Mark 14:9

Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world, this also that she hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

14:1-11 Did Christ pour out his soul unto death for us, and shall we think any thing too precious for him? Do we give him the precious ointment of our best affections? Let us love him with all the heart, though it is common for zeal and affection to be misunderstood and blamed; and remember that charity to the poor will not excuse any from particular acts of piety to the Lord Jesus. Christ commended this woman's pious attention to the notice of believers in all ages. Those who honour Christ he will honour. Covetousness was Judas' master lust, and that betrayed him to the sin of betraying his Master; the devil suited his temptation to that, and so conquered him. And see what wicked contrivances many have in their sinful pursuits; but what appears to forward their plans, will prove curses in the end.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

She hath done what she could - She has showed the highest attachment in her power; and it was, as it is now, a sufficient argument against there being any "real" waste, that it was done for the honor of Christ. See this passage explained in the notes at Matthew 26:1-16.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

8. She hath done what she could—a noble testimony, embodying a principle of immense importance.

she is come aforehand to anoint my body to the burying—or, as in John (Joh 12:7), "Against the day of my burying hath she kept this." Not that she, dear heart, thought of His burial, much less reserved any of her nard to anoint her dead Lord. But as the time was so near at hand when that office would have to be performed, and she was not to have that privilege even after the spices were brought for the purpose (Mr 16:1), He lovingly regards it as done now. "In the act of love done to Him," says Olshausen beautifully, "she has erected to herself an eternal monument, as lasting as the Gospel, the eternal Word of God. From generation to generation this remarkable prophecy of the Lord has been fulfilled; and even we, in explaining this saying of the Redeemer, of necessity contribute to its accomplishment." "Who but Himself," asks Stier, "had the power to ensure to any work of man, even if resounding in His own time through the whole earth, an imperishable remembrance in the stream of history? Behold once more here the majesty of His royal judicial supremacy in the government of the world, in this, 'Verily I say unto you.'"

Matthew Poole's Commentary

See Poole on "Mark 14:4"

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

Verily I say unto you,.... And you may assure yourselves of the truth of it:

wheresoever this Gospel, of the death and resurrection of Christ,

shall be preached throughout the whole world, as it shall be,

this also that she hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her; in remembrance of her, and her work, and in commendation of her faith, love, and duty; See Gill on Matthew 26:13.

Geneva Study Bible

Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world, this also that she hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Expositor's Greek Testament

Mark 14:9. εἰς ὅλον τ. κ. for ἐν ο., etc., in Mt.; a constr. praeg., the idea of going to all parts of the world with the gospel being understood.

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

9. this gospel shall be preached] A memorable prophecy, and to this day memorably fulfilled. The story of her devoted adoration has gone forth into all lands.

Bengel's Gnomen

Mark 14:9. Εἰς ὅλον, throughout the whole) In all its wide extent.—ἅυτη, she) Demonstratively.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 9. - Wheresoever the gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world, that also which this woman hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her (εἰς μνημόσυνον αὐτῆς). "Mnemosyne was the mother of the Muses, and so called because, before the invention of writing, a retentive memory was of the utmost value in every effort of literary genius" (Dr. Morison on St. Mark). When our Lord delivered this prediction, none of the Gospels had been written; nor bad the gospel been preached at this time throughout the then known world. Now it has been published for more than eighteen centuries; and wherever, it is proclaimed, this deed of Mary's is published with it, in continual memory of her, and to her lasting honor. Mark 14:9