Day Eighty-two – Matthew 26:1-16

We cannot remove death from this passage. Jesus announced it, the priests plotted it, the perfume prepared his body for it, and Judas began looking for an opportunity to arrange it. Jesus was only days from the cross and between this moment and his death, he would suffer betrayal, beatings, and abandonment.

Into this scene, shadowed as it s by death, a woman enters and suddenly the atmosphere is filled with the fragrance of a “costly perfume.” When Jesus defended her from the unkind criticism of the disciples, he interpreted her actions in a way that no one would have guessed, “For when she poured this perfume on My body, she did it to prepare Me for burial” (v. 12). In those days, spices were sprinkled in the cloth that was wrapped around a body before it was buried. This was the final kindness shown to a loved one. As far as Jesus was concerned, the woman had done “a good deed” for him.

The woman chose to do something for Jesus and him alone, and it upset the disciples. Jesus was always the giver and never, until now, the receiver. Finally there came to him someone who was not asking to be healed, forgiven, blessed, or to looking for the secret to eternal life. Her only desire was to love Jesus and give him the best that she had to offer. And the disciples called it a “waste” (v. 8).

Lord Jesus, we realize that there are many different Christian traditions in this world and we do not all share the same form of worship. By Your Spirit, remind us of this woman if we are tempted to call someone else’s act of love a waste, excessive, undignified, too emotional, too ritual, or too sentimental. Let us see their reverence through Your eyes, hear their prayers and songs through Your ears, and feel their devotion to You with Your heart, so that even if their actions seem strange from our point of view, we recognize the good thing they are doing for You. As for us, may we learn from her to give You the best we have to offer–to give You everything.