The anointing at Bethany in John 12
This Sunday'due south lectionary takes a break from our reading of Luke's gospel to focus on the anointing of Jesus in Bethany by Mary, sister of Martha and Lazarus, in John 12.1–8. (If anyone can explain this motility, I would beloved to hear!). This is an unusual narrative since, if we accept one line of interpretation (which assumes the account of the anointing in Luke 7.36–l records the same incident), so this is the just other incident in the ministry of Jesus autonomously from the feeding of the five yard which occurs in all four gospels. The parallel accounts are worth exploring briefly, before looking in more detail at way John uses linguistic communication to weave the story seamlessly into his narrative.
The accounts in Matthew, Mark and John are strikingly like; this is one moment where we might think that information technology is these three gospels which are the 'synoptics'!
| Matthew 26:6–thirteen | Marker fourteen:iii–9 | John 12:i–viii |
| While Jesus was in Bethany in the dwelling of Simon the Leper, a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on his caput as he was reclining at the table. When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. "Why this waste?" they asked. "This perfume could take been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor." Aware of this, Jesus said to them, "Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a cute thing to me. The poor y'all will ever have with you, but you will not always have me. When she poured this perfume on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial. Truly I tell you, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also exist told, in retentiveness of her." | While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the domicile of Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, fabricated of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head. Some of those present were saying indignantly to i some other, "Why this waste matter of perfume? It could have been sold for more than than a year'due south wages and the coin given to the poor." And they rebuked her harshly. "Leave her solitary," said Jesus. "Why are you bothering her? She has done a cute affair to me. The poor y'all will always have with y'all, and you tin help them any time you want. Just y'all will not ever accept me. She did what she could. She poured perfume on my trunk beforehand to set for my burial. Truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the globe, what she has done will too be told, in retentivity of her." | Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. Here a dinner was given in Jesus' honour. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the tabular array with him. Then Mary took virtually a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus' feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But 1 of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later on to beguile him, objected, "Why wasn't this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year's wages." He did non say this considering he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money handbag, he used to aid himself to what was put into it. "Leave her alone," Jesus replied. "It was intended that she should relieve this perfume for the day of my burial. You will always have the poor among you, simply yous will not always have me." |
The accounts are of similar length (though, not untypically, there is more particular in Mark than in Matthew). All three accounts hold that the incident happened in Bethany, near the fourth dimension of Jesus' Passion, that a woman anointed Jesus with expensive perfume, that there were objections to what she had washed, that Jesus defended her action as a sign of his impending expiry, and that he included reference to 'ever having the poor with you'. Mark includes a few more than details than Matthew, and John tends to agree with Marker (mentioning the perfume equally (spike)nard, and it existence worth a year's wages).
The account in Luke vii.36–50 is quite unlike, with the incident in that location happening in the north of the land, earlier in Jesus' ministry, at the habitation of a Pharisee (though also called Simon, a very common Jewish name) where Jesus is all-powerful past a 'sinful woman' and he responds with education not about the poor but most devotion in response to forgiveness. Despite all these differences, the accounts have repeatedly been conflated—indeed, it is almost incommunicable to notice in the history of art a depiction of the anointing at Bethany faithful to the first three accounts (my picture is past Rubens of the anointing co-ordinate to Luke!). Based on the supposition that there could not take been ii dissimilar anointings (which I don't call back is justified) and noting the one connection of the wiping of Jesus' feet with the woman's hair in both John'due south and Luke'due south stories, information technology has been assumed that the Mary of Bethany is the same as Mary Magdalene and that she is besides the sinful woman, as an estimation of the statement in Luke 8.2 that Mary Magdalene has been delivered of 'seven demons'. The conflation of the three figures (Mary of B, Mary M, the sinful woman) and the association of demons with sinfulness, are all unhelpful and unwarranted.
Turning to the account in John 12.one–viii, as we are reading we demand to note specially two pairs of features of the Johannine narratives. The get-go is the combination of 'reality effects' which give realistic particular with the utilize of heavy symbolic significance. A skilful example of this from earlier in the gospel is the timing of Jesus' conversations with Nicodemus and the woman at the well in capacity 3 and 4: the evening is a realistic time to hold a conversation, even so the twilight also signifies Nicodemus' lack of understanding, whilst the woman comes to the well at noon having been shunned by her peers, nonetheless the wide daylight symbolises her articulate understanding by the finish of the meet. The 2d pair of features we need to notation is analepsis (making connections with what has gone before) and prolepsis (making connections in apprehension of what will come).
Where the previous incident of the raising of Lazarus lacked a time reference, John now resumes his feature counting of days (encounter the sequence of references to 'the adjacent day' in the opening chapters). The mention of 'six days before the Passover' both connects this narrative to Jesus' coming death, starting a kind of Passion week countdown (so that this passage is often read on the Monday of Holy Calendar week), but also offers the third mention of Passover, giving us a chronological shape to the ministry of Jesus (covering all or role of three years) just more than chiefly connecting Jesus' ministry building with the Jewish festivals and symbolically signifying Jesus as the Passover lamb. This began with John the Baptist's clarification of Jesus as the 'lamb of God' in John 1.36 and will be completed by John's scheduling of the crucifixion at the time of the cede of the passover lamb—a schedule which might well exist more historically accurate than the traditional timing.
