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“The Woman With An Alabaster Jar”
Matthew 26:1-‐16
Message by Michael J.
Barnard
August 30,
2015 Teaching Aim: To
contrast the wicked schemes of
the Jewish religious leaders and
Judas Iscariot with the humble,
loving act of worship performed
by Mary in the home of
Simon the leper. To understand
true worship is costly and
requires that we first be
broken. To realize those who
genuinely worship the Lord will
be rewarded and leave a legacy
for many others to follow.
DIGGING DEEPER INTO GOD’S WORD
(BIBLE STUDY) Part I: The
religious leaders plot to kill
Jesus (Matt. 26:1-‐5) 1. What
“sayings” is Matthew referring to
in verse 1? (See Chapters
24-‐25) Why is “the
Olivet
Discourse” called “the Olivet
Discourse”? What are the
primary messages of chapters 24
& 25?
2. What message does Jesus
deliver to His apostles for a
fourth and final time in
verse 2? (See Matt.
16:21; 17:22-‐23; 20:17-‐19)
According to Jesus, how many
hours were left before His
trials and crucifixion? What
title does Jesus use for Himself
in verse 2? Why is His
use of this title so
important? (See Dan. 7:9-‐10,
13-‐14)
3. Who
assembled at the house of the
high priest to plot against
Jesus (vs. 3)? What made
this all the
more diabolical? Who was the high
priest according to verse 3?
What is Caiaphas plotting every
time we see him in
Scripture (vs. 4)? (See
26:57-‐59; John 11:49-‐51; 18:12-‐14)
Who else was functioning as
high priest? Why? (See
Luke 3:1-‐2; Acts 4:5-‐6)
Note: Annas was the
father-‐in-‐law of Caiaphas and
officially served as the high
priest of Israel from 6-‐15
A.D. In 15 A.D. he was
removed from office by Rome.
Annas was still considered to
be high priest by many of
the Jews and carried tremendous
influence in the Jewish community.
4. Why
do you think the religious
leaders did not want to kill
Jesus during Passover while hundreds
of
thousands of pilgrims were in
Jerusalem for the feast (vs.
5)? In what way is the
Muslim holiday of Ramadan today
similar to the Jewish Feast of
Passover in the days of Jesus?
Why were the Roman troops
on high alert?
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Part II: Mary anoints Jesus
for His upcoming burial (Matt.
26:6-‐13) 1. John records the
events chronologically while Matthew and
Mark record them topically (vs.
6).
According to John 12:1-‐3, when
did this event take place?
Where does verse 6 indicate
this event took place? What
can we learn about Simon
from verse 6? In light of
Lev. 13 & 14, what is
so unusual about Simon being
in a room with all of
these people? Is it possible
the reason Simon the leper was
giving this dinner for Jesus
was to honor Him for previously
healing him?
2.
According to John 12:1-‐3, who else
was at this dinner? Who
did the serving at this dinner?
Who is
the unidentified woman in verse 7
identified as in John 12:3?
What is an alabaster flask
and why was this object and
the oil in it so expensive?
(See Commentaries)
3. What can we learn about the
value of the alabaster flask
and oil from Mark 14:3 and
John 12:3? True
worship is costly and requires
that we first be broken.
How did Mary act out this
truth as she anointed Jesus?
How were you broken when you
came to Christ? How can
we worship the Lord in spirit
and in truth today? (See
John 4:23-‐24) When do you
feel the closest to God in
worship?
4. As
stated before, every time we
see Caiaphas in Scripture he
is plotting to destroy Jesus.
In stark
contrast, how do we find Mary
each time we see her in
Scripture? (See Luke 10:38-‐42;
John 11:32-‐35; John 12:3) Why
should we worship like this as
well? Does it bother you
to stand up and sing songs
of praise in front of other
people? Are you embarrassed to
raise your hands in worship to
the Lord? If so, why?
5. How
did the disciples of Jesus
react to this generous and
exceptional act of worship by
Mary (vs. 8)?
Did Jesus receive this act of
worship from Mary or rebuke
her? What does this teach
us about the deity of Christ?
