a part of the gospel forever; for the Lord Jesus told His disciples that wherever the gospel is preached, the kindness of this woman should be remembered. He did not ask that the alabaster box be remembered, nor the meeting of his disciples with him, but that wherever the gospel was preached it would be her kindness that would be commemorated in that what she held precious was given for He who is precious.
This woman lived in a society where all the wealth was held and belonged to the man. If she had a husband all the wealth of the family belonged to him. Women had very little that they could call their own. If her husband died, she would not receive the wealth or land that he possessed, it would go to the next male heir. This made this alabaster box more precious. It was of great price to her; yet, for the King she gladly gave it up. The Spirit of God moving on her heart gave her an understanding in her action of anointing the King for His burial, although she spoke not a word, it would be told for all ages. The action of her heart that was recorded by the Holy Spirit is one of the most precious parts of Scripture. When you read the Gospel of Mark chapter 14 deals with the same conspiracy, and the same rejection of Christ; and again this woman shines forth as a light for Christ. A lamp burning and not being consumed. Matthew 26 is the longest chapter in the Gospel of Matthew, and also chapter 14 in the Gospel of Mark is the longest chapter in that gospel. In the mouth of 2 or 3 witnesses every word is established.
Both the Gospel of Matthew (chapter 26 ) and the Gospel of Mark (chapter 14) begins with conspiracy and ends with a broken heart of the Apostle Peter. Later after the resurrection of Christ, the Lord asked Peter 3 times lovest thou me more than these, lovest thou me? lovest thou me? (John 21:15, 15, 17) And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Peter’s eyes are beholding the One who is precious. He now knows the preciousness of Christ. In his epistles he deals not only with the preciousness of Christ, but he also writes of those who are precious to Him. I close with these verses.
But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: ( 1 Peter 1:19)
To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious, (1 Peter 2:4)
Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded. (1 Peter 2:6)
Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, (1 Peter 2:7)
Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ: (2 Peter 1:1)
2Pe 1:4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. (2 Peter 1:4)
Amen.
© Copyright 2015, Michael Haigh
Article may be used, but not for gain. Freely ye have received, freely give.
All Scripture references are from the Authorized King James Bible. (KJV)