¹⁰But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why do you bother the woman? For she has done a good deed to Me. ¹¹For you always have the poor with you; but you do not always have Me. ¹²For when she poured this perfume on My body, she did it to prepare Me for burial. ¹³Truly I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be spoken of in memory of her.”

In this familiar story, a woman had poured expensive perfume on the feet of Jesus and incurred the disciples’ indignation over what seemed like a waste to them. There is some debate about whether the four Gospels recount the same incident (see Mark 14:3-9, Luke 7:37-39, John 12:1-8). The similarities are apparent, but there are some differences, including the location and the identity of the woman and her criticizers. The differences, although difficult, may be reconciled in light of differing authorial perspectives and careful reading of all four texts.

The central theme, though, is the devotion of a woman. According to John 12:5, the value of the perfume was approximately a year’s salary (three hundred denarii, where one denarius was a typical day’s wage). She must have been quite wealthy to afford to own such a valuable possession. On one level, one could say there is no cost too great in honor of Christ. But Jesus’ response is perplexing at first glance. He seems to endorse lavish spending on the worship of Himself and denigrate the plight of the poor. Does this not contrast with what James, the half-brother of Jesus, wrote years later?

What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself. (James 2:14–17)

No, a careful reading of Matthew’s Gospel account shows that Jesus is not endorsing the neglect of the poor, for He even says they will always be there. However, there are times when our priorities must recognize extraordinary circumstances. In this particular case, Jesus was about to die, a one-time event in the history of the world. The Savior was to become the vicarious replacement for us, to redeem us through His death on the cross. Preparation for His death took precedence. It did not replace caring for the poor but put first things first.

In John 12:4-6, we see that Judas Iscariot was one of the voices “bothering” the woman, and he was motivated by his greed. But Jesus gives a massive endorsement of this woman’s actions, saying the gospel message will include this story wherever it is preached. Obviously, not all gospel preaching includes this story in practice. But her story is, in fact, repeated wherever the four gospel accounts go out, for the story is in all four: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

Does this story justify spending vast sums of money on creating lavish church edifices with marble, gold, and silver, costly priestly vestments, and expensive artwork? No, this does not speak to that question. This story is about a person who was preparing Jesus for His death. Did she know and believe what He had been telling His disciples earlier about His soon-coming death? Probably, for what else would have caused her to pour out the perfume rather than sell it and use it for the poor? She knew to some degree the significance of what she was doing. As for Jesus, He accepted her sacrifice as a “good deed” that would probably reflect throughout her life in giving to help the poor. When we give sacrificially to the Lord, we will naturally give to the poor as well.

Jesus accepted her sacrifice of worship as fitting for Him in light of what was coming; she was getting a head start in bowing the knee before Him. As the apostle Paul wrote:

Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Phil. 2:8–11)

We too have the opportunity now to bow our knees, and praise and worship our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, to the glory of God the Father.

Lord, I bow my knees before You, my wonderful Savior, for You are worthy of all I am and all I have.