The Preciousness Of Christ

[Posted by permission. Chippenham Old Baptist Chapel.]

Prayer Meeting Address given at Old Baptist Chapel, Chippenham by Mr. G. D. Buss on Wednesday evening, 6th November, 2019 Text: 

“Very precious.”—Mark 14:3

The whole verse reads: “And being in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as He sat at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard very precious; and she brake the box, and poured it on His head.”

There are some very remarkable features about this very sacred incident. The shadows of death were already gathering over the dear Redeemer, as the cross at Calvary became nearer and nearer His experience. Here, in our text this evening, we have a woman who had some (we do not know how much), but certainly some discernment as to what lay before Him. We know that, because the Lord Jesus Christ said that what she did was an anointing for His burial. In other words, this dear woman had a gracious discernment that the cross awaited Him. This was an act of great love; public love. She was not ashamed to be identified with this One so soon to hang upon a tree. It was in anticipation of the tomb in which He was to lay. You will remember that on the resurrection morn there were those dear women who hastened to the tomb with fresh ointment and fresh spices which, of course, were not needed. So, in a sense, this anointing here was the preparation for the dear Saviour’s tomb.

The second thing I would have you notice is the house in which the Lord Jesus was; Simon the leper’s. Almost certainly, this was a man who had been cured of his leprosy, probably by the dear Saviour. But, he still bore the name; he still bore the reputation. And, dear friends, pardoned sinners still retain that same reputation in their own hearts.

“I’m a poor sinner and nothing at all.”

A.R. Habershon

Matthew, when he writes his own gospel, refers to himself as ‘Matthew the publican.’ He had left tax gathering long ago, but the reputation clung to him, like Rahab the harlot’s reputation did. It is a sign of great humility and an understanding of “the pit whence ye are digged,” we might say. And those characters who feel like that are very much in tune with the Lord’s dear people in the Word of God.

But, Simon the leper evidently gave an invitation to the dear Saviour to come and eat with him. And the Lord Jesus Christ was not slow to go and take His place with this man who had that reputation from the past. How condescending is the Saviour! How low He stoops to commune with sinners! Dear friends, if He has ever communed with you, you will feel it is a wonder of wonders. Why this holy and just One should have any communication with you as a poor, unworthy sinning, sinful sinner is nothing less than a miracle. It is very humbling. But, how sweet that He is willing to come so low, and commune.

Well, we are not told this woman’s name; we do not need to know it. The Lord knew her name, although He did not disclose it. He knew all about her case. He knew why she came. He knew her heart’s motive, although she was gravely misjudged by some of the disciples, led, no doubt by Judas, who pretended they were more concerned about how they could have used the money for the poor, had this box of alabaster ointment been sold. But, the Lord Jesus Christ knew the heart of Judas, and He rises to the defence of this dear woman. It is a wonderful thing, dear friends, if the Lord rises for your defence and mine, especially in that matter of the court of divine justice. We have in Zechariah, the case of Joshua the high priest standing before the Lord, clothed in filthy garments. There was Satan, accusing him before the Lord, “at his right hand to resist him.” And the Lord stood up for Joshua’s defence. “The LORD rebuke thee, O Satan; even the LORD that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?” The Lord firmly and faithfully, as always, rebuked those who were cavilling and pretending to be more pious than they really were. He knew their hearts, too. He said that what this woman had done was a gospel. He said: “Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world, this also that she hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her.” The very fact that we are gathering tonight and speaking on this very subject is a proof of what our Lord said, even there.

But, I want to come back to these two words: “very precious.” I want to relate them to our Lord Jesus Christ, because this is what this woman felt about Him. It was as if she looked around her house and thought, ‘What could I find to show how precious the Saviour is to me?’ No doubt, even though this was very precious in natural terms, she probably felt that that was really too mean to show forth His real worth. And that certainly is true. We sung in our opening hymn:

“All are too mean to speak His worth,

Too mean to set my Saviour forth.”

I. Watts

But, our Saviour said: “She hath done what she could.” In other words, there was in her heart that desire to let it be known: her love for the dear Saviour. “She hath done what she could.” So, she took this alabaster box. Within it was this spikenard, which was a very aromatic ointment. It had a beautiful smell to it. We are told in one of the other gospels when a like anointing took place: “The house was filled with the odour of the ointment.” And it must have done so here. She brake the box, and the ointment began to pour out. She did not waste it, as it were, by pouring it in just any place. She poured it on the head of the dear Redeemer. And, from His holy head, down to His shoulders, even to the skirts of His garment, no doubt, went this precious ointment. It reminds us of those words in Psalm 133, where we read of Aaron’s anointing: It “went down to the skirts of his garments.” And that is a mercy. Many of God’s dear people feel like the good

hymnwriter did when he said:

“My soul lies cleaving to the dust.”