Has anyone ever accused you
of wasting your time by
worshiping God? If so, why?
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6. According to John 12:4-‐5, which
disciple stirred up the others
to complain? Is it true
it only takes one voice to
cause division within a church?
Was the motive of Judas
compassion for the poor, or was
there an ulterior motive? (See
John 12:6)
7. In what
way do the disciples of Jesus
rebuke Mary in verse 9?
Had the disciples been wrong
before in
rebuking others who worshiped Christ?
(See Matt. 10:13-‐16)
According to Mark and John, how
much money was this alabaster
jar and the precious oil worth?
(See Mark 14:5; John 12:4-‐5)
Why was it worth so
much? (See Commentaries) How
much money would 300 denarii be
worth today?
8. Had
Mary wasted the money (vs.
10)? Why or why not?
In Mary’s case this was an
act of true
worship. (See John 4:23-‐24)
In examining our own lives, how
much of our wealth is
wasted on things that are worthless
when it comes to eternity?
Will we be held accountable for
this? (See 2 Cor. 5:10-‐11;
Rev. 20:11-‐15)
9. Is
Jesus being insensitive to the
poor in verse 11? What
truth is He communicating?
Whether Mary
realized it or not, what had
she done for Jesus in verse
12? Was Jesus fully aware
of what would happen to Him
within 48 hours? Apart
from Judas, did the disciples
realize what was about to happen
to Jesus?
10. What
does Jesus assure His disciples
of in verse 13? Are
these prophetic words true today?
If so,
how? Part III: Judas agrees
to betray Jesus for a meager
amount of money (Matt. 26:14-‐16)
1. What do you think caused
Judas Iscariot to go the chief
priests (vs. 14)? Judas became
angry when he
couldn’t get his hands on the
alabaster jar and the money
the oil would bring in, why?
(See John 12:6) “Son
of perdition” literally means “son
of waste”. What does Jesus
refer to Judas as in John
17:12? In what way was
Judas “a waste” and how does
Jesus use this statement as a
play on words here?
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2. How much money did
Judas ask the religious leaders
to give him in order to
betray Jesus (vs. 15)?
What figure do they finally agree
on? What could be purchased
for thirty shekels of silver in
the Old Testament? (See Exod.
21:32) How much was paid
for the rejected Shepherd of
Zech. 11:12? Who does this
Shepherd represent? What does
this small amount of money
teach us about the value the
religious leaders and Judas placed
on Jesus? How does this
compare to the value Mary
placed on Jesus in verses
6-‐13?
3. When do
you think Judas turned from
apostle to traitor? Was
Judas ever a true believer?
Do you
know of people who have turned
away from the Lord when they
didn’t get their way? What
does this indicate about the
genuineness of their faith?
Are you ever tempted to turn
away from Christ when things
don’t go your way?
4. What
can we learn about the motivation
of Judas and his love for
Jesus from verse 16? Was
this
betrayal by Judas a surprise
to God, or did God use
the evil intent of Judas to
bring about His sovereign plan
of placing the crucifixion and
death of Jesus Christ on the
Passover Day at the exact
moment the Passover lambs were
being slain?
5. Have
you received Jesus Christ as
Savior and Lord? If not
why not receive Him right now
in prayer,
perhaps this is the exact moment
God has ordained for you to
receive Christ?
MINER’S CORNER ~ Manna to live
by! • Just because people look
religious doesn’t mean that they
are, they must be born-‐again
by the Holy
Spirit of God. • Passover had been
celebrated for almost 1,500 years,
but now the real Lamb of
God had appeared in
Jerusalem, everything before had just
been a foreshadow. • Every time
Caiaphas is seen in Scripture
he is trying to destroy Jesus.
• Every time Mary is seen in
Scripture she is worshiping at
the feet of Jesus. • Mary’s
anointing of Jesus took place
chronologically just before the
Triumphal Entry. • True worship is
costly and requires that we
first be broken; Mary acted out
this truth in dramatic form
as she anointed Jesus. • Judas
betrayed Jesus when Jesus didn’t
do what he wanted, many people
are guilty of doing the same
today.
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