Matthew 26:6-13
26:6. And when Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper,
26:7 a woman came to Him having an alabaster flask of very costly fragrant oil, and she poured it on His head as He sat at the table.
26:8 But when His disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, "Why this waste?
26:9 "For this fragrant oil might have been sold for much and given to the poor."
26:10 But when Jesus was aware of it, He said to them, "Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a good work for Me.
26:11 "For you have the poor with you always, but Me you do not have always.
26:12 "For in pouring this fragrant oil on My body, she did it for My burial.
26:13 "Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her."
It is about the preparation of Passover or the preparation of the death of Jesus as Passover Lamb.
Exodus 12:3,6
12:3 "Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying: 'On the tenth day of this month every man shall take for himself a lamb, according to the house of his father, a lamb for a household.
12:6 'Now you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month.Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight.
It is written in Old Testament that Passover lamb was taken and kept on the tenth day, and killed on the fourteenth day of the same month. Thus, there was preparation for four days.
2 Peter 3:8
3:8. But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
Four days = four thousand years.
From the offering viewpoint, Christ's sacrifice has been a shadow in the form of animal offerings for four thousand years, from the age of Adam, Abraham, until Jesus' first coming.
From the human viewpoint:
Isaiah 66:24
66:24 "And they shall go forth and look Upon the corpses of the men Who have transgressed against Me. For their worm does not die, And their fire is not quenched. They shall be an abhorrence to all flesh."
Right after the four thousand years, Jesus came into the world and died on the cross as the slain Passover Lamb in order to do these things:
26:6. And when Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper,
Jesus was anointed in Bethany, whose meaning is the house of palm fruit.
Meaning there is sweetness or beauty in the anointing of Holy Spirit.
There are three ambiences of Bethany determining the beauty of our life as follows:
26:6. And when Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper,
26:7 a woman came to Him having an alabaster flask of very costly fragrant oil, and she poured it on His head as He sat at the table.
26:8 But when His disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, "Why this waste?
26:9 "For this fragrant oil might have been sold for much and given to the poor."
26:10 But when Jesus was aware of it, He said to them, "Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a good work for Me.
26:11 "For you have the poor with you always, but Me you do not have always.
26:12 "For in pouring this fragrant oil on My body, she did it for My burial.
26:13 "Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her."
It is about the preparation of Passover or the preparation of the death of Jesus as Passover Lamb.
Exodus 12:3,6
12:3 "Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying: 'On the tenth day of this month every man shall take for himself a lamb, according to the house of his father, a lamb for a household.
12:6 'Now you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month.Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight.
It is written in Old Testament that Passover lamb was taken and kept on the tenth day, and killed on the fourteenth day of the same month. Thus, there was preparation for four days.
2 Peter 3:8
3:8. But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
Four days = four thousand years.
From the offering viewpoint, Christ's sacrifice has been a shadow in the form of animal offerings for four thousand years, from the age of Adam, Abraham, until Jesus' first coming.
From the human viewpoint:
- Men were dead without the law of God from the age of Adam to Abraham.
- There was the law of God but men transgressed it in the age of Abraham to Jesus' first coming. Consequently, they were rotten.
Isaiah 66:24
66:24 "And they shall go forth and look Upon the corpses of the men Who have transgressed against Me. For their worm does not die, And their fire is not quenched. They shall be an abhorrence to all flesh."
Right after the four thousand years, Jesus came into the world and died on the cross as the slain Passover Lamb in order to do these things:
- To redeem the sins of rotten men so they can be saved and do not perish, or to heal destroyed mortar vessel.
- To drink sour wine or to bear the curse of sin.
Keeping sins, one is drinking sour wine every day, referring to bitter life. - To pour out Holy Spirit and to give us sweet life as sweet wine in our private life, marriage, and ministry, until we get the sweetest one in the marriage supper of the Lamb.
John 16:7
16:7. "Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.
