Exegetical Project: Anointing of Jesus - Essay Example

? Anointing Of Jesus Anointing of Jesus Mark 14 and Mathew 26, Luke 7 and John 12. All the four gospels include a scene in which a woman anointed Jesus during a meal but the stories are told differently in (Mark 14:3–9; Matt 26:6–13; Luke 7:36–50; John 12:1–8). The four stories agree occasionally but show significant dissimilarities even transposition of the story at some instances. An analysis of the Markan and Marthean version shows some dependence since the two accounts are strikingly similar. The rest of the two versions have both semblance and dissimilarities. In Mathew and Mark, Jesus is anointed in the house of Simon Peter the leper. As he sat at a table, a woman came with an alabaster flask containing expensive spikenard oil. She broke it and poured the oil on Jesus’ head. The people around criticized this action as the oil could have been sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor (Ehrman, 2004). However, Jesus defended her saying that she had done a good work. He says, “For you have the poor with you always, and whenever you wish you may do them good; but Me you do not have always. She has done what she could. She has come beforehand to anoint My body for burial.” In Luke, a sinful woman anoints Jesus when he was at a Pharisees house where he had been invited for dinner. The woman leaned on Jesus’ feet with an alabaster jar of perfume. She stood behind him weeping then began to wet his feet with her tears. She wiped Jesus’ feet with her hair, kissed them then poured perfume on them. When the Pharisee saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.” Jesus replied Simon by telling him the story of a moneylender. One man owed him five denarii while the other owed him fifty but he forgave them both. Then Jesus asked which of the two were happier. Simon replied that the one who was forgiven the most debt was happier. Jesus said that in the same way, “Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little” (Ehrman, 2004). In John, Six days after Passover Jesus went to Bethany where Lazarus lived whom he had raised from the dead. A dinner was set in his honor. Mary came with a pint of pure and, an expensive perfume, poured it on Jesus’ feet, and wiped his feet with her hair. However, Judas Iscariot objected saying that that perfume could have been sold and money given to the poor. Jesus replied, “It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.” The four bible stories have certain similarities and differences. In Mathew, Mark, and John, the anointing occurred in Bethany while in Luke the anointing occurred at an unspecified place in Pharisees house. In all the bible stories, women did the anointing. In two of the instances, the women wipe Jesus’ feet with their hair after anointing it. In the other instance, the anointing is done on Jesus’ head instead of his feet. In all the instances, the anointing is done when Jesus is honored by a meal in all the houses. The host in three of the instances was named Simon while the other was Lazarus (Ehrman, 2004). In Mathew and Mark, no specifics are given about the name of the woman in question while in Luke, the woman is described as the woman in the city, which was a sinner. In John, the woman is Mary the sister of Martha and Lazarus. In all cases, the event took place in Bethany. In Mathew and mark, it is clear that Jesus was in Bethany while in Luke Jesus was from Capernaum and Nain which are on the way to Bethany. In John also, Lazarus lived in Bethany. In Mathew, Mark, and Luke, the alabaster box of precious ointment was used. To Mark and John, the ointment of spikenard was used. In Mathew, Mark, and John, the people around believe that the precious ointment could have been sold and the money given to the poor. In Luke, no-one picks issue concerning the use of the ointment. Context of the stories In Mathew, this happens after the Jesus speaks about the end time in mount olives. He then tells the parable of the 10 virgins, the parable of the talents and the separation of the sheep from the flock. Meanwhile the chief priest, elders, and scribes are gathered at Caiaphas’s palace planning on killing Jesus. In mark also, Jesus is on mount olives talking about the end time as the chief priest and scribes ploy to kill him. In Luke, Jesus was choosing the twelve disciples; he issues the Sermon on the Mount, raises the centurion’s servant at Capernaum, raising of the widow’s son in Nain (Ehrman, 2004). Later, John the Baptist inquires whether he is indeed the Messiah. In John, Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead as the chief priest and Pharisees take counsel to kill him. Caiaphas speaks to them. In Mathew and Mark, the accounts of Jesus tell the story of the end time and the disciples admiring the temple come shortly before the anointing while in Luke it comes much later in verse 21. Nevertheless, it is difficult to tell whether these are different accounts of the same story or whether they are different stories altogether. In fact, it is difficult to tell whether these are two or three different stories. For instance, during Jesus’ time, the name Simon was very common. In the New Testament, Simon is mentioned over nine times, even Peter, one of Jesus’ disciples was surnamed Simon. Therefore, the fact that the name appears in Mathew, Mark, and Luke may be a mere coincidence. There is an assumption that the woman who anointed Jesus in all the accounts was Mary Magdalene. That she is the same Mary of Bethany who was the sister of Martha and Lazarus and the unnamed penitent woman who anointed Jesus’ feet in Luke. The statement that Jesus had cast seven demons may imply that she was a prostitute before hence the sinful woman that anointed Jesus. It is believed that she was not named in the first three gospels because it would have put her siblings and herself in danger with the authorities at that time. From the Penguin Dictionary of Saints by Donald Attwater, under Mary Magdalene is mentioned among other women, the unnamed woman “who was a sinner” (Luke 7:37-50) and Mary of Bethany, Martha’s sister in (Luke 10: 38-42). St. Gregory the great regarded them as the same though other weighty voices like St. Ambrose preferred to leave the subject undecided. Indeed, it is difficult to discern if the woman in all the gospel accounts is Mary Magdalene. Worse still, is even undetermined if it was the same account therefore it could be illogical for one person to do the same thing thrice and differently (Ehrman, 2004). In two accounts, she anoints the head while in the remaining she anoints the feet. The likelihood that one person is very slim. When referring to the followers of Jesus, the gospel often speaks of two groups, the twelve disciples and the women. The women were those unspecified females who financed Jesus ministry and welcomed him to their homes. The role of the woman in both stories is to show that even in Jesus’ time, women were valued and Jesus even ordered that they be remembered for their great love and faith even to their death. The stories also tell of the repentance and humility of the women. In the ancient times, the act of anointing implied preparation for a special task. Priests or prophets anointed kings with oil often as part of their coronation. Therefore, the anonymous woman who anoints Jesus’ head finds herself in the traditional position of a priest or prophet (Ehrman, 2004). Anointing the feet on the hand implies discipleship and service. It is difficult to tell whether the woman who anointed Jesus knew of his upcoming death. However, instinctively, the woman might have known that a man who dines with a leper, rebukes Pharisees, and allows a woman to touch him with her hair, would not survive in the society they lived. Perhaps this is why the woman stood by him even when the disciples fled. Reference Ehrman, B. D. (2004). A brief introduction to the New Testament. New York: Oxford University Press. Read More