Chapter Twelve
Jn. 12:1. Six days before Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, who had died, whom He raised from the dead.
On the tenth day of the month they choose a lamb for slaughter for the feast of Passover (Exod. 12:3), and from that same time they begin to prepare everything necessary for the feast. Customarily, six days before Passover as well, that is, on the ninth day of the month, they eat more lavishly, and with this day they begin the feast. Therefore Jesus too, having come to Bethany, shares in the supper.
Jn. 12:2. There they prepared a supper for Him, and Martha served, while Lazarus was one of those reclining at table with Him.
The Evangelist, wishing to show the truth of the resurrection of Lazarus, says: "and Lazarus was one of those reclining at table with Him." For he, having appeared alive, did not immediately die, but remained on earth for a long time, eating, drinking, and performing other usual activities.
By the words "Martha served," he indicated that the feast was at her house. Note, I pray you, the faith of this woman. She did not entrust the service to maidservants, but carries it out herself in person. And Paul speaks of a widow who "washed the feet of the saints" (1 Tim. 5:10).
Jn. 12:3. Then Mary, having taken a pound of pure, costly spikenard ointment, anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the ointment.
So then, Martha herself serves everyone in general, while Mary honors Christ alone, because she attends to Him not as a man, but as God. For she poured out the myrrh and wiped it with the hairs of her head, because she had a conception of Him not such as others had, not as of a mere man, but as of the Master and Lord.
Mary can also be understood in a higher sense — as referring to the divinity of the Father and Lord of all; for Mary means "lady." Thus, the Lordship of the Father's Divinity anointed the feet of Jesus — the flesh assumed in the last times by the Lord the Word — anointed it with the myrrh of the Spirit, as David also says: "Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of gladness" (Ps. 45:7); and the great Peter says: "Let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ" (Acts 2:36). For the Flesh assumed by the Word, anointed by the divine Spirit who descended upon the Virgin's womb, and having become the same as the Word, that is, God, filled the world with blessing, just as the myrrh of Mary filled the whole house with fragrance.
What then are the "hairs" by which the feet were wiped? They are, of course, the saints who adorn the head of God and His supreme authority. For they, being to the glory of God, may be called His adornment. They also became partakers of the anointing of the Lord's flesh, just as David calls them "companions" (Ps. 45:7), and the Apostle Paul says to the Corinthians: "Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God" (2 Cor. 1:21). And everywhere we learn that those who live according to Christ are called christs (anointed ones). Thus, by the hairs which wiped the feet of Jesus and which partake of the divine anointing, we may understand Christians. Hairs are something dead. And Christians are dead, for they "have crucified the flesh" (Gal. 5:24) and "put to death the members which are on the earth" (Col. 3:5), and have died to the world. Hairs adorn the head and constitute its glory. The saints also constitute the glory of God, "since their light shines before men, and the Father is glorified through them" (Matt. 5:16), and they make their eating and drinking "to the glory of God" (1 Cor. 10:31), and in their members they glorify Him.
And you, since Jesus has raised your mind, as if it were a certain Lazarus, receive Him into the house of your soul; let the one who was raised recline with Him; anoint the feet of the Lord, six days before Pascha, before the Pascha of the age to come arrives, while you live in this world, which was created in six days. By the "feet" of Christ one may understand: the Apostle and the Gospel, and in general the commandments, for by them He walks in us. So then, to these commandments add myrrh — a disposition composed of various virtues, of which the highest is faith, fervent as spikenard. For if you do not show a fervent, zealous, and virtuous disposition toward these commandments and do not wipe them with your mortified members, as with hair, and do not receive them into yourself, you will not be able to fill your house with fragrance. By the "feet" of the Lord one may also understand the least of the brethren, in whose person Christ comes to the door of each one and asks for what is needed: anoint them with the myrrh of almsgiving. Many give alms for show, and therefore receive no benefit for themselves, for they receive their reward here (Matt. 6:1–2). But you, wipe with the hairs of your head and receive the benefit for your soul, gather the fruit of almsgiving in the ruling part. And if you have anything dead and lifeless, like hair — perfume it with this good anointing. For it is said: "Redeem your sins with almsgiving" (Dan. 4:24).
Jn. 12:4. Then one of His disciples, Judas Simon's son, Iscariot, who was about to betray Him, said:
How then does another evangelist (Matt. 26:8–9) say that all the disciples said this? To this it must be said that although all said this, the others did not say it with the same thought as Judas.
Jn. 12:5. Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?
Judas, being covetous, did not approve of such a manner of care. "Why," he says as it were, "did you bring not money, from which I could steal, but myrrh?"
Jn. 12:6. He said this not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief. He had the money box with him and carried what was put into it.
If Judas was covetous and a thief, then why did the Lord entrust him with the management of the money? For that very reason — because he was a thief — so as to take away from him every excuse. For he could not say that he betrayed Him (Jesus) out of love of money. The money box consoled him, but even while carrying the box, he was not faithful. For he carried away, that is, stole what was put into it, and was a sacrileger, appropriating for himself the offerings intended for a holy purpose.
Let the sacrilegious hear what their lot is. The height of evil is that Judas afterwards betrayed Jesus and the Lord. Do you see where covetousness leads? To betrayal. Therefore, the Apostle Paul fittingly called "the love of money the root of all evils" (1 Tim. 6:10), because it betrayed the Lord and always does so. Some say that Judas was entrusted with the keeping of the money as one lesser than the rest. For serving around money is a lesser task than teaching, just as in Acts (Acts 6:2) the apostles say: "It is not right for us to leave the word of God and serve tables."
Jn. 12:7. Then Jesus said: Leave her alone; she has kept this for the day of My burial.
Jn. 12:8. For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have Me.
The Lord does not rebuke Judas, although He knows that he said this with the intention of a thief. For He did not wish to put him to shame, teaching us also to bear with such people for a long time. Nevertheless, the Lord covertly reproaches Judas for the betrayal and for the fact that he would betray Him to death out of covetousness.
Therefore He mentions the burial as well, striking at his senseless heart so that he might be corrected, and the addition has this meaning: "You always have the poor with you," He says, "but you do not always have Me; yet a little while, and I will depart, since you have prepared death for Me. Therefore, if I am disagreeable to you and the honor done to Me is burdensome to you, endure a little longer, and you will be rid of Me; and then it will be revealed whether it is for the sake of the poor that you are concerned about the sale of the myrrh."
Jn. 12:9. Many of the Jews learned that He was there, and came not only for Jesus' sake, but also to see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead.
Those who came to the Lord were better-intentioned than the rest, who were senseless and frenzied; for they came not only for the sake of Jesus, but also to see Lazarus. Since a truly great miracle had been performed, many wished to be spectators of the risen man, perhaps in the hope of learning from Lazarus something about those in Hades.
Jn. 12:10. But the chief priests resolved to kill Lazarus also,