Mary of Bethany Puts Special Perfume on Jesus ^(A)

³ Jesus was in the town of Bethany eating in the house of Simon. Simon was a man with a very bad skin disease. A woman came with a jar of special perfume. She had given much money for this. She broke the jar and poured the special perfume on the head of Jesus. ⁴ Some of them were angry. They said, “Why was this special perfume wasted? ⁵ This perfume could have been sold for much money and given to poor people.” They spoke against her.

⁶ Jesus said, “Let her alone. Why are you giving her trouble? She has done a good thing to Me. ⁷ You will have poor people with you all the time. Whenever you want, you can do something good for them. You will not have Me all the time. ⁸ She did what she could. She put this perfume on My body to make Me ready for the grave. ⁹ For sure, I tell you, wherever this Good News is preached in all the world, this woman will be remembered for what she has done.”

Mary of Bethany Puts Special Perfume on Jesus ^(A)

12 It was six days before the special religious gathering to remember how the Jews left Egypt. Jesus came to Bethany where Lazarus lived. Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead. ² They made supper for Him. Martha put the food on the table. Lazarus was at the table with Him.

³ Mary took a jar of special perfume that cost much money and poured it on the feet of Jesus. She dried His feet with her hair. The house was filled with the smell of the special perfume.

⁴ Judas Iscariot was one of the followers. He was about to hand Jesus over to the leaders of the country. He said, ⁵ “Why was not this special perfume sold for much money and given to poor people?” ⁶ He did not say this because he cared for poor people. He said this because he was a robber. He carried the bag of money and would steal some of it for himself. ⁷ Jesus said, “Let her alone. She has kept it for the time when I will be buried. ⁸ You will always have poor people with you. You will not always have Me.”

The Jews Talk about Having Lazarus Killed

⁹ Many Jews came to the place because they knew Jesus was there. They came not only to see Jesus, but to see Lazarus also. Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead. ¹⁰ The religious leaders of the Jews talked together about having Lazarus killed also. ¹¹ Because of Lazarus, many Jews were leaving their own religion. They were putting their trust in Jesus.