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JOHN 
The Anointing at Bethany.a
1* Six days before Passover Jesus came to Bethany, where
Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.b 2They 12
gave a dinner for him there, and Martha served, while Lazarus was one of those reclining at table with him.c 3Mary took a liter of costly perfumed oil made from genuine aromatic nard and anointed the feet of Jesus* and dried them with her hair; the house was lled with the fragrance of the oil.d 4Then Judas the Iscariot, one [of] his disciples, and the one who would betray him, said, 5“Why was this oil not sold for three hundred days’ wages* and given to the poor?” 6He said this not because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief and held the money bag and used to steal the contributions.e 7So Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Let her keep this for the day of my burial.* 8You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.”f
9[The] large crowd of the Jews found out that he was there and came, not only because of Jesus, but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead.g 10And the chief priests plotted to kill Lazarus too, 11because many of the Jews were turning away and believing in Jesus because of him.h
12:1
Jesus returns to Bethany, to the home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, and Mary anoints the
feet of Jesus with costly perfume, perhaps an act of thanksgiving for the raising of her brother Lazarus. The poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809-1892), imagines the scene: “Her eyes are homes of silent prayer/ Nor other thought her mind admits/ But, he was dead, and there he sits/ And he that brought him back is there../
All subtle thought, all curious fears/ Borne down by gladness
so complete/
She bows, she bathes
the Savior’s feet / With costly spikenard and with tears. “
12:4
Judas objects to the waste of
the oil, which is worth nearly a year’s wages. But Jesus points to the beauty and goodness of the gesture, which prepares his body for burial. The intense aroma of the spikenard lls the entire house: a good deed, done for one person, has power to reach beyond, to
ll the world. Jesus’ rejects the utilitarian view of Judas. It is not that we should cease to care for the poor or simply accept the status quo; to come to the help of the poor is one of the hallmarks of Christianity. Rather, Jesus’ rebuke of Judas makes it clear that alongside care for the poor, there must also be room
for extravagant acts of love,
like Mary’s.
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* [12:1–8] This is probably the same scene of anointing found in Mk 14:3–9 (see note there) and Mt 26:6–13. The anointing by a penitent woman in Lk 7:36–38 is di erent. Details from these various episodes have become interchanged.
* [12:3] The feet of Jesus: so Mk 14:3; but in Mt 26:6, Mary anoints Jesus’ head as a sign of regal, messianic anointing.
* [12:5] Days’ wages: literally, “denarii.” A denarius is a day’s wage in Mt 20:2; see note on Jn 6:7.
* [12:7] Jesus’ response re ects the rabbinical discussion of what was the greatest act of mercy, almsgiving or burying the dead. Those who favored proper burial of the dead thought it an essential condition for sharing in the resurrection.
* [12:12–19] In John, the entry into Jerusalem follows the anointing whereas in the synoptics it precedes. In John, the crowd, not the disciples, are responsible for the triumphal procession.
* [12:13] Palm branches: used to welcome great conquerors; cf. 1 Mc 13:51; 2 Mc 10:7. They may be related to the lûlāb, the twig bundles used at the feast of Tabernacles. Hosanna: see Ps 118:25–26. The Hebrew word means: “(O Lord), grant salvation.” He who comes in the name of the Lord: referred in Ps 118:26 to a pilgrim entering the temple gates, but here a title for Jesus (see notes on Mt 11:3 and Jn 6:14; 11:27). The king of Israel: perhaps from Zep 3:14–15, in connection with the next quotation from Zec 9:9.
a. [12:1–11] Mt 26:6–13; Mk 14:3–9. b.[12:1–2] 11:1.
c. [12:2] Lk 10:38–42.
d.[12:3] 11:2.
e. [12:6] 13:29.
f. [12:8] Dt 15:11. g.[12:9] 11:19. h.[12:11] 11:45.