All four Gospels record a crying woman who anointed Jesus with costly ointment. When we find a story repeated it is often instructive to study it in parallel. My specific reason for comparing them, was to see if all four recount the same event, or if Jesus was actually anointed twice. I don't draw any conclusions here, only present what I have found, because how many times it happened is not really that important. More important are the lessons we can learn from this story, especially about our expressions of love and giving to Christ.
| Matthew 26:6-13 | Mark 14:3-9 | Luke 7:36-50 | John 12:1-8 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Context | Matthew 24 — Disciples admire the temple. Jesus is
on the mount of Olives talking about the end times. |
Mark 13 — Disciples admire the temple. Jesus is on the
mount of Olives talking about the end times. |
||
| Matthew 25 — Waiting for Christ's return: Parable of the 10 virgins, Parable of the talents. Separation of the sheep from the goats. | Luke 6:1-11 — Lord of the Sabbath. Luke 6:12-16 — Choosing the 12 disciples. Luke 6:17-49 — Sermon on the Mount. Luke 7:1-10 — Healing of the Centurion's servant in Capernaum. Luke 7:11-17 — Raising the Widow's son back to life in Nain. Luke 7:18-35 — John the Baptist enquirers if Jesus is the Messiah. |
John 11:1-44 — Jesus raises Lazarus from the
dead. |
||
| Matthew 26:3-5 — The chief priests, elders and scribes gather at Caiaphas' palace and plot to kill Jesus. | Mark 14:1, 2 — The chief priests and scribes plot to kill Jesus. | John 11:45-54 — The chief priests and Pharisees take counsel to kill Jesus. Caiaphas speaks to them. | ||
| Date | Matthew 26:2 — Jesus says that the feast of the
Passover was in two days and that he would be betrayed then. Matthew 26:6 — There is a context switch so the preceding verses may only set the general time frame. |
Mark 14:1 — The Passover feast was in two
days. Mark 14:3 — Same context switch as in Matthew. |
None given | John 11:55 — The Passover was nigh at hand. John 12:1 — Jesus arrived in Bethany six days before the Passover. |
| Place | Matthew 26:6 — Bethany | Mark 14:3 — Bethany | None given, but Capernaum and Nain are a long way away from Bethany. | John 11:1 — Lazarus lived in Bethany. John 12:1 — Jesus came to Bethany. |
| Host | Matthew 26:6 — Jesus was in the house of Simon the leper | Mark 14:3 — Jesus was in the house of Simon the leper | Luke 7:36, 40 — Simon the Pharisee | John 12:2 — There they made him a supper; and Martha served.Lazarus was there, but it may not have been his house. |
| Ointment | Matthew 26:7 — alabaster box of very precious ointment.The ointment was poured on Jesus' head. |
Mark 14:3 — an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard very precious.It was broken and poured on Jesus' head. |
Luke 7:37 — alabaster box of ointment Luke 7:38, 44-46 — She washed, wiped, kissed, and anointed Jesus' feet. |
John 12:3 — a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly.The odor filled the house. John 12:3 — She anointed Jesus' feet and wiped them with her hair. |
| Woman | Matthew 26:7 — Only called a woman. Matthew 26:13 — This woman's actions would go with the gospel all over the world, as a memorial to her. |
Mark 14:3 — Only called a woman. Mark 14:9 — This woman's actions would go with the gospel all over the world, as a memorial to her. |
Luke 7:37 — The woman was from that city. Luke 7:37, 39 — She was a sinner. Her sins were publicly known. |
John 11:2; John 12:3 — It was Mary the sister of Lazarus. |
| Response of those watching | Matthew 26:8, 9 — The disciples were indignant and thought it should have been sold and the money given to the poor. | Matthew 14:4, 5 — The disciples were indignant and murmured because they thought it should have been given to the poor. | Luke 7:39 — Simon thought that if Jesus knew she was a sinner, He wouldn't let her touch Him. | John 12:4-6 — Judas Iscariot thought it should have been sold and given to the poor, under his direction. |
| Jesus' response | Matthew 26:10-12 — Jesus said not to trouble her, what she did was preparation for His burial. | Mark 14:6-8 — Jesus defended her and said she did
a good work. She hath done what she could.She had anointed Jesus in preparation for His burial. |
Luke 7:40-47 — Jesus said she loved much because
much had been forgiven much. Luke 7:48-50 — Jesus told the woman that her sins were forgiven and sent her away in peace. |
John 12:7-8 — Jesus defended her and said it was for His burial. |
Notes:
- In Matthew and Mark the account of the disciples admiring the temple and Jesus' discussion of the end times is given shortly before the account of the woman anointing Jesus feet. In Luke, this account is much later in the book (Luke 21).
- In Jesus' day Simon appears to have been a very common name.
- There are apparently 9 Simmons in the New Testament: Simon surnamed Peter (Matthew 4:18; Mark 3:16), Simon the Canaanite one of the 12 disciples (Matthew 10:4), Simon Jesus' bother (Matthew 13:55), Simon the leper (Matthew 26:6), Simon of Cyrene who carried Jesus' cross (Matthew 27:32), Simon the Pharisee (Luke 7:40), Simon the father of Judas (John 6:71), Simon the sorcerer (Acts 8:9), Simon the tanner (Acts 9:43).
- So that fact that the hosts in Matthew, Mark, and Luke all have the same name, could be simply coincidental.
- It is certain that Jesus healed many lepers (Matthew 11:5; Luke 7:22), the only specific accounts we have seem to have occurred up in Galilee and Samaria (Matthew 8:1-5; Mark 1:39-45; Luke 5:1, 12-16; Luke 17:11-19). It is interesting that the healing of the leper in Matthew comes right between the Sermon on the Mount and the healing of the Centurion's servant (Near the time frame of Luke 7). Judging from what the leper in Matthew said, it is very unlikely though that he is also Simon the Pharisee who doubted that Jesus was a even a prophet.
- There are only a couple other stories we have about Mary: Luke 10:38-42; John 11:1-45
For ye have the poor always with you; but me ye have not always.
— Jesus is not saying,never mind about the poor.
- We know that God cares very much about how we treat the poor (Isaiah 58:6-12).
- 1 Corinthians 13:3 — The key is likely not the recipient of the gift, but the attitude. Mary made this sacrifice to show her love for Jesus. It was not love that motivated the disciples to say that the money was better given to the poor, it was either a piety or greed (John 12:6).
