Perfume for Jesus’ Burial^(A)

⁶ Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon, ·who had a skin disease [^Lthe leper; ^Cfor leprosy, see 8:2; Simon may have been healed by Jesus.]. ⁷ While Jesus was there, a woman approached him with an alabaster ·jar [vial] filled with expensive perfume. She poured this perfume on Jesus’ head while he was ·eating [^Lreclining; ^Cthe posture for a banquet or dinner party].

⁸ His ·followers [disciples] were ·upset [indignant] when they saw the woman do this. They asked, “Why waste that perfume? ⁹ It could have been sold for a great deal of money and the money given to the poor.”

¹⁰ Knowing what had happened, Jesus said, “Why are you ·troubling [bothering; criticizing] this woman? She did an ·excellent thing [beautiful/good deed] for me. ¹¹ You will always have the poor with you [Deut. 15:11], but you will not always have me. ¹² This woman poured perfume on my body to prepare me for burial. ¹³ I tell you the truth, wherever the ·Good News [Gospel] is preached in all the world, what this woman has done will be told, and people will remember her.”

A Woman with Perfume for Jesus^(A)

³ Jesus was in Bethany at the house of ·Simon, who had a skin disease [^LSimon the leper; ^Cfor leprosy, see 1:40; Simon may have been healed by Jesus]. While Jesus was ·eating there [^Lreclining; ^Cthe posture for a banquet or dinner party; 2:15], a woman approached him with an alabaster ·jar [vial] filled with very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She ·opened [broke open] the ·jar [vial] and poured the perfume on Jesus’ head.

⁴ Some who were there became ·upset [indignant] and said to each other, “Why waste that perfume? ⁵ It was worth ·a full year’s work [^Lover three hundred denarii]. It could have been sold and the money given to the poor.” And they ·got very angry with [harshly scolded] the woman.

⁶ Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Why are you ·troubling [bothering; criticizing] her? She did an ·excellent thing [beautiful/good deed] for me. ⁷ You will always have the poor with you, and you can help them anytime you want [Deut. 15:11]. But you will not always have me. ⁸ This woman did the only thing she could do for me; she ·poured perfume on [anointed] my body to prepare me for burial. ⁹ I tell you the truth, wherever the ·Good News [Gospel] is preached in all the world, what this woman has done will be told, and people will remember her.”

A Woman Washes Jesus’ Feet^(A)

³⁶ One of the Pharisees ·asked [invited] Jesus to eat with him, so Jesus went into the Pharisee’s house and ·sat at the table [^Lreclined; ^Cat a formal meal guests would recline at a low table with their feet stretched out behind them]. ³⁷ [^LAnd look/^Tbehold] A ·sinful [immoral] woman in the town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house. So she brought an alabaster ·jar [vial; flask] of perfume ³⁸ and stood behind Jesus at his feet, ·crying [weeping]. She began to ·wash [wet; drench] his feet with her tears, and she ·dried [wiped] them with her hair, kissing them many times and ·rubbing [anointing] them with the perfume. ³⁹ When the Pharisee who asked Jesus to come to his house saw this, he thought to himself, “If ·Jesus [^Lthis person] were a prophet, he would know ·that the woman touching him is a sinner [^Lwho is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner]!”

⁴⁰ Jesus said to ·the Pharisee [^Lhim], “Simon, I have something to say to you.”

Simon said, “Teacher, tell me.”

⁴¹ Jesus said, “Two people owed money to ·the same banker [^La certain moneylender/creditor]. One owed five hundred ·coins [^Ldenarii; ^Ca denarius was equal to a day’s wage for a laborer] and the other owed fifty. ⁴² They had no money to pay what they owed, but ·the banker [^Lhe] ·told both of them they did not have to pay him [^Lforgave both (debts)]. Which person [^Ltherefore] will love ·the banker [^Lhim] more?”

⁴³ Simon answered, “I ·think [suppose] it would be the one ·who owed him the most money [^Lfor whom he forgave the larger].”

Jesus said to Simon, “You are right.” ⁴⁴ Then Jesus turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? When I came into your house, you gave me no water for my feet, but she ·washed [wet; drenched] my feet with her tears and ·dried [wiped] them with her hair. ⁴⁵ You gave me no kiss of greeting, but she has ·been [not stopped] kissing my feet since I came in. ⁴⁶ You did not ·put oil on [anoint] my head, but she ·poured perfume on my feet [has anointed my feet with perfume]. ⁴⁷ [^LTherefore] I tell you that her many sins are forgiven, ·so [that is why] she showed great love. But the person who is forgiven only a little will love only a little.”

⁴⁸ Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”

⁴⁹ The people ·sitting at the table [^Lreclining together; 7:36] began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?”

⁵⁰ Jesus said to the woman, “·Because you believed, you are saved from your sins [^LYour faith has saved you]. Go in peace.”

Jesus with Friends in Bethany

12 [^LTherefore] Six days before the Passover Feast, Jesus went to Bethany, where Lazarus lived. (Lazarus is the man Jesus raised from the dead.) ² There they had a dinner for Jesus. Martha served the food, and Lazarus was one of the people ·eating [^Lreclining; ^Cit was customary to eat formal meals while reclining around a low table] with Jesus. ³ [^LThen] Mary brought in a pint [^CGreek litra; about eleven ounces, weighing just under a pound] of very expensive ·perfume [ointment/fragrant oil] made from pure nard. She ·poured the perfume on [anointed; ^Cnot the word for royal or priestly anointing, but for hospitality or care] Jesus’ feet, and then she wiped his feet with her hair. And the ·sweet smell [fragrance] from the perfume filled the whole house.

⁴ Judas Iscariot, one of Jesus’ ·followers [disciples] who would later ·turn against [betray] him, was there. Judas said, ⁵ “This ·perfume [ointment/fragrant oil] was worth an ·entire year’s wages [^Lthree hundred denarii]. Why wasn’t it sold and the money given to the poor?” ⁶ But Judas did not really care about the poor; he said this because he was a thief. He was the one who kept the money ·box [or bag], and he often stole from it.

⁷ [^LTherefore] Jesus answered, “Leave her alone. It was right for her to save this perfume for today, the day for me to be prepared for burial. ⁸ [^LFor] You will always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me.”