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a woman came up to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive ointment and poured it over his head as he reclined at table. When the disciples saw this, they became indignant, and they remarked, “Why this waste? This ointment could have been sold for a considerable sum, with the money given to the poor.”

10 Jesus was aware of their attitude, and he said to them, “Why are you bothering this woman? She has performed a good deed for me. 11 The poor you will always have with you,[a] but you will not always have me. 12 In pouring this ointment on my body, she has prepared me for burial.

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 26:11 The poor you will always have with you: with these words Jesus does not intend to sanction poverty as if to condemn efforts to eradicate misery. He makes a simple observation: his disciples will have many occasions to aid the poor who, as Deut 15:11 states, will never be wanting in Israel.