I. Watts

Right down to the skirts of His garments, this ointment went; even to reach His dear people who often feel to be in the dust, who often feel to be, as it were, defiled by the dust.

“My soul lies cleaving to the dust;

Lord, give me life divine;

From vain desires and every lust,

Turn off these eyes of mine.”

But, the ointment comes to heal poor, dusty souls; poor, dusty sinners. What a mercy! Do you feel dusty this evening? A day in the world; a day with your own wretched heart! Oh! This ointment comes right down, dear friends, to us in our low estate. “Who remembered us in our low estate.”

Come back to this alabaster box. This box, dear friends, is a type of the holy body of our Lord Jesus Christ. We know (Scripture tells us and the life of our Saviour proved it), that within that holy body dwelt “all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.” All the virtue of His holy Person was the fruit of the Spirit within. His words, His thoughts, His actions, His deeds: all those were the fruits of the Spirit. What a life He lived! And, as this box was broken, it reminds us that the dear Redeemer’s body was broken on Calvary’s Cross. The nails pierced His holy hands and feet. The thorns wounded His holy head. Eventually, of course, the soldier pierced His side. We are told “forthwith came there out blood and water.” The type there is blood to atone, and water to cleanse.

But, what I am trying to say is this. The broken body of our dear Saviour is that precious way in which the virtue of His holy life and death was transferred in that river; that ocean of mercy which saves sinners. Had His body never been broken, the rivers of mercy would never have flowed out. It is like the rock in the wilderness: it had to be smitten that the waters might gush out and flow “in the dry places like a river.” So the dear Saviour’s holy body was broken that the rivers of mercy might flow.

“See! from His head, His hands, His feet,

Sorrow and love flow mingled down;

Did e’er such love and sorrow meet,

Or thorns compose so rich a crown?”

I. Watts

She broke the box, and the sweet savour of this precious ointment filled the house, no doubt. It was a “savour of life unto life” to the living. Those who loved our Lord Jesus Christ must have delighted to see it. But, for those who had no heart for Him, it was “savour of death unto death,” just as the gospel is. Wherever the gospel is preached it is either “a savour of life unto life,” or “a savour of death unto death.”

If you go back to the Book of Genesis, you will see Noah coming out of the ark after those long months while the flood raged. At last he was permitted to come out onto the dry land. The first thing he did was to make an offering unto the Lord. We read these lovely words: “And the smelled a sweet savour.” Well, if there was a sweet savour with Noah’s ceremonial offering, how much more is there a sweet savour from the offering of Christ? That perfumes heaven this evening hour. It perfumes the holy of holies. It perfumes the hearts of “the spirits of just men made perfect” who are bowing before the throne this evening hour, casting their crowns before Him, saying: “Worthy is the Lamb.” And, from time to time, it perfumes our poor hearts, too. Then, we too can say, in a little way: “We love Him, because He first loved us.” “Very precious.”

This brings me to these two words: “Very precious.” How precious? No man can put any dimension to it. The most extravagant of human language could not begin to describe how precious He is. If the whole world and the whole universe were up for sale, as it were, to purchase this preciousness it would be utterly contempt. It is something beyond human currency in every way. Yet, blessed be God, there are many to whom this preciousness is sweet. And, although we feel so poor in our appreciation of it, we can come a little into what Peter says: “Unto you therefore which believe He is precious.” The margin reading is: ‘an honour.’ This woman felt it an honour to be in His company. She felt it an honour to show her love for Him. And, although there were those who cavilled at her, not for one moment did she wish she had not done what she did. No. He was very precious to her.

And, He is precious in His Person. “Emmanuel…God with us.” That precious divinity He has; His equality with His heavenly Father. That precious humanity He has: “holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners.” He is precious in the words that He speaks. “Never man spake like this Man.” If He has ever spoken to you, dear friends, you will have to say with the Church in the Song of Solomon: “His mouth is most sweet.” And it is when He speaks! Some of us believe we know it. He is precious in His smiles. Those times when Jesus smiles on a child of God are the sweetest moments on the face of this earth for them. Of course, He is always smiling, in one sense. Yet, very often, it is behind a cloud. But, when the cloud breaks and He smiles, there is nothing like it:

“A single smile from Jesus Given,

Will lift a drooping soul to heaven.”

