Church Fathers Commentary John 12:1-11

"Jesus therefore six days before the passover came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus raised from the dead. So they made him a supper there: and Martha served; but Lazarus was one of them that sat at meat with him. Mary therefore took a pound of ointment of pure nard, very precious, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odor of the ointment. But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples, that should betray him, saith, Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred shillings, and given to the poor? Now this he said, not because he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and having the bag took away what was put therein. Jesus therefore said, Suffer her to keep it against the day of my burying. For the poor ye have always with you; but me ye have not always. The common people therefore of the Jews learned that he was there: and they came, not for Jesus` sake only, but that they might see Lazarus also, whom he had raised from the dead. But the chief priests took counsel that they might put Lazarus also to death; because that by reason of him many of the Jews went away, and believed on Jesus." — John 12:1-11 (ASV)

Alcuin of York: As the time approached in which our Lord had resolved to suffer, He approached the place He had chosen for His suffering. Then Jesus, six days before the Passover, came to Bethany. First, He went to Bethany, then to Jerusalem—to Jerusalem to suffer, and to Bethany to keep alive the memory of the recent resurrection of Lazarus, where Lazarus was, who had been dead, whom He raised from the dead.

Theophylact of Ohrid: On the tenth day of the month, they took the lamb that was to be sacrificed at the Passover, and from that time the preparation for the feast began. Or rather, the ninth day of the month, six days before the Passover, was the commencement of the feast. They feasted abundantly on that day. Thus we find Jesus partook of a banquet at Bethany: There they made Him a supper, and Martha served. That Martha served shows that the entertainment was in her house. See the faithfulness of the woman: she does not leave the task of serving to the servants but takes it upon herself. The Evangelist adds, it would seem, to establish Lazarus's resurrection beyond dispute: But Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with Him.

St. Augustine of Hippo: He lived, talked, and feasted; the truth was established, and the unbelief of the Jews was confounded.

St. John Chrysostom: Mary did not take part in serving the guests generally but gave all her attention to our Lord, treating Him not as a mere man, but as God: Then Mary took a pound of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair.

St. Augustine of Hippo: That she did this on another occasion in Bethany is not mentioned in Luke’s Gospel but is in the other three. Matthew and Mark say that the ointment was poured on His head; John says on His feet. Why not suppose that it was poured on both His head and His feet? Matthew and Mark introduce the supper and the anointing out of chronological order (Matthew 26:9 and Mark 14:3). When they are further along in their narrative, they go back to the sixth day before the Passover.

Remember the Apostle’s words: To the one we are the savor of death unto death; and to the other the savor of life unto life (2 Corinthians 2:16).

Then said one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, who was to betray Him, "Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor?" In the other Gospels, it is the disciples who murmured at the waste of the ointment. I think myself that Judas is put for the whole body of disciples—the singular for the plural. But at any rate, we can infer that the other disciples said it, or thought it, or were persuaded by this very speech of Judas. The only difference is that Matthew and Mark expressly mention the concurrence of the others, whereas John only mentions Judas, whose habit of thieving He takes the opportunity to notice: This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein.

Alcuin of York: He carried it as a servant; he took from it as a thief.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Judas did not perish at the time when he received money from the Jews to betray our Lord. He was already a thief, already lost, and followed our Lord in body, not in heart. In this, we are taught the duty of tolerating wicked men, lest we divide the body of Christ.

He who robs the Church of anything may be compared to the lost Judas. Tolerate the wicked, you who are good, so that you may receive the reward of the good and not fall into the punishment of the wicked. Follow the example of our Lord’s life on earth. Why did He have moneybags, He to whom angels ministered, except because His Church would afterward have them? Why did He admit thieves, but to show that His Church should tolerate thieves, even while it suffered from them? It is not surprising that Judas, who was accustomed to steal money from the bags, would betray our Lord for money.

St. John Chrysostom: But why was a thief entrusted with the money for the poor? Perhaps it was to give him no excuse of needing money, for of this he had enough in the bag for all his desires.

Theophylact of Ohrid: Some suppose that Judas had the keeping of the money, as it was the lowest kind of service. For we know from what the Apostle says in the Acts that the ministry of money matters ranks below the ministry of doctrine: It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables (Acts 6:2).

