A central strain of both Matthew and Luke’s account of the Bethany anointing makes reference to money and the poor. Both gospel accounts insist that the ointment could have been sold, and for a great price. This price was equivalent to the wages of laborers for an entire year. Fitzmeyer is of the view in this regard that there is plenty of criticism and opprobrium heaped on “the one who wastes,” what might have been given for the benefit of the poor.
But it was not just that the perfume was very costly. It was also the fact that there were poor people that might have benefitted from the money it could have been sold for. Before we explore this concern in further detail, let us examine Luke’s account of it, as contained in Luke 7:36-50. The Gospel of Luke’s account of the event records that a Pharisee invited Jesus to dinner, and the savior went and reclined at table in the Pharisee’s house. The account further details that a woman with a sinful reputation came with an alabaster jar of perfume, and poured its contents on Jesus’ feet – not head. This time around it was neither the disciples nor the guests at the house that complained, but only the Pharisee himself, Simon – not Simon the Leper neither, but only Simon. And the Pharisee’s concern in this case was not so much that the perfume was wasted, as it was that Jesus allowed an otherwise awful woman – a woman with a bad reputation – to touch him, a prophet.
So we observe that the concern shifts a bit from finance to propriety. This point is similarly noted in the fact that Luke’s account makes the woman’s behavior appear more sexually explicit than in Mark and Matthew, for here she weeps over, kisses, and caresses Jesus’ feet with her hair. Jesus notices that Simon is offended, and so proceeds to tell the Parable of the Two Debtors. It is a story wherein two people owe money to a creditor. One owes more than the other, and when the creditor forgives them both, the one who owed more to begin with is forced to love the creditor more. Having so told the parable, Jesus proceeds to show how Simon, the apparently better person – the one with fewer sins or debts – loved less in comparison to the woman, the apparently worse person, the one with greater sins or debts. For, Simon did not tend to Jesus as hospitably as the woman did: he did not kiss, or wash or anoint Jesus.
But it was not just that the perfume was very costly. It was also the fact that there were poor people that might have benefitted from the money it could have been sold for. Before we explore this concern in further detail, let us examine Luke’s account of it, as contained in Luke 7:36-50. The Gospel of Luke’s account of the event records that a Pharisee invited Jesus to dinner, and the savior went and reclined at table in the Pharisee’s house. The account further details that a woman with a sinful reputation came with an alabaster jar of perfume, and poured its contents on Jesus’ feet – not head. This time around it was neither the disciples nor the guests at the house that complained, but only the Pharisee himself, Simon – not Simon the Leper neither, but only Simon. And the Pharisee’s concern in this case was not so much that the perfume was wasted, as it was that Jesus allowed an otherwise awful woman – a woman with a bad reputation – to touch him, a prophet.
So we observe that the concern shifts a bit from finance to propriety. This point is similarly noted in the fact that Luke’s account makes the woman’s behavior appear more sexually explicit than in Mark and Matthew, for here she weeps over, kisses, and caresses Jesus’ feet with her hair. Jesus notices that Simon is offended, and so proceeds to tell the Parable of the Two Debtors. It is a story wherein two people owe money to a creditor. One owes more than the other, and when the creditor forgives them both, the one who owed more to begin with is forced to love the creditor more. Having so told the parable, Jesus proceeds to show how Simon, the apparently better person – the one with fewer sins or debts – loved less in comparison to the woman, the apparently worse person, the one with greater sins or debts. For, Simon did not tend to Jesus as hospitably as the woman did: he did not kiss, or wash or anoint Jesus.
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