Mark 14:3-9

Jesus’ Anointing

14:3 Now ¹  while Jesus ²  was in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, reclining at the table, ³  a woman came with an alabaster jar ⁴  of costly aromatic oil ⁵  from pure nard. After breaking open the jar, she poured it on his head. 14:4 But some who were present indignantly said to one another, “Why this waste of expensive ⁶  ointment? 14:5 It ⁷  could have been sold for more than three hundred silver coins ⁸  and the money ⁹  given to the poor!” So ¹⁰  they spoke angrily to her. 14:6 But Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Why are you bothering her? She has done a good service for me. 14:7 For you will always have the poor with you, and you can do good for them whenever you want. But you will not always have me! ¹¹  14:8 She did what she could. She anointed my body beforehand for burial. 14:9 I tell you the truth, ¹²  wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.”

John 11:2-16

11:2 (Now it was Mary who anointed the Lord with perfumed oil ¹³  and wiped his feet dry with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.) ¹⁴  11:3 So the sisters sent a message ¹⁵  to Jesus, ¹⁶  “Lord, look, the one you love is sick.” 11:4 When Jesus heard this, he said, “This sickness will not lead to death, ¹⁷  but to God’s glory, ¹⁸  so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” ¹⁹  11:5 (Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.) ²⁰ 

11:6 So when he heard that Lazarus ²¹  was sick, he remained in the place where he was for two more days. 11:7 Then after this, he said to his disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” ²²  11:8 The disciples replied, ²³  “Rabbi, the Jewish leaders ²⁴  were just now trying ²⁵  to stone you to death! Are ²⁶  you going there again?” 11:9 Jesus replied, ²⁷  “Are there not twelve hours in a day? If anyone walks around in the daytime, he does not stumble, ²⁸  because he sees the light of this world. ²⁹  11:10 But if anyone walks around at night, ³⁰  he stumbles, ³¹  because the light is not in him.”

11:11 After he said this, he added, ³²  “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep. ³³  But I am going there to awaken him.” 11:12 Then the disciples replied, ³⁴  “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.” 11:13 (Now Jesus had been talking about ³⁵  his death, but they ³⁶  thought he had been talking about real sleep.) ³⁷ 

11:14 Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died, 11:15 and I am glad ³⁸  for your sake that I was not there, so that you may believe. ³⁹  But let us go to him.” 11:16 So Thomas (called Didymus ⁴⁰ ) ⁴¹  said to his fellow disciples, “Let us go too, so that we may die with him.” ⁴² 

[14:3]  ¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

[14:3]  ² tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[14:3]  ³ sn 1st century middle eastern meals were not eaten while sitting at a table, but while reclining on one’s side on the floor with the head closest to the low table and the feet farthest away.

[14:3]  ⁴ sn A jar made of alabaster stone was normally used for very precious substances like perfumes. It normally had a long neck which was sealed and had to be broken off so the contents could be used.

[14:3]  ⁵ tn Μύρον (muron) was usually made of myrrh (from which the English word is derived) but here it is used in the sense of ointment or perfumed oil (L&N 6.205). The adjective πιστικῆς (pistikh") is difficult with regard to its exact meaning; some have taken it to derive from πίστις (pistis) and relate to the purity of the oil of nard. More probably it is something like a brand name, “pistic nard,” the exact significance of which has not been discovered.

[14:4]  ⁶ tn The word “expensive” is not in the Greek text but has been included to suggest a connection to the lengthy phrase “costly aromatic oil from pure nard” occurring earlier in v. 3. The author of Mark shortened this long phrase to just one word in Greek when repeated here, and the phrase “expensive ointment” used in the translation is intended as an abbreviated paraphrase.

[14:5]  ⁷ tn Here γάρ (gar) has not been translated.

[14:5]  ⁸ tn Grk “three hundred denarii.” One denarius was the standard day’s wage, so the value exceeded what a laborer could earn in a year (taking in to account Sabbaths and feast days when no work was done).

[14:5]  ⁹ tn The words “the money” are not in the Greek text, but are implied (as the proceeds from the sale of the perfumed oil).

[14:5]  ¹⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action(s) in the narrative.

[14:7]  ¹¹ tn In the Greek text of this clause, “me” is in emphatic position (the first word in the clause). To convey some impression of the emphasis, an exclamation point is used in the translation.

[14:9]  ¹² tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[11:2]  ¹³ tn Or “perfume,” “ointment.”

[11:2]  ¹⁴ 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.

