Who Is Mary of Bethany's Sister in John 11?
Mary of Bethany enters John's Gospel identified by her family before she does anything: she is Martha's sister and Lazarus's sister in Bethany. The narrator points forward to her anointing of the Lord, so her identity is settled before her story is told.
Mary of Bethany: The Disciple at Jesus' Feet
Mary of Bethany first appears in the Gospels not as a quiet homemaker but as a disciple who took the place of a learner at Jesus' feet. Jesus himself defended her choice as the one needed thing.