An Answer to the Emotional Plea for Benevolence

Matthew 26:6-11 Now when Jesus was in Bethany, at the home of Simon the leper, a woman came to Him with an alabaster vial of very costly perfume, and she poured it upon His head as He reclined at the table. But the disciples were indignant when they saw this, and said, "Why this waste? For this perfume might have been sold for a high price and the money given to the poor." But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, "Why do you bother the woman? For she has done a good deed to Me. For the poor you have with you always; but you do not always have Me."

In this account of the pre-death anointing of Jesus, a woman poured very expensive perfume on His head. The disciples made an emotional plea for the sake of the poor, saying it could have helped them. Jesus rebuked them for it, saying the poor would always be there, but He was only there temporarily. In this passage, Jesus specifically condemns the idea of using emotional pleas as a source of authority. The implication is that money and assets that are set apart for a certain purposes are to be used only for those purposes, in spite of the emotional pleas for the needy.

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written by David F. Sims, doing my part to "turn the world upside down" (Acts 17:6)
All quotes taken from the New American Standard Bible.

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