Lazarus
(Mary, whose brother Lazarus was sick, was to anoint the Lord with perfume and wipe His feet with her hair.) John 11:2 · Berean Standard Bible
This Mary—Lazarus' sister—is the same one who would later pour perfume on Jesus' feet and wipe them with her hair.
John mentions this to help readers connect the dots. This family's story is deeply woven into the final days of Jesus' life.
The narrator identifies Mary by her famous act of devotion to Jesus.
John is connecting the pieces for you: this isn't just any family. This is the Mary who will anoint Jesus for His burial. Their story and His are inseparable.
John inserts a parenthetical identifying Mary as the woman who would anoint Jesus (narrated in 12:1-8), a proleptic reference that anchors the reader's recognition of this family.
This anticipatory note assumes the reader's familiarity with the anointing tradition. The detail serves a literary function, connecting the Lazarus narrative to the passion sequence that follows.
The narrator provides an identifying parenthetical about Mary, pointing forward to the anointing narrative.
John interrupts the narrative to identify Mary by her most famous act—the anointing of Jesus—linking this miracle story to the approaching passion.
1At this time a man named Lazarus was sick. He lived in Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha.
2(Mary, whose brother Lazarus was sick, was to anoint the Lord with perfume and wipe His feet with her hair.)
3So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one You love is sick.”
4When Jesus heard this, He said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”
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