“The Criticism Bandwagon” – FBC Morning Light (2/5/2025)

The Tendency to Pile On in Matthew 26

Well, good morning. I'd like to encourage you in the journey ahead today with a few thoughts from Matthew 26. I observe here a typical phenomenon in human nature, I suppose, and that is the tendency to pile on, or to use another analogy, to jump on the bandwagon of criticism.

I get that from what we read here in verses 6 and following of Matthew 26 with Jesus at the home of Simon the leper in Bethany, and we read in verse 7 about a woman who came to him having an alabaster flask of very costly fragrant oil, and she poured it on Jesus' head as he sat at the table.

Now, what prompted this? What motivated her to do this? Well, it was evidently an expression of deep gratitude and love for Jesus. If you look at the previous context, Jesus had just told his disciples that he was going to be delivered up to be crucified.

Later, Jesus tells the disciples that she had done this for her burial, in verse 12, that she poured this fragrant oil on his body, she did it for his burial. Now, whether she specifically knew that that's what she was doing, or Jesus used the occasion to communicate again to his disciples that he was going to be crucified and buried, but what I want to get at is what we read in verse 8.

It says when his disciples saw it, they saw her pour this expensive oil, perfume, on Jesus, they said, why this waste? For this fragrant oil might have been sold for much and given to the poor. Now, Matthew tells us that when the disciples saw it, they were indignant and said.

Judas and the Criticism Bandwagon

But the thing is, when you read John's Gospel, John points out that it was Judas who started it all. Judas was the one who first murmured, why the waste? This could have been used to give to the poor.

Of course, John points out that really, Judas didn't care about the poor, he cared about the money, because he liked to dip his hands in the money jar. But what I want to get at is that how long did it take from Judas voicing his criticism before the other disciples chimed in and said, yeah, why this waste?

You've observed this in life, haven't you? You've seen it in the office. Somebody voices a criticism against the boss without ever really checking what all is going on in relationship to what the boss has said, or the directions that have been given, or the project that is being assigned.

There's just this, somebody starts it. Somebody starts a complaint, somebody starts a criticism, and before you know it, the chatter goes through the office, and the whole office is upset with the boss because they have to do this work on this project, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

Well, this is the case here. Judas gets the ball rolling. He starts the chatter. What's with this waste? Why this waste? Before you know it, all the disciples are chimed in, piling on this woman for her display of extravagant affection for the Lord.

The Real Root of the Complaint

By the way, what's the root issue here? Why really the complaint? Is it because the poor are being neglected? No, that's not it at all. Is it because Judas really cares about the poor? No, that's not it at all either.

The root of it is the critics' lack of love for Christ, and therefore, their corresponding misplaced value. Judas, again, is the one that started that whole thing going, and as John tells us, that he really didn't care about the poor, and he just wanted the money.

He wanted to dip his hands in the money bag. He didn't love Christ. At this point, Judas doesn't love Jesus. He loves a bunch of other stuff, and maybe coins from the treasury of the group, but he doesn't love Jesus, and his values are totally warped, and hence, the criticism.

How easily, how easily the rest of the disciples fall victim to the criticism, without really thinking it through, without asking, what's really motivating her? Why is she doing this? I notice that the Lord is accepting it graciously.

Be Careful Not to Jump to Conclusions

How should I be thinking about this? No, instead, there's a criticism, and they jump right on board. They jump on the criticism bandwagon. Let's be careful about jumping on the criticism bandwagon. Let's be thoughtful, and let's maybe give the benefit of the doubt sometimes, and let's be careful not to jump to conclusions too quickly.

Let's be gracious people. Our Father and our God, I pray that you would challenge us with this today, and encourage us to be a people who are respectful and thoughtful, especially toward others. We pray in Jesus' name.

Amen. All right, listen, have a good rest of your day, and I trust the Lord will bless you in it.