It is clear from the stark similarities in the rendering of this event in Mark, Matthew and John, and even to an extent in Luke, that all gospel writers obtained this story from a common source. A theory that gives Mark the priority would very likely say that Matthew and John copied from Mark; or that Matthew copied from Mark, toned down the details, and John copied from Matthew, and worked into the account the names of Lazarus, Martha and Mary in preference to Simon, Leper or Pharisee albeit, in addition to the presence of many people who had visited to see Lazarus. Luke probably copied from John, or from a separate source, or a combination of sources, and then edited his narrative, working in the Parable of the Two Debtors, and changing the name of Simon the Leper to Simon the Pharisee.
By way of similarity and differences of ideas in all four accounts, it is worthy of note that Matthew and Mark use this story as segue way into the betrayal and passion of Jesus. Luke and John do not. In this following account, Judas plays a central role, as John would have him do in the account proper; all three paint him consequently as a lover of money, one for whom loyalty to his master was of less value than thirty pieces of silver. Luke and John in any case do not immediately go into the betrayal and passion of Jesus. Luke continues to explore Jesus’ life and ministry through narrative and parable forms. John in turn continues to place Jesus in dialog with interlocutors, as well as follow him through the high points of his sacrificial ministry.
We have in any case seen that all four gospel writers touch on the issue of money. Matthew, Mark and John approach this motif from the point of view of waste or extravagance as observable in the woman’s, or Mary’s, lavishly pouring otherwise expensive ointment on the head, or feet as the case might be, of Jesus; especially when this situation of waste is juxtaposed with the existence of poor people in society who could very well benefit from the material cost of the ointment. We related this to present day socioeconomic issues. Money is a major issue in all the books of the bible. In several passages, the love of money is seen to be in marked opposition to the Christian faith and conduct. Statements like: “you cannot serve both God and money,” (Matt. 6:24; Luke 16:13) or “the love of money is the root of all evil,” (1 Tim. 6:10) seem to point to the need for Christians to be vigilant in their dealings with money.
In the Parable of the Dishonest Steward, we see Jesus encouraging Christians to use material wealth to gain spiritual capital. This sort of exchange seems to be similarly recommended in this pericope. The woman, or Mary, or sinful woman as the case might be, is not interested in how expensive or not the ointment is. All she is interested in is pleasing Jesus, and ensuring that her sins are forgiven. Convicted of her sinfulness and cognizant of her great need for salvation, the type that Jesus affords, the woman is ready to throw away all the expensive oil in her possession to obtain in return a shot at heaven, through her sins being forgiven. This is unlike the case with Simon the Pharisee, and the Pharisee in the Parable named after him and the Publican.
Our cognizance of the immense debt we owe God should rather make us love him more, and want to exchange material possessions for the spiritual currency with which to attempt a settling of accounts with the divine. Our realization that we owe God an immense debt should always be in the corner of our mind, and the fact that Jesus forgave our debt by his sacrifice on the cross means that we need to show our gratitude in our thoughts, words and deeds. Unlike the nine lepers who did not return to say thank you to Jesus out of pride, we all must endeavor to seize every opportunity there is to remind God of how grateful we are to him.
In the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant, as contained in Matthew 18:21-35, we see the example of the wicked slave who, even though he had been forgiven of a debt he could not pay by his master, went ahead and tortured his fellow servant for the latter’s temporary inability to repay a relatively small amount. I have said elsewhere that we owe not just God a huge debt, but also our fellow human beings albeit a relatively lesser debt. These two debts are actually related. Jesus said in this regard: “truly I say to you, to the extent that you did (good) to one of these brothers of mine, even the least of them, you did it to me.”
What the forgoing means is that we need to be charitable to one another in view of our debt to God. This should not in any case be understood in a narrow sense to mean offering money to the poor, whom we shall always have with us, but in the much broader sense of seizing every opportunity to serve God and people. In Matthew 18, this includes for example visiting the sick and those in prison, who might not be materially poor. Spiritual works of mercy are just as valuable as, if not even more valuable than, corporal works of mercy. When for example we visit people in prison, we can talk with them and so bring them consolation.
For example, I used to have a weekly prison ministry that involved visiting the inmates of a prison each Sunday. I would stay with them and preach the good news. I would also pray with them and offer counseling. I never gave them any material gift, but I discovered that they hungered for the spiritual gifts I afforded them far more than any material gift I could have given them instead. Also recall in this regard what Peter said to the paralytic in Acts 3:6: “I do not possess silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you: In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, walk!" And the subsequent words of the text in question show how, walking, jumping and praising God, the man who was hitherto crippled went on his way healed (v8).
Material things do not compare with spiritual reality. If we examine the account of the healing of the man at the beautiful gate, which the previous paragraph concerns, we notice that, when Peter initially confronted the man and asked him to look up at him, the man looked at Peter expecting financial gift (Acts 3:3-5), as indeed had been his practice. He had apparently become so accustomed to the lesser gift of money that he had ignored the higher gift of health. In the Parable of the Rich Fool, we are reminded that we need life first, before wealth, for it is while alive and hopefully healthy that we can enjoy wealth. Indeed, we are reminded of the following truism in Mark 8:36-37: “What profit is there for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? What could one give in exchange for his life?” An ancient Ibo proverb states in this regard: Life is greater than money.
