Matthew 26:1-13

1 After Jesus finished saying all these things, he told his followers,

2 "You know that the day after tomorrow is the day of the Passover Feast. On that day the Son of Man will be given to his enemies to be crucified."

3 Then the leading priests and the older Jewish leaders had a meeting at the palace of the high priest, named Caiaphas.

4 At the meeting, they planned to set a trap to arrest Jesus and kill him.

5 But they said, "We must not do it during the feast, because the people might cause a riot."

6 Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon, who had a skin disease.

7 While Jesus was there, a woman approached him with an alabaster jar filled with expensive perfume. She poured this perfume on Jesus' head while he was eating.

8 His followers were upset when they saw the woman do this. They asked, "Why waste that perfume?

9 It could have been sold for a great deal of money and the money given to the poor."

10 Knowing what had happened, Jesus said, "Why are you troubling this woman? She did an excellent thing for me.

11 You will always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me.

12 This woman poured perfume on my body to prepare me for burial.

13 I tell you the truth, wherever the Good News is preached in all the world, what this woman has done will be told, and people will remember her."