The explicit mention of Lazarus and his beingness raised is the commencement example of analepsis, connecting this story with the narrative of the preceding chapter—though John notes that this meal did not take place in the house of Lazarus, thus agreeing with Matthew and Marking. Martha serves in a applied way, contrasted with Mary'due south more than extravagant action; this concurs both with the difference we already saw in chapter eleven, simply likewise with the distinction in Luke'south unique account of the sisters in Luke x.38–42, though here in John Martha'due south service is depicted positively, using the discipleship termdiakoneo. Lazarus is 'reclining at tabular array' with Jesus, a prolepsis (apprehension) of the intimacy of the 'beloved disciple' at the Last Supper in John thirteen.23, but that is no reason to suppose that these two are the same figure (if and then, why mention Lazarus' name here merely not in the adjacent chapter?).
The introduction of Mary needs no explanation, since we know from chapter 11 who all three characters are—and their introduction at that place includes a proleptic mention of this very episode in apprehension. Similar Marker, John includes mention of the proper noun of the perfume and its value, but also includes details of the quantity (a Roman 'pound',litra) and its effect—that it fills the whole house (which might have been a single room) with its fragrance. Perhaps this as well symbolically signifies that such a costly act of worship has an impact on all who are close enough to witness it. Mary'southward action at Jesus' feet (in dissimilarity to Matthew and Marker, who mention just his head) functions both as analepsis and prolepsis, recalling Mary's falling at Jesus' feet in John eleven.32 and anticipating Jesus' washing the disciples' feet in John thirteen.five.
Where Matthew and Mark ascribe the complaint to the disciples in general, John specifies it as coming from Judas. The name is mentioned twelve times in this gospel, and the very beginning mention of Judas Iscariot in John 6.71 already anticipates his betrayal. The connectedness of Judas with the common purse is continued in John 13.29; the word for 'purse' here isglossokomon, which occurs simply in these ii places in the New Testament (contrast pera in Luke 9.3 and 10.4) and more than usually means 'coffin'. The contrast of responses to Jesus represented by Mary and Judas matches the conflicted responses to the raising of Lazarus explored in John 11.45–57; the division amidst the people is matched by a partition amid the disciples, and the conflict across Jesus' circumvolve is now felt as a disharmonize within Jesus' circle. And this narrative is typical of John's overall positive depiction of women, often in contrast to men; the understanding of the woman at the well contrasts with the bafflement of Nicodemus, and at the cross the women remain every bit witnesses when most of the men (with the exception of the 'love disciple') accept fled. Fifty-fifty at the tomb on Easter Sunday morning, the men exit the garden whilst Mary Magdalene lingers and encounters Jesus. It is worth noting, though, that John's purpose in describing these characters is never primarily to make the states focus on them—rather, he tells their story in order to teach usa something about Jesus.
John agrees with Matthew and Mark in quoting Jesus' understanding that Mary's activity anticipated his death (using the metonym of 'burying'). But he sharpens the emphasis by describing Mary equally 'keeping this' for the occasion. Some commentators have inferred that she has held back some of the perfume, and what remains will actually exist used in the anointing of Jesus' body, thus actually connecting this action with his death (which is why John omits mention of 'breaking' the canteen). But I call up a amend reading is to run into Jesus understanding that she has waited until this moment to anoint him, signifying the imminence of his death and the coming of 'the hour' which has, until now, been delayed (see John 2.4).
As in Matthew and Mark's account, Jesus here alludes to the command in Deut 15.eleven to e'er be ready to care for the poor, since there volition always be people in need of our compassion and open hands. There is no demand to see here a sharp contrast between extravagant worship and service; later on all, the very next chapter sees Jesus in humble service to his disciples, and we hear his command to emulate his instance. Jesus is the one who claim our most improvident worship, but who likewise merits our obedience; any we can offering him is equally nothing in comparing with the extravagant gift he has given u.s.a. in pouring out his life equally an atoning sacrifice and a precious souvenir of dear for each 1 of the states.
Drawing some of these insights together, this is the curt devotion I wrote for Scripture Union'southCome across with God notes a couple of years ago:
John did not tell us anything nearly the timing of the raising of Lazarus. But he now returns to his usual practice, and links the anointing at Bethany in timeforrard with the coming Passover (agreeing with the accounts in Matthew and Marking), and backwards with both place and person. The connectedness with Lazarus is not mentioned in the other gospels; the fact that he himself was in danger of betrayal (v ten) might have led them to omit mention of him.
John's gospel is full of conflict, and this story crackles with tension. As in Luke x, Martha is busy with serving, equally she no doubt thinks fit. How does she view Mary's activity? Extravagant? Unnecessary? Improper? Attention-seeking? Why can't Mary bear witness her dear in unobtrusive practical action equally she is doing? What about the men there; how exercise they view Mary? As profligate? And provocative? To let downwards one's hair in that culture could easily be seen as flaunting your sexuality. The disciples (in Matthew and Marker, personified in John past Judas) see some other problem. The take a common purse, and relied on the generosity of others (Luke 8.3), and if Mary actually wanted to back up Jesus, she should have donated the money. After all, Beth-any means 'Business firm of the Poor', so she could hardly take missed the betoken.
Jesus' comment is difficult to translate, but points still again to a deeper meaning of her action. She has made this sacrifice out of her love and devotion to Jesus. And her action points beyond this, to Jesus' own sacrifice out of his love and devotion to the world. Her sacrifice is non an culling to care for the poor; Jesus quotes Deut 15.xi as a reminder that nosotros must always care for them. Merely such intendance must testify to our devotion to Jesus and his love for the world.
What costly human activity of devotion is Jesus calling you to today? To what outward deed of caring for others is he calling you, as an expression both of your devotion and of his love for the world?
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