Day 71: Sunday, June 14
Matthew 26:1-13
When Jesus had finished saying all these things, he told his disciples, “You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.” Then the chief priests and the elders of the people met together in the palace of the high priest, who was named Caiaphas. They planned to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him. But they said, “Not during the feast, so that there won’t be a riot among the people.”
Now while Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of expensive perfumed oil, and she poured it on his head as he was at the table. When the disciples saw this, they became indignant and said, “Why this waste? It could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor!” When Jesus learned of this, he said to them, “Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a good service for me. For you will always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me! When she poured this oil on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial. I tell you the truth, wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.”
The Scriptures quoted are from the NET Bible® http://netbible.com copyright ©1996, 2019 used with permission from Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. All rights reserved.
COMMENT & QUESTIONS
The events leading up to Jesus’ death happen very suddenly. By the end of our readings this week, Jesus will be arrested and His death will be imminent. So much of this Gospel account is focussed on the death of Jesus. Usually in someone’s biography, the way that they died is a very insignificant matter. What does that tell you about how Matthew sees Jesus and His death?
He wants us to see that Jesus came "not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many" (Matt 20:28). The death of Jesus is not a historical anecdote, it is the climax of His mission. He came to set us free from sin (Matt 1:21) through giving His life on the cross.
PRAYERS
Thanks for the example of the woman anointing Jesus with oil – she did what she could and it was a great way to serve Jesus