Who Anointed Jesus?
Let's
Give Credit where Credit is due
James
Banfield
Mar 31, 2009 /Dec 20, 2011
Giving
Credit where Credit is due;
Who
anointed Jesus with Myrrh and Where did it take place? And why did
this episode even occur?
And yes, I have even heard the
comment, 'Who Cares?'.
Here is an answer to that statement
... Matthew 26:13 "Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this
gospel shall be preached in the whole world, there shall also this,
that this woman hath done, be told for a memorial of her."
What does this tell you? I would have to believe that The
Lord Cares as to whom anointed him that day, and he cares a whole
bunch if we were giving the credit to the wrong person, wouldn't he?
It would so seem that we need to take the same care as to whom God
chose to anoint HIM and also as to where it happened, and all the
circumstances relating to the event and it was an Event. …
Also to answer the naysayers, “Who Cares?” The answer is
the Why did it happen!
More than half of the people I have
asked say that the woman who anointed Jesus was Mary Magdelene. And
for a time I also believed that it was her or someone like her. Never
did it occur to me who it really was, nor did it occur to me where it
happened for in this scripture I always thought it to be at Lazarus'
place in Bethany and I must add, that a lot of seminary professors
with years of study say the same thing. But We were all wrong. Even
Wikipedia is wrong when you google it! But that's a little later.
What little I know of the Gospels, The Lord had me write a
movie, for what purpose? I thought it was to have it produced so that
evreone could enjoy the ministry of Jesus per the scriptures, not
man. But what really happened was that I began to see things that
otherwise I wouldn't have even bothered to investigate. "The
Integrated Gospels" When you put the 4 Gospels together side by
side on the common events such as the anointing of Jesus. You will
find that the event is told from 4 different points of view, but all
four views are INTEGRATED! When you realize this, everything is
clearer, much clearer. This Event is No exception. Now, watch!,
because you will learn some incredible awesome things that the Lord
has in store for us. AWESOME is the polite way to express what you
are about to see. Hold on, Here We Go!
How can we put the four
gospels side by side? so as to compare in sequence what each of the 4
Apostles were able to write of? How about a Table? That wont work too
many verses to compare … but italic common words within the
verses that will bring out the common denominators and that would
work!
The scriptures: Matthew 26:6-13 / Mark 14:3-9 / Luke
7:36-46 / John 12:1-11
Matthew
26:6-13
[6] Now when Jesus was in
Bethany,
in the house
of Simon the leper,
[7]
There came unto him a woman
having an alabaster box
of very
precious ointment, and poured
it on his head,
as he sat
at meat.
[8]
But when his disciple(s?) saw it, they had
indignation,
saying, To
what purpose is this waste?
[9] For this ointment might have been
sold
for much, and given to the poor.
[10]
When Jesus understood it, he said unto them, Why
trouble ye the woman?
for she hath wrought
a good work upon me.
[11]
For ye
have the poor always with you;
but me
ye have not always.
[12]
For in that she
hath poured this ointment on my body,
she did it for
my burial.
[13]
Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever
this gospel shall be preached in
the whole world, there shall also this, that
this woman hath done,
be told
for a memorial of her.
Mark 14:3-9
[3]
And being in
Bethany in
the house
of Simon the leper,
as he sat
at meat,
there came a woman
having an alabaster box of ointment of
spikenard very precious; and she brake the box, and poured
it on his head.
[4]
And there were some that had
indignation within
themselves, and said, Why was this waste
of the ointment made?
(JB-Who
made such a comment?)
[5] For it might
have been sold for
more than three
hundred pence,
and have been given
to the poor.
And they
murmured against her.
[6]
And Jesus said, Let
her alone;
why
trouble ye her?
she hath wrought
a good work on me.
[7]
For ye
have the poor with you always,
and whensoever ye will ye may do them good: but me
ye have not always.
[8]
She hath done
what she could:
she is come aforehand
to anoint my body
to the
burying.
[9]
Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever
this gospel shall be preached
throughout
the whole world, this also that
she hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her.
Luke 7:36-46
[36]
And one of the
Pharisees
desired
him that he
would eat
with him.
And he went into the Pharisee's
house,
and sat
down to meat.
