Woman Anoints Jesus Bible lesson
- Eljoh Hartzer, MTh
- Jan 14
- 6 min read
Updated: Jan 20
The woman anointing Jesus makes a great Bible lesson for kids. This story from the Gospels talks about a woman - named Mary - who had such great conviction that Jesus was the Messiah, that she spent her life's money on anointing Him. She didn't know she was preparing Him for the coming cross.
In this free Sunday School lesson, we will discover what made Mary of Bethany's faith so great and how we can also practice to have faith like that!
Free printable for Woman Anoints Jesus Bible Lesson
Here's a free printable coloring picture that I drew about this Bible story:
If you like this style of coloring pictures, you might be interested in my printable coloring book:
The Anointing of Jesus by Mary of Bethany Bible Passage
6 Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper. 7 While he was there, a woman came to him. She had an alabaster jar filled with expensive perfume. She poured the perfume on Jesus’ head while he was eating.
8 The followers saw the woman do this and were upset at her. They said, “Why waste that perfume? 9 It could be sold for a lot of money, and the money could be given to those who are poor.”
10 But Jesus knew what happened. He said, “Why are you bothering this woman? She did a very good thing for me. 11 You will always have the poor with you. But you will not always have me. 12 This woman poured perfume on my body. She did this to prepare me for burial after I die. 13 The Good News will be told to people all over the world. And I can assure you that everywhere the Good News is told, the story of what this woman did will also be told, and people will remember her.”
OR
3 Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper. While he was eating there, a woman came to him. She had an alabaster jar filled with expensive perfume made of pure nard. She opened the jar and poured the perfume on Jesus’ head.
4 Some of the followers there saw this. They were upset and complained to each other. They said, “Why waste that perfume? 5 It was worth a full year’s pay. It could have been sold and the money given to those who are poor.” And they told the woman what a bad thing she had done.
6 Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Why are you giving her such trouble? She did a very good thing for me. 7 You will always have the poor with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me. 8 This woman did the only thing she could do for me. She poured perfume on my body before I die to prepare it for burial. 9 The Good News will be told to people all over the world. And I can assure you that everywhere the Good News is told, the story of what this woman did will also be told, and people will remember her."
OR
36 One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to eat with him. Jesus went into the Pharisee’s house and took a place at the table.
37 There was a sinful woman in that town. She knew that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house. So the woman brought some expensive perfume in an alabaster jar. 38 She stood at Jesus’ feet, crying. Then she began to wash his feet with her tears. She dried his feet with her hair. She kissed his feet many times and rubbed them with the perfume.
39 When the Pharisee who asked Jesus to come to his house saw this, he thought to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know that the woman who is touching him is a sinner!”
40 In response, Jesus said to the Pharisee, “Simon, I have something to say to you.”
Simon said, “Let me hear it, Teacher.”
41 Jesus said, “There were two men. Both men owed money to the same banker. One man owed him 500 silver coins. The other man owed him 50 silver coins. 42 The men had no money, so they could not pay their debt. But the banker told the men that they did not have to pay him. Which one of those two men will love him more?”
43 Simon answered, “I think it would be the one who owed him the most money.”
Jesus said to him, “You are right.” 44 Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? When I came into your house, you gave me no water for my feet. But she washed my feet with her tears and dried my feet with her hair. 45 You did not greet me with a kiss, but she has been kissing my feet since I came in. 46 You did not honor me with oil for my head, but she rubbed my feet with her sweet-smelling oil. 47 I tell you that her many sins are forgiven. This is clear, because she showed great love. People who are forgiven only a little will love only a little.”
48 Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”
49 The people sitting at the table began to think to themselves, “Who does this man think he is? How can he forgive sins?”
50 Jesus said to the woman, “Because you believed, you are saved from your sins. Go in peace.”
OR
1Six days before the Passover festival, Jesus went to Bethany. That is where Lazarus lived, the man Jesus raised from death. 2 There they had a dinner for Jesus. Martha served the food, and Lazarus was one of the people eating with Jesus. 3 Mary brought in a pint of expensive perfume made of pure nard. She poured the perfume on Jesus’ feet. Then she wiped his feet with her hair. And the sweet smell from the perfume filled the whole house.
4 Judas Iscariot, one of Jesus’ followers, was there—the one who would later hand Jesus over to his enemies. Judas said, 5 “That perfume was worth a full year’s pay. It should have been sold, and the money should have been given to the poor people.” 6 But Judas did not really care about the poor. He said this because he was a thief. He was the one who kept the moneybag for the group of followers. And he often stole money from the bag.
7 Jesus answered, “Don’t stop her. It was right for her to save this perfume for today—the day for me to be prepared for burial. 8 You will always have those who are poor with you. But you will not always have me.”
Act out the Alabaster Jar Story with a Skit
Have a Kids Min Volunteer choose a Cast: Jesus, Mary, Crowd
Jesus: (Sits down at table) "Ah what a lovely meal we had today, friends."
Mary: (Runs to Jesus, falls down at His feet)
“Lord, allow me.” (Begins to anoint His feet and head)
Crowd: “What is she doing? She's wasting money.”
Jesus: “Leave her alone. Why are you giving her such trouble? She did a very good thing for me."
Mary: (look at Jesus, then kisses His feet)
Jesus: "She prepared me for what's coming..."
Sensory elements to teach this lesson
I've recently been playing with the idea of making Kids Church lessons sensory activities. You can read more about the role of the 5 senses in Sunday School here, or continue with the current lesson below:
SEE | Bring a clay jar or a bottle of perfume with and let them see it. Bow down visibly to someone's feet and pretend to wash them. |
HEAR | Listen to another translation of this Bible passage using the Audio Bible on an app. Ask the kids if they noticed something different. |
TASTE | They were eating a meal when the anointing happened. Do a snack break together and then suddenly spritz room spray between the kids, seeing if they notice. |
FEEL | Take turns to wash each other's feet with soap and water, symbolizing the perfume anointing of Mary. OR make perfume jars out of air-dry clay. |
SMELL | Use an essential oil or perfume to bring fragrance into the room with you. |
*For even more content on teaching kids the true meaning of faith, read my other blog posts. They are filled with free goodness and helpful resources and tips!
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