26:6. And when Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper,
Jesus was anointed in Bethany, whose meaning is the house of palm fruit.
Meaning there is sweetness or beauty in the anointing of Holy Spirit.
There are three ambiences of Bethany determining the beauty of our life as follows:
- The ambience of righteousness and holiness(there is the healing of the leper).
The spiritual meaning of leprosy is as follows:- Self-truth sin, that is to say sinful men cover their sins through blaming other people, even blaming the true teaching Word, or blaming God.
Consequently, one does not want to repent until s/he cannot repent anymore but be rotten and perished. - Uncleanness sin.
Leviticus 13:45
13:45 "Now the leper on whom the sore is, his clothes shall be torn and his head bare; and he shall cover his mustache, and cry, 'Unclean! Unclean!' - Wickedness sin, namely the lust of money, including lying.
2 Kings 5:20, 22, 27
5:20. But Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, "Look, my master has spared Naaman this Syrian, while not receiving from his hands what he brought; but as the LORD lives, I will run after him and take something from him."
5:22 And he said, "All is well. My master has sent me, saying, 'Indeed, just now two young men of the sons of the prophets have come to me from the mountains of Ephraim. Please give them a talent of silver and two changes of garments.'"
5:27 "Therefore the leprosy of Naaman shall cling to you and your descendants forever." And he went out from his presence leprous, as white as snow.
The leprosy makes bitter life even perdition. Therefore, the leprosy has to be cured.
Leviticus 14:8-9
14:8 "He who is to be cleansed shall wash his clothes, shave off all his hair, and wash himself in water, that he may be clean. After that he shall come into the camp, and shall stay outside his tent seven days.
14:9 "But on the seventh day he shall shave all the hair off his head and his beard and his eyebrows -- all his hair he shall shave off. He shall wash his clothes and wash his body in water, and he shall be clean.
It is written in Old Testament that the cleansing of the leprosy was with the washing of water twice.
Mark 1:40-42
1:40. Now a leper came to Him, imploring Him, kneeling down to Him and saying to Him, "If You are willing, You can make me clean."
1:41 Then Jesus, moved with compassion, stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, "I am willing; be cleansed." 1:42 As soon as He had spoken, immediately the leprosy left him, and he was cleansed.
It is said in New Testament that Jesus is able to cleanse the leprosy if He is willing.
"He is willing" means He is willing to die on the cross to stretch His merciful hand to cure the leprosy.
Ephesians 5:25-27
5:25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her,
5:26 that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word,
5:27 that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.
Jesus as Heavenly Bridegroom gives His soul and dies on the cross to stretch His Hand washing His Bride twice as follows:- With water baptism.
Romans 6:2-4
6:2 Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?
6:3 Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?
6:4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
He has died on the cross, so we have to die to sin through our repentance. Afterward, we are buried together with Him in water baptism and we rise in new life, namely life in righteousness. There must be beauty of life in righteous life.
Isaiah 3:10a
3:10a "Say to the righteous that it shall be well with them, - With the rain water of teaching Word.
Deuteronomy 32:1-2
32:1. "Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak; And hear, O earth, the words of my mouth.
32:2 Let my teaching drop as the rain, My speech distill as the dew, As raindrops on the tender herb, And as showers on the grass.
Hebrews 4:12
4:12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
The teaching Word is the Word sharper than any two-edged sword sanctifying our life, beginning from our heart. Our heart is sanctified from wickedness and uncleanness lusts, and there is beauty life in holy heart.
Matthew 5:8
5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God.
Afterward, our deeds are sanctified, and our saying is too. It continues until there is no lie and we do not stumble in word.
James 3:2
3:2 For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body.
The more we are sanctified, the more we have beauty or sweetness in life.
- Self-truth sin, that is to say sinful men cover their sins through blaming other people, even blaming the true teaching Word, or blaming God.
- The ambience of ministry.