[37]
And, behold, a
woman in the city (From Bethany),
which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat
at meat in
the Pharisee's
house,
(JB-I thought he was a leper?)brought an alabaster
box of ointment,
[38]
And stood at his feet behind
him weeping,
and began to wash
his feet with tears,
and did
wipe
them with the hairs of her head,
and kissed
his feet,
and
anointed
them with
the ointment.
[39] Now when the Pharisee
which had bidden him saw it,
he spake
within himself,
saying, (thinking to himself) “This
man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of
woman this is that toucheth him: for she is a sinner.”
[40]
And Jesus answering said unto him, Simon,
(The pharisee is identified as Simon) I have somewhat to say unto
thee. And he saith, Master, say on.
[41] There was a certain
creditor which had two debtors: the
one owed five hundred pence,
and the
other fifty.
[42]
And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave
them both.
Tell me therefore, which
of them will love him most?
[43]
Simon
answered
and said, I suppose that he, to
whom he forgave most.
And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged.
[44] And he turned
to
the woman,
and said unto Simon, Seest
thou this woman?
I entered
into thine house, thou
gavest me no water for my feet:
but
she
hath washed my feet with tears,
and wiped
them with the hairs of her head.
[45]
Thou gavest
me no kiss: but
this woman
since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet.
[46]
My
head with oil thou didst not anoint:
but this woman
hath anointed my feet with ointment.
[47]
Wherefore I say unto thee, Her
sins,
which are many, are
forgiven;
for she
loved much:
but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.
[48] And
he said unto her, Thy
sins are forgiven.
[49]
And they that sat
at meat with
him began to say within themselves, Who
is this that forgiveth sins also?
[50]
And he said to
the woman,
Thy
faith hath saved thee;
go in
peace.
John 12:1-11
[1]
Then Jesus
six days before the passover
came to
Bethany,
where
Lazarus was which had been dead,
whom
he raised from the dead.
(JB-They
were not
at
Lazarus's house as some weould believe but Jesus
did bring
Lazarus with him which would infuriate the Pharisees for Lazarus had
been raised from the dead)
[2] There they made him a supper; and
Martha
served:
but Lazarus
was one of them that sat at the table
with
him.
[3] Then
took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed
the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house
was filled with the odour of the ointment.
[4]
Then saith one of his disciples, Judas
Iscariot,
(JB-here
is who challenged Jesus) Simon's
son
(JB-Simon
who? Simon the Leper? or Simon The Pharisee, or Simon The Zealot one
of the 12? Or Simon Peter?), which should betray him,
[5] Why was
not this ointment
sold for three hundred pence,
and given
to the poor?
[6]
This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because
he was a thief,
and had
the bag,
and bare what was put therein.
[7] Then said Jesus, Let
her alone:
against
the day of my burying hath she kept this.
[8]
For the poor
always ye have with you;
but me
ye have not always.
[9]
Much people of the Jews
therefore knew that he was there:
and they
came not for Jesus'
sake only, but
that they might see Lazarus also,
whom he had raised from the dead.
[10] But the chief
priests consulted that
they might
put Lazarus also to death;
[11]
Because that by reason of him many
of the Jews
went away,
and believed
on Jesus.
With all the Italics, we can see some verification through duplicating....
Where:
Bethany
Whose
Place?: Simon
the Leper/Simon the Pharisee
The
Woman: Where did she come from? Bethany … "in the city"
identified
as being from the city of Bethany
The Woman: Identified in John
as “Mary” but which one?
In all four
gospels they all confirm that the event happened in Bethany.
but there on they seem to differ, or do they?
Matthew says it was
Simon,
the leper,
so does Mark, but Luke, who took painstaking time and care to write
it all down carefully, says that it was Simon,
The Pharisee and
Jesus confirms it was Simon,
the
Pharisee by asking the one who invited him to dinner a direct
question, which the Lord named as Simon.
John did not indentify whose place they were in except to say that
Lazarus was at the table with all the guests. Hmm?
None of them Identified who it was that anointed Jesus in this particular part of the scriptures. Although in John he does announce that Lazarus, Sister Martha, were there. Then in verse :3 John actually comes out and says it was Mary who came out and anointed Jesus. But, was it Lazarus' sister, or another Mary? We will see who she really is in just a minute ...
