The Third* Annointing
Thereafter, while Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, a woman came to him with an alabaster jar filled with nard, and as he sat at the table, she broke open the jar and poured the costly ointment on his head. [Matthew 26:6-7 & Mark 14:3] … But when the disciples saw her do so, some of them became angry and scolded her (echoing the same criticism that Judas Iscariot had levied on Mary a few days earlier for a similar deed), saying “Why [again] such waste? For this ointment [too] could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii, and the money given to the poor.” [Matthew 26:8-9, Mark 14:4-5 & John 12:1-8] … And yet Jesus, upon hearing this, rebuked them, saying, “Leave her be. Why do you trouble her? She has performed a good service for me. You will always have the poor with you, and will be able to show them kindness whenever you wish, but you will not always have me. By pouring this ointment over me she has prepared my body beforehand for burial. Truly, I tell you, wherever the Good News is proclaimed throughout the whole world, what she has done will be told in remembrance of her.” [Matthew 26:10-13 & Mark 14:6-9]
*Jesus’ first anointing in the Bible is seen in Luke 7:36-48. It was also effectuated by a woman named “Mary” (seemingly the same woman referenced in John 11:2), and was also performed in the house of Simon the Pharisee (who happened to have a skin ailment that caused him to also be known as a “leper” – see Matthew 26:6 & Mark 14:3). That this initial anointing was not the same one mentioned above is evidenced by its stark differences – that there Mary anointed Jesus’ feet, not his head; and that then she did so to honor him, not to prepare him for imminent burial … Jesus’ second anointing in the Bible is seen in John 12:1-8, and took place “six days before the Passover” in the home of Lazarus – just three days prior to the third anointing mentioned above. [again, see Matthew 26:10-13 & Mark 14:6-9]
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