For this passage, it would frankly be impossible to write it better than I did in my commentary on the Gospels. Aside from a little editing, it will read almost the same.
We've already noted that, during Passover season, the city of Jerusalem and surrounding areas were packed with travelers. It would be somewhat crowded no matter where a man might walk. The actual residents of the city viewed the outsiders with some small measure of contempt as country bumpkins, even as they relished the chance to milk them with higher than normal prices. In the middle of all this bustle, the Twelve are still trying to understand just what exactly their Master was about to do.
In the massive bookshelves of material written about these last couple of chapters in Matthew's Gospel, we note that so few scholars pay attention to the importance of this burning question -- what Jesus was about to do -- and it says something instructive. We are inundated in extensive studies of the Passover Seder, and the richness of detail in many ways distracts from the more important story Matthew has to tell. The men who will be tasked to take this earth shattering message to the entire world still haven't a clue just what that message is. Jesus relies much on the Holy Spirit to keep track of all this in their hearts, so He can breathe life into it at some later date. For now, we have a dozen very confused men, grappling mightily with the fundamental nature of something still foreign to them, yet just in front of them.
They are still gathered on the crest of the Mount of Olives overlooking Zion. Having delivered an extended lesson to the disciples about the nature of His Kingdom, the destruction of Jerusalem and His final return to earth in glory, Jesus catches them off-guard with something He has said repeatedly over the past year or so: He would be executed very soon. Specifically, He warns it would be only a couple of days away, on the Day of Passover itself. Since the Jewish leadership could not legally kill Him, they would have to bring Him before the Roman authorities, and this move would succeed, ending in His death at the hands of Roman soldiers in the gruesome practice of crucifixion. If anything served to point out that the fundamental nature of His Kingdom was spiritual, saying that He would found it upon His death should have been enough.
Even as He said this, folks elsewhere were planning it. The full body of the Sanhedrin were in session, including all the members who might normally be busy with their own families and guests. Having gathered at the palatial home of the High Priest, this was not a judicial gathering, but something less formal. This was their annual conference, and at some point they discussed the matter of Jesus of Nazareth. Because it was not a formal meeting, they could consider at length how to remove this particularly thorny prophet and rabbi, and not be bothered with the precise requirements of justice. Essentially they concluded they would have to trick Him in some way and arrest Him. Since He was so popular with the bumpkins crowded into the city during Passover, they would have to wait. However, the matter was decided -- Jesus had to die soon.
We have a hard time identifying Simon the Leper. Taking into account the context of Matthew's narrative so far, we might safely guess Jesus healed him at some point. Were he still a leper, no Jew would enter the same house with him, most especially during Passover. Further, it appears this man was quite wealthy, and well known in the community. Perhaps in simple gratitude, he invited Jesus and the Twelve to a formal meal, since they were in town. We might expect the meal was conducted in typical Eastern fashion, where the guests lounged on large cushions around a low table, resting on their left sides, with their bodies at an angle to the table, feet outward. Women would not normally be welcome, but one nevertheless came in and dumped a small flask of expensive perfumed oil on Jesus' head. Mark's parallel account says it was worth a hundred days' wages. She, too, wanted to express gratitude to Jesus, and was not worried in the least by social convention. None of the Gospels identify the woman.
What mattered was what she did, and what it symbolized. Probably it was Judas who led the group in fussing about the apparent waste in this act. If she had simply donated the gift intact, it could be exchanged for something more useful to their ministry. Think of how many poor people could be helped by that money! Jesus shut them up. What she had done was quite according to Kingdom principles, which they still did not understand. He was about to die, and they seemed oblivious to the obvious sorrow Jesus felt about it.
First, we note the obvious intent of the woman was deep devotion and a powerful desire to do something -- anything -- she could to honor such a beloved teacher. Further, it's implied she, at least, understood His warning that He was about to be executed. Seizing the moment before it was too late, she offered the best she had. This contrasts with the petty posturing of the Twelve as they had their eyes on worldly fame and position. It requires a materialistic view of life to fuss over the price of something like this. The proper mystical view is that nothing is too good for the Messiah. Ancient nomadic Hebrews would have grasped it immediately, and so did the woman. Second, eradicating poverty is simply not possible in a fallen world. Talking about the abstract notion of "the poor" is an excuse to dehumanize them further. If you want to do something to lift the fallen, you have to do it one by one, individually. Redemption is personal. Meanwhile, is not the Christ someone who deserves a little attention, too? Jesus rightly prophesies that His servants in the future would mention this minor event. Sadly, the vast majority seem to have no idea why.
Also, we note once again that this fragrance was likely myrrh, something that would mingle with the scent of the spikenard Mary had already poured on Him a few days earlier.
We are told elsewhere Judas embezzled as the treasurer of the group. We can surmise further he came alongside only because he was sure Jesus was the right ticket to political power and wealth. He was in it for himself. We would miss a great deal if we did not see his swelling worldly ambition. After being rebuked this way, it was surely more than petty greed that drove his next act. The message of caring for the poor and taking no luxuries for the self was strong propaganda for the average Jewish peasant, and could form a crucial plank in the reform platform Judas imagined Jesus held. Instead, Jesus was "wasting" something valuable on Himself -- again.
Still, Jesus had been warning that He would die soon, and perhaps it finally registered on Judas' mind with the anointing incident, or perhaps he simply realized this comment about the poor just went against the best part of a good political campaign. Either way, he switched parties. He became a mole for the Sanhedrin, and accepted an insulting and pitiful small sum for it: roughly the price of a slave one might win in a lawsuit when the slave was killed somehow. Obviously it wasn't the money that moved him.
