Sheep-side Economics
Matthew 26:6-13
Main Idea: Blessed are those who see that Jesus matters most and who do something about it.
I. The Woman Who Got It
Just about every woman in the room today understands what Mary did and why it made such overwhelming sense to her. She was behaving toward her maker exactly as He had made her to behave. She was, in that moment, “woman” in her fullest and strongest sense. And it was beautiful.
The blessedness this woman illustrates is based in her grasp of the surpassing value of Jesus. Here is the blessedness of the “Woman Who Got It” — she saw that Jesus is worth any and every sacrifice.
II. The Men Who Missed It
Matthew 26:8-9: “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.’”
For Judas - and for all the others who more or less agreed with him - the most valuable thing in the room was the money bag. To make matters worse, the men who missed it thought they got it!
If Jesus had not stepped in, who knows what levels of verbal abuse and shaming this woman would have been forced to endure. Matthew 26:10-13: “(Leave her alone.) Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a beautiful thing to me. For you always have the poor with you, (and whenever you want, you can do good for them.) 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, wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.”
The men who missed it did nothing beautiful that night.
III. The Poor Who Need It
Jesus frequently says more in an aside comment than we say in books and volumes. That is certainly the case here. In Mark’s version of this story, Jesus rebukes Judas’s pretended concern for the poor with a more complete statement about the poor: “For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you want, you can do good for them. But you will not always have me.” (Mark 14:7)
There are a couple really important implications for us to notice here:
Jesus chooses not to end poverty…
Theologically, we cannot support the idea that Jesus is not capable of solving the poverty problem. With God, all things are possible. The reality is that He chooses not to fix this one.
…so that we can have occasion to serve the poor.
The only given reason He gives for not ending poverty is so that we can do good for them whenever we want! Jesus is giving us a gift and an opportunity.. In the same way that this woman, Mary, had done a beautiful thing to Him, Jesus is giving us opportunities to do beautiful things for “the poor.”
Matthew 25:31-46: “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me…’
Matthew 25:31-46 (continued): “… Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me…’
Matthew 25:31-46 (continued): “…Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’
Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.
Doing something for the poor is equivalent to doing something for Jesus.
Notable in Jesus’ story about the final judgment is His identification with the poor in their various expressions. Jesus leaves the “poor” among us in order that, if we will, we might demonstrate our regard for Him in our obedience to Him by pouring out our treasures on “the least of His brothers and sisters,” the same way that Mary poured out her ointment on Jesus.
Loving the “poor” is what it looks like to be “the righteous” in real life
Twice in this passage, those whose real lives are characterized by recurring acts of service to the poor are called “the righteous.”
Mt. 25:37 - Then the righteous will answer, “Lord, when did we…”
Mt. 25:46 - “…the righteous will [go away] into eternal life.”
The beauty of their righteousness is in that they were not trying to be perceived as beautiful. They were just doing what flowed properly from their regard for Jesus. Just like the woman who got it… three verses later in Matthew’s Gospel.
This is “Sheep-Side Economics”: It is the economy of “the righteous” who value Jesus above all and who, consequently, value all that Jesus values, especially “the poor,” whom He has left with us as a gift and with whom He identifies as “the least of these his brothers and sisters.”
Blessed are those who see that Jesus matters most and who do something about it.
