Matthew 26:6-13
The Anointing in Bethany
6 Now when Jesus was [back] in Bethany, at the home of (a)Simon the leper,(A)
7 a (b)woman came to Him with an alabaster vial of very expensive (c)perfume and she poured it on Jesus’ head as He reclined at the table.
8 But when the (d)disciples saw it they were indignant and angry, saying, “Why all this waste [of money]?
9 For this perfume might have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor.”
10 But Jesus, aware [of the malice] of this [remark], said to them, “Why are you bothering the woman? She has done a good thing to Me.
11 For you always have the poor with you; but you will not always have Me.(B)
12 When she poured this perfume on My body, she did it to prepare Me for burial.
13 I assure you and most solemnly say to you, wherever this gospel [of salvation] is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told in memory of her [for her act of love and devotion].”
Footnotes:
a.
Matthew 26:6: Most likely a man previously healed by Jesus. Otherwise he would not be able to have a home among others in the city.
b.
Matthew 26:7: John the Apostle identifies this woman as Mary, sister of Martha and Lazarus (Mark 14:3-9; John 12:1-8). Jesus was anointed in a similar way by an unnamed woman when He was in Galilee dining at the home of Simon the Pharisee (Luke 7:36-40).
c.
Matthew 26:7: This was a thick, scented oil (nard) obtained from the root of a flowering plant grown in the Himalayas of Tibet.
d.
Matthew 26:8: Judas Iscariot, the betrayer, spoke first denouncing this act of devotion (John 12:4, 5).