We've already noted that, during Passover season, the city of Jerusalem and surrounding areas were packed with travelers. It would be somewhat crowded no matter where a man might walk. The actual residents of the city viewed the outsiders with some small measure of contempt as country bumpkins, even as they relished the chance to milk them with higher than normal prices. In the middle of all this bustle, the Twelve are still trying to understand just what exactly their Master was about to do.
In the massive bookshelves of material written about these last couple of chapters in Matthew's Gospel, we note that so few scholars pay attention to the importance of this burning question -- what Jesus was about to do -- and it says something instructive. We are inundated in extensive studies of the Passover Seder, and the richness of detail in many ways distracts from the more important story Matthew has to tell. The men who will be tasked to take this earth shattering message to the entire world still haven't a clue just what that message is. Jesus relies much on the Holy Spirit to keep track of all this in their hearts, so He can breathe life into it at some later date. For now, we have a dozen very confused men, grappling mightily with the fundamental nature of something still foreign to them, yet just in front of them.
They are still gathered on the crest of the Mount of Olives overlooking Zion. Having delivered an extended lesson to the disciples about the nature of His Kingdom, the destruction of Jerusalem and His final return to earth in glory, Jesus catches them off-guard with something He has said repeatedly over the past year or so: He would be executed very soon. Specifically, He warns it would be only a couple of days away, on the Day of Passover itself. Since the Jewish leadership could not legally kill Him, they would have to bring Him before the Roman authorities, and this move would succeed, ending in His death at the hands of Roman soldiers in the gruesome practice of crucifixion. If anything served to point out that the fundamental nature of His Kingdom was spiritual, saying that He would found it upon His death should have been enough.
Even as He said this, folks elsewhere were planning it. The full body of the Sanhedrin were in session, including all the members who might normally be busy with their own families and guests. Having gathered at the palatial home of the High Priest, this was not a judicial gathering, but something less formal. This was their annual conference, and at some point they discussed the matter of Jesus of Nazareth. Because it was not a formal meeting, they could consider at length how to remove this particularly thorny prophet and rabbi, and not be bothered with the precise requirements of justice. Essentially they concluded they would have to trick Him in some way and arrest Him. Since He was so popular with the bumpkins crowded into the city during Passover, they would have to wait. However, the matter was decided -- Jesus had to die soon.
We have a hard time identifying Simon the Leper. Taking into account the context of Matthew's narrative so far, we might safely guess Jesus healed him at some point. Were he still a leper, no Jew would enter the same house with him, most especially during Passover. Further, it appears this man was quite wealthy, and well known in the community. Perhaps in simple gratitude, he invited Jesus and the Twelve to a formal meal, since they were in town. We might expect the meal was conducted in typical Eastern fashion, where the guests lounged on large cushions around a low table, resting on their left sides, with their bodies at an angle to the table, feet outward. Women would not normally be welcome, but one nevertheless came in and dumped a small flask of expensive perfumed oil on Jesus' head. Mark's parallel account says it was worth a hundred days' wages. She, too, wanted to express gratitude to Jesus, and was not worried in the least by social convention. None of the Gospels identify the woman.
What mattered was what she did, and what it symbolized. Probably it was Judas who led the group in fussing about the apparent waste in this act. If she had simply donated the gift intact, it could be exchanged for something more useful to their ministry. Think of how many poor people could be helped by that money! Jesus shut them up. What she had done was quite according to Kingdom principles, which they still did not understand. He was about to die, and they seemed oblivious to the obvious sorrow Jesus felt about it.
First, we note the obvious intent of the woman was deep devotion and a powerful desire to do something -- anything -- she could to honor such a beloved teacher. Further, it's implied she, at least, understood His warning that He was about to be executed. Seizing the moment before it was too late, she offered the best she had. This contrasts with the petty posturing of the Twelve as they had their eyes on worldly fame and position. It requires a materialistic view of life to fuss over the price of something like this. The proper mystical view is that nothing is too good for the Messiah. Ancient nomadic Hebrews would have grasped it immediately, and so did the woman. Second, eradicating poverty is simply not possible in a fallen world. Talking about the abstract notion of "the poor" is an excuse to dehumanize them further. If you want to do something to lift the fallen, you have to do it one by one, individually. Redemption is personal. Meanwhile, is not the Christ someone who deserves a little attention, too? Jesus rightly prophesies that His servants in the future would mention this minor event. Sadly, the vast majority seem to have no idea why.
Also, we note once again that this fragrance was likely myrrh, something that would mingle with the scent of the spikenard Mary had already poured on Him a few days earlier.
We are told elsewhere Judas embezzled as the treasurer of the group. We can surmise further he came alongside only because he was sure Jesus was the right ticket to political power and wealth. He was in it for himself. We would miss a great deal if we did not see his swelling worldly ambition. After being rebuked this way, it was surely more than petty greed that drove his next act. The message of caring for the poor and taking no luxuries for the self was strong propaganda for the average Jewish peasant, and could form a crucial plank in the reform platform Judas imagined Jesus held. Instead, Jesus was "wasting" something valuable on Himself -- again.
Still, Jesus had been warning that He would die soon, and perhaps it finally registered on Judas' mind with the anointing incident, or perhaps he simply realized this comment about the poor just went against the best part of a good political campaign. Either way, he switched parties. He became a mole for the Sanhedrin, and accepted an insulting and pitiful small sum for it: roughly the price of a slave one might win in a lawsuit when the slave was killed somehow. Obviously it wasn't the money that moved him.
