John 11:2

2 This was the Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped his feet with her hair. Her brother Lazarus was ill.)

John 11:2 Meaning and Commentary

John 11:2

It was [that] Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment,
&c.] Not the woman in ( Luke 7:37 ) , as some have thought, whose name is not mentioned, and which history is not related by John at all: but Mary in ( John 12:3 ) , who is both mentioned by name, and along with Lazarus her brother, and with whom all the circumstances of the affair suit; and though the fact was not yet done, yet John writing many years after it was done, and when it was well known, proleptically, and in a parenthesis, takes notice of it here:

and wiped his feet with her hair;
instead of a napkin, after she had anointed them with oil; (See Gill on Luke 7:37), (See Gill on John 12:3).

Whose brother Lazarus was sick;
this is observed, to show how well they were all acquainted with Christ, and affected to him.

John 11:2 In-Context

1 A certain man, Lazarus, was ill. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. (

2 This was the Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped his feet with her hair. Her brother Lazarus was ill.)

3 So the sisters sent word to Jesus, saying, "Lord, the one whom you love is ill."

4 When he heard this, Jesus said, "This illness isn't fatal. It's for the glory of God so that God's Son can be glorified through it."

5 Jesus loved Martha, her sister, and Lazarus.