THE INTRODUCTION
The parables are the direct words of Jesus! Now, open your ears, sharpen your understanding, and hear what He has to say!

COMMENTARY on the setting and
The Cast of Characters Involved

The Story

^{[John 12:1]} Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany – where Mary (of Magdala), and her sister and brother, Martha and Lazarus (who had died and Jesus had recently raised out of the dead) now lived.

^[Comment:]
Jesus travels in Galilee to the city of Bethany. It is here that one of at least two of His best friends live, Mary and her brother Lazarus. In the narrative it has only been a short time since Jesus had raised him from death to life.

 ^{[Special Comment:]}
The scriptures don’t say to whose home He is traveling but we would at least expect He would stop at their home to visit. It’s not a big leap to guess that, perhaps, it will be where this “dinner party” will take place. It certainly doesn’t have to be there, it’s just a conjecture. If it is their home, we might also jump to the conclusion that Simon the leper (the Pharisee) might also be an unbelieving family member. It’s also possible that he’s not related to them at all and the dinner party is at his home.

There are a number of “I don’t know, but…” commentaries out there. One even believes that Judas Iscariot (a descriptive not a name, Judas was probably from the city of Kerioth) is the son of Simon Peter – yes, the disciple Peter, or perhaps Simon the leper - the host of the dinner. We could also build the case that Judas put this dinner party together to please his Pharisee father (Simon) in another effort to trap Jesus.

Now I say all this so that you will know about all this “JUNK” information. Don’t get hung up on all the possible connections and unknowns, just remember that these are just things to ponder, but… it just doesn’t say. So, now let’s leave it behind, and get back to the biblical story.

^{[Luke 7:36]} a certain one of the Pharisees, a leper, was asking Jesus if He might eat with him.

^[Comment:]
This is a curious combination. One wonders if this Pharisee has, as we would call it, early onset leprosy. He’s still in his home and not yet cast away by society. It is interesting that both Matthew and Luke mention the fact that he is a leper. It’s also interesting that if Simon the Pharisee asked Jesus to visit… was he hoping for a cure? There’s no mention of a cure for him in the texts.

^{[John 12:2]} Mary and Martha made a supper there, and Martha was serving and Lazarus was a guest reclining at the table with Jesus, the Pharisee, and Jesus’ disciples.

^[Comment:]
John tells us that the woman is Mary, Lazarus’s sister, and what kind of perfumed ointment is used.

^{[Mark 14:3]} Mary, is from the city of Bethany and thought of by the Pharisee as “a sinner,” and having a one-pound alabaster box of perfumed ointment, spikenard (very precious), broke it open and did first pour some on Jesus’ head as He was reclining at dinner. ^{[Luke 7:38]} And having stood behind Jesus, moving down to beside His feet, was weeping and began to wet His feet with her tears and wiping them with her hair, anointing them also with the ointment. ^{[John 12:3]} And the house was filled with the fragrance of the ointment.

^Comment:
This, of course, is the highlight of the story. We have this woman, a sinner (like the rest of us) who, it would seem, has been with Jesus, seen His miracles, considered His fulfillment of many prophecies, been forgiven her sins, and, most importantly has heard and believed His statements about His soon removal from His ministry, going to be arrested, falsely charged, beaten, crucified-dead, and buried. She’s not clear on the resurrection – as she shows up on Sunday morning waiting to finish the embalming process… But she’s come to this dinner party prepared to begin that process.

Once in that setting, she has broken down in her love for her Messiah, began anointing His head and has settled at His feet in fallen perfumed ointment and tears. She uses what she can to cleans His feet, her hair and tears – for no one else has. No one else has anointed Him, no one else has spoken aloud concerning whom He is. No one else there understands who He is or what He is about to do for them all… or cares, but Mary of Magdala. In fact, ^{[Luke 7:39]} The Pharisee having seen what Mary had done said to himself, “This Jesus, if He were a prophet, would have known who and of what kind is this woman who doth touch him, that she is a sinner.”

Right here we need to interrupt the telling of this story and deal with a parable that Jesus interjects, the parable of “The Two Debtors.”

Like all cultures, there are certain “rules” when someone comes to your house. In Jesus’ day, three rituals were common:  a kiss of greeting, washing of feet, and anointing with oil.

Jesus’ subject matter will be about Simon the Leper’s thoughts, for “he said to himself.” It’s quite often that in the middle of a conversation we close our mouths and “murmur to ourselves,” especially when we don’t want anyone to know what we’re thinking. That’s what Simon did. But Jesus knew Simon’s mind on this woman, Mary. Luke’s telling of Jesus’ words will tell it all. Here’s Luke’s telling of this little parable:

^{[Luke 7:50]} Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

^[Comment:] The pharisee, in his rejection of Jesus as the Messiah has missed out on the forgiveness that could have been his. He is taken aback, and we have no more comments from him. However, the disciples, and others, are asking themselves,

^{[Luke 7:49]} “Who is this who even forgives sins?

