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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadBob Utley You Can Understand the Bible - Matthew 26:6 - 26:13
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NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Mat_26:6-13
6Now when Jesus was in Bethany, at the home of Simon the leper, 7a woman came to Him with an alabaster vial of very costly perfume, and she poured it on His head as He reclined at the table. 8But the disciples were indignant when they saw this, and said, "Why this waste? 9For this perfume might have been sold for a high price and the money given to the poor." 10But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, "Why do you bother the woman? For she has done a good deed to Me. 11For you always have the poor with you; but you do not always have Me. 12For when she poured this perfume on My body, she did it to prepare Me for burial. 13Truly I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be spoken of in memory of her."
Mat_26:6 "the home of Simon the leper" Mary and Martha served the meal (cf. Joh_12:1 ff.), but it was not at their home (cf. Mar_14:3). It is possible they were somehow related, all being from the same small village, Bethany. Simon was apparently (although not recorded) healed by Jesus earlier.
Mat_26:7 "a woman" Joh_12:3 says it was Mary, the sister of Lazarus. This account is not to be confused with the prostitute of Luk_7:37-39.
▣ "alabaster vial of very costly perfume" This was a white/yellow stone vase from Egypt. The contents were made from an aromatic Indian herb called "nard" or "spikenard" (cf. Son_1:12; Son_4:13-14; Mar_14:3; Joh_12:3). It was very expensive and may have been Mary's wedding dowry.
▣ "poured it on His head" Joh_12:3 says that she put the nard on His "feet." Since this vial contained 12 ounces, or one Roman pound, there was enough to cover His whole body. Once the vial was opened it could not be resealed.
Mat_26:8 "the disciples were indignant" Joh_12:4 says it was Judas Iscariot who was upset.
Mat_26:9 "for a high price" This high price was three hundred denarii (cf. Joh_12:5). A denarius was the daily wage of a soldier or laborer. The implication is that Judas was thinking of the needs of the poor. However, he probably wanted some of the money for himself (cf. Joh_12:6).
Mat_26:10 "she has done a good deed to Me" The noun "deed" and the verb are from the same root. It intensifies the statement or was an idiom (cf. Joh_3:21; Joh_6:28; Joh_9:4; Act_13:41; 1Co_16:10).
Mat_26:11 "For you always have the poor with you" This was not a callous statement toward poverty, but a recognition of the uniqueness of Jesus' presence.
Mat_26:12 "to prepare Me for burial" Mary was a disciple; maybe she understood more than the Apostles! This perfume was used to anoint the body of the dead before burial (cf. Joh_19:40).
Mat_26:13 "in the whole world" Jesus assumed His gospel (Matthew uses the term for Jesus' actions in Mat_4:23; Mat_9:35; and Jesus uses the term in Mat_24:14; Mat_26:13) would be preached everywhere (cf. Mat_24:9; Mat_24:14; Mat_24:32; Mat_28:19-20). This fulfills the OT universal predictions (especially Isaiah, i.e., Isa_2:1-4; Isa_42:6; Isa_49:6; Isa_51:4-5; Isa_56:7)!