Anointing Jesus

Matthew 26:6-13, records the story of a woman who took a very costly aromatic ointment and applied it to Jesus head. The disciples complained that the ointment could have been sold and the money used to help the poor. Jesus defended the woman’s action and stated that her action would be spoken of “in the whole world” and it would be a “memorial” of her. There are several things that can be learned from these verses. The first is that sometimes you will be criticized when you do good. The disciples criticized the woman… not for doing bad but because they thought she could have done something better than what she did. At least one disciple, Judas, had an ulterior motive for criticizing her action… greed. He was the treasurer for the disciples (John 12). One also has to wonder why the disciples called her out publically. Were they intentionally trying to embarrass her or were they just thoughtless? It doesn’t really matter, the effect on her would be the same. The second thing we can learn from these verses is that sometimes we have to stand up for those who are being unfairly criticized. That’s what Jesus did. He commended her action and said she would be known and appreciated worldwide for it. Really, Jesus had to defend her. Criticism has a crippling effect on people and fosters inactivity. He also had to defend her because once that criticism thing gets going it’s hard to stop. The last thing the early church needed was Apostles who criticized people for doing good. Jesus wanted his leadership to build people up not… tear them down. The woman could have given the ointment away to help the poor, after all when we help the poor it is the same as helping Jesus (Matt. 25:40), but she wanted to do something very personal for Jesus... and that's OK. I can imagine the woman wilting under the public criticism but when Jesus spoke up for her I’ll bet her face was beaming with joy. Let’s continue to do good and also protect those who need it.