John 12:7Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

What then does Christ say? "She has done a good work for My burial." Why did He not rebuke the disciple on account of this woman, and say what the Evangelist said, that Judas reproached her because he was a thief?

He wished to touch him by great long-suffering. Since He knew that Judas was the betrayer, He had previously rebuked him many times, saying, "Not all believe," and "One of you is a devil" (Jn 6:64, 70).

By this He showed that He knew him as the betrayer. Yet He did not expose him openly, but showed him condescension, wishing to turn him away.

How then does another Evangelist say that all the disciples said this (Mt 26:8)? It is true, both all of them and he said it; but the others did not speak from the same motive.

The Lord does not expose Judas, although He knows that he said this with a thief's intention. He did not wish to put him to shame, thereby teaching us also to endure such people for a long time. Yet the Lord covertly reproaches Judas for the betrayal and for the fact that, through covetousness, he would hand Him over to death. Therefore He also mentions burial, striking his senseless heart so that he might be corrected.

But the Lord declares the woman free from every blame. By this He covertly reproves the betrayer, who groundlessly condemned a deed worthy of praise, saying, Leave her. He defends her for the anointing with myrrh, which was done not for luxury, but for the mystery that served His burial, although she who performed the anointing did not know the divine economy of the mystery. For some, without knowing it, said and did many things that belonged to the mystical type. Yet again the Lord reproves Judas. He had not spoken from reverence, but because he loved gain and was about to betray the Teacher for a small profit. The burial and the reminder of death seem to point to this.

Let us see, then, what the Lord answered to this. Look, brethren. He does not say to him, "You have said this because of your thieving." He knew that he was a thief, but He did not reveal it. Rather, He endured him and gave us an example of patience, so that the impious may be endured in the Church. But Jesus said: "Leave her alone; she has kept this for the day of My burial." He announced that He would soon die.

He raised Lazarus to life and died in his place. Having brought him back from the tomb and shared a meal with him, He Himself was symbolically buried by Mary's myrrh, with which she anointed Him. Thus the Lord came to Bethany, raised His friend, and accomplished His burial through the symbol of anointing. He filled Mary and Martha with joy. He exposed Sheol and greed: Sheol, because it would not always hold Him; greed, because it would not always sell Him.

"For the day," that is, for the time of My burial, this woman has kept the myrrh, as though foretelling My approaching death. Mark wrote this more clearly, although there it is said of another woman. He said: "She has come beforehand to anoint My body for burial" (Mk 14:8). It was customary to bury after anointing the body with fragrant ointments, so that it might be preserved longer.

It is as though Judas were asking an innocent question, while our Lord simply and gently explained the hidden meaning of Mary's act. It meant that He was about to die and had to be anointed with fragrances for burial. Mary, who was not permitted to anoint His dead body, though she ardently desired it, was counted worthy to render this service while He was alive. After His death she could not have done it, for His swift Resurrection would have prevented her.

"The poor you always have with you," Jesus said, "but Me you do not always have. Leave her alone; she has kept this for the day of My burial." According to Bishop Michael, the meaning of this saying is: "Not in vain, as you think, Judas, and not without purpose has she anointed Me now. She has anointed Me in foreknowledge and as a sign of that day when your betrayal will bring Me down into the tomb, and I shall be anointed as one dead."

Christ sorrowfully foresaw the treacherous and greedy thought of Judas, but this time He rebuked him only indirectly, defending Mary, who had already become the object of unfavorable remarks. "Why do you trouble the woman?" He said. "Leave her alone; she has done a good work for Me. For the poor you always have with you, but Me you do not always have. She has kept this myrrh for the day of My burial." To this He added a prophecy, wonderfully fulfilled to the present day: wherever the Gospel is preached, her deed will also be told with honor.

Leave her: more exactly, leave her alone. The address is to Judas alone, who had remarked that Mary's act was inappropriate. She has kept this, and so forth: Judas remarked on the inappropriateness of Mary's act. That is, he considered it purposeless and pointed to what, in his opinion, was a higher aim: to sell the myrrh and give the money to the poor. The Lord indicates that Mary had a higher aim than the one Judas proposed. Mary had kept this myrrh, probably from the burial of her brother Lazarus. As though in a prophetic spirit, she sensed beforehand that it could and should soon be used for the very One who had called Lazarus from the tomb. She anticipated the day of His burial, which was soon to come.

Verses 7 and 8. The Savior's words concerning Mary's deed are given more fully by St. Mark (Mk 14:6-9). "Leave her alone," says the Savior. τι κοπους παρεχετε αυτη? Why do you trouble her? The trouble, the insult, was first inflicted upon the Savior, because they placed Him below the poor. But heavenly love forgets itself and cares for good Mary. "She has done a good work for Me." A good work is a work of love toward the Lord. Is the Lord not worthy of honor? No, one must love the Lord above all. Only after this should one's neighbors be kept in mind. A sacrifice to the glory of God, a sacrifice to God's temple, and sacrifices to God's ministers are lofty sacrifices. People judge actions by the noise they produce through their influence on society.