Then Mary took a pound of perfume, pure and expensive nard, anointed Jesus’s feet, and wiped his feet with her hair. So the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. [John 12:1-3 (CSB)]
While he was in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, as he was reclining at the table, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured it on his head. [Mark 14:3 (CSB)]
Luke’s anointing of Jesus by a “sinful” woman at the home of Simon the Pharisee is not to be confused with the anointings related by Matthew, Mark, and John. Their gospels all tell of a dinner where a woman lavishly anoints Jesus in Bethany near the end of Jesus’ ministry. In John 12:1-11, the dinner seems to occur six days before the Passover and was given to honor Jesus for raising Lazarus from the dead. Martha served Jesus and the disciples, Lazarus was present, and Mary (Martha’s sister) anointed the Lord. Using a pound of nard (an expensive and aromatic ointment), she anointed Jesus’ feet and wiped them with her hair. Noting that the nard was worth about a year’s wages, Judas complained at the wastefulness and asked why it wasn’t sold and the money given to the poor. Noting that Judas was the one who would betray Jesus, John explains that he didn’t care about the poor; Judas was a thief who stole from the money bag!
Similar (but not identical) to John’s story are the versions found in Matthew 26:6-13 and Mark 14:3-9. Their placement in the gospels leads us to think this event occurred after Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, two days before the Passover. Neither gospel mentions Lazarus, Martha, Mary, or name the woman who did the anointing. They both identify the dinner’s host as Simon the leper (not to be confused with Luke’s Simon “the Pharisee.”) Simon was the most common name in 1st century Palestine. Any skin ailment was called leprosy and calling him “the leper” distinguished him from the other Simons in Bethany. Although his skin condition was healed, his nickname remained. An unnamed woman approached Jesus with an alabaster jar of perfume and poured the expensive nard on Jesus’ head. Rather than singling out Judas as did John, Matthew said “the disciples” and Mark said “some” complained of such an extravagant waste of money.
All three gospels tell us that Jesus responded to the men’s indignation by defending the woman and telling them to leave her alone. Referring to His death just days away, He tells the men they always will have the poor but they won’t always have Him, adding that the woman anointed Him in preparation for His burial. Unlike many others, it appears she was one of the few who understood that Jesus was soon to die!
While there is a remote possibility there were two anointings in Bethany that week, most scholars think we have three accounts of the same incident. Divergent accounts are not necessarily false ones and the differences in the three versions are easily reconciled. While it’s easy to assume the dinner was at Lazarus’ house, John says “they” gave a dinner for Jesus but never says who “they” are. We know Martha, Mary, and Lazarus were siblings but, for all we know, Simon was their father or Martha’s husband! Regardless of who hosted it, Martha serving the meal certainly was true to her character. That Mark and Matthew don’t mention the presence of Martha, Mary, or Lazarus doesn’t mean they weren’t there; they don’t name any of the guests.
Although Matthew and Mark say “the disciples” or “some” were indignant about the extravagant waste of money, that doesn’t mean Judas didn’t complain—only that he wasn’t the only disciple to object. While the other disciples’ objections may have been for philanthropic reasons, John made it clear that Judas’s harsh words were those of a disappointed thief and betrayer!
Mark and Matthew specifically say the woman poured the nard on Jesus’ head while John says Mary anointed His feet, but none say “only” head or feet. Twelve ounces of nard was enough to anoint both. Anointing the feet and then wiping them with one’s hair rather than a towel was a profound act of humility. By mentioning the feet, John was emphasizing Mary’s willingness to humble herself in service and worship.
As to the issue of chronology, the gospel writers didn’t always write chronologically. Writing to a specific audience with a specific purpose, they often wrote topically or thematically. Rather than in sequential order, events often were placed where they fit best. Moreover, without paragraph indentations and chapter headings, we can’t be sure where certain events end and others begin or when those events occurred. John merely says that Jesus came to Bethany six days before the Passover, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the dinner was held then. Despite what at first seem to be inconsistencies, Matthew, Mark, and John all seem to have related the same event from their unique perspectives.
Whenever we find what seem to be contradictory accounts in the gospels, they turn out to be complementary; rather than conflicting with one another, we find they flesh out the story with other details. As John pointed out at the end of his gospel, much that happened in Jesus’ time on earth was not recorded.
Devotions of the Heart 