The Bible Study Podcast, episode 457. Today, the Bible Study podcast continues the study of the gospel of Matthew as we start chapter 26.

Welcome to the Bible Study podcast. I'm your host, Chris Christensen. We're jumping into chapter 26, which is on the Thursday of Holy Week. This is really the climax of the gospel of Matthew. And I don't know why, though, people who came in later on and put in chapters decided to make this chapter really, really long. so we're not going to do it all today.

And it starts like this, the plot against Jesus. When Jesus had finished saying all these things,

he said to his disciples, as you know, the Passover is two days away, and the son of man will be

handed over to be crucified. Then the chief priests and the elders of the people assembled in the

palace of the high priest whose name was Caiaphas, and they schemed to arrest Jesus secretly

and kill him, but not during the festival, they said, or there may be a riot among the people.

So Jesus has just been saying these things, and we say these things. He's been teaching in the temple here this week of what we call now Holy Week between Palm Sunday and Good Friday. And he has said things against the teachers of the law. He's answered the last questions he's going to, and then he's talked about end days, and that is the this things they're talking

about. He's antagonized them. In some ways, he hasn't really tried to play nice because he has

some real objections to how the Pharisees and the teachers of the law are going about their

business. And so they have decided at this point they're going to kill him, but they're not

planning on killing him this week during the festival, because it's the time of Passover. The crowds are

big. The crowds are on Jesus' side, so they're afraid to. So they're going to wait, although it

doesn't turn out that way. Continuing on, Jesus anointed at Bethany. While Jesus was in Bethany

in the home of Simon the Lepper, a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of expensive perfume, which she poured on his head as he was reclining at the table.

When the disciples saw this, they were indignant.

Why this waste, they asked.

This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor.

Aware of this, Jesus said to them, why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful

thing to me. The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me. When she

poured this perfume on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial. Truly, I tell you,

wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world,

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