Jesus' Final Visit to JerusalemSample

The Dinner in Bethany and the Anointing of Jesus

It was now two days before Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread. At that same time, the leading priests and elders, and the teachers of religious law were meeting at the residence of Caiaphas, the high priest, plotting, still looking for an opportunity to capture Jesus secretly and kill him. “But not during the Passover celebration,” they agreed, “or the people may riot.”

Meanwhile, Jesus was in Bethany at the home of Simon, a man who had previously had leprosy. A dinner was prepared in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, and Lazarus was among those who ate with him.21

Martha’s sister, Mary, sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what he taught. But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me.”

But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Then, while he was eating, Mary22 came in with a beautiful, twelve-ounce alabaster jar of expensive perfume made from essence of nard. She broke open the jar and poured the perfume over his head, and she anointed Jesus’ feet with it, wiping his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance.

But some of the disciples at the table were indignant when they saw this. “Why waste such expensive perfume?” they asked. Judas Iscariot, the disciple who would soon betray him, said, “That perfume was worth a year’s wages. It should have been sold for a high price and the money given to the poor.” Not that he cared for the poor—he was a thief, and since he was in charge of the disciples’ money, he often stole some for himself. So they scolded her harshly.

But Jesus, aware of this, replied, “Leave her alone. Why criticize this woman for doing such a good thing to me? You will always have the poor among you, and you can help them whenever you want to. But you will not always have me. She has done what she could. She has poured this perfume on me and has anointed my body. She did this ahead of time to prepare my body for burial. I tell you the truth, wherever the Good News is preached throughout the world, this woman’s deed will be remembered and discussed.”

21 There has been much discussion about whether Matthew and Mark, who describe a dinner taking place in the home of a man named Simon, are referring to the same event described in John’s Gospel and Luke 10:39-42 as occurring in the home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. While certainty is lacking due to the significant similarities, these accounts are combined here to describe one dinner in which Jesus is anointed, and some of the disciples object.