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The Anointing of Jesus. Joh_12:1-11
Jesus at supper:
v. 1. Then Jesus, six days before the Passover, came to Bethany, where Lazarus was which had been dead, whom He raised from the dead.
v. 2. There they made Him a supper, and Martha served; but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with Him.
v. 3. Then took Mary pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the odor of the ointment.
See Mar_14:3-9. The evangelist marks the introduction to the great Passion of the Lord. It was six days before the festival of the Passover, which was celebrated by the Jews in commemoration of their deliverance out of Egypt. The Passover proper was celebrated on the evening of the 14th of Abib, or Nisan, the spring month, and was usually taken together with the Feast of Unleavened Bread, unless one wanted to differentiate for special reasons. Six days before this day, in this instance, was Saturday, the Sabbath of the Jews. Bethany was a favorite stopping-place of Jesus, since Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, His friends, were living there. The evangelist here notes especially that Lazarus, whom Jesus had raised from the dead, had his home in that town. The beloved Master, to whom the little family of disciples owed so much, was received also in this instance with every mark of loving respect. They made a supper for Him, an evening meal, after the close of the Sabbath. The busy Martha was hostess, she waited at table, the work in which she took the greatest pleasure, Luk_10:38-42. It is expressly stated that Lazarus was one of those that reclined at the table as one of the guests. There had been no illusion about his return to life. He was enjoying life and health as much as ever. While the meal was in progress, Mary, the other sister, came into the supper-room bearing a vessel containing one litra or libra (about eleven ounces avoirdupois) of genuine and very precious nard made from myrrh, the juice of the Arabian myrtle. This ointment was so costly and such a luxury that only the well-to-do could afford to use it for ordinary purposes. But Mary apparently paid no attention to this fact. As Jesus was reclining at the table, resting on His left arm, with His feet stretched somewhat to the rear, Mary not only anointed His head, as Mark and Matthew relate, but especially His feet. Profusely, lavishly, she used the precious ointment, and then wiped the Lord's feet with her hair. It was an act of spontaneous devotion and loving loyalty. Naturally, the odor of the ointment, used in such profusion, filled not only the room, but the entire house, thus attracting attention at once, also to the costliness of the offering. It is altogether well-pleasing to the Lord if people, for love of Him, bring offerings for the adornment of churches, where the congregation comes together for worship. The factor of utility must not be emphasized to the exclusion of all other considerations when churches are built.