2. They said, “But we cannot arrest Jesus during the festival. We don’t want the people to be angry and cause a riot.”
3. Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper. While he was eating there, a woman came to him. She had an alabaster jar filled with expensive perfume made of pure nard. She opened the jar and poured the perfume on Jesus’ head.
4. Some of the followers there saw this. They were upset and complained to each other. They said, “Why waste that perfume?
5. It was worth a full year’s pay. It could have been sold and the money given to those who are poor.” And they told the woman what a bad thing she had done.
6. Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Why are you giving her such trouble? She did a very good thing for me.
7. You will always have the poor with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me.
8. This woman did the only thing she could do for me. She poured perfume on my body before I die to prepare it for burial.
9. The Good News will be told to people all over the world. And I can assure you that everywhere the Good News is told, the story of what this woman did will also be told, and people will remember her.”
10. Then Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve apostles, went to talk to the leading priests about handing Jesus over to them.
11. They were very happy about this, and they promised to pay him. So he waited for the best time to hand Jesus over to them.
12. It was now the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread—the day the lambs were killed for the Passover. Jesus’ followers came to him and said, “We will go and prepare everything for you to eat the Passover meal. Where do you want us to have the meal?”
13. Jesus sent two of his followers into the city. He said to them, “Go into the city. You will see a man carrying a jar of water. He will come to you. Follow him.
14. He will go into a house. Tell the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher asks that you show us the room where he and his followers can eat the Passover meal.’
15. The owner will show you a large room upstairs that is ready for us. Prepare the meal for us there.”