When hearing the story of Lazarus [El’azar in Hebrew] and his two sisters, Mary [Miryam in Hebrew] and Martha, I believe the top things that usually come to our minds are about his dying and being raised from the dead by JESUS/YESHUA’YAH and about how JESUS/YESHUA’YAH chided Martha concerning how she was spending her time vs her sister – by serving instead of being at HIS Feet.
1. The first part of the story is in Luke 10:38-42, where Martha welcomed JESUS/YESHUA’YAH into her home. This is where the verses go into the detail about Martha being busy serving while her sister sat at JESUS’S/YESHUA’YAH’S Feet. It is pretty straight forward but do not be quick to judge Martha, as the second and third parts of their story hold the keys to a deeper understanding of their situation in Luke 10.
2. The second part of the story is found in Yochanan/John 11:1-46. These are the verses that describe the time of Lazarus being ill and dying and JESUS/YESHUA’YAH coming to see Lazarus and raising him from the dead. Please see the link below to the study on this passage which contains something surprising. Martha was the one who had belief in HIM, Mary did not. In fact, Mary and the Yehudim/Jews around her who did not believe in JESUS/YESHUA’YAH actually caused HIM to feel troubled and angry due to their disbelief!
Is your belief in the MESSIAH [CHRIST] allowing HIS miracles or causing HIM to groan?
3. The third part of the story is found in Yochanan/John 12:1-11, Mark 14:1-9, Mattityahu/Matthew 26:6-13, and Luke 7:36-50. They all are the story of the woman who poured costly ointment of spike[nard] on JESUS/YESHUA’YAH which HE said was in preparation for HIS burial. This woman is Mary/Miryam, Martha and Lazarus’s/El’azar’s sister. We know this because of Yochanan/John 11:2.
Aramaic Bible in Plain English
John 11:2 – This Maryam was the one who had anointed the feet of Yeshua and wiped them with her hair, whose brother Lazar was sick. [The names here are Aramaic spellings, a sister language to Hebrew and the language JESUS/YESHUA’YAH spoke during HIS life in a body of flesh.]
When looking over all four Gospel accounts of the story and comparing and contrasting what is said, we find some interesting details.
From John/Yochanan 12:
1-2: Supper is before Passover in Bethany
2-3: Lazarus/Martha/Mary are mentioned by name as being there, no mention of Simon
2: They made HIM a supper and Martha served
3, and 11:2: Mary took expensive spikenard/ointment – alabaster not mentioned – and put it on JESUS/YESHUA’YAH’S Feet and wiped it with her hair – no mention of Head.
7: HE remarked about it being for HIS day of burial
4-6: Judas mentioned by name as one who complained
1-11: Mary is not mentioned as a sinner.
From Mark 14:
1-3: Supper is before Passover in Bethany
3: House of Simon the leper
1-9: Mary/Martha/Lazarus not mentioned by name
3: The woman took costly nard in alabaster and put it on HIS Head – no mention of HIS Feet
8: It being for HIS burial mentioned
4-5: Some complained but no names mentioned
9: JESUS/YESHUA’YAH said that what she did would be told in the Gospels world wide in memory of her
1-9: No mention of her being a sinner.
From Matthew/Mattityahu 26:
2: Supper is before Passover in Bethany
6: Supper is at the house of Simon the leper
6-13: Mary/Martha/Lazarus not mentioned by name
7. The woman took expensive ointment in alabaster [nard not mentioned] and put on HIS Head – no mention of HIS Feet
8-9: Disciples were indignant but no names mentioned
12: JESUS/YESHUA’YAH said it was for HIS burial
13: JESUS/YESHUA’YAH said that what she did would be told in the Gospels world wide in memory of her
6-13: No mention of her being a sinner.
From Luke 7:
36, 40, 44: Supper at a Pharisee’s house, Simon’s name mentioned
36-39: No mention of Passover or of Bethany
36-39: No mention of Mary/Martha/Lazarus by name
37-38: The woman took ointment [nard not mentioned nor it being expensive] in alabaster and put it on HIS Feet and wiped it with her hair – no mention of HIS Head [did say that Simon had not anointed HIS Head but she anointed HIS feet vs 46]
36-39: No mention of people indignant over the money wasted
36-39: No mention of it being for JESUS/YESHUA’YAH’S burial
37, 39, 47-50: Woman is mentioned as a sinner and told by JESUS/YESHUA’YAH that her sins are forgiven and that her faith had saved her.
So looking at the key points in each Gospel:
a.Supper in Bethany before Passover: J, M, Mt
[Martha’s house in Bethany-Luke 10:38-42, Simon the leper’s house in Bethany-Matthew 26:6 and Mark 14:3, Lazarus of Bethany John 11:1, Bethany town of Mary and Martha-John 11:1. Bethany is two miles from Jerusalem, on the East Bank of the Jordan where John the Baptist baptized. Bethany means “house of dates or house of misery”.]
b.Lazarus, Mary, Martha mentioned: J
Simon the Pharisee mentioned: L
Simon the leper mentioned: M, Mt
c.Nard, alabaster, feet, no name given: M
Ointment, alabaster, feet, no name given: L
Ointment, alabaster, head, no name given: Mt
Nard/ointment, feet, named Mary: J
d.Burial mentioned: J, M, Mt,
e.Judas complains: J
Others complain: M, Mt
f.Her sin forgiven: L
Her sin not mentioned: J, M, Mt
g.What she did would be in the Gospels: M, Mt
Reviewing the above, I believe that enough information is consistent to show that the same supper is being talked about in all four Gospels. While it is not impossible for there to have been two different suppers with similar events like the sermons JESUS/YESHUA’YAH gave where HE multiplied bread and fish for differing numbers of people to eat with different amounts leftover; I still believe it unlikely that at two different suppers by a man named Simon, one a leper and one a Pharisee, a woman poured ointment from an alabaster container on JESUS/YESHUA’YAH’S Feet and wiped them with her hair.
