Matthew 26:1-13

The Plot to Kill Jesus

1 When Jesus had finished saying all these things, He told His disciples, ¹

2 “You know that the Passover is two days away, and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.”

3 At that time the chief priests and elders of the people assembled in the courtyard of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas,

4 and they conspired to arrest Jesus covertly and kill Him.

5 “But not during the feast,” they said, “or there may be a riot among the people.”

Jesus Anointed at Bethany

6 While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of Simon the Leper, ^{[a] 2}

7 a woman came to Him with an alabaster jar of expensive perfume, which she poured on His head as He reclined at the table.

8 When the disciples saw this, they were indignant and asked, “Why this waste?

9 This perfume could have been sold at a high price, and the money given to the poor.”

10 Aware of this, Jesus asked, “Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful deed to Me.

11 The poor you will always have with you, ^[b] but you will not always have Me.

12 By pouring this perfume on Me, she has prepared My body for burial.

13 Truly I tell you, wherever this gospel is preached in all the world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.”

Cross References

• 1. (Mark 14:1–2; Luke 22:1–2; John 11:45–57)
• 2. (Mark 14:3–9; Luke 7:36–50; John 12:1–8)

Footnotes

• [a] Aramaic Simon the Potter or Simon the Jar Maker
• [b] See Deuteronomy 15:11.