Matthew 26:10-13 - She has done a beautiful thing

26:10,11

The disciples were indignant, but Jesus was indignant with the disciples. “She has done a beautiful thing to me”. The woman had more spiritual understanding than the disciples, she may not have fully understood what she was doing, but she was motivated by the Holy Spirit. The disciples were motivated by the flesh. The word beautiful here has both an aesthetic and ethical meaning. 

“The poor you will always have with you will not always have me”. The first part comes from Deut 15:11. Jesus would soon be gone from this earth, they could help the poor at anytime. 

26:12,13

Jesus now turns to the positive and immediate meaning of the woman's actions. She was preparing Jesus’ body for burial. The disciples were indignant, but what the woman did is now spoken of in glowing terms throughout the world and time. It is good to study the Bible in a theological sense, seeking to get a deep understanding. But a deep understanding does not come just by the intellect, it comes by the heart and spirit as well.