John 11:2

11:2 (Now it was Mary who anointed the Lord with perfumed oil ¹  and wiped his feet dry with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.) ² 

John 20:13

20:13 They said ³  to her, “Woman, ⁴  why are you weeping?” Mary replied, ⁵  “They have taken my Lord away, and I do not know where they have put him!”

John 20:18

20:18 Mary Magdalene came and informed the disciples, “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them ⁶  what ⁷  Jesus ⁸  had said to her. ⁹ 

John 20:20

20:20 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. ¹⁰ 

[11:2]  ¹ tn Or “perfume,” “ointment.”

[11:2]  ² sn This is a parenthetical note by the author. It is a bit surprising that the author here identifies Mary as the one who anointed the Lord with perfumed oil and wiped his feet dry with her hair, since this event is not mentioned until later, in 12:3. Many see this “proleptic” reference as an indication that the author expected his readers to be familiar with the story already, and go on to assume that in general the author in writing the Fourth Gospel assumed his readers were familiar with the other three gospels. Whether the author assumed actual familiarity with the synoptic gospels or not, it is probable that he did assume some familiarity with Mary’s anointing activity.

[20:13]  ³ tn The conjunction καί (kai, “and”) has not been translated here.

[20:13]  ⁴ sn Woman was a polite form of address (see BDAG 208-9 s.v. γυνή 1), similar to “Madam” or “Ma’am” used in English in different regions. This occurs again in v. 15.

[20:13]  ⁵ tn Grk “She said to them.”

[20:18]  ⁵ tn The words “she told them” are repeated from the first part of the same verse to improve clarity.

[20:18]  ⁶ tn Grk “the things.”

[20:18]  ⁷ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) is specified in the translation for clarity.

[20:18]  ⁸ tn The first part of Mary’s statement, introduced by ὅτι (Joti), is direct discourse (ἑώρακα τὸν κύριον, Jewraka ton kurion), while the second clause switches to indirect discourse (καὶ ταῦτα εἶπεν αὐτῇ, kai tauta eipen auth). This has the effect of heightening the emphasis on the first part of the statement.

[20:20]  ⁷ sn When the disciples recognized Jesus (now referred to as the Lord, cf. Mary’s words in v. 18) they were suddenly overcome with joy. This was a fulfillment of Jesus’ words to the disciples in the Farewell Discourse (16:20-22) that they would have sorrow while the world rejoiced, but that their sorrow would be turned to lasting joy when they saw him again.