By way of similarity and differences of ideas in all four accounts, it is worthy of note that Matthew and Mark use this story as segue way into the betrayal and passion of Jesus. Luke and John do not. In this following account, Judas plays a central role, as John would have him do in the account proper; all three paint him consequently as a lover of money, one for whom loyalty to his master was of less value than thirty pieces of silver. Luke and John in any case do not immediately go into the betrayal and passion of Jesus. Luke continues to explore Jesus’ life and ministry through narrative and parable forms. John in turn continues to place Jesus in dialog with interlocutors, as well as follow him through the high points of his sacrificial ministry.
We have in any case seen that all four gospel writers touch on the issue of money. Matthew, Mark and John approach this motif from the point of view of waste or extravagance as observable in the woman’s, or Mary’s, lavishly pouring otherwise expensive ointment on the head, or feet as the case might be, of Jesus; especially when this situation of waste is juxtaposed with the existence of poor people in society who could very well benefit from the material cost of the ointment. We related this to present day socioeconomic issues. Money is a major issue in all the books of the bible. In several passages, the love of money is seen to be in marked opposition to the Christian faith and conduct. Statements like: “you cannot serve both God and money,” (Matt. 6:24; Luke 16:13) or “the love of money is the root of all evil,” (1 Tim. 6:10) seem to point to the need for Christians to be vigilant in their dealings with money.
In the Parable of the Dishonest Steward, we see Jesus encouraging Christians to use material wealth to gain spiritual capital. This sort of exchange seems to be similarly recommended in this pericope. The woman, or Mary, or sinful woman as the case might be, is not interested in how expensive or not the ointment is. All she is interested in is pleasing Jesus, and ensuring that her sins are forgiven. Convicted of her sinfulness and cognizant of her great need for salvation, the type that Jesus affords, the woman is ready to throw away all the expensive oil in her possession to obtain in return a shot at heaven, through her sins being forgiven. This is unlike the case with Simon the Pharisee, and the Pharisee in the Parable named after him and the Publican.
Our cognizance of the immense debt we owe God should rather make us love him more, and want to exchange material possessions for the spiritual currency with which to attempt a settling of accounts with the divine. Our realization that we owe God an immense debt should always be in the corner of our mind, and the fact that Jesus forgave our debt by his sacrifice on the cross means that we need to show our gratitude in our thoughts, words and deeds. Unlike the nine lepers who did not return to say thank you to Jesus out of pride, we all must endeavor to seize every opportunity there is to remind God of how grateful we are to him.
In the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant, as contained in Matthew 18:21-35, we see the example of the wicked slave who, even though he had been forgiven of a debt he could not pay by his master, went ahead and tortured his fellow servant for the latter’s temporary inability to repay a relatively small amount. I have said elsewhere that we owe not just God a huge debt, but also our fellow human beings albeit a relatively lesser debt. These two debts are actually related. Jesus said in this regard: “truly I say to you, to the extent that you did (good) to one of these brothers of mine, even the least of them, you did it to me.”
What the forgoing means is that we need to be charitable to one another in view of our debt to God. This should not in any case be understood in a narrow sense to mean offering money to the poor, whom we shall always have with us, but in the much broader sense of seizing every opportunity to serve God and people. In Matthew 18, this includes for example visiting the sick and those in prison, who might not be materially poor. Spiritual works of mercy are just as valuable as, if not even more valuable than, corporal works of mercy. When for example we visit people in prison, we can talk with them and so bring them consolation.
For example, I used to have a weekly prison ministry that involved visiting the inmates of a prison each Sunday. I would stay with them and preach the good news. I would also pray with them and offer counseling. I never gave them any material gift, but I discovered that they hungered for the spiritual gifts I afforded them far more than any material gift I could have given them instead. Also recall in this regard what Peter said to the paralytic in Acts 3:6: “I do not possess silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you: In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, walk!" And the subsequent words of the text in question show how, walking, jumping and praising God, the man who was hitherto crippled went on his way healed (v8).
Material things do not compare with spiritual reality. If we examine the account of the healing of the man at the beautiful gate, which the previous paragraph concerns, we notice that, when Peter initially confronted the man and asked him to look up at him, the man looked at Peter expecting financial gift (Acts 3:3-5), as indeed had been his practice. He had apparently become so accustomed to the lesser gift of money that he had ignored the higher gift of health. In the Parable of the Rich Fool, we are reminded that we need life first, before wealth, for it is while alive and hopefully healthy that we can enjoy wealth. Indeed, we are reminded of the following truism in Mark 8:36-37: “What profit is there for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? What could one give in exchange for his life?” An ancient Ibo proverb states in this regard: Life is greater than money.
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