John 12:1-3
12:1. Then, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was who had been dead, whom He had raised from the dead.
12:2 There they made Him a supper; and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with Him.
12:3 Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.
We have to be righteous and holy first, and then we can minister God.
Exodus 29:1
29:1a. "And this is what you shall do to them to hallow them for ministering to Me as priests:
If we are sanctified, we will be lifted up as priests and kings, namely lives having priest's offices to minister God.
Leviticus 21:12
21:12 'nor shall he go out of the sanctuary, nor profane the sanctuary of his God; for the consecration of the anointing oil of his God is upon him: I am the LORD.
The place of the priests is in Holy Place, in which there are three furnishings, referring to perseverance in committing three main services as follows:- Golden Candlestick -->perseverance in committing General Service.
- Table of Showbread -->perseverance in committing Bible Study Service.
- Golden Altar of Incense -->perseverance in committing Prayer Service.
Our holiness is guaranteed in the Holy Place, and there will be sweet-smelling aroma.
The facts found in ministry producing sweet-smelling aroma are as follows:- There is firmness about teaching.
1 Timothy 4:1-2
4:1. Now the Spirit expresslysays that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons,
4:2 speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron,
It is a firmness to reject other teaching, and to hold fast the true teaching. Eve heard other voice, so she had no ambience of paradise anymore, but thorns or bitterness. We must have the ambience of paradise as long as we hold one true teaching Word.
Expressly holding one true teaching Word, we become as a branch attaining to the Vine, and there must be fruits soon or later. - There is dwelling together in unity, and God commands the blessing to us.
Psalm 133:1-3
133:1. <<A Song of Ascents. Of David.>>Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brethren to dwell together in unity!
133:2 It is like the precious oil upon the head, Running down on the beard, The beard of Aaron, Running down on the edge of his garments.
133:3 It is like the dew of Hermon, Descending upon the mountains of Zion; For there the LORD commanded the blessing--Life forevermore.
- Golden Candlestick -->perseverance in committing General Service.
- The ambience of glory.
John 11:1,3,11
11:1. Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha.
11:3 Therefore the sisters sent to Him, saying, "Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick."
11:11 These things He said, and after that He said to them, "Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up."
The family in Bethany was loved by God, but He let Lazarus die even be rotten for four days. It is called the sprinkling of blood, meaning suffering in the flesh without any sin in order to have the glory of God.
Experiencing the suffering because of sins tonight, let us confess the sins to God and other people solemnly with our regret, then leave the sins! As a result, God will replace us to enter into suffering without any sin, and we can experience the glory of God.
John 11:21,32
11:21 Then Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.
11:32 Then, when Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died."
Facing the sprinkling of blood, we have to fall down at Jesus' feet as follows:- Worshiping God with one heart and one teaching.
- Worshiping God with contrite heart, confessing that we are unworthy and powerless as clay only.
John 11:38-40
11:38 Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it.
11:39 Jesus said, "Take away the stone." Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, "Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days."
11:40 Jesus said to her, "Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?"
The worship with one heart, contrite heart, and falling down at Jesus' feet is as taking away the hard stone which makes the heart doubtful, disappointed, and hopeless.
Lamentation 3:41
3:41 Let us lift our hearts and hands To God in heaven.
Tonight, let us lift up our heart and hands to God facing anything in our life. We surrender our life fully to Him, believe and entrust our life to Him, and we only wait for His time.
As a result, the glory of God comes into our life, to renew the rotten life to be healed.
Life renewal is the greatest miracle. Being renewed is equal to bearing fruits. Renewed life will produce the fruits of Spirit, and there is beauty. Having one fruit of Spirit, the life has been sweet or beautiful.
Galatians 5:22-23
5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
5:23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.
God is able to perform both spiritual and physical miracle.
The spiritual miracle will happen continually until the sweetest one that we are renewed to be as glorious as Jesus is when He comes a second time. - Worshiping God with one heart and one teaching.