Matthew 26:9 - Printer Friendly

ESV: For this could have been sold for a large sum and given to the poor."

NIV: "This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor."

NASB: For this perfume could have been sold for a high price and the money given to the poor.'

CSB: "This might have been sold for a great deal and given to the poor."

NLT: It could have been sold for a high price and the money given to the poor.'

KJV: For this ointment might have been sold for much, and given to the poor.

NKJV: For this fragrant oil might have been sold for much and given to the poor.”

The disciples raise what seems like a practical objection to an extravagant act of devotion. She has poured enormously expensive oil over Jesus' head. If John 12:1–11 tells the same story, this woman is Mary, the sister of Lazarus (John 11:1) and she also poured the oil over Jesus' feet and wiped them off with her hair. The house is now thick with the heavy, perfumed smell of nard ointment.

The disciples are indignant (Matthew 26:8). John's version puts the words only in the mouth of Judas, who will soon betray Jesus. In either case, the objection is financial. That perfume could have been sold for lots of money, and the money could have been given to the poor.

The clear implication is that the resource had been wasted by the woman in pouring all that oil all over Jesus. How foolish, they thought. In John's version, Judas' motive is more clearly selfish. Judas was responsible for the group moneybag and regularly helped himself to the cash. He was thinking about how much he could have pocketed if they sold that perfume instead of using it up on Jesus (John 12:6).

Matthew 26:6–16 finds Jesus and the disciples in Bethany at the home of a man identified as "Simon the leper." A woman, likely Mary the sister of Lazarus, opens a bottle of extremely expensive ointment and anoints Jesus' head as He reclines at the table during dinner. The disciples think the ointment should have been sold and the money given to the poor, but Jesus insists she has done a beautiful thing that will prepare Him for burial. Judas then offers to turn Jesus over to the chief priests. They pay him 30 silver pieces, a price ironically associated with the cost of a common slave.

The Jewish religious leaders further their plots to arrest and kill Jesus, finding a willing traitor in Judas Iscariot. A woman anoints Christ with oil during a dinner at Bethany. Next, Jesus and the disciples hold the Passover meal in an upper room where Jesus predicts His arrests and introduces the sacrament of communion. Then Jesus prays in unimaginable agony in the garden of Gethsemane before being betrayed by Judas and captured. The disciples scatter. Before the high priest, Jesus explicitly claims to be divine. They convict Him of blasphemy and sentence Him to death. As this happens, Peter denies knowing Jesus and runs away in shame.

After a long series of teaching (Matthew 24—25), Matthew 26 begins with Jesus saying He will be delivered up for death. Christ is anointed at a dinner in Bethany and Judas agrees to turn Him over to the chief priests. Jesus holds a Passover meal with the disciples, predicts an act of treachery, and introduces the sacrament of communion. He tells the disciples they will run in fear and that Peter will deny Him, which happens just as prophesied. Christ prays in great sorrow in a garden and is then arrested and taken away and unfairly sentenced to death. After this, Jesus will be taken to the Roman governor, where Jewish leadership will press for Him to be executed as an insurgent.

The Gospel of Matthew clearly shows the influence of its writer's background, and his effort to reach a specific audience. Matthew was one of Jesus' twelve disciples, a Jewish man, and a former tax collector. This profession would have required literacy, and Matthew may have transcribed some of Jesus' words as they were spoken. This book is filled with references to the Old Testament, demonstrating to Israel that Jesus is the Promised One. Matthew also includes many references to coins, likely due to his former profession. Matthew records extensive accounts of Jesus' teaching, more than the other three Gospels.

Accessed 11/23/2024 9:18:01 PM