John - 12:2



2 So they made him a supper there. Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with him.

Verse In-Depth

Explanation and meaning of John 12:2.

Differing Translations

Compare verses for better understanding.
There they made him a supper; and Martha served: but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with him.
they made, therefore, to him a supper there, and Martha was ministering, and Lazarus was one of those reclining together (at meat) with him;
So they gave a dinner there in honour of Jesus, at which Martha waited at table, but Lazarus was one of the guests who were with Him.
So they made him a meal there, and he was waited on by Martha, and Lazarus was among those who were seated with him at table.
So they prepared a dinner for him there; and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those reclining at the table with him.
And they made a dinner for him there. And Martha was ministering. And truly, Lazarus was one of those who were sitting at table with him.
There a supper was given in honor at which Martha waited, while Lazarus was one of those present at the table.

*Minor differences ignored. Grouped by changes, with first version listed as example.


Historical Commentaries

Scholarly Analysis and Interpretation.

There therefore they made him a banquet. Matthew (Matthew 26:7) and Mark, (Mark 14:3) say that he then supped at the house of Simon the leper. John does not mention the house, but shows plainly enough, that it was in some other place than the house of Lazarus and Martha that he supped; for he says that Lazarus was one of those who sat at table with him, that is, one who had been invited along with Christ. Nor does it involve any contradiction, that Matthew and Mark relate that the head of Christ was anointed, while John relates that his feet were anointed. The usual practice was the anointing of the head, and on this account Pliny reckons it an instance of excessive luxury, that some anointed the ankles. The three Evangelists agree in this; that Mary did not anoint Christ sparingly, but poured on him a large quantity of ointment. What John speaks, about the feet, amounts to this, that the whole body of Christ, down to the feet, was anointed. There is an amplification in the word feet, which appears more fully from what follows, when he adds, that Mary wiped his feet with her hair

See this passage explained in the notes at Matthew 26:3-16.

A supper - At the house of Simon the leper, Matthew 26:6.
Lazarus was - The names of Martha and Lazarus are mentioned because it was not in their own house, but in that of Simon. Lazarus is particularly mentioned, since it was so remarkable that one who had been once dead should be enjoying again the endearments of friendship. This shows, also, that his resurrection was no illusion - that he was really restored to the blessings of life and friendship. Calmet thinks that this was about two months after his resurrection, and it is the last that we hear of him. How long he lived is unknown, nor is it recorded that he made any communication about the world of spirits. It is remarkable that none who have been restored to life from the dead have made any communications respecting that world. See Luke 16:31, and the notes at 2-Corinthians 12:4.

There they made him a supper,.... At Bethany, in the house of Lazarus, Martha, and Mary; by whose order, and at whose charge it was prepared for him; and not in the house of Simon the leper, which was four days after this, Matthew 26:2.
And Martha served; who was always a busy, active, and stirring woman; and this she did, to testify her love to Christ, and great respect for him; otherwise, as she was a person of substance, she had servants enough to wait at table:
but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with him; and ate, and drank, and conversed; by which it appeared, that he was really risen from the dead, and was in a good state of health.

Martha served--This, with what is afterwards said of Mary's way of honoring her Lord, is so true to the character in which those two women appear in Luke 10:38-42, as to constitute one of the strongest and most delightful confirmations of the truth of both narratives. (See also on John 11:20).
Lazarus . . . sat at the table--"Between the raised Lazarus and the healed leper (Simon, Mark 14:3), the Lord probably sits as between two trophies of His glory" [STIER].

There they made him a supper. For notes on this supper and the anointing, see Matthew 26:6-16. Compare Mark 14:3-11 and Luke 7:36-50.
Then saith one of his disciples. Judas Iscariot.
Three hundred pence. Silver to the amount of 45, equivalent to about 300 now, owing to the change of values.
Against the day of my burying hath she kept this. Before a week he was to be in the tomb. It was customary to anoint dead bodies for burial.
Much people . . . came. From Jerusalem to Bethany.

It seems Martha was a person of some figure, from the great respect which was paid to her and her sister, in visits and condolences on Lazarus's death, as well as from the costly ointment mentioned in the next verse. And probably it was at their house our Lord and his disciples lodged, when he returned from Jerusalem to Bethany, every evening of the last week of his life, upon which he was now entered.

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