The church isn't for itself,
the church is for him. The church is his, he purchased
it, and he purchased it for him. It's his church, it's not there
for our blessing. When we come to worship God,
we don't principally come for our blessing, we don't come principally
to receive, though obviously we do, but we come to worship
him. The church is gathered for his
glory and for his worship. when it comes to worship him
the father seek if such who will worship him in spirit and in
truth they're gathered for his glory for him the church is for
him it's gathered it's brought to bring glory under him it's
brought for him now let's turn again to luke in chapter 7 for
this is very much where i want to bring us to this illustration
which we've read in in Luke's gospel in chapter seven of the
woman with the alabaster box. This glorious picture of this
woman that comes to the Lord Jesus and she comes in the Pharisee's
house, in Simon's house. And she comes as a sinner and
comes in such meekness and humility before her master, before her
savior, before the Lord Jesus. She comes unto him and she comes
in such meekness, such a lowly state. she brings all that she's
got, she brings this great pricely alabaster box of ointment and
she brings it and she stoops down at his feet behind him weeping
and begins to wash his feet with tears, wipes them with the hairs
of her head, kisses his feet, anoints them with the ointment.
Here we have a glorious picture of humility and of worship of
the Saviour. of the Saviour who brought all
things into being, of the Saviour who created this world, of the
Saviour who created her upon this world, of the Saviour who
created all things by Him and for Him, of the Saviour who created
His church by Him and for Him. We see here a woman, a meek woman,
a woman who was a sinner, a woman who loved, a woman who'd been
forgiven much, a woman who loved much, and we see such worship,
such bringing glory unto her master. We see so many lessons
in this picture, so many lessons for her of what the church is,
what Christ has brought in in his bride, the church, for him,
for him. And I want to tell you a few
things from this picture of this woman in Luke chapter seven,
and why this picture is given us, what it points us to. what
it points us to in the bride of Christ and in whom she brings
glory. First thing I bring your attention
to here is that in this passage and in the other gospels where
it's mentioned, it's always mentioned that this is a woman. It never
tells us her name. Many think, it's perfectly reasonable
to think that this is Mary Magdalene, that woman who who Christ loved,
that woman whom he forgave, that woman out of whom he cast seven
devils, a wicked woman, a sinner, but her name here isn't mentioned,
and it isn't mentioned for a good reason, because the spirit here
would just draw out the fact that this is a woman, a sinner,
who comes under her master, the Lord Jesus, and comes as a woman
before her master, and worships him. And the picture here in
mentioning that she's a woman is the point us to the bride
of Christ. Here we see a picture of the
bride of the church. Here in this woman is the worship,
not just of one woman here in that one time, but this is a
picture of the worship of Christ's church and how this church, how
this bride of Christ, how all his people come in humility before
him, come as sinners before him. come and kneel down before him
to worship and to adore him who loved the church and gave himself
for it. Firstly, she sits at Jesus' feet. She knows she's nothing and she
knows that he is all and in all. She knows that he is everything.
She knows that she is nothing before her maker and her master.
We see great humility here. She knows her place before her
master. She sits at his feet. Like the
picture of Ruth with Boaz in the book of Ruth, we read how
Ruth went and laid at Boaz's feet, hoping that she might receive
some blessing, some grace, some mercy from his hand. We saw such
humility in that picture of Ruth. Again, Boaz, a picture of Christ,
Ruth, his bride. Christ's people know their place
before him they know that they're nothing and they sit at his feet
she gives her precious ointment she takes this which is so costly
to her so much expense she's willing to to take such cost
to pay such price for his glory because she knows that he paid
the ultimate cost to save her He paid the greatest price to
save her. He paid the price of his life
to save his bride. So no price is too much to pay
for the bride to give back out of love for him who loved her. She was criticized for this.
Others would give it to the poor. Others would take this cost.
Others would take the labors. Others would say don't, exert
so much labour and so much expense in such a futile thing of worshipping
God, they mocked it, they said it wasn't right. Religious say,
oh don't do this, use your time and effort, send it to the poor,
send it to this cause, send it to that cause. Causes which seem
good, causes which seem righteous, and yet all which are other than
worshipping Christ. But God's church, God's people,
would rather give their all for Christ. The poor we always have
with us. But Christ is all and in all. And they labour and they are
spent for Him. It is by Him. This ointment, everything she
had was given to her by Him. And everything that she had that
was given to her by Him, she wanted to give for Him. For it's
all by Him. and it's all for him. She uses
her hair to wash his feet. Her hair, the woman's hair, the
woman's glory. She uses her woman's glory to
wash the feet of him, to glorify him. She would glorify her master
with that which would normally bring her glory. She puts her
glory aside that she might glorify him, her savior. She kisses the feet of him. She
kisses the son. As we read in Psalm 2, kiss the
son lest he be angry. She knows who he is. The bride
of Christ knows he is. His people know who he is. They
know how glorious he is. They know how wonderful he is.
