John 12:7

7 Jesus therefore said, Suffer her to have kept this for the day of my preparation for burial;

John 12:7 Meaning and Commentary

John 12:7

Then said Jesus, let her alone
Do not disturb her in what she does, or hinder her, or blame her for it:

against the day of my burial hath she kept this;
this ointment, which she now poured on Christ; it was usual to embalm the dead with ointments and spices: Christ suggests, that the time of his death and burial were nigh, and that this woman had kept this ointment till now, for such a purpose; and whereas she would not be able to make use of it at the time of his interment, she had embalmed his body with it now, beforehand; though without any knowledge of his death, or any such intention and design in her, but the Holy Ghost so directing her: for this is not to be understood of her keeping any part of it till that time, which it does not appear she did.

John 12:7 In-Context

5 Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?

6 But he said this, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief and had the bag, and carried what was put into [it].

7 Jesus therefore said, Suffer her to have kept this for the day of my preparation for burial;

8 for ye have the poor always with you, but me ye have not always.

9 A great crowd therefore of the Jews knew that he was there; and they came, not because of Jesus only, but also that they might see Lazarus whom he raised from among [the] dead.

Footnotes

• [a]. i.e. it was now the time: see ch. 19.40. The word is used in Gen. 50.2 (LXX) for embalmment in Hebrew.