Footnotes:

1. Mark 14:3 We are all cleansed lepers, symbolized by Simon. Christ left the religious structure of the temple and went into the house of a leper. Former “lepers” are now the true temple of God.
2. Mark 14:3 In the time of Jesus, meals were not eaten sitting at a table, but rather while reclining on one’s side before a low table. There are two suppers mentioned in this chapter. At one, Jesus was a guest; at the other, he was the host.
3. Mark 14:3 An alabaster flask would itself be considered a luxury item in that day. Alabaster was a type of gypsum, very white and possibly translucent. It was found in caves and in limestone deposits.
4. Mark 14:3 This was spikenard (or nard), a spice taken from a plant that grows in northern India near the Himalayas. This costly perfume would have been carried over land to the Middle East. Many believe this jar of spikenard would have cost the average worker a year’s wages. It was a common practice among the Jews to prepare a body for burial with fragrant ointment. John records that it was about twelve ounces of perfume, which would have dripped down all of Jesus’ garments to his feet (John 12:3).