Day 9: Matthew 26-28. Passion and Resurrection
Now is the beginning of the end (and the beginning) of the story. Everything is set in place. First note that it begins with the religious leaders, conspiring about how and when to get rid of Jesus. In Bethany, an unnamed woman comes to the house of Simon the leper with an alabaster jar of ointment. She pours it over Jesus head, angering his disciples. For some reason, they are concerned that she is wasting her money on this act. And why is she doing it, anyway? It is an extravagant act of devotion. Jesus tells us what it means: she is anointing him for burial. (I wonder what the woman thought of this.) Jesus also proclaims that everyone will remember this woman, because of her action. But do we? Then Judas agrees to betray Jesus. Jesus celebrates the passover with his disciples, and tells them that one of them will betray him. He tells them that the bread they break is his body, and the wine is his blood....