But
what is most intriguing is that there is a hint of something here in
this event that most do not see. The one who was the traitor, Judas
Iscariot is
mentioned and a side comment as to who his father was is also
mentioned. John didn't have much of a high opinion of Judas as he
even called him
a
thief, but
he mentions that Judas'
dad was Simon!
Now, he
could be talking about Simon Peter , or Simon -Jesus' half brother ,
or Simon The Leper / Simon The Pharisee, hmmm? or is there another
Simon who was known to the 12 on a First name basis. Yes there was
one wasn't there? ... Simon the Zealot one of the 12! We can
eliminate Simon Peter so too Simon Jesus' brother, very possible
Judas could have been Simon the Leper / Simon the Pharisee, a good
possibility, but if that were the case - wouldn't they have mentioned
that they were at meat at Judas' dad's place? who was a Pharisee? In
John 13 John is writing of the last supper where the 12 were with the
Lord. After the dinner Jesus washed the feet of each disciple. Again
when he got to Judas, John identifies his dad as "Simon's Son"
Here is an intimate moment amongest the 12. Again, to me, verifying
that Simon must be one who is very very close to the 12 if not one of
them. Definitely. So, by process of elimination I believe that
Judas' dad was Simon the Zealot! John has a hint of pity for Simon's
dad, for here was another of the 12 who had to live with the idea
that his own son was the one who gave The Lord over to the Sanhedrin.
You think that Peter had a tough time denying the Lord 3 times? Only
to be forgiven by the Lord?
The place where they had sat to
meat was Simon, The Pharisee who must have contracted leprosy and was
healed by Jesus earlier. Simon the Pharisee was from Bethany and
Lazarus, Martha and Mary also lived in Bethany so he, Simon the
Pharisee knew them and they came over to help with the dinner, but
where was Mary as it says in John that Martha served.
Let's
see where is she really is indentified? Which Mary was she? Mary
Magdalene? Mary the Mother of James? Mary, The Mother of Jesus? Which
Mary? Turn to John 11:1 "Now
a certai man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany, of Mary and her
sister Martha.
(2) It
was that Mary which anointed the Lord with the ointment and wiped his
feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick."
There it is! She is identified! It was Mary, Lazarus' and Martha's
sister! Wow!
Now is that all the discoveries in this event?
Let's see;
1. the Town was indeed Bethany
2. The house was
Simon the Pharisee who must have also been healed of leprosy
3. It
was Judas Iscariot who challenged the Lord as to the use of the
ointment and expensive oils to anoint him
4. It is a very good
chance that Judas' dad was none other than Simon The Zealot, one of
the 12
5. The lady that came into Simon The Pharisee's home was
Mary, Lazarus' sister.
6. The people outside of Simon's home were there to see the one who had been raised from the dead, Lazarus.
BUT that's Not All!!!!
WHY DID THIS EPISODE HAPPEN IN THE FIRST PLACE? There is a real reason why it did happen.. it had to happen!
Remember when the ladies got together to go to the Tomb to anoint the body of Jesus, for it was the right thing to do, a tradition? But Jesus wasn't there! He had already been resurected!! So they couldn't anoint his body.
IT HAD ALREADY BEEN DONE BY LAZARUS' SISTER MARY!
And why did she cry so many tears?
And
Jesus said, “Let her alone; why trouble ye her? she hath
wrought a good work on me.
[7] For ye have the poor with you
always, and whensoever ye will ye may do them good: but me ye have
not always.
[8] She hath done what she could: she
is come aforehand to anoint my body to the burying.”
AFOREHAND: SHE KNEW THAT HE WAS GOING TO DIE AND HAD TO ANOINT HIS BODY! ! !
There
is so much to discover when you compare the Four Gospels against each
other. You will find that they do not disagree with each other but
only give a much more definitive description of what happened in the
major events. Check out the feeding of the 5,000 or check out the
whole Sequence of the resurrection ... you will find through using a
Chart/Table process that something doesn't add up, you will be amazed
at what the real truth is.
Oh, in answer to the question
brought up to me, The Lord gave the answer as HE felt it should be.
You see, He wants the whole gospel preached in Truth, not from man's
own point of view but from the scriptures. So When someone says it
was Mary Magdalene who anointed Jesus, you can say,
“LET'S GIVE CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE,
it
was Mary, Lazarus and Martha's sister who anointed the Lord
Jesus.”
Amen
Blessings to all of you
In HIM
James
Banfield