Matthew 26:6-13 #1

Matthew 26:6-13 #1
First, I want to refer you to the two other gospel accounts where this incident is recorded: Mark 14:1-9 and John 12:1-8. If you will read these accounts along with this one in Matthew, you will see so much more of what took place at this dinner in Bethany.
Wouldn’t you have like to have been at this dinner party? Just think of the guests that are here: Lazarus, whom Jesus had just raised from the dead. Anyone have any questions for Lazarus? Wouldn’t you just love to talk to him? And then there is Simon the leper – obviously a cleansed leper. We don’t know any more about him, but I would like to talk to him too. What was it like when you were on the “other side of the fence?” What was it like being an outcast? And then, of course, there was Jesus. Do you have any questions for Him?
May I remind you also that this was the time of the Passover. People were flooding into Jerusalem from far and near. There was a steady stream of people heading up to Jerusalem. You could hear them singing those great “psalms of ascents” as they went up. This was a time of great celebration. Trumpets blared and banners waved as the festivities went into full swing. The Passover was a moving time in which every Jew acted out that momentous night in which the death angel passed over their houses and they were freed from bondage. What a joyous time it was.
But you should know also, that on this particular Passover, not everyone was thinking about the celebration. There were some notable rulers, chief priests, scribes, and the high priest, who were in a backroom somewhere cooking up a conspiracy to murder Jesus. They were “seeking how to arrest Him by stealth.” They would soon come up with the perfect trick, a kiss from one of His own. What could be more perfect than that?
But just as the gospel writers tell us about this backroom conspiracy, they immediately transfer us a couple miles away to Bethany, to that dinner party at the home of Simon the leper, where Jesus and Lazarus and the disciples were reclining at a table. And, I have to smile when I see the words “Martha served.” Yes, Martha served. What a wonderful woman. She lives on in many women today. We must not take that statement lightly. It is the greatest among us who serve.
Now, I must tell you one other thing about dinner parties in the East. The men reclined at the table, but the women served and ate later in the other room. Knowing that, the scene becomes more shocking as Mary enters the room. (To be continued)
Berry Kercheville