Mary Magdalene/Bethany, Simon the Leper/Pharisee
When I got to the encounter for Simon the Leper that I originally had at #53, I realized that the verses referenced were the same between Mary M & Simon. After reading Mary M’s encounter again, my discussion about Simon the Leper was already in this encounter. While Mary is mentioned in the encounter with Lazarus, his encounter was already 3 parts long, hence creating a new encounter for Mary.
Matthew 26:6-13, Mark 14:3-9, Luke 7:36-50, 8:1-3, John 12:1-11
And it came about that when they approached Jerusalem, and had come to Bethphage and Bethany, near the mount that is called “Olivet”, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany where Lazarus was, [who had died,]T whom He raised from the dead. And when Jesus was in Bethany at the home of Simon the leper, they made for Him a supper there, and Martha was serving, and Lazarus was one of those sitting at the table with Him.
Therefore, sitting at the table, Mary came to Him with an alabaster vial – a pound of very costly perfume of pure nard. And she broke the vial and poured it down on His head. And she anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair, and the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.
But some disciples, Judas Iscariot being one of His disciples, who was intending to betray Him, were indignant when they saw this, remarking to one another, and said, “Why has this perfume been wasted? For this perfume might have been sold for a high price, over three hundred denarius, and the money given to the poor.” And they were scolding her. And he said this, not because he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and he kept the things that were put in it.
But Jesus (being) aware of this, said to them, “Let her alone, so that she may keep it. Why do you bother her, for she has done a good deed to Me. For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you wish, you can do them good. But you do not always have Me. She has done what she could. For when she poured this perfume on My body, she has anointed My body beforehand, to prepare Me for the day of My burial. And truly I say to you, wherever this Gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what this one did will also be spoken of in remembrance of her.”
Therefore, a great crowd of the Jews knew that He was there, and they came, not because of Jesus only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He raised from the dead.
And the chief priests took counsel, that they might also kill Lazarus, because on account of him many of the Jews were going away, and believed in Jesus.
The above was from the merged gospels. Below is the passage from Luke that I feel is part of this encounter.
Luke 7:36-50
But a certain one of the Pharisees asked Him that He might eat with him. And entering the house of the Pharisee, He sat down.
And behold, there was a woman in the city, a sinner. And knowing that He sat in the house of the
Pharisee, took an alabaster vase of ointment, And standing behind (Him), beside His feet, weeping, she began to wet His feet with tears, and she was wiping them with the hairs of her head, and was kissing His feet, and was anointing the ointment.
But the Pharisee who called Him saw this, and spoke within himself, saying, “If this One were a prophet, He would know who and what kind of woman this is who is touching Him, that she is a sinner.”
And answering, Jesus said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.”
And he said, “Teacher, speak.”
“There were two debtors to a certain creditor. The one was owing five hundred denari, and the other fifty. But having nothing to give back, he forgave both. Which of them then will love him more?”
And Simon answered and said, “I suppose that one to whom he forgave more.”
And He said to him, “You judged correctly.”
And turning toward the woman, He said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered into your house. You did not give (Me) water for My feet, but this woman wet My feet with tears, and wiped (them) with the hairs [of her head]T. You did not give a kiss to Me, but from the time I came in, this woman did not cease kissing My feet. You did not anoint My head with oil, but this woman anointed My feet with ointment. Therefore, I say to you, her many sins have been forgiven, because she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, little does he love.”
And He said to her, “Your sins have been forgiven.”
And those sitting with Him were saying within themselves, “Who is this, Who even forgives sins?”
And He said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.”
Luke 8:1-3 (This chapter break seems forced to me…)
And it happened that afterward also he was going about from one town and village to another preaching and proclaiming the good news concerning the kingdom of God, and the twelve were with him, and some women who had been healed of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (who was called Magdalene), from whom seven demons had gone out, and Joanna the wife of Chuza (Herod’s household manager), and Susanna, and many others who were helping to support them from their possessions.