J. Berridge

Again. There is the preciousness of His righteousness. When you feel your unrighteousness and see your filthy rags, you are glad to cast them aside to be clothed in this righteousness. How precious it is, because it is the only garment acceptable to God.

Again. He is precious in His precious blood: that full atonement made for sin. Can we begin to put a value on what that precious blood has done and is doing? It is cleansing sinner’s souls, lives and hearts.

He is precious in His example. It is a privilege for God’s dear people to be found in the footsteps of the dear Saviour. They are precious footsteps.

Again. He is precious in His prayers. Our prayers are so faulty, aren’t they? So often they are so slight and so shallow. But His prayers; how sweet they are! How precious His prayer was to Peter when he was in Satan’s sieve! “I have prayed for thee.” That was the one thing that brought Peter through: the dear Saviour prayed for him. That was a precious thing for Peter to realise.

We could go on, could we not? There are so many precious things about the dear Saviour. He is precious in His dying cry, “It is finished,” leaving nothing more for the sinner to do, but rest in a finished work.

“Upon a life I did not live, 

Upon a death I did not die; 

Another’s life; another’s death, 

I hang my whole eternity.

H. Bonar

He is precious in the tomb. He lay there, dear friends, in holy innocence. Yes, His holy body. His soul departed for those three days and three nights. It was holiness in that tomb. No hint of corruption could there possibly be! Then, when His moment came, He burst the bands. He is now precious because the tomb is empty. He was there, but now “He is risen.” I like that word “is.” It is present tense. Some of the newer versions of the Bible (which I do not recommend) say: ‘He has risen.’ Of course, that is a truth. It is a historical fact. But I like to think that it is also present tense; it is the same risen Saviour in all the glory of His risen power now! Nothing is diminished from it. It is as precious as it was when He first came forth from the tomb.

Mary Magdalene saw it. “He is risen.” Blessed be His holy name. He is precious in His ascension. He has not only gone up to heaven as the Son of God and the Son of Man. He has gone as the Federal Head of His Church. He is the Forerunner for them. “Whither the Forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an High Priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.” He is there. And He is there as that Federal head for His Church. And, as sure as He is there, so it is absolutely certain that every member of His mystical body must be there. We read that in John 17. As one good man said:

“My Jesus and me we two are so joined,

He’ll not be in heaven and leave me behind”.

Anon.

Oh, the preciousness of it! And, He is precious in this respect: He is on a throne there. A throne that does not shake, a throne that does not tremble. There is no if, or but, or maybe about it. He is King of kings. He is Lord of lords. “All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth.” Even in the chaotic scenes of our nation at this time, He is Head over all. Nothing is taking place without His knowledge or permission. And, in due season, it will be seen who it is who reigns and who it is who rules. It is not man. It is the God-man, Christ Jesus. “Precious.”

He is precious in every visit He gives to your dear soul. He is precious in every touch you have ever felt of His mercy. He is precious when you are made nigh by “the blood of his cross.”

He is precious on a dying bed when no physician, doctor, surgeon, family member or loved one can help you anymore. They can only stand around and hold your hand. Yet, dear friends, He is precious. “He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” That word “never” covers the dying bed, as well.

And how precious He will be in that moment after death when the soul appears before the judgment seat, and there is their Advocate waiting for them. There is their High Priest waiting to present His merits on their behalf. No wonder He is precious to all eternity! Eternity will not be too long. It will not be long enough to praise Him and thank Him for all that He has done for poor, unworthy sinners. “Very precious.” May He be so to you and to me tonight.

Just one last thought. Do not judge His love for you by your love to Him. When we feel a little love towards Him, yes, we are well-persuaded He loves us. But, when our love grows cold, we somehow think that somehow His love for us has grown cold. That cannot be.

“He loves through every changing scene,

Nor aught can Him from Zion wean;

Not all the wanderings of her heart

Can make His love from her depart.

At death, beyond the grave, He’ll love;

In endless bliss, His own shall prove

The blazing glory of that love

Which never could from them remove.”

W. Gadsby

This is salvation. This is the gospel preached by this dear woman’s action. This is the Saviour that we set before you in our poor, limited way.

“O that my soul could love and praise Him more,

His beauties trace, His majesty adore;

Live near His heart, upon His bosom lean;

Obey His voice, and all His will esteem.”

W. Gadsby

Amen.

Jesus said: “She hath done what she could.” May our lives bear the same mark.