She has done what she could to anoint My body in advance of My burial.
Parallel translations
- WEB She has done what she could. She has anointed my body beforehand for the burying.
- KJV She hath done what she could: she is come aforehand to anoint my body to the burying.
- NKJV She has done what she could. She has come beforehand to anoint My body for burial.
- NASB She has done what she could; she has anointed My body beforehand for the burial.
- NLT She has done what she could and has anointed my body for burial ahead of time.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jesus says she has done what she could, anointing his body beforehand for burial. Her act unwittingly prepares him for the cross.
Overview
Jesus interprets her anointing as preparation for his coming death and burial, giving it profound significance she may not have fully grasped. She gave wholeheartedly what was hers to give, and Jesus honors such sincere devotion. The scene quietly points to the crucifixion now only days away, where the anointed King would lay down his life.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- 2 Cor 8:12For if the eagerness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have.
- John 12:7“Leave her alone,” Jesus replied. “She has kept this perfume in preparation for the day of My burial.
- Mark 15:42Now it was already evening. Since it was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the Sabbath),
- 2 Cor 8:1–3Now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the churches of Macedonia.
- 2 Chr 31:20–21So this is what Hezekiah did throughout Judah. He did what was good and upright and true before the LORD his God.
- Luke 23:53Then he took it down, wrapped it in a linen cloth, and placed it in a tomb cut into the rock, where no one had yet been laid.
- 1 Chr 29:1–17Then King David said to the whole assembly, “My son Solomon, the one whom God has chosen, is young and inexperienced. The task is great because this palace is not for man, but for the LORD God.
- 2 Chr 34:19–33When the king heard the words of the Law, he tore his clothes
- 1 Chr 28:2–3Then King David rose to his feet and said, “Listen to me, my brothers and my people. It was in my heart to build a house as a resting place for the ark of the covenant of the LORD and as a footstool for our God. I had made preparations to build it,
- John 19:32–42So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and those of the other.
- Ps 110:3Your people shall be willing on Your day of battle. Arrayed in holy splendor, from the womb of the dawn, to You belongs the dew of Your youth.
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Christ at the center
Mark drives urgently to the cross, showing Jesus the Son of God as the suffering Servant who 'came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.'
How Mark 14:8 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.