Anointing of Jesus
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The anointing of Jesus is an event reported by the Synoptic Gospels and the Gospel of John, in which a woman pours the entire contents of an alabastron of very expensive perfume over the head of Jesus. This event is a subject of considerable debate, as many scholars hold that it is actually two separate events; one occurring at the beginning of Jesus' ministry in which he offered forgiveness to a repentant woman, and the other in which he is anointed in preparation for his burial.[1] Luke's gospel speaks of Jesus' feet being anointed by a woman had been sinful all her life, and who was crying; and when her tears started landing on the feet of Jesus, she wiped his feet with her hair. Many biblical historians hold that this story could not have occurred only a few days prior to the crucifixion, due to the numerous events that followed in Luke's gospel.[2] John 12:1-8 names her Mary, and the text assumes her to be Mary, a sister to Lazarus, as it also identifies her sister Martha. Although the somewhat erotic iconography of the woman's act has traditionally been associated with Mary Magdalene, there is no biblical text identifying her as such. According to the Gospel of Mark 14:3 the perfume in his account was the purest of Spikenard.
Some of the onlookers are angered because the perfume could have been sold for a year's wages, which Mark enumerates as 300 denarii, and the money given to the poor. The Gospel of Matthew states that the "disciples were indignant" and John's gospel states that it was Judas who was most offended. John adds that he was bothered because he (Judas) was a thief and desired the money for himself. Jesus is described as justifying the action of the woman by stating that the poor will always exist, and can be helped whenever desired. While some scholars have criticized this response as lax morality, others have responded that due to his impending crucifixion, Jesus is simply explaining that what was done was not a choice between two moral acts, but a necessity, and would no more be criticized in Jesus' day as a modern man purchasing a coffin for a loved one, even though there are poor that could be fed instead.
Mark and Matthew say that this occurred while Jesus was in Bethany relaxing at the home of Simon the Leper, a man whose significance is not explained any further by surviving texts of Mark or Matthew. Some, who assume that the accounts in the four gospels are speaking of the same event, would identify the host as Simon the Pharisee, as mentioned in Luke's account. However, given the nearness to Jesus' crucifixion, and the fact that the host Simon is called a leper elsewhere, has caused this identification to come under considerable debate. Luke's gospel states that Jesus been invited to dinner, though the location is not specified. The Gospel of John, identifies the location of the anointing prior to the crucifixion as the home of Lazarus and his two sisters. The Roman Catholic Church follows the Synoptic Gospels in the location of the event. John and Luke also differ from Matthew and Mark by relating that the anointing is to the feet rather than the head. This, some argue, points to the idea that Luke is speaking of an entirely different event.
The Scholars Version note to Mark 14:3-9 states: "…The disciples miss the point, which Jesus makes clear: the woman has signaled his impending death and burial. It must be unintentional irony when Mark has Jesus predict that this story will always be told in memory of a woman whose very name escapes him."
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The point here which has been missed for a long time is this; Jesus is about to be acclaimed as the Son of David by the crowd, and this is 'code' for King of Judah. In biblical tradition the intended King is anointed by the prophet of God. ( Saul and David ) By being the only person present who understands the truth about what is about to happen, Mary* is in fact the Prophet of Israel. Shocking as that may seem to you, and more so to the audience of the time. She anoints the future King in full knowledge of what is to come and then breaks down and weeps on His feet. Possible explanations may include the idea that Simon or one of his colleagues may have intended to do the same in order to 'claim' Jesus as their protege at this same feast. John is strongly connected to the religious incumbents of the day and it is he who gets Peter into the courtyard at the trial, but I have no detail for this.
- I believe Mary is the Magdalene as well as the Martha & Lazarus' brother, and the same person as the woman taken in Adultery. Her disapearance after the gospels is obviously contrived to allow her to live a normal christian life. I do not believe that she was Jesus wife, but I would accept that she would have been if he were only a man. There is obviously a deep attachment on her part and her stress on the personal pronoun at the tomb is revealing. She might easily have said 'our Lord' but instead says 'my Lord'. If she is the woman taken in adultery it makes sense because she is known to be 'close' to Jesus who they are trying to trap. If Jesus allows her to be stoned it will break His group, and the connection to various supporters obviously including her brother and sister. Also it will be a treasonous act because sentence of execution is reserved to Herod and the Romans only.(see trial). Their thinking is that this is a 'checkmate' because if He does not, He is speaking against Moses, which will diconnect Him from Judaism. Jesus handles it in a way they cannot foresee, and there is a general supposition that Jesus writes their sins in the dust. understanding this scene requires understanding that by Jesus'time Judaism had decided that the 'shall nots's are from Moses and not God. To this day these are sung in a different way in the jewish service to indicate they are not from God. This contradicts scripture. The plotters arrive with Mary in tow who may be a prostitute* but is not in the accepted sense an adultress, and proceed to tell the One who wrote on the tablets of stone at Sinai ".. in the law that Moses gave us..". A verbal slap in the face on top of a difficult situation. I believe that the temple court was a brand new multi million dollar building and was swept before dawn each day. I doubt that there was enough dust to write anything on. The illusion was that those at the front saw Jesus write twice on the stone (Like Sinai) and what they read was; first write " THOU SHALL NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS" and secondly "THOU SHALL NOT MURDER". This answers their allegations regarding His authority and exposes their motivation as sinful and unlawful in a powerful way and they slink off.
- Magdalene is a job description not a surname, Magdala is the roman R&R town on Galilee.
To the editor; I know you cannot place most of this and that this is opinion really. I hope you at least personally think on what is written here, even if not one word of it makes it to the page.
[edit] References
- Brown, Raymond E. An Introduction to the New Testament Doubleday 1997 ISBN 0-385-24767-2
- Brown, Raymond E. et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary Prentice Hall 1990 ISBN 0-13-614934-0
- Kilgallen, John J. A Brief Commentary on the Gospel of Mark Paulist Press 1989 ISBN 0-8091-3059-9
- Miller, Robert J. Editor The Complete Gospels Polebridge Press 1994 ISBN 0-06-065587-9
