John 11:2

2 And it was Mary, which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hairs, whose brother Lazarus was sick.

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 And there was a sick man [Forsooth there was some sick man], Lazarus of Bethany, of the castle of Mary and Martha, his sisters.
2 And it was Mary, which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hairs, whose brother Lazarus was sick.
3 Therefore his sisters sent to him, and said [saying], Lord, lo! he whom thou lovest, is sick.
4 And Jesus heard, and said to them, This sickness is not to the death, but for the glory of God, that man's Son be glorified by him [that God's Son be glorified by it].
5 And Jesus loved Martha, and her sister Mary, and Lazarus.
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.