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When Jesus finished saying these things, he told his disciples,
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"You know that Passover comes in two days. That's when the Son of Man will be betrayed and handed over for crucifixion."
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At that very moment, the party of high priests and religious leaders was meeting in the chambers of the Chief Priest named Caiaphas,
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conspiring to seize Jesus by stealth and kill him.
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They agreed that it should not be done during Passover Week. "We don't want a riot on our hands," they said.
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When Jesus was at Bethany, a guest of Simon the Leper,
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a woman came up to him as he was eating dinner and anointed him with a bottle of very expensive perfume.
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When the disciples saw what was happening, they were furious. "That's criminal!
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This could have been sold for a lot and the money handed out to the poor."
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When Jesus realized what was going on, he intervened. "Why are you giving this woman a hard time? She has just done something wonderfully significant for me.
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You will have the poor with you every day for the rest of your lives, but not me.
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When she poured this perfume on my body, what she really did was anoint me for burial.
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You can be sure that wherever in the whole world the Message is preached, what she has just done is going to be remembered and admired."