Matthew 26:6-13
New Catholic Bible
A Woman of Bethany Anoints Jesus.[a] 6 Now when Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, 7 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. 8 When the disciples saw this, they became indignant, and they remarked, “Why this waste? 9 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,[b] but you will not always have me. 12 In pouring this ointment on my body, she has prepared me for burial. 13 Amen, I say to you, wherever in the whole world this gospel is proclaimed, what she has done will be told in remembrance of her.”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Matthew 26:6 The anointing at Bethany anticipates the burial rites for the Savior after his death. Providing for burial was in the eyes of the Jews a more important good work than almsgiving itself. In Jn 12:1-8, the woman is called Mary, and Judas is the apostle who becomes indignant. Luke (7:36-50) reports another anointing.
- 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.
