Matthew 26:13, commentary and pictures

At Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, Mary broke costly spikenard worth three hundred pence and poured it on the head and feet and body of Jesus to honor Him from deep gratitude and pure love for forgiveness and for her brother's restoration to life. The disciples condemned the gift as waste that should have been sold for the poor, but Jesus gave it unqualified approval as a good work, valuing her devotion more than the ointment itself and declaring that she anointed His body beforehand for burial. He foretold with certainty that wheresoever the gospel shall be preached in the whole world her deed would also be told for a memorial of her, thus binding her sacrifice of love with His own and immortalizing it as an enduring witness to God's love while kingdoms and conquerors are forgotten. Her generous act stands in contrast to Judas, whose complaint about the poor revealed covetousness and selfishness, and stung by the pouring and by Christ's implied rebuke he yielded to the tempter and went to sell his Master to the priests and rulers. Her memorial teaches for all time that nothing given to Christ from love is wasted, that pardoned hearts consecrate the best of their substance without calculating its value, and that care for the poor must not restrict the special work of preaching the gospel to every creature in new fields.

Setting and Meaning

The words were spoken in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as Jesus sat at meat at a feast that Simon held for Jesus and His disciples during Jesus' last visit to Bethany, in gratitude because Simon had been healed of leprosy. The woman was Mary, who broke an alabaster box of very precious ointment, spikenard worth three hundred pence, and poured it upon His head and feet and body and wiped His feet with her hair.

She acted from deep gratitude and pure love and full faith in Christ as her Saviour, to honor Him and to express devotion and appreciation. Her gratitude was for the forgiveness of her many sins and for her brother's restoration to life when Lazarus was raised. She had bought the precious ointment to anoint His body at His death but, believing He would soon be elevated to kingly authority, gladly honored Him while He was alive, without understanding the full meaning of her gift.

The disciples failed to understand her gift and had indignation, condemning it as waste and asking why it was not sold for much and given to the poor. Jesus took into consideration the motive of the penitent woman and gave unqualified approval to what men questioned and condemned, declaring she had wrought a good work upon Him. He valued the costly gift as pure affection and devotion, and valued the devotion itself more than the ointment.

He declared she had anointed His body for burial and revealed its significance, though she had not understood it. He taught that nothing given Him from love is wasted but is a faint representation of His boundless love. No other anointing of His body would take place, since the Sabbath was near and the women later found His tomb empty.

Promise and Lasting Memorial

Jesus spoke with certainty that the gospel would be preached in the whole world, wheresoever it goes and as far as it reaches. Wheresoever the gospel is preached, what she did will also be told for a memorial of her. Christ bound that sacrifice of love with His own sacrifice, the greatest the world has ever seen, and so immortalized her act. Her gift expressed gratitude for forgiveness and, though she did not understand its full meaning, prepared His body for burial, and its significance was declared by Him with the promise that it would be remembered with the gospel. Her costly gift was not wasteful, for it testified to appreciation of One who continually served others, helped the poor, and comforted the oppressed.

Her costly, unstudied gift, given to honor Jesus before His death, remains an enduring witness to her love and to God's abundant love for fallen humanity. As far as the gospel reaches, her deed blesses hearts wherever it goes. While kingdoms may pass and the names of rulers and conquerors may pass from memory, her act is preserved in sacred history for all time. Her life told with the gospel is a memorial of grace, for Christ lifted her as a sinner from despair and ruin and delivered her from the demons that controlled her. He saw possibilities for good where others saw a hopeless case and made them real, and she learned from Him, served Him, stood by the cross, came to the tomb, and became the first to proclaim His resurrection.

Her deed continued through the centuries to influence hearts, prompting countless acts of love and giving for Christ's cause. Her loving act became an enduring example that inspired many people to serve others. She will see the results of that influence in the day of God.

Contrast and Application

Mary's generous gift stands in direct contrast to Judas, whose objection that the ointment worth three hundred pence should have been sold and given to the poor revealed covetousness, avarice and selfish greed rather than genuine care for the poor. His plea for the poor was an excuse covering a selfish heart, and while the disciples joined in condemning the act as unnecessary waste, his complaint sprang from a parsimonious spirit that made saving seem the great evidence of godliness. Christ's commendation of her as having wrought a good work carried an implied rebuke of that covetous spirit. Judas was vexed both by the pouring out of the spikenard upon Christ's head and feet and by the rebuke for condemning her.

His resentment and annoyance at being rebuked led him to yield to the tempter and give Satan easy access to his mind. In that embittered state he went and offered to betray Jesus and sell his Master to the priests and rulers. Until the feast in Simon's house he had shown no open opposition to Christ's lessons and no outward murmur, though in heart he disagreed and his disaffection was spreading. At the anointing his covetous disposition appeared, and at the reproof his spirit turned to gall.

His fall shows how greed, pride and desire for revenge take control when sin is persistently indulged and left unresisted and unovercome. Greed so long indulged overpowered every other characteristic of his nature, proving that everyone who persists in tampering with sin will find unresisted elements of depravity responding to Satan's temptations until the soul is led captive at his will. A small deviation to satisfy selfish greed grows as it is indulged until it leads a man whither he knows not.

Her example teaches that Christ is to be honored by consecrating the best of our substance to Him. Those who have received His pardoning love do not calculate the value of what they give to Him, and unlike covetous Judas they regret only that their offering is not richer. Her costly gift was no waste but testified to appreciation of One who continually served others, helped the poor and comforted the oppressed, and Jesus valued that devotion more than the precious ointment itself. Nothing given to Him from love is too costly.

Her memorial, told wherever the gospel is preached, gives the church in all ages, which she represents, the lesson that her act was no waste. Caring for the poor must not lead to neglecting the cause of Christ, for both can be served when God's stewards do their duty and put the cause of Christ first. The special work for this time is not to be restricted under the plea of giving to the poor, and all labor and gifts are not to be bestowed upon the poor alone. A work is to be done in behalf of those fulfilling His commission to preach the gospel to every creature in new fields.