Matthew 26:6-13 (As the wonder of Passover unfolds before us, and as we prepare for the celebration of Jesus' resurrection from the dead, we see Jesus in Jerusalem at a dinner after His triumphant entry into His city. Most scholars place this event on the Tuesday before Passover, before what we call Good Friday and Easter. Jesus had recently come to the Jerusalem area with the intentional purpose of carrying out and completing His mission to become the sacrifice for our sin. Matthew shows us some of the events of Jesus' last week of life on earth.) While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of Simon the Leper, (The beauty of designating Simon as the Leper tells us that he had most probably been healed and restored or people would not have been gathered in his home to eat with him. More importantly, since leprosy in the Old Testament was symbolic of sin, as Jesus prepares to go to the cross to redeem mankind from sin, here He pointedly sits and dines with Simon, a leper, a sinner, a poignant picture of how He comes to us even in our sinful state to extend to us His merciful grace and salvation.) a woman came to Him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, (While He dined there, a woman formerly of ill repute, brings an alabaster jar, a common container of the day, filled with costly perfume, perhaps even what had served as payment to her in her former, sinful life, and she symbolically pours out her sin at Jesus' feet which He, in turn, takes on Himself and carries to the cross. Today, as He still engages with us in our everyday activities, we still bring to Him all our life of sin, our sin nature, and lay it at His feet.) which she poured on His head as He was reclining at the table. (Showing her deep devotion and gratitude to Jesus, she anointed Jesus Who is Himself the Priest Who had offered Himself in complete service to God, and the fragrant and sweet-smelling perfume represented Jesus' looming sacrifice. As she poured out the perfume over Jesus' head, she was also pouring out her sin at Jesus' feet. May we pour out our life of sin and our sin nature and lay it at His feet in grateful tribute. May we find ways to act out our devotion today to Jesus as our Lord and Savior to express our gratitude to Him.) When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. "Why this waste?" they asked. "This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor." (Devoted service to the Lord will always bring detractors and criticism which will always be couched in justification and rationalization. The woman didn't defend herself. Jesus did. We can depend on Jesus to come to our defense when we are serving Him.) Aware of this, Jesus said to them, "Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to Me. The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have Me. When she poured this perfume on My Body, she did it to prepare Me for burial. Truly I tell you, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her." (Even as Jesus commended this deeply grateful woman and her unpretentious and tender act, our seemingly lowly and humble acts of worship and honor to the Lord count to our reward and honor the One Whom we serve. As we pour out what we have and offer it to Him, even as we give Him our sin and failures, even as we give Him the joy of our forgiveness in Him, He rejoices in our gift of love to Him and we bless Him anew!)
