💫WEB · John 11:2
What does John 11:2 mean?
"It was that Mary who had anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother, Lazarus, was sick."
— John 11:2 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus from Bethany, of the village of Mary and her sister, Martha.
It was that Mary who had anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother, Lazarus, was sick.
The sisters therefore sent to him, saying, “Lord, behold, he for whom you have great affection is sick.”
But when Jesus heard it, he said, “This sickness is not to death, but for the glory of God, that God’s Son may be glorified by it.”
Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus.
Explanation
John 11:2 is a brief editorial note inserted by the author of the Gospel to identify Mary of Bethany before the main story of Lazarus's illness and resurrection unfolds. In plain language, the verse tells us that the sick man, Lazarus, had a sister named Mary, and this Mary was the same woman who would later anoint Jesus's feet with expensive perfume and wipe them with her hair. The verse essentially serves as a cross-reference, connecting this family to an event that readers would encounter more fully later in John's Gospel.
The Gospel of John was written, according to church tradition, by the apostle John, likely toward the end of the first century, for a Christian audience already familiar with the broader story of Jesus but perhaps needing clarity on specific people and events. Interestingly, the anointing account referenced here actually appears later, in John 12:1-8, not earlier in the narrative. This is a notable literary feature: John assumes his readers already know this story, possibly because it was well-known in the early church or recorded in the other Gospels (compare Matthew 26 and Mark 14), so he can refer to it here as a kind of preview or identifying marker before he narrates it in full later. This shows John writing with an audience in mind that had some familiarity with Jesus's life, perhaps through oral tradition or other written accounts.
Theologically, this verse ties together two significant moments in Mary's relationship with Jesus—her act of humble devotion in anointing him, and her family's crisis involving her brother's death and resurrection. By linking these two, John
Compare translations
Go deeper with ScriptureCompanion AI
Ask questions about any verse, follow reading plans, write personal prayers, and track your daily habit — all grounded in verified scripture text.