6 Now when Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, 7 a woman came up to him with an alabaster flask of very expensive ointment, and she poured it on his head as he reclined at table. 8 And when the disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, “Why this waste?9 For this could have been sold for a large sum and given to the poor.”10 But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a beautiful thing to me. 11 For you always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me. 12 In pouring this ointment on my body, she has done it to prepare me for burial.13 Truly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.” (Matthew 26)
Matthew is quite clear on this event: it was not just Judas who took offense at what seemed like a waste of money by this woman. Could not the money be better spent on the poor, or maybe even feeding and housing the twelve? I find it interesting how we tend to view our needs and others' wants. Many of the comforts of this life we see as necessities, and many needs of others seem as just an inconvenience to us. Jesus says that this expense was a necessity - not just for Him, or the woman, but for the disciples as well. They needed to see and acknowledge that He was worthy of worship, and also that He was making a sacrifice they needed to accept as a free gift, costing them nothing but faith. May He set us straight today on what is a need, and what is a want, both for us, and those He brings our way today.
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