Matthew 26:8 – They Were Indignant

On first reading, in suggesting the connection I propose in this commentary, you may say, “What?”  But, hear me out.  What if the original fall of the sons of God (bene Elohim) foreshadowed the indignation of the disciples when the woman anointed Jesus with oil and the subsequent action by Judas?

The first rebel was Satan.  Rebellion began in his heart sometime prior to when he tempted Adam and Eve in the Garden.  First, why did he fall?

God created the heavenly host sometime prior to the creation of the earth and all that is in it.  How do we know?  Consider Job 38:4-7 where the Lord questioned Job and his audacity in questioning Him:

“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?

    Tell me, if you have understanding.

Who determined its measurements—surely you know!

    Or who stretched the line upon it?

On what were its bases sunk,

    or who laid its cornerstone,

when the morning stars sang together

    and all the sons of God shouted for joy?”

From this passage we see that God obviously created the divine beings in the heavens before the earth.  Otherwise, how could they celebrate?

When God brought everything into existence on each day of creation, He said the result was good.  However, in bringing forth man and all He invested into him, God said the outcome was very good (Genesis 1:31).  For Satan to subsequently question God and His sovereignty in His decisions and attempt to undermine this, there was something about mankind that stuck in his craw.

We know later that Paul says in 1 Corinthians 6:3 that Christians in the eternal state will judge angels.  This implies mankind in our glorified condition is above angels.  This is likely the problem that Satan had.  God had given him the knowledge that men would eventually have a higher ranking in the heavenlies than the various spiritual entities.  No doubt it was this that rankled and caused Satan a bitterness of heart that morphed into the raging jealousy that caused him to act as he did.

Satan didn’t stop with Adam and Eve.  When that plan resulted in God’s curse upon him in Genesis 3:15, he knew that one of their descendants was prophesied to destroy him.  In his mind, the battle was engaged; the war begun.

There has to be an originating cause for the episode recounted in Genesis 6:14 when the sons of God came to earth, trespassing from their heavenly abode (Jude 6), to procreate with human women.  The purpose was to pollute the human bloodline, i.e. to corrupt human DNA to such an extent that the Seed of the woman in Genesis 3:15 could not be born.  In all likelihood, Satan stirred up the sons of God with his whisperings and gossip: “Do you see how beautiful those human women are?  Why are men on earth the only ones to take pleasure in them?  Yahweh has given us the means in our spiritual bodies to transform into human likeness; why not take advantage of it?”

Do you see it?  Satan’s indignation, and that which he stirred up in his divine brothers, was the basis for this attack on humanity, which has carried through to this day and will continue until the very end of Jesus’ Millennial reign on earth.

Now, let’s briefly consider the oil-anointing incident with Jesus.  The Passover was at hand.  Jesus and His disciples gathered at the house of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus in Bethany.  The woman was Mary who poured the alabaster flask of very expensive perfume upon Jesus’ head, as confirmed in John 12:3.  And what was the response of the disciples?  Here it is in Matthew 26:8:

And when the disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, “Why this waste?

Who was the one disciple consumed with money?  Judas, of course.  Elsewhere, in John 12:6, the narrative tells us that Judas didn’t really care about the poor because he stole their money for himself.  Is it out of the realm of possibility that he often complained about this to the other disciples?  Upon Mary showing her reverence for Jesus through this act with the oil, that was certainly too much for Judas.  His greed and his murmurings were the originating cause of all the disciples being indignant at this “waste.”

The value of Jesus and His being the Son of God was lost on Judas.  His greed caused his indignation to overflow to those around him.  Surely Jesus wasn’t worth the amount lost by the squandering of the anointing oil!  Just like men didn’t have the value that God placed on them to make them above Satan and all others in heaven.

Judas was a product of Satan.  It was Satan’s character that he infused into Judas.  Greed, jealousy, indignation: these all came together when Mary used the oil as she did.  These deep-seated sinful elements that Satan had surely fostered in Judas for many years came together in such a way that he then betrayed Jesus.  Just as Satan and the sons of God betrayed Yahweh.

Judas didn’t guard his heart, nor were the disciples at that moment guarding theirs.  Satan used their fleshly nature to further his agenda; that same flesh which will someday be transformed into a new and glorious body enabling us to be above the angels such that we will judge them.

Satan couldn’t countenance that; yet it is his fate.  What he attempted to thwart will come back upon him.  What Satan has sown, he will reap.

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