Matthew 26:1-13

The Plan to Kill Jesus

1 Jesus finished saying all these things. Then he said to his disciples,

2 "As you know, the Passover Feast is two days away. The Son of Man will be handed over to be nailed to a cross."

3 Then the chief priests met with the elders of the people. They met in the palace of Caiaphas, the high priest.

4 They made plans to arrest Jesus in a clever way. They wanted to kill him.

5 "But not during the Feast," they said. "The people may stir up trouble."

A Woman Pours Perfume on Jesus

6 Jesus was in Bethany. He was in the home of a man named Simon, who had a skin disease.

7 A woman came to Jesus with a special sealed jar of very expensive perfume. She poured the perfume on his head while he was at the table.

8 When the disciples saw this, they became angry. "Why this waste?" they asked.

9 "The perfume could have been sold at a high price. The money could have been given to poor people."

10 Jesus was aware of this. So he said to them, "Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me.

11 You will always have poor people with you. But you will not always have me.

12 She poured the perfume on my body to prepare me to be buried.

13 What I'm about to tell you is true. What she has done will be told anywhere this good news is preached all over the world. It will be told in memory of her."