^[Comment:] They still have no clue as to the true nature of Jesus. Peter and others have agreed that Jesus is the promised Messiah – but they are biblically unaware of who that would be or what that would mean. So, they go on being concerned about the money they could have had from selling Mary’s perfumed ointment.

^{[John 12:4]} Then one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot (son of a man named Simon of Iscariot) spoke up and asked, “Why wasn’t this ointment sold for three hundred denarii (an average year’s wage), and given to the poor,” but he said this, not because he was caring for the poor, but because he was a thief – he even had with him the bag he kept such things in. And the other disciples murmured at Mary.

^[Comment:]
Instead of realizing what Mary is doing in this moment, anointing the Savior, loving Him for what He is about to do… they make accusations about her because Judas want’s the money for himself, and the other disciples are clueless – but criticize her, “the woman,” with scorn and shameful murmuring remarks. Judas and the disciples all consider the anointing of Jesus as money “wasted” on Jesus.

^{[Matthew 12:10]} Jesus, knowing their thoughts, asked, “Why do you give trouble to this woman? ^{[Mark 14:6]} Jesus exclaimed, “Let her alone; why are you giving her trouble? She has done a good thing on me.” ^{[Matthew 26:11]} “For the poor you always have with you. ^{Mark 14:7-8} Whenever you wish to you can do good to the poor, but me… you don’t have always. She did what she could, she anticipated anointing my body for my burial. ^{[Matthew 26:13].} “Truly I say to you, wherever this Gospel may be proclaimed in the world, this woman, Mary, and what she did shall be spoken of… for a memorial to her.”

The Postlude to the Story

But it doesn’t end here. Matthew tells us that at the end of this dinner event ^{[Matthew 26:14]} “Then one of the twelve, named Judas Iscariot went to the chief priests” and sold-out Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. This is a reference to Zechariah 11, which refers to Exodus 21:32 which is the stated replacement cost of a slave killed by a raging bull. And the bull is to be put to death. I’ll let you work out the analogy here. Luke then tells us of the support of the women for Jesus, the important parable of the Sower, His seed, and the soils it falls on, then comes the “Upper Room” meal with Jesus, the sleepy disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane. John tells about the Triumphal Entry of Jesus the King into Jerusalem. The Parable of the grains of wheat that must die to bear fruit. Mark tells us of Jesus’ betrayal and arrest. And all four Gospels teach us about Jesus’ crucifixion, resurrection, and His ascension to Heaven.

What a remarkable story, and what an interesting way to break up the story. Broken up in parable-like fashion across four Gospels. The whole story isn’t known until you search for, collect, and compare all four accounts – one in each gospel.

Matthew Gives us Jesus, Simon the leper, the displeased disciples, and “a woman.” Mark brings out that the house belongs to Simon the leper, and that the disciples considered the expensive perfumed ointment to be money wasted on Jesus. Luke tells us that Simon, this leper, is a Pharisee and that it is he who asked Jesus to come to his dinner. He also tells that this “woman” brought the perfumed ointment to the dinner, and that she was weeping and kissing Jesus’ feet as she wiped them with her hair, and that the Pharisee was busy thinking that Jesus was no prophet because He, apparently, did not recognize that the “woman,” was a sinner.

But, surprisingly, the most important information comes at the reading of the fourth gospel, the Gospel of John. It is here that we learn that the “woman” is Mary of Magdala (a Magdalene, they called her). We see that Martha, Mary’s sister is there, and remarkably… Lazarus has come as well. It’s was only a couple days earlier that Jesus raised him from the dead – and no mention of that, especially from the Pharisee, who thought Jesus couldn’t be a prophet. We find that it is Mary and Martha, who have brought and served the meal, and Lazarus is a guest. We find that the amount of the package of perfumed ointment is about 1 US pound. And it is in John’s telling, that we find that it is the traitor and thief Judas who leads the displeasing remarks concerning the use of the perfumed ointment.

There are two closing points we must consider about this story. First, is that no scripture is of its own private interpretation. Every interpretation of any piece of scripture rests upon “what does the whole bible have to say about this?” There are so many incorrect interpretations out there concerning just this little story – Why, because people just take one instance of the story and write what they think about it. No, you need to do the homework and pull from the entire Word of God in order to understand each little individual part.

The second important closing point is that we must not miss the importance of the parable as a whole. Here, about a week before Jesus is to be taken and crucified… everyone at this dinner event, except Jesus and Mary Magdalene were totally ignorant of what Jesus had been saying and prophesying concerning His death. It is here, at this event, that Mary demonstrates that she understands that her sins (that all the others condemn her for) are forgiven. She recognizes His status as “The Holy One of God who has come to take away the sins of the world.” She recognizes and believes that His knowledge of the future is true, and that He will soon be captured, tortured, wrongly convicted, and put to death. She has come to symbolically begin the embalming process. She has come to express her belief and her love in and for her Savior. And as the only one to do these things… she will be remembered in the Scriptures for this love and belief. May we all remember what she has done for Him. Oh, that we could anoint, kiss, and fall at His feet. Perhaps one day we will.