The Last Supper
When the disciples saw this, they were indignant and asked, “Why this waste? Matthew 26:8 · Berean Standard Bible
The disciples are upset. They see waste where Jesus sees worship — and they cannot understand her extravagance.
It is easy to turn generosity into a math problem. The disciples are thinking about efficiency; the woman is thinking about love.
The disciples react with frustration and indignation at what they see as reckless spending.
Sometimes the people closest to Jesus still miss the point. They see a budget issue; she sees the person she adores.
The disciples react with indignation (aganakteo), viewing the anointing as wasteful extravagance rather than prophetic devotion.
Matthew attributes the objection to the disciples broadly, while John 12:4-5 specifically identifies Judas Iscariot. The disciples' utilitarian calculus misses the moment's deeper significance.
The disciples express collective outrage at what they perceive as wasteful excess.
The gap between the woman's spiritual intuition and the disciples' pragmatic objection reveals how easily religious reasoning can miss the heart of worship.
6While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of Simon the Leper,
7a woman came to Him with an alabaster jar of expensive perfume, which she poured on His head as He reclined at the table.
8When the disciples saw this, they were indignant and asked, “Why this waste?
9This perfume could have been sold at a high price, and the money given to the poor.”
10Aware of this, Jesus asked, “Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful deed to Me.
Read all of Matthew 26 — Bread broken. Wine poured. A betrayal predicted. The longest night in history begins around a table.
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