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Matthew 26:6-16
A woman’s costly act is defended as preparation, and the narrative pivots as Judas negotiates payment and watches for an opening.
Meaning in context
A woman’s costly act is defended as preparation, and the narrative pivots as Judas negotiates payment and watches for an opening.
Section 2 of 8
Anointing honored, betrayal arranged for silver
A woman’s costly act is defended as preparation, and the narrative pivots as Judas negotiates payment and watches for an opening.
Movement
Messiah and kingdom fulfillment
Artifact
Kingdom teaching and fulfillment
Biblical Timeline
Jesus' Ministry
Matthew context: AD 29 - AD 33
Biblical Timeline
Jesus' Ministry
Matthew context
Jesus' Ministry / AD 29 - AD 33
Matthew context is set in Jesus' ministry, where Jesus' public ministry, teaching, signs, death, and resurrection.
Scripture Text
Thesis
A woman’s costly act is defended as preparation, and the narrative pivots as Judas negotiates payment and watches for an opening.
Verse by Verse
Costly anointing at a meal Jesus is in Bethany, dining in the house of “Simon the leper.” A woman approaches with an alabaster jar holding very expensive ointment and pours it on Jesus’ head while he reclines at the table. The action is presented as deliberate and lavish.
The disciples’ complaint about waste The disciples react with anger. They frame the act as needless loss: the ointment could have been sold for a large sum and the proceeds given to the poor. Their logic treats the perfume mainly as convertible value that should be redirected.
Jesus defends the woman and reinterprets the act Jesus stops the disciples from “troubling” her and calls what she did “a good work” for him. He contrasts ongoing access to the poor with limited access to him, implying a unique moment is passing. He then explains the act’s meaning: she poured it on his body “to prepare” him for burial. Finally, he predicts wide proclamation of the “gospel” and says her deed will be retold as a memorial wherever it goes ().
Literary Context
This scene comes late in Matthew’s passion narrative, after rising conflict with Jerusalem leadership and just before the arrest. It sits between the leaders’ plotting against Jesus and the upcoming Passover events, functioning as a sharp contrast: one unnamed woman honors Jesus with costly devotion, while one named disciple sells him out. The story also helps explain how the arrest becomes possible: Judas begins actively looking for the right moment. Matthew’s placement ties the woman’s act to Jesus’ stated expectation of death and burial, and it sets a tone of impending finality for what follows.
Historical Context
Bethany was a village near Jerusalem, and a dinner gathering would be a common setting for public honor and private conversation. Anointing with costly perfume could signal respect, celebration, or special regard, and pouring it on someone would be a conspicuous, irreversible use of a valuable commodity. Concern for the poor was a recognized moral priority in Jewish life, so the disciples’ objection sounds plausible as a practical complaint. The mention of “chief priests” reflects the temple-centered leadership in Jerusalem under Roman oversight, and the payment of “thirty pieces of silver” presents betrayal as a transaction with an agreed price.
Theological Significance
Questions
Keep Studying
Judas negotiates betrayal for silver Immediately after this, Judas Iscariot, identified as one of the twelve, goes to the chief priests. He offers to deliver Jesus in exchange for payment, asking what they will give him. They weigh out thirty pieces of silver. From then on, Judas looks for an opportunity to betray him, suggesting planning and timing matter (Matthew 26:14–16).
Matthew presents two sharply contrasted responses to Jesus right before his arrest: an unnamed woman honors him with a costly act, while Judas (one of the twelve) arranges to hand him over for money. These are not treated as equal options; Jesus publicly defends the woman and treats Judas’s move as calculated betrayal.
The text explicitly ties the woman’s action to Jesus’ coming death: Jesus says the ointment was poured on his body “to prepare” him for burial. The scene also supports Matthew’s larger storyline that Jesus knows what is coming and interprets events in light of that end.
Jesus’ saying about “the poor” is spoken in response to the disciples’ complaint. In the narrative it functions to mark the moment as unique (“you don’t always have me”) rather than to deny the ongoing importance of helping the poor.
1) Who the woman is and whether this is the same event as other anointing stories. Matthew does not name her. Some readers identify her with a known figure in another Gospel; others treat Matthew’s account as intentionally anonymous or possibly a distinct occasion.
2) What motivates the disciples’ objection. The disciples’ complaint sounds morally plausible (aid for the poor), but Matthew also frames their reaction as indignation at “waste.” Some interpretations see sincere concern mixed with misunderstanding; others hear social signaling or self-interest behind the words. The text itself does not directly disclose inner motives.
3) How to hear “you always have the poor with you.” Some take it as a general statement about the enduring presence of poverty that does not cancel generosity. Others emphasize its immediate point: the woman’s act fits a narrow, unrepeatable window before Jesus’ death.
Matthew gives clear actions and Jesus’ explanation, but he withholds several details (the woman’s identity, the disciples’ hearts, why Simon is called “the leper”). Also, Matthew’s wording overlaps with other Gospel accounts that include different details, which leads readers to either merge stories or keep them separate.
purpose (Ti)