Sinners

Ryrie

• (6) We know nothing beyond Simon's name and that he had this skin condition. Ryrie suggests that Jesus had healed him.
• (7) “Mark says [the perfume] was worth 300 denarii (Mark 14:5), or approximately a year's salary for a rural worker.”
• (11) Jesus' statement about the poor “should not be understood callously. Christ says, in effect, that there will be other opportunities to do good to the poor, but not another opportunity to do what had just been done to Him.”
• (12) “Though the disciples ignored Christ's many predictions of His approaching death, apparently this woman believed them.”
• (12) John identified the woman as Mary Magdalene in John 12:3

Henry

• “Probably, he was one who had been miraculously cleansed from his leprosy by our Lord Jesus, and he would express his gratitude to Christ by entertaining him; nor did Christ disdain to converse with him, to come in to him, and sup with him.”
• “Though he was cleansed, yet he was called Simon the leper. Those who are guilty of scandalous sins, will find that, though the sin be pardoned, the reproach will cleave to them, and will hardly be wiped away.”
• “The woman that did this, is supposed to have been Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus. And Dr. Lightfoot thinks it was the same that was called Mary Magdalene.”
• “She had a box of ointment very precious, which she poured upon the head of Christ as he sat at meat. This, among us, would be a strange sort of compliment. But it was then accounted the highest piece of respect; for the smell was very grateful, and the ointment itself refreshing to the head.”
• Mary's act can have a couple of meanings:
  • “As an act of faith in our Lord Jesus, the Christ, the Messiah, the anointed. To signify that she believed in him as God's anointed, whom he had set king, she anointed him, and made him her king. “
  • “As an act of love and respect to him. Some think that this was she who loved much at first, and washed Christ's feet with her tears (Luke vii. 38, 47); and that she had not left her first love, but was now as affectionate in the devotions of a grown Christian as she was in those of a young beginner.”
• “Where there is true love in the heart to Jesus Christ, nothing will be thought too good, no, nor good enough, to bestow upon him.”
• “Charity teaches us to put the best construction upon every thing that it will bear, especially upon the words and actions of those that are zealously affected in doing a good thing, though we may think them not altogether so discreet in it as they might be. “
• “It is true, there may be over-doing in well-doing; but thence we must learn to be cautious ourselves, lest we run into extremes, but not to be censorious of others; because that which we may impute to the want of prudence, God may accept as an instance of abundant love. We must not say, Those do too much in religion, that do more than we do, but rather aim to do as much as they.”
• “We must take heed of thinking any thing waste, which is bestowed upon the Lord Jesus, either by others or by ourselves. We must not think that time waste, that is spent in the service of Christ, or that money waste, which is laid out in any work of piety; for, though it seem to be cast upon the waters, to be thrown down the river, we shall find it again, to advantage, after many days, Eccl. xi. 1.”
• “It is no new thing for bad affections to shelter themselves under specious covers; for people to shift off works of piety under colour of works of charity.”
• “It is a great trouble to good people to have their good works censured and misconstrued; and it is a thing that Jesus Christ takes very ill.”
• “There are some opportunities of doing and getting good which are constant, and which we must give constant attendance to the improvement of.... Those who have a heart to do good, never need complain for want of opportunity.”
• “This act of faith and love was so remarkable, that the preachers of Christ crucified, and the inspired writers of the history of his passion, could not choose but take notice of this passage, proclaim the notice of it, and perpetuate the memorial of it.”
• Note in Jesus' response three significant truths:
  • “The story of the death of Christ, though a tragical one, is gospel, glad-tidings, because he died for us.”
  • “The gospel was to be preached in the whole world; not in Judea only, but in every nation, to every creature.”
  • “Though the honour of Christ is principally designed in the gospel, yet the honour of his saints and servants is not altogether overlooked.”
• “The memorial of this woman was to be preserved, not by dedicating a church to her, or keeping an annual feast in honour of her, or preserving a piece of her broken box for a sacred relic; but by mentioning her faith and piety in the preaching of the gospel, for example to others, Heb. vi. 12.”

