John Calvin Commentary John 12:1

"Jesus therefore six days before the passover came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus raised from the dead." — John 12:1 (ASV)

Jesus came to Bethany. We see that those who thought that Christ would not come to the feast (John 11:56) judged too rashly, and this reminds us that we should not be so hasty, but instead wait patiently and quietly until the season, which is unknown to us, arrives. Now Jesus came first to Bethany, so that from there he might go three days afterwards to Jerusalem. Meanwhile, he intended to give Judas a fit time and place for betraying him, so that he might present himself, ready to be sacrificed, at the appointed time. For he is not ignorant of what is to take place, but willingly comes forward to be sacrificed.

Having come to Bethany six days before the passover, he remained there four days, which may easily be inferred from Matthew and Mark. John does not state on what day the banquet was made for him, at which he was anointed by Mary; but it seems probable that it took place not long after he had arrived.

Some think that the anointing mentioned by Matthew (Matthew 26:7) and Mark (Mark 14:3) is different from what is mentioned here, but they are mistaken. They have been led to adopt this view by a calculation of time, because the two Evangelists (Matthew 26:2; Mark 14:1), before relating that Christ was anointed, speak of two days as having elapsed. But the solution is easy and may be given in two ways.

For John does not say that Christ was anointed on the first day after his arrival, so this might have happened even when he was preparing to depart. Yet, as I have already said, another conjecture is more probable: that he was anointed at least one or two days before his departure. This is because it is certain that Judas had made a bargain with the priests before Christ sent two of his disciples to prepare the Passover. Now, at the very least, one day must have intervened.

The Evangelists add that he sought a convenient opportunity for betraying Christ (Matthew 26:16) after having received the bribe. Therefore, when, after mentioning two days, they add the history of the anointing, they place last in the narrative what happened first. The reason for this is that after relating Christ’s words, You know that after two days the Son of man shall be betrayed (Matthew 26:2), they now add—what had been formerly omitted—how and on what occasion he was betrayed by his disciple. Thus, there is a perfect agreement in the account of his having been anointed at Bethany.