The Lord withdraws from the judgment of the Jews not out of fear, but in order to teach us not to go into danger ourselves, even for the sake of piety, but if we are captured, to stand bravely, and if we are not captured, not to voluntarily throw ourselves into danger because of the uncertainty of the end of the matter. See how foolish is the intention of the Jews. Even during the feast they do not refrain from the malice of murder, but have decided to commit murder and ascend for purification. Those who sinned, willingly or unwillingly, did not celebrate the Passover before they were cleansed according to custom through ablution, fasting, circumcision, and the offering of legal sacrifices. And they, the best, who work cleansing, take counsel against the Lord, and say, What do you think? will He not come to the feast?", that is, He will surely fall into our hands, and if nothing else, the very time will bring Him into our nets. What malice! Whereas the open criminals should have been set free for the festival, they are plotting against the Innocent. And if only the common people had done this, their addiction would have seemed to be the work of ignorance, otherwise the Pharisees give orders to announce Him and seize Him. Thus, the Lord decently withdraws from them. For the word of God, proclaimed by the prophets, formerly circulated openly among the Jews, but now it is no more, but has withdrawn into the wilderness – the Church of the Gentiles, of which it is said that the empty woman has far more children than she who has a husband (Isaiah 54:1). Not far away is Ephraim, the wilderness. Ephraim means "fruitfulness", Ephraim was the younger brother; Manasseh is the eldest. Manasseh means "forgetfulness". Thus, the Jewish people were the eldest son of God, for it is said, "My son is the firstborn Israel" (Exodus 4:22), but God forgot him; and Ephraim, that is, the fruit-bearing of the Gentiles, the Lord created the second son. Thus, the Word, having left Judea, went out into the wilderness of Ephraim, the Church of the Gentiles, fertilized by the Gospel.

Chapter Twelve

Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was dead, whom He had raised from the dead. There they prepared a supper for Him, and Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those who sat at table with Him. And Mary, taking a pound of spikenard, pure and precious ointment, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. and the house was filled with the fragrance of myrrh. 

On the tenth day of the month, a lamb is chosen to be slaughtered on the feast of Passover (Exodus 12:3), and from the same time they begin to prepare everything necessary for the feast. Usually, six days before Easter, that is, on the ninth day of the month, they eat luxurious food and begin the feast on this day. For this reason Jesus also came to Bethany, sharing the supper. The Evangelist, wishing to show the truth of the resurrection of Lazarus, says: "And Lazarus was one of those who sat at table with Him." For when he appeared alive, he did not die immediately, but remained on earth for a long time, eating, drinking, and doing other usual things. By saying that "Martha served," he meant that the food was in her house. Take note, I beg you, of this woman's faith. She did not entrust the service to the maidservants, but performs it herself directly. And Paul speaks of a widow who washed the feet of the saints (1 Tim. 5:10). Thus, Martha herself serves everyone in general, and Mary gives honor only to Christ, because she hearkens to Him not as a man, but as God. For she shed myrrh and wiped her head with her hair, because she had a different conception of Him than others had, not as a mere man, but as Lord and Lord. Mary can also be understood in the highest sense - about the divinity of the Father and Lord of all; for Mary means "lady." Thus, the Father's Divinity, which dominates all things, anointed the feet of Jesus, the flesh of the Lord the Word, which had been taken on in recent times, anointed the Spirit with myrrh, just as David says: "Therefore Thy God has anointed Thee, O God, with the oil of joy" (Psalm 44:8); and the great Peter says: "Know all the house of Israel, that God has made this very Jesus, whom you have crucified, Lord and Christ" (Acts 2:36). For the Flesh received by the Word, anointed by the divine Spirit who came into the womb of the Virgin, and made the same as the Word, that is, God, filled the world with blessing, just as the myrrh of Mary filled the whole house with fragrance. What is the "hair" with which the feet are wiped? These are, of course, the saints who adorn the head of God and His supreme authority. For they, being to the glory of God, may be called His adornment. They also became partakers of the anointing of the Lord's flesh, as David also calls them "partakers" (Psalm 44:8), and the Apostle Paul says to the Corinthians: "God who strengthens us with you in Christ, and anointed us" (2 Corinthians 1:21). And everywhere we learn that those who live according to Christ are called Christs (anointed ones). Thus, by the hair with which Jesus' feet are wiped and which are partakers of the divine anointing, we can understand Christians. Hair is something dead. And Christians are dead, for they have crucified the flesh (Gal. 5:24) and have put to death the members that are on the earth (Col. 3:3), and have put to death for the world. Hair adorns the head and constitutes its glory. The glory of God is also made up of the saints, since their light shines before men, and the Father is glorified through them (Matt. 5:16), and they eat and drink for the glory of God (1 Cor. 10:31), and in their members they glorify Him. And you, since Jesus has resurrected your mind, as if it were a certain Lazarus, receive Him into the house of your soul; let him who has risen recline with Him; anoint the feet of the Lord, six days before the Passover, before the Passover of the age to come as long as you live in this world made in six days. By the "feet" of Christ can be understood: the Apostle and the Gospel, and the commandments in general, for by them He walks in us. And so, to these commandments add myrrh - a disposition composed of various virtues, of which the highest is faith, ardent as spikenard. For if you do not show a fervent, zealous and virtuous disposition towards these commandments, and do not reject them with mortified limbs, as with hair, and do not receive them into yourself, you will not be able to perfume your house. By the "feet" of the Lord can be understood the lesser brethren, in whose person Christ comes to the doors of each and asks for what is necessary: anoint them with the myrrh of almsgiving. Many give alms for show, and therefore do not benefit themselves, for here they receive a reward (Matt. 6:1-2). And you wipe your head with your hair and receive the benefit for your soul, gather the fruit of alms in the dominant part. And if you have anything dead and soulless, like hair, perfume it with this good anointing. For it is said: "Atone for thy sins with almsgiving" (Dan. 4:24).

