Mary Pours Oil on Jesus at Bethany

Mary Pours Oil on Jesus at Bethany

On his way to Jerusalem, Jesus stayed at Bethany. There he had made Lazarus alive again after Lazarus had died. There also he seems to have cured a man named Simon. Simon had a skin disease. Friends of Jesus asked him to have a meal with them, in honour of Jesus.

Expensive oil with a beautiful smell

Martha, who was the sister of Lazarus, was serving. Lazarus's other sister, Mary, broke a jar of very expensive oil. She poured it over Jesus. She did this to show her great love for Jesus. She was grateful to him, and she also believed in him. The oil was extremely expensive. Probably it cost all her money. Some people were very angry with her. Even some disciples did not like what she had done. Judas said that they could have sold the oil for a lot of money. They could have given the money to the poor (John 12:4-6). We cannot trust Judas when he said that. Judas was a thief.

Mary prepared Jesus' body for the grave

Then Jesus spoke. He said that Mary had done a beautiful thing. She had prepared his body for the grave. Mary was one of the best listeners that Jesus ever had. On a previous visit by Jesus, she sat at his feet to listen to him (Luke 10:39). She probably heard Jesus speak about his death. She probably understood that it had to happen. But she believed that Jesus was still a king. She understood better than the disciples at this time. She wanted to give Jesus a gift. She wanted to give him everything. Her gift shows how much she loved him.

Jesus also said this. Wherever people told the good news about him, all through the world, they would tell about Mary. They would say what she had done. So, Jesus knew that he would die soon. He knew what would happen. On the next day, he rode into Jerusalem. After that, he had discussions with the Jewish leaders. But the end was now close. Soon afterwards, Jesus' crucifixion would happen.