Fundamentals of the Christian Faith in the Light of the Gospels
by Maulana Sadr-ud-Din
Impression Jesus Created on Jewish Mind: Anointed by a Harlot
A woman of the town anointed Jesus’ body with a precious ointment, and cleaned his feet with her hair, whereupon the Jews fell into a rage and said that he could not even know that she was a foul and fallen woman; and his disciples, too, took objection to it, saying, that the precious ointment could well be sold, and the money thus obtained distributed among the poor. But the reply returned by Jesus was not only unreasonable but undesirable:
“And Jesus said, Let her alone; why trouble ye her? she hath wrought a good work on me. For ye have the poor with you always, and whensoever ye will ye may do them good: but me ye have not always. She hath done what she could: she is come aforehand to anoint my body to the burying. Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached throughout the world, this also that she hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her” (Mark, 14:6–9; also Matthew 26:10–13).