While Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper,
This statement indicates the place where the anointing episode was to take place, a deeply symbolic event before Christ’s sufferings. Bethany was one of Jesus Christ’s beloved places, a home of rest and fellowship, and Simon the leper was likely the man whom Jesus had healed. For that reason, his house had become a place of gratitude and love. This brief statement shows Jesus’ humility: He goes to the house of a man who had once been rejected by society. Now he receives the Lord into his home. This symbolizes that Christ always comes to the home of the rejected and the healed, so that his grace may become a living testimony in them. In this quiet setting, the story of the anointing is to be revealed, the highest act of love before the cross.