St. John Chrysostom: Christ, with great forbearance, does not rebuke Judas for his thieving, in order to deprive him of all excuse for betraying Him.

Alcuin of York: Then Jesus said, Let her alone: against the day of My burying has she kept this. He meant that He was about to die and that this ointment was suitable for His burial. So it was given to Mary, who was not able to be present at the anointing of His dead body (though she greatly wished to be), to perform this service for Him during His lifetime.

St. John Chrysostom: Again, as if to remind His betrayer, He alludes to His burial: For the poor you have always with you, but Me you have not always. It is as if He said, "I am a burden, a trouble to you; but wait a little, and I shall be gone."

St. Augustine of Hippo: He was speaking of His bodily presence. For with respect to His majesty, providence, and ineffable and invisible grace, these words are fulfilled: Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the world (Matthew 28:20). Or, to put it another way: the wicked in the Church are represented in the person of Judas. If you are a good person, you have Christ now by faith and the Sacrament, and you shall have Him always, for when you depart from here, you shall go to Him who said to the thief, Today shall thou be with Me in paradise (Luke 23:43). But if you are wicked, you seem to have Christ, because you are baptized with the baptism of Christ and approach the altar of Christ, but because of your wicked life, you shall not have Him always. It is not "you have," but "you have," addressing the whole body of wicked men in Judas.

Many of the Jews therefore knew that He was there, and they came not for Jesus’ sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead. Curiosity brought them, not love.

Theophylact of Ohrid: They wished to see with their own eyes him who had been raised from the dead and thought that Lazarus might bring back a report from the regions below.

St. Augustine of Hippo: When the news of this great miracle had spread everywhere and was supported by such clear evidence that they could neither suppress nor deny the fact, then, the chief priests consulted that they might put Lazarus to death. O blind rage! As if the Lord could raise the dead but not raise the slain. Lo, the Lord has done both: He raised Lazarus, and He raised Himself.

St. John Chrysostom: No other miracle of Christ excited such rage as this. It was so public and so wonderful to see a man walking and talking after he had been dead four days. And the fact was so undeniable. In the case of some other miracles, they had charged Him with breaking the Sabbath and so diverted people's attention, but here there was nothing to find fault with, and therefore they vent their anger on Lazarus. They would have done the same to the blind man had they not had the charge to make of breaking the Sabbath. Then again, the latter was a poor man, and they cast him out of the temple, but Lazarus was a man of rank, as is clear from the number who came to comfort his sisters. It annoyed them to see everyone leaving the feast, which was about to begin, and going to Bethany.

Alcuin of York: Mystically, His coming to Bethany six days before the Passover means this: He who made all things in six days, created man on the sixth day, and came in the sixth age of the world, on the sixth day, at the sixth hour, to redeem humanity. The Lord’s Supper is the faith of the Church, working by love. Martha serves whenever a believing soul devotes itself to the worship of the Lord. Lazarus is one of those who sit at the table; this represents those who have been raised from the death of sin, rejoicing together with the righteous (who have always been so) in the presence of truth, and fed with the gifts of heavenly grace. The banquet is given in Bethany, which means "house of obedience" (that is, in the Church), for the Church is the house of obedience.

St. Augustine of Hippo: The ointment with which Mary anointed the feet of Jesus was justice. It was therefore a pound. It was an ointment of spikenard (pistici), which is very precious. The Greek word for it suggests faith. Do you seek to do justice? The just live by faith (Hebrews 10:38). Anoint the feet of Jesus by living a good life; follow the Lord’s footsteps. If you have more than you need, give to the poor, and you have wiped the Lord’s feet, for the hair is a superfluous part of the body.

Alcuin of York: And observe, on the first occasion of her anointing, she anointed His feet only, but now she anoints both His feet and head. The former signifies the beginnings of repentance, while the latter signifies the righteousness of perfected souls. The head of our Lord signifies the loftiness of His divine nature, while His feet signify the humility of His incarnation. Or, by the head, Christ Himself is signified, and by the feet, the poor who are His members.

St. Augustine of Hippo: The house was filled with the fragrance; the world was filled with the good report.