     Then one of His disciples, Judas Simon Iscariot, who wanted to betray Him, said, "Why not sell this ointment for three hundred denarii and distribute it to the poor?" He said this not because he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief. (He had a money drawer with him and carried what was put into it.) And Jesus said, Leave her; she has reserved it for the day of my burial. For you always have the poor with you, but not always Me. 

Judas, being covetous, does not approve of such a way of care. Why, as he says, did you bring not money, from which I could steal, but myrrh? How then does the other Evangelist (Matt. 26:8-9) say that all the disciples said this? To this it must be said that although all said so, the others did not speak with the same thought as Judas. The Lord does not rebuke Judas, although He knows that he said this with the intention of Tatya. For he did not want to shame him, teaching us to tolerate such people for a long time. However, secretly, the Lord reproaches Judas for betrayal and for handing Him over to death out of covetousness. For this reason he also mentions burial, striking his foolish heart, so that he may be reformed, and the addition has the following meaning: "The poor," he says, "you always have with you, but not always Me; a little while, and I will depart, for you have prepared death for me. Therefore, if I am displeasing to you, and the honor that I do is burdensome to you, be patient a little, and you will be delivered from Me; and then it will be revealed whether you care about the sale of peace because of the poor. - If Judas was covetous and a thief, then why did the Lord entrust him with the management of money? For the very reason that he was a thief in order to deprive him of any apology. For he could not say that he had betrayed Him (Jesus) for the love of money. The money-box consoled him, but even when he carried the box, he was not faithful. For he carried away, that is, stole what was put there, and he was a sacrilege, arrogating to himself alms for a holy work. Let the sacrilegers hear what their fate is. The height of evil is that Judas subsequently betrayed Jesus and the Lord. Do you see what covetousness leads to? - to betrayal. Thus, the Apostle Paul appropriately called the love of money the root of all evil (1 Tim. 6:10), because it betrayed the Lord and always does so. Some say that Judas was entrusted with the custody of money, as the least of the others. For serving about money is less than teaching, as in Acts 6:2 the apostles say: "It is not good for us, leaving the word of God, to take care of tables."

     Many of the Jews knew that He was there, and they came not only to see Jesus, but also to see Lazarus, whom He raised from the dead. And the chief priests decided to kill Lazarus also. Because because of him, many of the Jews came and believed in Jesus.

 Those who came to the Lord were more well-intentioned than others, unconscious and violent; for they came not only for Jesus, but also to see Lazarus. Since a truly great miracle had taken place, many wished to be spectators of the resurrected one, perhaps in the hope of learning something from Lazarus about those who were in hell. The Pharisees are so inhuman that they want to kill not only Jesus, but also Lazarus, because he served as a reason for salvation for many through a miracle performed on him, leading guileless people to faith. In the same way, the beneficence of Jesus became a crime for them. They were especially vexed that, on the occasion of the feast, everyone went to Bethany, learned about the miracle and saw with their own eyes the resurrected one.