[11:3]  ¹⁵ tn The phrase “a message” is not in the Greek text but is implied. Direct objects in Greek were often omitted when clear from context.

[11:3]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “to him, saying”; the referent (Jesus) is specified in the translation for clarity.

[11:4]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “This sickness is not to death.”

[11:4]  ¹⁸ tn Or “to God’s praise.”

[11:4]  ¹⁹ sn So that the Son of God may be glorified through it. These statements are highly ironic: For Lazarus, the sickness did not end in his death, because he was restored to life. But for Jesus himself, the miraculous sign he performed led to his own death, because it confirmed the authorities in their plan to kill Jesus (11:47-53). In the Gospel of John, Jesus’ death is consistently portrayed as his ‘glorification’ through which he accomplishes his return to the Father.

[11:5]  ²⁰ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author. It was necessary for the author to reaffirm Jesus’ love for Martha and her sister and Lazarus here because Jesus’ actions in the following verse appear to be contradictory.

[11:6]  ²¹ tn Grk “that he”; the referent (Lazarus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[11:7]  ²² sn The village of Bethany, where Lazarus was, lies in Judea, less than 2 mi (3 km) from Jerusalem (see 11:18).

[11:8]  ²³ tn Grk “The disciples said to him.”

[11:8]  ²⁴ tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” In NT usage the term ᾿Ιουδαῖοι (Ioudaioi) may refer to the entire Jewish people, the residents of Jerusalem and surrounding territory, the authorities in Jerusalem, or merely those who were hostile to Jesus. (For further information see R. G. Bratcher, “‘The Jews’ in the Gospel of John,” BT 26 [1975]: 401-9.) Here the phrase refers to the Jewish leaders. See the previous references and the notes on the phrase “Jewish people” in v. 19, and “Jewish religious leaders” in vv. 24, 31, 33.

[11:8]  ²⁵ tn Grk “seeking.”

[11:8]  ²⁶ tn Grk “And are.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.

[11:9]  ²⁷ tn Grk “Jesus answered.”

[11:9]  ²⁸ tn Or “he does not trip.”

[11:9]  ²⁹ sn What is the light of this world? On one level, of course, it refers to the sun, but the reader of John’s Gospel would recall 8:12 and understand Jesus’ symbolic reference to himself as the light of the world. There is only a limited time left (Are there not twelve hours in a day?) until the Light will be withdrawn (until Jesus returns to the Father) and the one who walks around in the dark will trip and fall (compare the departure of Judas by night in 13:30).

[11:10]  ³⁰ tn Grk “in the night.”

[11:10]  ³¹ tn Or “he trips.”

[11:11]  ³² tn Grk “He said these things, and after this he said to them.”

[11:11]  ³³ tn The verb κοιμάω (koimaw) literally means “sleep,” but it is often used in the Bible as a euphemism for death when speaking of believers. This metaphorical usage by its very nature emphasizes the hope of resurrection: Believers will one day “wake up” out of death. Here the term refers to death, but “asleep” was used in the translation to emphasize the metaphorical, rhetorical usage of the term, especially in light of the disciples’ confusion over what Jesus actually meant (see v. 13).

[11:12]  ³⁴ tn Grk “Then the disciples said to him.”

[11:13]  ³⁵ tn Or “speaking about.”

[11:13]  ³⁶ tn Grk “these.”

[11:13]  ³⁷ tn Grk “the sleep of slumber”; this is a redundant expression to emphasize physical sleep as opposed to death.

[11:15]  ³⁸ tn Grk “and I rejoice.”

[11:15]  ³⁹ sn So that you may believe. Why does Jesus make this statement? It seems necessary to understand the disciples’ belief here in a developmental sense, because there are numerous references to the disciples’ faith previous to this in John’s Gospel, notably 2:11. Their concept of who Jesus really was is continually being expanded and challenged; they are undergoing spiritual growth; the climax is reached in the confession of Thomas in John 20:28.

[11:16]  ⁴⁰ sn Didymus means “the twin” in Greek.

[11:16]  ⁴¹ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

[11:16]  ⁴² sn One gets the impression from Thomas’ statement “Let us go too, so that we may die with him” that he was something of a pessimist resigned to his fate. And yet his dedicated loyalty to Jesus and his determination to accompany him at all costs was truly commendable. Nor is the contrast between this statement and the confession of Thomas in 20:28, which forms the climax of the entire Fourth Gospel, to be overlooked; certainly Thomas’ concept of who Jesus is has changed drastically between 11:16 and 20:28.