What the significance of Mary's wiping our Lord's feet with the hairs of her head may be, is a difficult question. Perhaps, from our ignorance of Eastern customs in the days of our Lord's earthly ministry, we are hardly qualified to give an opinion about it now. On points like these, where we are ignorant, it is wisest not to conjecture.
Calvin says : " The usual practice was to anoint the head, and on this account Pliny reckons it an instance of excessive luxury that some anointed the ankles. What John says about the feet amounts to this, that the whole body of Christ, down to the feet, was anointed."
Bollock observes that at this time Mary seems to have had a deeper and more intimate perception of what there was in Christ, and of the real dignity of His person, than any of His disciples.
1. — {Then saith. . .Judas Iscariot, Simon's son.] We know nothing of this Simon, who he was, or why he is specially mentioned here. It is worth notice, that hardly any name occurs so fre- quently in the New Testament as this. We have the follow- ing:—
1. The Apostle Simon, called also Peter.
2. The Apostle Simon, called also Zelotes, and the Canaanite.
3. Simon the brother of our Lord, mentioned with James and Joses. (Matt. xiii. 55.)
4. Simon the leper, in whose house the anointing took place. (Matt. xxvi. 6.)
5. Simon the Cyrenian, who carried the cross. (Matt, xxvii. 32.)
6. Simon the Pharisee. (Luke vii. 40.)
7. Simon the sorcerer at Samaria. (Acts viii. 9.)
8. Simon the tanner. (Acts ix. 43.)
It would, of course, be interesting to know if Judas Iscariot was son of any of these, But we have no clue to guide us.
Wordsworth sees in the mention of Judas by name a strong internal evidence of the late date of St. John's Gospel. Com- pare with this the fact that John alone mentions Peter and Mal- chus by name. (John xviii. 10.)
[Which should betray him.'] These words would be more lit- erally rendered, " the one who was about to betray Him."
On the occasion of the anointing related in Matt. xxvi. and dlark xiv., it is worth noticing that "some of the disciples," and not Judas only, found fault with the action. It rather adds probability to the theory that there were two anointings at Bethany.