John 11:2

2 ¹It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill.

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 Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha.

2 It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill.

3 So the sisters sent to him, saying, "Lord, he whom you love is ill."

4 But when Jesus heard it he said, "This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it."

5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.

Cross References

• 1. John 12:3