I was reading through John 11 and really trying to pay attention to Jesus’ emotions. I know that Lazarus’ death caused Jesus to weep out of grief. But he also said that it was “for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” I love how he talks about himself in third person, because that was a thing with the Pharisees (and other Jews, for that matter) who didn’t accept himself to be the Son of God.
One other verse that I thought was interesting, verse 2 in John 11:
Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 (This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.)
A little bit of foreshadowing going on here. So far in the gospel of John, I don’t think Mary (of Bethany, to distinguish from the other Marys) has been introduced yet. The actual story of her pouring perfume on the Lord and wiping his feet with her hair is in John 12!
So this led me down a rabbit trail to try to get all these Marys of the bible straight:
- Mary of Bethany (sister to Martha and Lazarus, pours perfume on Jesus’ feet)
- Mary Magdalene (whom Jesus first appeared to after his resurrection)
- Mary, mother to Jesus (and married to Joseph)
Many of these women had “tarnished reputation,” even amongst the disciples. Yet they all have seats of honor in God’s story! The more I think about these women, the more I realized they may be referenced by name more times than many other characters in the New Testament, including some of the Twelve.
Here are a few places where they are named:
- Matthew 27:56, 61
- Matthew 28:1
- Mark 15:40, 47
- Mark 16:1
- Luke 8:2-3
- Luke 24:10
- Luke 7:36-50
- Luke 10:38-41
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