“Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house: and if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbour next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls; every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats: and ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening.” (Exodus 12:3-6)

God instructed the children of Israel to separate a lamb from the flock a few days before it was to be sacrificed for the Passover. This separation marked out the lamb whose blood would be offered for the sins of those in a particular house. This sacrifice was shadow of the true sacrifice that was to come in the antitype of the lamb, Jesus Christ.

“Then Jesus six days before the passover came to Bethany, where Lazarus was which had been dead, whom he raised from the dead. There they made him a supper; and Martha served: but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with him. Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment.” (John 12:1-3)

When Mary anointed Jesus’ feet with oil, Jesus Himself points out that she is marking Him out as the Lamb that would be slain. She may not have fully understood what was she was doing but the Holy Ghost moved her to commit this act. Or perhaps, she did know! She had been at the feet of Jesus so many times, clinging to His every word.

Perhaps she understood before anyone else that Christ is our Passover Lamb.