They kiss him. They kiss his feet. They glorify
him. She's a sinner. We've read that
she's a sinner. Christ's bride by nature is a
sinner, his people by nature are sinners, they're sinners
and yet this sinner comes to the Saviour, comes to the Lord
Jesus and she bows down at his feet, she's a sinner, she was
a sinner. At the beginning in the garden
Satan deceived the woman Eve in the garden, it was by a woman
that The deception came in and through the woman the man was
deceived and sin entered as Adam transgressed and sin entered
the world. The woman at the beginning was
deceived by Satan who came along and whispered to her, have God
said, who brought in this doubt. And at the beginning that woman
sinned and brought her husband to sin. And yet here we see another
sinner, another woman, a sinner. who washes the heel, who washes
the feet, who washes the heel of him who would bruise Satan's
head and take her sin away. When Adam and Eve sinned, when
the woman had fallen, when Satan had deceived her in the garden,
God promised that there would be that one, the seed of the
woman, whose heel would bruise Satan's head and whose head would
bruise his heel. And here this woman, this picture
of Christ's bride, washes the feet, washes the heels that would
yet bruise Satan's head and take her sin away. Yes, she's a sinner. She suffered the contradiction
of sinners. She was in the Pharisees' house, in Simon's house, and
the disciples and Simon contended against her. They looked angrily
at her. They saw her as one who was shameful. They pointed out to the Saviour
Don't you know what this woman is? A sinner! A wicked sinner! Haven't you heard her reputation?
She's one of the worst! Yes, she was a sinner and she
endured the contradiction of sinners. But she washed the feet
of the Saviour, who endured the cross and despised the shame. him who would suffer the contradiction
of sinners for her that she might be saved she was a sinner she was a sinner
in the house of the pharisee she washed the savior's feet
in the house of the pharisee she anointed his feet knowing
that he would die for her that soon his death would approach
and she as it were embalmed anointed she washed the one of the feet
of the one who would die in her place. But she did this in the
house of the Pharisee. In this custodian of the law,
she came into the presence of the Pharisee, the custodian of
the law, him who accused her. And we see here a picture of
coming into the presence of the accuser, the accuser of the Brethren. There is him who accuses the
Brethren, and who brings the law before the Lord Jesus, who
brings the law before God, and says, don't you know what these
people have done? Don't you know what this woman
has done? Don't you know that she is a
sinner? That she's condemned by thy law, that she's lost,
that she's transgressed in every point. And the Pharisee here,
the custodian of the law, finds her out and brings the accusation. And yet here she is, knowing
she's a sinner, knowing she's nothing, at the feet of Jesus,
at the feet of the one who could take that accusation away. who
could take that condemnation away and she washes the feet
of the one who would take that very law which was used against
her and who would nail it to his cross and would take away
it's every judgement and it's every condemnation and would
take it out of sight and would take it away and would answer
it's every debt and it's every condemnation and take her every
sin away and make her clean and justify her and make her perfect
in the law sight She's a sinner and she washes the feet of him
who would save her. She washes the feet which would
be pierced. She washes the feet which would be pierced by her
sins. This woman, this picture of the
Bride of Christ washed the feet which would be pierced. If this
is your Saviour, friends, we come to worship him. whose feet
would be pierced for us, whose feet would be pierced by her
sins and our sins, whose feet would be pierced by the sins
of his bride. She washes the feet of the Saviour
with her tears, she washes them with her tears, that one who
would wash her with his blood and by whose spirit she would
be washed clean with the washing of water by the word. This is
the one whom she worships, And at the end, Christ commends her
faith. For she comes to worship him
who would save her. For she'd been given faith to
know that this Lord, this Lord Jesus, was the one who would
save her. And the Lord Jesus commends her faith. He says that
thy faith has saved her. Thy faith has brought thee peace.
For she, the bride of Christ, was crucified with Christ. Nevertheless,
she lives. Yet not her, but Christ lives
in her, in the life which she now lives in the flesh. She lives
by the faith of the Son of God, who loved her and gave himself
for her. He loved her and gave himself
for her, that she might finally, that we might finally, if we're
in Christ, enter into that new heavens and that new earth to
come, which he will create, which he creates. When this earth is
destroyed and taken away, which he creates, when this earth is
taken away and destroyed with fervent heat when he brings in
that new heaven and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness
wherein where all will be to his glory this is what he brings
in for his people and he does it by him and for him for his
glory and this is whom the bride worships this is whom we worship
have you heard of him? is this whom you worship? do
you bow down at his feet? Do you wash his feet with your
tears? Do you know him? Is he yours? Him who created
all things, for his glory, by him and for him. Amen.