The supper in Luke is the most different while the other three Gospels’ story of the supper have more in common. While Luke does not say when or where the supper was like the other accounts place it near the Passover and in Bethany, where the story is placed among the other stories in the Gospel of Luke gives the impression that it was not near the Passover of JESUS/YESHUA’YAH’S death mentioned in Luke 22:1. The other three Gospels place the supper a few days before the Passover of HIS death: Matthew 26:2, Mark 14:1, John 12:1.
Luke also places the supper earlier in his Gospel with other stories after it that are prior to the supper in other Gospels. For example the woman with the issue of blood comes after the supper in Luke but she is spoken of before the supper in Matthew and Mark and not mentioned in John. However, Luke 7:35 where JESUS/YESHUA’YAH says “But wisdom is justified of all her children”, is just before the supper in Luke but that same verse in Matthew 11:19 is way before the supper in Matthew 26.
While I have not examined the story lines of all the Gospels to see how the accounts of the same events in each are placed, based on the above and other information I have seen the story lines in the Gospels can differ. Keeping things in order of timing might not have been important to all or some of the writers, or if they did not witness the events they might not know the proper time of each and the one who told them might not have given that detail. GOD may also have HIS reasons for allowing this even if HIS enemy was behind it. Also, the Bible is not all in date/time order but Bibles have been written that put the books/verses of it in sequence by date/time period.
Going by the belief that the same event is spoken of in all four accounts, it is interesting to note that since Martha was serving at her house, based on Luke 10:38-42 saying she had a house and served supper there, she would have been married to a Pharisee and leper named Simon. We know this because the account from John mentioned “they made him a supper” and that Martha was mentioned as serving. Martha had welcomed JESUS/YESHUA’YAH into her house in Bethany before, when Mary was at HIS Feet. Mark/Matthew/Luke all say that the house was Simon the leper’s or Simon the Pharisee’s. So we now know who Martha was married to. While Mark and Matthew mention the ointment poured over the Head and do not mention the Feet and Luke and John mention the Feet but not the Head, I believe they both happened at the same event. The writer could be giving details that either he felt was most important or chose for a particular reason or remembered differently then what others remembered. Upset about the waste of an expensive ointment is not mentioned in Luke but it is mentioned in the other 3.
I believe that Mary being the sinner spoken of in Luke fits because of the other 2 parts of the story. While she did sit at JESUS/YAHSHUA’S Feet at the first supper at Martha’s, we also know from when her brother died that she, not Martha, did not believe in JESUS/YAHSHUA yet because of what she said to HIM vs what her sister said to HIM. This fits with what JESUS/YAHSHUA told the sinning woman of Luke, that her faith had saved her, and for her to go in peace. Mary finally had faith in HIM and it took the miracle of her brother being raised from the dead for her to believe this. Being at HIS Feet listening was not enough for her to have faith in HIM but hearing HIM was enough for Martha to believe. Mary obviously felt so bad about this that she bought the expensive ointment [did she spend all her money to do this?] to anoint HIM with and when anointing HIM, she broke down crying. She wept and kissed HIS Feet to try and make up for what she did to HIM, the sin of not believing in HIM which caused HIM to groan and weep.
It is also interesting to note that only in Luke is the woman with the ointment referred to as a sinner and that the other 3 do not mention this. Why is this? Because they did not want to list that about her but Luke was ok doing so? Did they just wanted to focus on the good she did for JESUS/YAHSHUA? Look at the details Luke gave that the other 3 do not mention, about Simon and his thoughts and JESUS’S/YAHSHUA’S reaction. Simon, while thinking about JESUS/YAHSHUA maybe not being a prophet because of the woman sinner touching HIM but not saying anything about it, got to listen to a parable from JESUS/YAHSHUA about love and forgiveness because HE knew what was in Simon’s heart and thoughts without Simon having to say anything. Note that Simon also got to listen to an account of his shortcomings as a host while his GUEST listed all the pleasing things this very sinful woman did for HIM. What Simon was thinking about fits in with his being a Pharisee. JESUS/YAHSHUA showed him that what mattered was not the number of sins but the depth of repentance and love shown [wanting to get right and make up for what they did] when they realized their sins. The depth of love shown by the person is how much forgiveness they were given by GOD/ELOHIM. This fits with the Biblical commands of, “do unto others as you would have done to you” and “unless we forgive GOD does not forgive us”. Perhaps the “he who is forgiven little, loves little” was a reference to Simon.
Another item of interest, note how it is mentioned in some of the Gospels that JESUS/YAHSHUA loved Martha and Mary and Lazarus but Simon is not mentioned. The references to love and forgiveness in Luke may explain why Simon was not loved like the others. If Simon looked on his sister-in-law as a big sinner and looked down on her because of this, I wonder if some of the tension between Martha and Mary could have been because of Simon. Martha would also have to have the mental and emotional ability to deal with a Pharisee husband and one who was or had been a leper, too. What a combination, a Pharisee and a leper and he called his sister-in-law a sinner! Perhaps he was one of the lepers JESUS/YAHSHUA healed. Note also that Martha is more practical and less emotional while her sister is more emotional and, perhaps, less practical.
One last comment. In the Song of Solomon 1:12, we find:
12While the king was on his couch, my nard gave forth its fragrance.
Is this prophecy or did reading the Song of Solomon give Mary an idea? Remember that they reclined on couches while eating. There are other lines in the Song of Solomon that ended up being fulfilled in Scripture. More in another study. Shalom!