Mark 14:8

She hath done what she could: she is come aforehand to anoint my body to the burying. SHE HATH DONE WHAT SHE COULD - a noble testimony, embodying a principle of immense importance. SHE IS COME AFOREHAND TO ANOINT MY BODY TO THE BURYING or as in John () "Against the day of SHE IS COME AFOREHAND TO ANOINT MY BODY TO THE BURYING - or, as in John (), "Against the day of my burying hath she kept this." Not that she, dear heart, thought of His burial, much less reserved any of her nard to anoint her dead Lord. But as the time was so near at hand when that office would have to be performed, and she was not to have that privilege even after the spices were brought for the purpose (), He...

1-11 Did Christ pour out his soul unto death for us, and shall we think any thing too precious for him? Do we give him the precious ointment of our best affections? Let us love him with all the heart, though it is common for zeal and affection to be misunderstood and blamed; and remember that charity to the poor will not excuse any from particular acts of piety to the Lord Jesus. Christ commended this woman's pious attention to the notice of believers in all ages. Those who honour Christ he will honour. Covetousness was Judas' master lust, and that betrayed him to the sin of betraying his Master; the devil suited his temptation to that, and so conquered him. And see what wicked contrivances many have in their sinful pursuits; but what appears to forward their plans, will prove curses in the end....

Verse Mark 14:8. _TO ANOINT MY BODY TO THE BURYING._] εις τον ενταφιασμον, _against_, or _in reference to_, its _embalmment_, thus pointing out my death and the embalmment of my body, for the bodies of persons of distinction were wrapped up in aromatics to preserve them from putrefaction. Matthew 26:12....

See this passage explained in the notes at Matthew 26:1. Mark 14:1 AND OF UNLEAVENED BREAD - So called because at that feast no other bread was used but that which had been made without leaven or yeast. BY CRAFT - By subtlety (Matthew); that is, by some secret plan that would secure possession of him without exciting the opposition of the people. Mark 14:3 OINTMENT - This word does not convey quite the proper meaning. This was a perfume. It was used only to give a pleasant odor, and was liquid. OF SPIKENARD - The “nard,” from

EXPOSITION MARK 14:1 NOW AFTER TWO DAYS WAS THE FEAST OF THE PASSOVER AND THE UNLEAVENED BREAD; literally, _the passover and the unleavened _τό πάσχα καὶ τὰ ἄζυμα. It was one and the same festival. The killing of the Paschal lamb took place on the first of the seven days during which the festival lasted, and during the whole of which they used unleavened bread. Josephus describes it as "the festival of the unleavened, called _Phaska _by the Jews." THE CHIEF PRIESTS AND THE SCRIBES. St. Matthew (Matthew 26:3) says, "The chief priests and the elders of the people." The two classes in the Sanhedrim who actually combined to put our Lord to death were those here mentioned by St. Mark. They sought how th

SHE HATH DONE WHAT SHE COULD,.... What she had in her heart, and in the power of her hands to do; she hath done according to her ability, and her good will; and if she had not done it now, she could not have done it at all. SHE IS COME AFOREHAND TO ANOINT MY BODY TO THE BURYING; or, "as if it was to bury me", as the Syriac version renders it. Christ signifies by this, that he should shortly die, and that this woman came before hand to anoint him, and, as it were, to perform the funeral rites before he was dead; it being revealed to her by the Spirit, that Jesus would quickly die, and she should not be able to perform this good work when dead, and therefore came to do it before; or, at least, she was directed by the Spirit of God, because she would be prevented doing it afterwards; Matthew 26:12....

Mark 14:1. _After two days was the feast of the passover, and of unleavened bread: and the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might take him by craft, and put him to death. But they said, Not on the feast day, lest there be an uproar of the people. And being in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper,_ A well-known person. There were plenty of Simons, and so they had to put another name to distinguish him. You remember Simon the Pharisee, in whose house Christ was anointed by a woman, who washed his feet with tears. This is another Simon. Not Simon the Pharisee, but Simon the Leper. A healed man, no doubt, or he could not have entertained guests. There can be no question by whom he was healed; for there was nobody else that could heal leprosy, except our Divine Lord. «And being at Bethany in the house of Simon the Leper.»...

PART IV. GIVING HIS LIFE A RANSOM FOR -- CHAPTER S 14-15. Chapter 14 _ 1. Seeking by Craft to put Him to Death. (Mark 14:1 .Matthew 26:2; Luke 22:1 .)_ 2. The Anointing. (Mark 14:3. Matthew 26:6; John 12:1) 3. Judas offers to betray Him. (Mark 14:10 .Matthew 26:14;...

THE ANOINTING OF JESUS. Lk. records a parallel incident (not an alternative version of the same story) earlier in the life of Jesus. Jn. (John 12:1) places the event six days before the Passover. This change may be motived by symbolism, as the Paschal lamb was chosen on 10th of Nisan. But Mk.'s date is not indisputable. He inserts the story here as a preparation for the death of Christ (see especially Mark 14:8). The alabaster vessel and its contents are alike precious. The woman makes her last use of both. She breaks the cruse, perhaps in honour of the guest. Renan seems to have found such a custom in the East (see Swete). Or it may be, that another practice of the Hellenistic age has suggested this detail. In anointing the dead, it was usual to break the flask and lay it in the coffin (HNT). More simply we may suppose

THE LAST ACT BEGINS (Mark 14:1-2)...