Valuing the Passover Lamb: Two Plans, Two Values

Matthew brings the story from Jesus’ sayings to His doing. “When Jesus had finished all these sayings,” the Gospel turns the reader toward the cross, and Jesus Himself marks the timing. He says the Passover is two days away and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified. His repeated predictions prove His death is not an accident, not out of control, and absolutely central to the Gospel. Jesus ties His death to the Passover so the meaning is not up for grabs. As the Passover lamb died as a substitute, so Jesus dies in the place of sinners, bearing the penalty, absorbing the wrath of an almighty God.

Two plans sit side by side. Jesus sets the schedule. The leaders say, “not during the feast,” afraid of an uproar. Their stealth cannot steer the day. God’s plan fixes the hour. The same event carries two intents. Jesus purposes salvation as the Lamb of God. The rulers just want to be rid of Him. As with Joseph, what men mean for evil, God means for good.

The contrast surfaces in religion too. Any system that teaches sinners can climb to God by merit, sacraments, or moral uplift seeks to be rid of Jesus and what His death accomplished. Even tidy evangelical moralism that says “try harder, do better” can sidestep the cross. The danger is not only out there. The heart loves self‑sufficiency and would rather live as if it needs no substitute. The Gospel keeps the cross at the center.

Two value systems emerge at Bethany. A woman breaks an alabaster flask worth a year’s wages and pours it on His head. Jesus calls it beautiful and says it prepares Him for burial. She recognizes the worth of His person and the worth of His death. The disciples say, “why this waste?” and Judas soon asks, “what will you give me?” He trades the Savior for thirty pieces of silver, the price of a dead slave. The woman pours out treasure because Jesus is worthy. Judas prices Jesus like pocket change.

“Why this waste?” still greets devotion. Why waste Sundays, money, reputation, comfort? The answer sits in the Passover. Christ died in the place of sinners. He is worthy of embarrassment, expense, and being poured out for. Public acts can mislead, so the secret life must be examined. One ditch chases the flesh. The other grinds out self‑righteousness. Christ calls sinners to seek God through His substitutionary death and to abide in grace. The cross does not just save; it exposes what is treasured.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Christ dies as Passover substitute Jesus fixes His death at Passover to show what it means. Like the lamb’s blood shielding from judgment, His blood covers guilt and turns away wrath. Salvation is not a boost but a swap, His life for the sinner’s death. That is the center, not a side benefit. [29:29]
• 2. One death, two opposing intents The rulers plot to erase Him, but God ordains that very plot to save many. The cross is not man’s timing or man’s script; it is God’s sovereign rescue. As with Joseph, evil hands serve a good hand that is larger than them. [33:53]
• 3. Religion can dodge the cross Works, sacramental head‑starts, and moral uplift all become ways to be rid of Jesus’ finished work. Even clean evangelical advice can push self‑effort over substitution. A Christless “try harder” cannot free a guilty conscience or quiet holy wrath. [40:51]
• 4. The woman’s devotion fits His burial A year’s wages poured out looks like waste until burial and atonement are in view. Jesus calls her act beautiful because it honors the worth of His death. True worship spends what cannot be recouped because the Lamb is worthy. [46:28]
• 5. Judas prices Jesus like pocket change Thirty pieces of silver reveals a heart that has already decided Jesus isn’t worth much. Betrayal often begins by calling the cross a waste and ends by trading Christ for lesser loves. The secret life shows which valuation rules the heart. [51:04]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [03:24] - Prayer and Coming Again
• [20:08] - Matthew 26 and Passion Week
• [22:24] - Two kinds of responses
• [23:04] - Two plans for Jesus’ death
• [27:59] - Passover sets the meaning
• [30:34] - Leaders plot, God’s plan stands
• [33:12] - Same event, two intents
• [39:16] - Keep the cross at center
• [42:58] - Two values at Bethany
• [46:28] - Anointing for burial is beautiful
• [49:37] - Judas prices Jesus at thirty
• [52:42] - When devotion looks like waste
• [55:27] - Test values in secret life
• [59:09] - Prayer for a cross-centered life

Bible Reading
Matthew 26:1-16 (ESV)
1 When Jesus had finished all these sayings, he said to his disciples, 2 “You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified.” 3 Then the chief priests and the elders of the people gathered in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas, 4 and plotted together in order to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him. 5 But they said, “Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar among the people.” 6 Now when Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, 7 a woman came up to him with an alabaster flask of very expensive ointment, and she poured it on his head as he reclined at table. 8 And when the disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, “Why this waste? 9 For this could have been sold for a large sum and given to the poor.” 10 But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a beautiful thing to me. 11 For you always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me. 12 In pouring this ointment on my body, she has done it to prepare me for burial. 13 Truly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.” 14 Then one of the twelve, whose name was Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests 15 and said, “What will you give me if I deliver him over to you?” And they paid him thirty pieces of silver. 16 And from that moment he sought an opportunity to betray him.

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Observation Questions

1. Why did Jesus specifically connect His death to the Passover (v. 2)? How does this clarify the meaning of His sacrifice? [28:13]
2. What contradiction exists between the religious leaders’ plan (v. 5) and Jesus’ prediction (v. 2)? [30:34]
3. How do the disciples’ reaction to the woman’s act (v. 8-9) contrast with Jesus’ interpretation of her actions (v. 10-12)? [45:38]
4. What two drastically different motivations are revealed in Judas’ question (v. 15) versus the woman’s act (v. 7)? [50:26]

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Interpretation Questions

1. How does the same event (Jesus’ death) reveal two opposing purposes—God’s salvation plan and the leaders’ desire to “be rid of Him”? What does this teach about God’s sovereignty? [33:53]
2. Why might religious systems that emphasize self-effort (e.g., “try harder, do better”) sidestep the cross? How does this mirror the danger of valuing human control over Christ’s substitutionary death? [40:51]
3. Jesus called the woman’s act “beautiful” (v. 10) but rebuked the disciples’ practicality. What does this reveal about how God measures “waste” versus true worship? [46:28]

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Application Questions

1. The woman poured out a year’s wages for Jesus, while Judas traded Him for a month’s pay. What practical step could you take this week to show Jesus is more valuable than comfort, money, or reputation? [54:05]
2. How might “self-sufficient” habits (e.g., relying on personal discipline instead of grace) creep into your spiritual life? What would repentance look like in this area? [41:08]
3. The sermon warned that public acts of faith can mask a heart that values lesser things. How does your “secret life” (time alone, private choices) reveal what you truly treasure? [55:27]
4. In what areas of life (work, relationships, hobbies) do you most struggle to see the cross as central? How could you intentionally refocus those areas on Christ’s sacrifice? [59:24]
5. Judas stayed near Jesus but valued silver more. Are there ways you’ve prioritized convenience, approval, or control over following Christ? What would it look like to surrender those? [54:15]