The Bethany anointing before Passover
Life of Jesus · Draft · BSB
Content revision: f72855102e83fe39 · No editorial review date recorded
Date: Before the final Passover. John says six days before Passover; Matthew and Mark place the account later in their narrative sequence.
At Bethany a woman anoints Jesus with costly perfume, and objections arise over its value. Jesus relates the act to his burial. John names Mary and also describes the growing response to Lazarus and the plot against him.
John places the meal six days before Passover and describes Mary anointing the feet; Matthew and Mark place their account later in the narrative and describe the head at Simon the leper’s house. The differences remain visible.
Primary Scripture
26:6 While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of Simon the Leper,
26:7 a woman came to Him with an alabaster jar of expensive perfume, which she poured on His head as He reclined at the table.
26:8 When the disciples saw this, they were indignant and asked, “Why this waste?
26:9 This perfume could have been sold at a high price, and the money given to the poor.”
26:10 Aware of this, Jesus asked, “Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful deed to Me.
26:11 The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have Me.
26:12 By pouring this perfume on Me, she has prepared My body for burial.
26:13 Truly I tell you, wherever this gospel is preached in all the world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.”
14:3 While Jesus was in Bethany reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke open the jar and poured it on Jesus’ head.
14:4 Some of those present, however, expressed their indignation to one another: “Why this waste of perfume?
14:5 It could have been sold for over three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor.” And they scolded her.
14:6 But Jesus said, “Leave her alone; why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful deed to Me.
14:7 The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them whenever you want. But you will not always have Me.
14:8 She has done what she could to anoint My body in advance of My burial.
14:9 And truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached in all the world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.”
12:1 Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, the hometown of Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead.
12:2 So they hosted a dinner for Jesus there. Martha served, and Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with Him.
12:3 Then Mary took about a pint of expensive perfume, made of pure nard, and she anointed Jesus’ feet and wiped them with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.
12:4 But one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was going to betray Him, asked,
12:5 “Why wasn’t this perfume sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?”
12:6 Judas did not say this because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief. As keeper of the money bag, he used to take from what was put into it.
12:7 “Leave her alone,” Jesus replied. “She has kept this perfume in preparation for the day of My burial.
12:8 The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have Me.”
12:9 Meanwhile a large crowd of Jews learned that Jesus was there. And they came not only because of Him, but also to see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead.
12:10 So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well,
12:11 for on account of him many of the Jews were deserting them and believing in Jesus.
Related Scripture
Deuteronomy 15:7–11 · teaching
The statement about the poor recalls a passage that commands openhanded generosity, not indifference to poverty.
Location evidence
The Bethany locality is explicit, near Jerusalem. The candidate house is not mapped, and the separate Gospel descriptions are not resolved by the town’s identification.
Event map marker: Identified site; [longitude, latitude] = [35.26212, 31.77167]. This is a teaching marker, not an exact event venue.
Bethany: Identified site. Coordinates [longitude, latitude]: [35.26212, 31.77167]. Classification source: rule.
Digital Atlas of the Roman Empire
Digital Atlas of the Roman Empire
For the class
How does the reference to burial change the meaning of the costly gift?
Interpretation and reuse
Narrative order is a reading arrangement, not a proven chronology. Dates retain their stated uncertainty. An identified locality does not establish the exact venue or prove an event. Region extents and routes are illustrative, not surveyed boundaries or ancient roads. Draft material has not completed editorial review.
Record source: theographic (441)
Record source: editorial
Events and places adapted from Theographic Bible Metadata (github.com/robertrouse/theographic-bible-metadata), CC BY-SA 4.0. This adapted data is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Place coordinates from OpenBible.info Bible Geocoding Data, CC BY 4.0.
Teaching stops, summaries and regional extents are original editorial content of this atlas.
Berean Standard Bible (BSB), public domain. https://berean.bible/licensing.htm