“To anoint the head of a guest with ordinary oil was to do him honor; to anoint his feet also was to show unusual and signal regard; but the anointing of head and feet with spikenard, and in such abundance, was an act of reverential homage rarely rendered even to kings. Mary’s act was an expression of adoration; it was the fragrant outwelling of a heart overflowing with worship and affection” (Jesus the Christ, 3rd ed. [1916], 512).
“Mark’s language bears witness of the reality and severity of the Savior’s suffering (see Mark 14:23–36). The Greek word translated ‘sore amazed’ in the text can refer to a range of emotions, including amazement, awe, astonishment following great shock, and overwhelming distress. The Greek verb translated ‘very heavy’ can mean depressed, dejected, and full of anguish or sorrow. Together, these words depict a deep and extreme agony. The Savior said that His soul was ‘exceedingly sorrowful unto death’ (Mark 14:34)—that is, His anguish was so intense that He felt He was at the point of death. …
“Elder Neal A. Maxwell (1926–2004) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles … spoke of the suffering of the Atonement:
“‘In Gethsemane, the suffering Jesus began to be “sore amazed” (Mark 14:33), or, in the Greek, “awestruck” and “astonished.”
“‘Imagine, Jehovah, the Creator of this and other worlds, “astonished”! … He had never personally known the exquisite and exacting process of an atonement before. Thus, when the agony came in its fulness, it was so much, much worse than even He with his unique intellect had ever imagined! …
“‘The cumulative weight of all mortal sins—past, present, and future—pressed upon that perfect, sinless, and sensitive Soul! All our infirmities and sicknesses were somehow, too, a part of the awful arithmetic of the Atonement. (See Alma 7:11–12; Isa. 53:3–5; Matt. 8:17.)’ (‘Willing to Submit,’ Ensign, May 1985, 72–73)” (New Testament Student Manual [Church Educational System manual, 2014], 130).