Matthew 26:1-5 When Jesus had finished saying all these things, he said to his disciples, “As you know, Passover begins in two days, and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.”
At that same time the leading priests and elders were meeting at the residence of Caiaphas, the high priest, plotting how to capture Jesus secretly and kill him. “But not during the Passover celebration,” they agreed, “or the people may riot.”
The religious leaders in Jerusalem were facing a terrible problem. Until now, Jesus of Nazareth had only been a minor irritant, a conundrum to be ignored as much as possible and to be dealt with only when necessary. After all, these men had managed to weather the public adulation for John the Baptist and were secretly relieved when Herod solved that problem by beheading John. Surely, if Caiaphas and the other priests and rulers could just hang on, the Romans would eventually solve the Jesus problem. But now these men were worried. Due to the Passover celebrations, the population of Jerusalem had swelled to five times its normal number, and many of those coming from the hinterlands had witnessed Jesus’ teaching and preaching. Then Jesus made that dramatic entry into Jerusalem, fulfilling prophecy as he did so. Couldn’t this man simply make a big mistake, mishandle himself, mishandle Scripture, and give them a perfect excuse to hand him over to the Romans?
Jesus Anointed at Bethany
6-13 Meanwhile, Jesus was in Bethany at the home of Simon, a man who had previously had leprosy. While he was eating, a woman came in with a beautiful alabaster jar of expensive perfume and poured it over his head.
The disciples were indignant when they saw this. “What a waste!” they said. “It could have been sold for a high price and the money given to the poor.”
But Jesus, aware of this, replied, “Why criticize this woman for doing such a good thing to me? You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me. She has poured this perfume on me to prepare my body for burial. I tell you the truth, wherever the Good News is preached throughout the world, this woman’s deed will be remembered and discussed.”
The stories about a woman anointing Jesus vary, depending on which Gospel you read. John claims it was Mary, the sister of Lazarus, who did this, and that she anointed Jesus’ feet and wiped them with her hair. Matthew and Mark claim the anointing took place at the home of Simon the Leper, and that the woman poured the perfume over Jesus’ head. But what’s to prevent the possibility that both anointings actually took place, one by Mary and one by another lady later on? Both anointings took place in Bethany, so it’s possible that once Mary had anointed Jesus’ feet, this other lady heard of Mary’s actions and anointed Jesus’ head.
What’s shocking is the disciples’ reaction to the anointing. Rather than recognize this action as prophetic, all the disciples could think of was the money. Although Matthew doesn’t quote Judas, John claims Judas was the one who complained because he was already stealing from the poor box and coveted the money that perfume would have brought.
Judas Agrees to Betray Jesus
14-16 Then Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve disciples, went to the leading priests and asked, “How much will you pay me to betray Jesus to you?” And they gave him thirty pieces of silver. From that time on, Judas began looking for an opportunity to betray Jesus.
Ever since Judas betrayed Jesus, people have speculated about his motives. Did Judas expect Jesus was going to establish an earthly kingdom? Was Judas disgusted when he realized Jesus’ goals were spiritual rather than political? Did Jesus’ response about the perfume trigger something in Judas? Or did political and religious realities begin to dawn on Judas once he arrived in Jerusalem? Did Judas betray Jesus to save his own skin?
Nobody can answer those questions apart from God, but what is remarkable is that Judas, who loved money and who had been systematically looting the offerings for the poor, agreed to betray Jesus for the price of the lowest form of slave, thirty pieces of silver. This act suggests that Judas had come to hate and resent Jesus for failing to meet Judas’ expectations. If Judas had simply been after money, the religious leaders would gladly have given him any amount he asked, for they longed to be rid of Jesus. But for Judas to agree to a slave’s price demonstrated a resentment far beyond mere avarice. Both Judas and the religious rulers were essentially saying, “Jesus, you have claimed to be the Son of God, the King of Heaven. Here! Look what we can do to you!”
Ever since Judas betrayed Jesus, believers have disparaged Judas. “After all, WE are virtuous and WE would never do such a thing!” Oh really? C. H. Spurgeon once observed, “Yet many have sold Jesus for a less price than Judas received; a smile or a sneer has been sufficient to induce them to betray their Lord.” Recently, sporting news has focused on one professional basketball player who has spoken out against the promotion of LGBTQ within basketball, stating that it is unscriptural. This man has been censured for his stand. But what about all the other players who claim to be Christian? So far, those people have remained silent. Eventually, Judas would demonstrate his betrayal of Jesus with a kiss. We believers must examine our hearts to see if we are fulfilling Spurgeon’s sad observations. On Palm Sunday, churches in Nigeria were attacked and burned; now videos of worshipers singing praises in the ruins are circulating. These people are making themselves targets for destruction; yet they are remaining true. Are we remaining true to Jesus, or do we try to dodge taking a stand, claiming we simply want peace. Peace at any price is no peace. May God help us, so that we will not become little Judases in our own right!
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and caring for us. Lord, help us to remain true to You, even when it is difficult. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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