As Jesus got near to Jerusalem, He went into a
small town called Bethany. Mary, Martha and
Lazarus lived there.

How Jesus became acquainted with them is
not certain. Whether Mary is the Mary Magdalene
or that Martha was a widow, that her husband was
or had been Simon the Leper, or that Lazarus was
a rabbi named in the Talmud, all are guesses and
may or may not be true.