1
Six days before Passover, Jesus entered Bethany where Lazarus, so recently raised from the dead, was living.
2
Lazarus and his sisters invited Jesus to dinner at their home. Martha served. Lazarus was one of those sitting at the table with them.
3
Mary came in with a jar of very expensive aromatic oils, anointed and massaged Jesus' feet, and then wiped them with her hair. The fragrance of the oils filled the house.
4
Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples, even then getting ready to betray him, said,
5
"Why wasn't this oil sold and the money given to the poor? It would have easily brought three hundred silver pieces."
6
He said this not because he cared two cents about the poor but because he was a thief. He was in charge of their common funds, but also embezzled them.
7
Jesus said, "Let her alone. She's anticipating and honoring the day of my burial.
8
You always have the poor with you. You don't always have me."
9
Word got out among the Jews that he was back in town. The people came to take a look, not only at Jesus but also at Lazarus, who had been raised from the dead.