Matthew 26:6 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Now when Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper,

NIV: While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of Simon the Leper,

NASB: Now when Jesus was in Bethany, at the home of Simon the Leper,

CSB: While Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper,

NLT: Meanwhile, Jesus was in Bethany at the home of Simon, a man who had previously had leprosy.

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

NKJV: And when Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper,

Matthew describes an unusual event in Bethany, two miles east of Jerusalem on the Mount of Olives. Jesus had previously stayed in Bethany, at the home of His friends Mary, Martha, and Lazarus (John 11:1). Now, Matthew finds Jesus sharing a meal at the home of a man identified as "Simon the leper," mentioned only here in the New Testament.

Though the text does not mention it, it is very likely Jesus healed this Simon from his leprosy. The law required people with this disease to live apart from others. If he still carried the illness, all those who ate with him would have been officially unclean during the Passover celebration. Further, the fear and stigma associated with diseases like leprosy would have made a gathering in his home impossible. Everyone would have kept their distance if Simon had not been given a clean bill of health.

Matthew 26:6–16 finds Jesus and the disciples in Bethany at the home of a man identified as "Simon the leper." A woman, likely Mary the sister of Lazarus, opens a bottle of extremely expensive ointment and anoints Jesus' head as He reclines at the table during dinner. The disciples think the ointment should have been sold and the money given to the poor, but Jesus insists she has done a beautiful thing that will prepare Him for burial. Judas then offers to turn Jesus over to the chief priests. They pay him 30 silver pieces, a price ironically associated with the cost of a common slave.

The Jewish religious leaders further their plots to arrest and kill Jesus, finding a willing traitor in Judas Iscariot. A woman anoints Christ with oil during a dinner at Bethany. Next, Jesus and the disciples hold the Passover meal in an upper room where Jesus predicts His arrests and introduces the sacrament of communion. Then Jesus prays in unimaginable agony in the garden of Gethsemane before being betrayed by Judas and captured. The disciples scatter. Before the high priest, Jesus explicitly claims to be divine. They convict Him of blasphemy and sentence Him to death. As this happens, Peter denies knowing Jesus and runs away in shame.

After a long series of teaching (Matthew 24—25), Matthew 26 begins with Jesus saying He will be delivered up for death. Christ is anointed at a dinner in Bethany and Judas agrees to turn Him over to the chief priests. Jesus holds a Passover meal with the disciples, predicts an act of treachery, and introduces the sacrament of communion. He tells the disciples they will run in fear and that Peter will deny Him, which happens just as prophesied. Christ prays in great sorrow in a garden and is then arrested and taken away and unfairly sentenced to death. After this, Jesus will be taken to the Roman governor, where Jewish leadership will press for Him to be executed as an insurgent.

The Gospel of Matthew clearly shows the influence of its writer's background, and his effort to reach a specific audience. Matthew was one of Jesus' twelve disciples, a Jewish man, and a former tax collector. This profession would have required literacy, and Matthew may have transcribed some of Jesus' words as they were spoken. This book is filled with references to the Old Testament, demonstrating to Israel that Jesus is the Promised One. Matthew also includes many references to coins, likely due to his former profession. Matthew records extensive accounts of Jesus' teaching, more than the other three Gospels.

Accessed 12/12/2024 3:40:11 PM