Now when Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, 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. And when the disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, “Why this waste? For this could have been sold for a large sum and given to the poor.” But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a beautiful thing to me. For you always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me. In pouring this ointment on my body, she has done it to prepare me for burial. 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.”
This account is also found in Mark 14:3-9 and John 12:1-8. John says it took place six days before Passover, so therefore, in Matthew, it is given in topical order and not chronological order.
Simon the leper - "Nothing more of him is known. Perhaps Christ had healed him." (Ryrie)
Simon the leper - "Nothing more of him is known. Perhaps Christ had healed him." (Ryrie)
Most commentaries think he was probably the father of Lazarus, Martha and Mary, but the Bible doesn’t say.
very expensive ointment - "Mark says it was worth 300 denarii (Mark 14:5), or approximately a year's salary for a rural worker." (Ryrie)
"It was common to anoint the heads of the Rabbis who attended marriage feasts, with fragrant oil, and special guests were sometimes similarly honored. Jesus Himself, at an earlier date [Luke 7:36-50], had had even His feet anointed by a grateful penitent, who had, besides, washed them with her tears and wiped them with her hair, flowing loose, in self-forgetfulness. But now, Mary outdid all former honor paid Him. The costliest anointing oil of antiquity was the pure spikenard, drawn from an Indian plant, and exposed in flasks of alabaster for sale throughout the Roman Empire, where it fetched a price that put it beyond any but the wealthy. On this Mary had bought a flask, containing about twelve ounces weight, and now, coming behind the guests as they reclined, opened the seal, and poured some of the perfume, first on the head and then on the feet of Jesus, drying them, presently, with the hair of her head, like her predecessor." (Pentecost)
"It was common to anoint the heads of the Rabbis who attended marriage feasts, with fragrant oil, and special guests were sometimes similarly honored. Jesus Himself, at an earlier date [Luke 7:36-50], had had even His feet anointed by a grateful penitent, who had, besides, washed them with her tears and wiped them with her hair, flowing loose, in self-forgetfulness. But now, Mary outdid all former honor paid Him. The costliest anointing oil of antiquity was the pure spikenard, drawn from an Indian plant, and exposed in flasks of alabaster for sale throughout the Roman Empire, where it fetched a price that put it beyond any but the wealthy. On this Mary had bought a flask, containing about twelve ounces weight, and now, coming behind the guests as they reclined, opened the seal, and poured some of the perfume, first on the head and then on the feet of Jesus, drying them, presently, with the hair of her head, like her predecessor." (Pentecost)
disciples - apparently led by Judas (John 12:4)
you always have the poor with you - "This should not be understood callously. Christ says, in effect, that there will be other opportunities to do good to the poor, but not another opportunity do what had just been done to Him." (Ryrie)
you always have the poor with you - "This should not be understood callously. Christ says, in effect, that there will be other opportunities to do good to the poor, but not another opportunity do what had just been done to Him." (Ryrie)
The Lord’s words about the poor in verse 11 don’t mean that helping the poor isn’t important, but that there are things that are more important — like the salvation of rich and poor alike that would be available because of His death and resurrection.
she has done it to prepare me for burial - "Though the disciples ignored Christ's many predictions of His approaching death, apparently this woman believed them (Matt 16:21; 17:22; 20:18). John identifies her as Mary (John 12:3)." (Ryrie)
Mary, probably because she was more content to sit and listen, understood more about the Lord’s coming death of which He repeatedly spoke than any of the other disciples. Because of the resurrection of her brother, Lazarus, she may have also understood that Jesus Christ would also rise from the dead. It was due to this understanding that she anointed the Lord (v 12).
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