Matthew 26:10 - Printer Friendly

ESV: But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a beautiful thing to me.

NIV: Aware of this, Jesus said to them, 'Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me.

NASB: But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, 'Why are you bothering the woman? For she has done a good deed for Me.

CSB: Aware of this, Jesus said to them, "Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a noble thing for me.

NLT: But Jesus, aware of this, replied, 'Why criticize this woman for doing such a good thing to me?

KJV: When Jesus understood it, he said unto them, Why trouble ye the woman? for she hath wrought a good work upon me.

NKJV: But when Jesus was aware of it, He said to them, “Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a good work for Me.

The disciples have not been impressed by a woman's extravagant act of devotion and worship. She has opened an enormously-expensive bottle of perfumed oil and has poured it all over Jesus' head. If John 12:1–11 tells the same story, the perfume was worth nearly as much as a year's wages and the woman poured it over Jesus' feet, as well.

The disciples condemned the woman for this, at least to each other. Why not sell that expensive bottle of oil and give all the money to the poor? Why seemingly waste it, anointing Jesus in this outrageous way?

Jesus, though, knows what they're thinking and saying to each other. He rebukes them and uses a question to tell them to leave the woman alone. Jesus describes her extravagant act of devotion as a beautiful thing. He will show that in pouring this oil over Him, this woman has begun to prepare Him for the burial that will follow the brutal events of the coming days, something the disciples still don't seem to grasp.

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 5/5/2024 3:01:49 AM