Berean Standard Bible
(BSB)

Mary Anoints Jesus

(Matthew 26:6–13;
Mark 14:3–9; Luke 7:36–50)

12 ^<1>Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, the hometown of Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead. ^<2>So they hosted a dinner for Jesus there. Martha served, and Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with Him. ^<3>Then Mary took about a pint¹ of expensive perfume, made of pure nard, and she anointed Jesus’ feet and wiped them with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

^<4>But one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was going to betray Him, asked, ^<5>“Why wasn’t this perfume sold for three hundred denarii² and the money given to the poor?” ^<6>Judas did not say this because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief. As keeper of the money bag, he used to take from what was put into it.

^<7>“Leave her alone,” Jesus replied. “She has kept this perfume in preparation for the day of My burial. ^<8>The poor you will always have with you³, but you will not always have Me.”

The Plot to Kill Lazarus

^<9>Meanwhile a large crowd of Jews learned that Jesus was there. And they came not only because of Him, but also to see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead. ^<10>So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well, ^<11>for on account of him many of the Jews were deserting them and believing in Jesus.

Word Come Alive
(WCA)
(An extended translation)*

Extravagant devotion

^<1>Six days before the start of the Passover, Jesus returned to Bethany, the home town of Lazarus, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. ^<2>The raising of Lazarus from the dead had aroused a lot of public interest. A generous dinner was being given in Jesus’ honour. Martha was busy serving the food, while Lazarus and other people were relaxing in Jesus’ company around a low table. While everyone was enjoying the meal, something amazing and unexpected happened. ^<3>Mary wanted to show her gratitude and worship to Jesus for raising her brother from the dead. She expressed her deep devotion for her Savior and Lord by taking about half a litre of very expensive perfume and pouring it lavishly over Jesus’ feet. Disregarding the normal rules of what was socially acceptable, she loosened her hair and then gently used it to wipe his feet dry. Mary’s extravagant devotion meant that the whole house was filled not only with the sweet fragrance of the perfume but also with the warm affection of her heartfelt worship.

^<4>One of Jesus’ apprentices, Judas Iscariot (who later betrayed him), became angry. He criticized Mary for what she had done. He complained, ^<5>‘What a waste! We could’ve sold the perfume and given the money it would’ve fetched to the poor! It cost a year’s wages.’ ^<6>But in fact Judas didn’t say this because he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief. He often stole from the fund that belonged to Jesus and his apprentices and which he was in charge of. He appeared generous but in reality was selfish and only pretended to care for the poor.

^<7>Jesus replied, ‘Let her be. She was going to save this perfume and use it at my burial. ^<8>You will always have opportunities to help the poor people who are with you, but you won’t always have me with you. At this time, I accept her worship gladly.’

^<9>In the meantime, a large crowd of Jews discovered where Jesus was. They flocked to Bethany not only to see Jesus but also to see Lazarus, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. They were curious to see for themselves if the miracle had really happened or if the ‘new’ Lazarus was some kind of freak. ^<10>So the hearts of the chief priests became even more hardened. They added Lazarus to their ‘Wanted’ list, making plans to kill him as well as Jesus, ^<11>as many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and believing in him because he had raised Lazarus from the dead.

Study Guide

Verse 1 provides both the future and the past context.

• The future context is Jesus’ last week of ministry before His crucifixion and resurrection, often referred to as Passion Week.
• The past context is the resurrection of Lazarus from the dead.

Verse 2 begins with the word “So”, which links the present context of this study passage with the past and future contexts described in verse 1.

► Based on the contexts set in verses 1 & 2:

• What reasons might Mary have for pouring perfume on Jesus’ feet?
• What Mary did was an act of ______________.

► What objection did Judas raise regarding Mary’s actions? (v. 5)

► What was Judas’ motivation for the objection? (v. 6)

► What priority did Jesus set with His statement in verse 8?

► Describe how the crowd responded to the events at this dinner compared to that of the chief priests.

Study Resources

To learn more about this study passage, go to
https://www.bibleref.com/John/12/John-12-1.html. Read the commentary of each verse in the study passage.  (Also read the Context Summary and the Chapter Summary.)

If you have any questions about this passage, type the verse reference or your question in the search box at the top of
https://www.gotquestions.org/ and explore the results.

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