ESV Study Bible

• The ESV Study Bible says that while John apparently orders this account chronologically, making a point of mentioning that it was six days before the Passover, Matthew seems to order it thematically. However, I wonder if John wasn't calling “the Passover” the corresponding Sabbath. Counting days as they did, six days before this would have been Monday night. This would mean that John is not exactly in chronological order, but that would be consistent with other accounts of his gospel as well.
• (6) Simon the leper had most likely been healed by Jesus, since the meal is hosted in Simon's home even though lepers were required to live apart from the general population.
• (7) John identifies the woman as Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus.
• (7) ““Pure nard” (cf. Mark 14:3; John 12:3), a perfume oil used for solemn acts of devotion. More common household oils were used to anoint guests, for medicine, and for other purposes (see note on Mark 14:3–4).”
• (8-12) “What seems like a waste to the disciples, Jesus calls a beautiful thing. If the disciples' real concern was for the poor, there would always be an opportunity to care for the poor because they will always have the poor with them (v. 11). There would not be much opportunity, however, to demonstrate their love for Jesus. Given his impending death, the anointing of Jesus' body becomes a dramatic foreshadowing of the events to come.”
• (8-12) “ In her act of devotion, Mary unknowingly prepares Jesus' body for being laid to rest in the tomb.”
• (9) “The perfume was valued at “more than three hundred denarii” (Mark 14:5), approximately a year's wages for the average worker.”
• (9) “Poverty was widespread in Israel.”

Archaeological Study Bible

• (6) “Bethany was a village on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives, about 2 miles (3.2 km) from Jerusalem. It was the home of Mary, Martha and Lazarus.”
• (7) “Most 'alabaster' of ancient times was actually marble.”
• Mark notes that Jesus and co were reclining at the table. This “was the usual posture for eating a banquet.”
• “An alabaster jar was a sealed flask with a long neck that was broken off when the contents were used and that contained enough ointment for one application.”
• Mark also notes that the perfume was made of nard, which “refers to an aromatic oil extracted from the roots of a perennial herb that grows in India. It was inordinately expensive.”
• A meal such as this would have been a big deal, involving as many people as Simon could accommodate, and followed by music or extended conversation. Normally, the guests would be reclined, laying on their side.
• “The traditional Roman dinner party involved nine guests, with three persons apiece on each of three couches. These would be arranged in three sides of a square, with entertainmnet taking place in the open space. Since multiple diners occupied each couch, each person would place his or her head close to the table and then angle the rest of the body away. The bodies of the diners, then, overlapped, with the head of one diner situated next to the chest of the adjacent guest (their feet were angled back and away from the table).”
• Fragrances were important for a number of reasons:
  • people “were keenly aware of the presence and suggestive powers of odors.” As such, perfumes served as a cosmetic and aphrodisiac.
  • Prior to the advent of soap, shampoo, etc., oils were used in hygene.
  • Oils had a medicinal element. “Greek physicians regularly massaged patients and athletes with oil, and James 5:14 recommends anointing the sick with oil.”
  • perfumes and spices were used in the embalming process.
• Most perfumes came from plant extracts which were not indigenous to Israel, so they were imported from places such as Arabia, Iran, India, etc. This made them very, very expensive.
• (12) “Embalming had to do with the preparation of a dead body with oil and spices to preserve it from decay. Embalming was of Egyptian origin, and the only clear Biblical instances of the practice are in the cses of Jacob and Joseph.”
• (12) “Jesus commented on the use of spices for burial, and his body was buried with 75 pounds of myrrh and spices, wrapped in a linen cloth. Evidently the women who watched the burial considered this inadequate, for they prepared and brought to the sepucher more spices.”
• (12) “Earlier, Martha had assumed that the body of Lazarus was decaying, making it clear that her brother had not been embalmed, but his body had been so bound that it had to be loosened.”
• (12) “The widow's son at Nain had simply been carried out for burial, while Ananias (and presumably Sapphira) wee later merely wrapped up.”
• (12) “The Biblical concept of the future life by that point made embalming unnecessary.”

Reflecting God

• (6) Simon the Leper is mentioned only here at in Mark 14:3. Simon was a very common name among first-century Jews. In this case, “he was probably a well-known victim of leprosy who had been healed by Jesus.”
• (10) “The Greek word [for 'beautiful'] has an aesthetic as well as an ethical meaning.”