And while He was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the house of Simon the leper, a woman came with an alabaster flask of costly ointment of pure nard. She broke the flask and poured the ointment on His head.
This scene is set against the darkness of the conspiracy as a radiant testimony of love. While the leaders were plotting to kill Christ, a woman brings the best she has for Him. The house of Simon the leper reminds us what kind of people Christ would enter among: He did not shrink back from the rejected and those considered unclean, but by His presence He made their homes a place of grace and acceptance. The woman breaks the costly flask, showing complete devotion: she does not give a little oil, but pours out all of it on the Lord. This is a picture of true worship: love does not calculate only what is necessary, but with joy gives the best to Christ.