John 12:1

Mary anoints Jesus’ feet

1 Six days before Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, home of Lazarus, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.

John 12:1 Meaning and Commentary

John 12:1

Then Jesus, six days before the passover
Or "before the six days of the passover"; not as designing the days of that feast, for they were seven; but as reckoning so many days back from it, that is, before the sixth day from the ensuing passover: if there were six complete days between this and the passover, as this way of speaking seems to imply; then this must be the day before the Jewish sabbath, and this is more likely, than that Christ should travel on the sabbath day: but if this was the sixth day before it, it was their sabbath day, and so at the going out of it in the evening, a supper was made for him, which with the Jews on that night, was a plentiful one; for they remembered the sabbath in its going out, as well as in its coming in ^F5, and this was to prevent grief at the going out of it: so some days before the passover, the lamb was separated from the flock, and kept up till the fourteenth day, ( Exodus 12:3 Exodus 12:6 ) particularly it may be observed, that seven days before the day of atonement, the high priest was separated from his own house, and had to the chamber Palhedrin ^F6; and much such a space of time there was, between the day of the great atonement by Christ, and his unction by Mary; which is said to be against the day of his burial, which being the same day with his sufferings, was the great day of atonement: at this time Jesus

came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, which had been dead;
the last clause is left out in the Syriac, Persic, and Ethiopic versions:

whom he raised from the dead;
that is, "Jesus", as the Alexandrian copy, the Vulgate Latin, and all the Oriental versions express; and the Ethiopic version adds, "in Bethany". This was the town of Lazarus; here he lived, and here he died, and here he was raised from the dead; and here he continued and dwelt, after his resurrection; and hither Christ came to see him, and the rest of the family, though he knew he exposed himself to danger in so doing.

---

FOOTNOTES:

F5 Maimon. Hilchot Sabbat. c. 29. sect. 1. 11, 12, 29.
F6 Misn. Yoma, c. 1. sect. 1.

John 12:1 In-Context

1 Six days before Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, home of Lazarus, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.

2 Lazarus and his sisters hosted a dinner for him. Martha served and Lazarus was among those who joined him at the table.

3 Then Mary took an extraordinary amount, almost three-quarters of a pound, of very expensive perfume made of pure nard. She anointed Jesus' feet with it, then wiped his feet dry with her hair. The house was filled with the aroma of the perfume.

4 Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was about to betray him), complained,

5 "This perfume was worth a year's wages! Why wasn't it sold and the money given to the poor?" (