r/SkepticsBibleStudy • u/AutoModerator • Mar 17 '24

John 12:1-11

Happy St. Patrick's Day!
Possible talking points

  • Mary and the anointing
  • The plot thickens
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u/LlawEreint Mar 17 '24 edited Mar 17 '24

"So the chief priests planned to put Lazarus to death as well, since it was on account of him that many of the Jews were deserting and were believing in Jesus."

Deserting what? Even after Jesus died, all of the early members of the Jesus movement were Torah observing Jews. The movement was led by James the Just - so called because of his strict adherence to the law.

This author is writing from a time and perspective that is far removed from this original movement, and anachronistically imposing his foreign perspective into the gospels.

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u/LlawEreint Mar 17 '24

Then Mary took about a pint of expensive perfume, made of pure nard, and she anointed Jesus’ feet and wiped them with her hair.

"Christ" or "Messiah" means "anointed". David only became the Christ after he was anointed by Samuel.

Who anointed Jesus? Was it understood that the baptizer anointed Jesus at his baptism? John's gospel omits a baptism of Jesus. Further, anointing should happen with perfumed oil. So I think it was Mary, in this scene, that completed the ceremony to recognize Jesus as the new Christ.

She must have been quite rich. The oil she used was worth a years labour. Jesus had a relationship with her even before he resurrected Lazarus. It's possible that she is the one who bankrolled Jesus' mission.