Mark 14:8

8 This woman did the only thing she could do for me; she poured perfume on my body to prepare me for burial.

Mark 14:8 Meaning and Commentary

Mark 14:8

She hath done what she could
What she had in her heart, and in the power of her hands to do; she hath done according to her ability, and her good will; and if she had not done it now, she could not have done it at all.

She is come aforehand to anoint my body to the burying;
or, "as if it was to bury me", as the Syriac version renders it. Christ signifies by this, that he should shortly die, and that this woman came before hand to anoint him, and, as it were, to perform the funeral rites before he was dead; it being revealed to her by the Spirit, that Jesus would quickly die, and she should not be able to perform this good work when dead, and therefore came to do it before; or, at least, she was directed by the Spirit of God, because she would be prevented doing it afterwards; (See Gill on Matthew 26:12).

Mark 14:8 In-Context

6 Jesus said, "Leave her alone. Why are you troubling her? She did an excellent thing for me.
7 You will always have the poor with you, and you can help them anytime you want. But you will not always have me.
8 This woman did the only thing she could do for me; she poured perfume on my body to prepare me for burial.
9 I tell you the truth, wherever the Good News is preached in all the world, what this woman has done will be told, and people will remember her."
10 One of the twelve apostles, Judas Iscariot, went to talk to the leading priests to offer to hand Jesus over to them.
Scripture taken from the New Century Version. Copyright © 1987, 1988, 1991 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.