John Gill Commentary Mark 14

After two days was [the feast of] the passover
That is, two days after Christ had delivered the foregoing discourse concerning the destruction of the temple at Jerusalem, was the feast of the passover; which was kept in commemoration of God's passing over the houses of the Israelites, when he destroyed the firstborn of Egypt, and made way for the deliverance of the children of Israel from thence: and which was kept by eating the passover lamb; and which, properly speaking, is the feast of the passover:

and of unleavened bread ;
which was the same feast with the other, called so from the unleavened bread which was then eaten; though with this difference, the passover lamb was only eaten on the first night, but unleavened bread was eaten for seven days together. The Syriac, Persic, and Ethiopic versions render it, "the passover of unleavened bread", leaving out the copulative "and".

And the chief priests and Scribes sought how they might take him by
craft ;
that is, Jesus,

and put him to death :
for which purpose they assembled together in Caiaphas the high priest's palace, and there took counsel together how to accomplish it; see (Matthew 26:2–4) .

But they said not on the feast day
The feast of the passover, and of unleavened bread, which was nigh at hand, and would be two days hence, when there would be a great concourse of people from all parts to keep it: and therefore they did not choose to seize him, and put him to death at that time,

lest there should be an uproar of the people ;
or among them, lest they should rise in his favour, and rescue him out of their hands; (See Gill on Matthew 26:5).

And being in Bethany
A place about two miles from Jerusalem, whither he retired after he had taken his leave of the temple, and had predicted its destruction; a place he often went to, and from, the last week of his life; having some dear friends, and familiar acquaintance there, as Lazarus, and his two sisters, Martha and Mary, and the person next mentioned:

in the house of Simon the leper ;
so called because he had been one, and to distinguish him from Simon the Pharisee, and Simon Peter the apostle, and others; (See Gill on Matthew 26:6);

as he sat at meat there came a woman ;
generally thought to be Mary Magdalene, or Mary the sister of Lazarus:

having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard ;
or "pure nard", unmixed and genuine; or liquid nard, which was drinkable, and so easy to be poured out; or Pistic nard, called so, either from "Pista", the name of a place from where it was brought, or from "Pistaca", which, with the Rabbins, signifies "maste"; of which, among other things, this ointment was made. Moreover, ointment of nard was made both of the leaves of nard, and called foliate nard, and of the spikes of it, and called, as here, spikenard.

Now ointment made of nard was, as Pliny says ^F23 , the principal among ointments. The Syriac is, by him, said to be the best; this here is said to be

very precious ,
costly, and valuable:

and she brake the box .
The Syriac and Ethiopic versions render it, "she opened it"; and the Persic version, "she opened the head", or "top of the bottle", or "vial":

and poured it on his head ;
on the head of Christ, as the same version expresses it; (See Gill on Matthew 26:7).

FOOTNOTES:

• F23: Nat. Hist. l. 12. c. 12.

And there were some that had indignation within themselves ,
&c.] The Syriac version reads, "some of the disciples": agreeably to (Matthew 26:8) , particularly Judas, and others might be incensed by his means:

and said, why was this waste of the ointment made ?
(See Gill on Matthew 26:8).

For it might have been sold for more than three hundred pence

Which, was to the value of our money nine pounds, seven shillings, and sixpence:

and given to the poor ;

which was thought to be a better way of expending it, than by pouring it on the head of Christ:

and they murmured against her :

that she should lavish so much money away in such an imprudent manner; they reproved her for it, expressed much resentment at it, and were very angry with, her upon the account of it; (See Gill on Matthew 26:8), (See Gill on Matthew 26:9).