Now to explain my logic for combining the above – both Mary Magdalene with Mary Bethany, as well as Simon the leper and Simon the Pharisee. See the following chart to see the similarities for both Mary and Simon.
Hopefully you can see the similarities above. (Scroll to the right to see all columns.) But to summarize, here’s my thought process.
First, I know that Matthew, Mark and John were talking about Mary of Bethany since she is named in John. Therefore, Simon the leper is inferred for John’s account because of Matthew and Luke.
Second, although Luke’s account seems out of place, there are just too many similarities In Luke’s account that this had to be the same account. Simon is named, there’s an alabaster flask, perfumed oil or ointment, very costly (alabaster flask in Luke implies that), Poured out on Jesus’ head in Matthew and Mark, but feet mentioned in Luke and John (If a full flask is poured on someone’s head, it’s most likely going to get on their feet), Jesus did mention that the purpose was to anoint His body for burial in Matthew and Mark.
Far too many similarities to say that the Luke account was a different house of a different Simon, a different alabaster flask, and a different woman – at least those are the similarities I noticed. There are other instances in the Gospels of fewer similarities and we are told it’s the same instance.
I also found that there are several times that the gospel writers did not follow the same chronology. See https://153-fish.org/comparing-chronologies/ Luke does seem to use themes in his accounts.
Here’s a summary of Luke 7 generated in the Logos Bible App:
Luke chapter 7 primarily focuses on demonstrating Christ’s love and compassion through various encounters and teachings. The chapter begins with Jesus healing a centurion’s servant, showcasing the centurion’s love for his servant and faith in Jesus[1]. Following this, Jesus raises the son of a widow in Nain, displaying his compassion for the bereaved[1]. The chapter also addresses John the Baptist’s inquiries about Jesus’ Messiahship, with Jesus pointing to his works among the afflicted and poor as evidence[1]. Additionally, the chapter includes an explanation of how publicans and harlots were saved while Pharisees were not, stemming from an incident at a Pharisee’s dinner[1]. Throughout these events, Luke emphasizes the importance of love for God and fellow humans as a means to commend oneself to the Lord[1].
[1] James B. Coffman, Commentary on Luke, The James Burton Coffman Commentaries (A. C. U. Press, 1984), Lk 7.
To me it seems that Luke chose the account of the woman anointing Jesus to place here to fit his theme in this section. Chronology wasn’t important at this time. It is important for major events – like the nativity before His baptism, then He calls the 12 disciples, and of course His crucifixion at the end before His resurrection.
But to infer that Luke names Mary Magdalene? I look at the fact that Luke calls her a sinner in Luke 7:37, 39. If you ignore the chapter break since none of the writers in the Bible used chapter or verse numbers, in Luke 8:2 the only woman specifically mentioned as a sinner is Mary Magdalene. I think this is a clue that was dropped for us to see, but the meaning was hidden from the Pharisees and Sadducees. Not the strongest link, but it is a link.
We already know that Lazarus was in danger of being killed after his being raised from the dead, so maybe Mary had to go into hiding as well. The writers of the Gospels wanted to be careful of exposing who Mary was as she was the sister of Lazarus. Plus, after Lazarus was raised from the dead, we don’t hear much about him, at least not directly. He is another interesting character in this unfolding story, as seen in his earlier encounter.
Here’s another chart that shows the connection between Mary Magdalene and Mary Bethany. This one came from the book “The Beloved Disciple: His Name, His Story, His Thought” – by Vernard Eller. It is available free online at http://www.hccentral.com/eller8/
I encourage you to read this book from the start to get an understanding of the logic behind his decision to both name the beloved disciple, and the possibility that Mary Magdalene=Mary Bethany. He only uses the Bible as his source, as well as a Sherlock Holmes style investigation.
Number of Fish: 2
Total Fish: 126
153 Fish 