Gospel

THE PRECIOUS ALABASTER BOX OINTMENT OF SPIKENARD

by Nenita Famacion
05/05/15
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A lonely man tarried at the house owned by a healed leper named Simon. The feast of Passover in that town was a Jewish law tradition held by chief priests and scribes. The observance of the feast followed the Jewish food offerings of unleavened bread and other Jewish strict rules. The chief priests and Jewish scribes known to be stiff-necked teachers always mocked the lonely man. They planned to get proof that the lonely man deserved to be killed. They sought to find faults of the humanitarian deeds of the lonely man. Poor people in those places could not afford to see a doctor. They found the lonely man whose heart listened to their pleas on healing their physical bodies in sickness. Leprous men came to the lonely man, they were completely healed.

One day, a woman drew near to the lonely man. She brought an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard which was very costly and precious. The ointment caused one year wage of the woman to buy the ointment, she invested. Without hesitancy, the woman broke the box, and poured it on the head of the lonely man. I appreciated the ultimate sacrifice of the one month income of the woman from her spoils to have purchase the alabaster of perfume.

"Hey, woman, why did you waste the costly ointment?" The surprised people interrogated the woman. "Do you know how costly you wasted? The price is 300 pence. If you sell the ointment, you have given to the poor." And they murmured against her. The lonely man said, “ Let her alone, why trouble her? She offered her faith in remembrance of me. She had wrought a good work on me." "For you have the poor with you always, and whenever you will do them good: but me you will not have me always."

The lonely man illustrates Jesus Christ who redeemed our sins. Isaiah 53:3..He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. The woman who came toward Jesus Christ expressed her humble faith by giving all in sacrifice on breaking her alabaster box containing the precious ointment. This is a shadow of anointing the body of Our Lord Jesus Christ foretelling his nearing death. The practices of the Jewish tradition anointed the corpses with perfume of spikenards.

I recalled this instance that represented the sweet smelling sacrifice on offering of the only begotten Son of God at the cross to finish all sins. God proclaims the gospel of grace on spiritual prosperity, salvation, peace, protection, abundant life for everyone that believes.No system of religious law requirements dominate the process on believing the gospel of salvation. The presentation on the sweet perfume of the alabaster box points the gospel to be preached throughout the world. Jesus Christ is only perfect gift of grace from God to make one person lives in spirit on his second birth. Do you sacrifice your humble heart and mind to believe on the gospel of the saving grace? Be saved by the right believing and the right teachings on the good news of Jesus Christ. Do people follow on the same direction with the right believing and the right teachings of the gospel of God?

Mark 14:9..Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world(the shadow of the alabaster box of ointment spikenard), this also that she hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her. Romans 10:17 ..So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. What is the true saving faith? Those who believe God's love, He died at the cross, shed His blood. Our sins are being paid, cleanse and blotted out. Our spirits are quickened .And live for eternity. We believe on His burial and resurrection to make our spirits live forevermore.

Another mark of the true faith is Hebrew 10:10...through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once and for all. We are all saved. Believe on Him by faith. Hebrews 10:17...And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. It was Jesus Christ who died and nailed our sins at the cross. His blood cleanses our inquities. He resurrected from the dead. All people are dead in sins and the good news is restoration of our spirit. Being dead in sins, we live in a new spirit, new heart and a new life of righteousness. The free gift of grace saved us by faith alone. This is the will of God.

My written eBook, “FIG LEAVES APRON TO FINE WHITE LINEN GARMENT: Transforming Lives to God’s Righteousness” is now available at amazon.com. Click the URL amazon.com/author/nenitafamacion