And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these sayings, he said unto his disciples,

2 Ye know that after two days is the feast of the passover, and the Son of man is betrayed to be crucified.

3 Then assembled together the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders of the people, unto the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas,

4 And consulted that they might take Jesus by subtilty, and kill him.

5 But they said, Not on the feast day, lest there be an uproar among the people.

6 Now when Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper,

7 There came unto him a woman having an alabaster box of very precious ointment, and poured it on his head, as he sat at meat.

8 But when his disciples saw it, they had indignation, saying, To what purpose is this waste?

9 For this ointment might have been sold for much, and given to the poor.

10 When Jesus understood it, he said unto them, Why trouble ye the woman? for she hath wrought a good work upon me.

11 For ye have the poor always with you; but me ye have not always.

12 For in that she hath poured this ointment on my body, she did it for my burial.

13 Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, there shall also this, that this woman hath done, be told for a memorial of her.

Matthew 26.1-13

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Jesus Christ knew about priorities.  Often, the things that man thinks are important are actually distractions from what is real, and from what is really important.

Two days before Jesus was going to give His life, to be crucified, nailed upon a tree, He was eating with His disciples in a town called Bethany, in a house of a man named Simon, who was a leper.

In those days, women were not generally treated very nice.  In fact, they were treated more like property, and it was beyond rude for a woman to interrupt a group of men, in any situation, in the ancient culture where Jesus visited.

Nevertheless, a woman came to Jesus with a box full of precious, sweet smelling ointment, which was very expensive, and she poured it out on His head, while He was sitting there eating.

The disciples of Jesus were indignant, and the Word tells us they murmured against her and said, "To what purpose is this waste?  For this ointment might have been sold for much, and given to the poor."

But Jesus knew the woman's heart, and He understood that she was more focused on what was important than His very close disciples were.

Jesus said that wherever His Gospel is preached in the whole world, there also will this story be told about what this woman has done, for a memorial of her.

Jesus lifted up this lowly woman, and now forevermore everywhere Jesus is known, she will be known for her heart of worship towards Him.

Jesus Christ is Lord