Gospel Outreach

‘His Name is as ointment poured forth’
(Song of Solomon 1:3)  

Remembering at this time the crucifixion of our Lord and Saviour, our minds go back to that greatest event of all ages, yes even of eternity, and also that which is recorded immediately prior to His sufferings.   

In this respect we now refer to the account of Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus, bringing her very precious ointment, breaking her alabaster box, pouring out this costly anointing on our Lord Jesus and wiping His feet with her hair.  (Matthew 26:6-13 and John 12:3-8).  We also look at the painful comment made by Judas namely: ‘to what purpose is this waste?’  Jesus immediately linked her act of deep love and devotion, to His pending death.  We do the same today.  

Her ointment was precious but we are redeemed by much more precious blood as we read in I Peter 1:19 and in chapter 2:4,7 we see that Jesus is the Chief Cornerstone and to us who believe He certainly is most precious.  

In Song of Solomon 1:3 He is prophetically referred to as having a Name which is ‘as ointment poured forth’.   

We can say that Jesus is God’s great and most precious ‘Alabaster Box’ poured forth for our sins and iniquities.  This fragrance of the work so great and so precious, still ‘fills the house’ of our Lord and particularly at this time of remembrance.

 We find the accounts of His suffering and death recorded by the Gospel writers but in Psalm 22 we see and read it as if He is speaking Himself.  He says: ‘But I am a worm and no man; reproach of men and despised of all the people’.  Not only was He despised by the people, but deserted by His own friends.  In Gethsemane we see Him being ‘sorrowful and very heavy’ and saying ‘My soul is exceedingly sorrowful even unto death…’  Luke tells us (22:44) ‘…in an agony He prayed more earnestly and His sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground’.  Could we ever grasp the agony of His soul when He looked deeply into the bitter cup of sin He had to drink and cry to the Father, if it were possible, to let the cup pass from Him?  Nevertheless fully yielded He would empty the cup pressed to His lips.  Meanwhile His disciples were sleeping, oblivious of His agony.   

Betrayed by a disciple and denied by the leader amongst the disciples.  Falsely accused by lying witnesses and judged guilty by hypocritical jealous clergy condemned by a godless governor.  Yet He opened not His mouth.  Buffeted, spat upon, beard and hair plucked out and His back ploughed open by the whip.  The robe, the reed, the crowns of thorn and the object of ridicule of the soldiers.

 Esteemed of no more value than the price of a slave, 30 pieces of silver, valued less than a murderer released in His stead and reckoned together with criminals.  

In His own words we can say: ‘all they that see Me, laugh Me to scorn:  they shoot out the lip, they shake the head…’ (Psalm 22:7).  

Then He is crucified and He cries out in verse 14 ‘ I am poured out like water, and all My bones are out of joint: My heart is like wax…’ Parched and with a tongue swollen to fill His mouth He says in verse 15 ‘My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and My tongue cleaves to My jaw…’ With every nerve strained and gathering His last bit of strength He cries out: ‘I thirst’.  Never was there a thirst like this for it was not just bodily thirst but deep soul thirst for the souls of men.

 ‘My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?’  This cry from Matthew 27:46 is the opening call of Psalm 22.  Utter amazement, utter rejection, incredible loneliness in His death, yet, when He cried out: ‘It is finished’ the great work of our salvation was finally done.  

God’s Great Alabaster Box was emptied completely.  He was emptied not only of all of His Divine splendour, power and privileges but of all His humanity and was brought down into the dust.  Never was there or will there ever be a deed to equal this.  Never was there a greater price ever paid and we start understanding the pertinence of His question in Mark 8:37: ‘What shall a man give in exchange for his soul?’  Only one exchange could be made and that is this outpouring of the most precious ‘Ointment’ namely all of the Life of Jesus Christ.  

This brings us to the question: Was this a waste?  Have I availed myself fully of the benefits so dearly purchased for me at Calvary ?  If I have not accepted Christ as Saviour, if I am not daily availing myself of the power of the blood and the glory and beauty of the Name of my Lord, then to that extent Calvary was wasted on me.  Yet we rejoice to know that there is a great and glorious harvest awaiting our Lord and that one day He will look upon the travail of His soul and be satisfied.  (Isaiah 53:11).   

There is another picture that we briefly want to bring to mind and that is of the ‘sweet incense beaten small’ that had to be taken by the High Priest into the Most Holy Place together with fire from off the altar which was at the entrance to the Tabernacle.  See Leviticus 16:12 etc.  This incense speaks of the Lord Jesus Christ.  It was incense ‘beaten small’ to bring out the fragrance.  Jesus was ‘beaten small’ for us on Calvary .  This brings to us anew the fragrance of this incredible and most precious work done by Him.  Note what the High Priest had to do namely to fill both his hands with this sweet incense and bring that into the Presence of the Lord in the Most Holy Place .  

May we at this Easter Time, so to speak ‘fill our hands with sweet incense’, take all of Jesus, make Him and His precious work our own on a daily and even moment by moment basis.  Bring the sweetness of the Lord Jesus and the fragrance of Calvary , His sufferings and of His precious Name into the very Presence of the Lord our God.  We have the Mercy Seat, namely our Throne of Grace to which we come and the only way we can come is in the Name of Jesus.  But we also know this is the effective way, it is the most precious way and it is the only way.  Let us so to speak, daily fill both our hands with this precious ‘Incense’ and let the fragrance of Calvary once again permeate not only our lives but the entire House of God.

 May the Lord bless you abundantly at this Easter Time and may you know the wonder of His Presence in a way more real that ever before. 

This entry was posted on Sunday, August 26th, 2007 at 12:47 am and is filed under Bible Teachings.