The Conspiracy
Jesus told his disciples, “In two days’ time it will be Passover and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.”
The chief priests and the elders of the people assembled in the palace of Caiphas, the high priest, and they discussed a plan to arrest Jesus by treachery and put him to death. But they said, “We won’t arrest him during the festival, because it may cause a riot among the people.”
The Anointing
Jesus was in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper when a woman approached him with an alabaster jar of costly perfumed oil and poured it on his head. The disciples were indignant and muttered “This is such a waste. This oil could have been sold for a high price and the money given to the poor.”
Jesus said to them,
“Why do you criticise this woman? What she has done for me is beautiful. The poor you will always have with you; but you will not always have me. With this oil she has prepared me for my burial and - wherever this gospel is heard - what she has done will be spoken of, in memory of her.”
Photo: Rev Sue Murray