My Reflection on Jesus and the Repentant Prostitute
Another Possible Solution
Due to the many similarities in the accounts by Matthew, Mark, and John, many researchers prefer a different solution than the one proposed above. They believe these three Gospels tell of the same event. Consider the following similarities:
- The ointment was apparently worth the same amount (300 denarii) in the accounts and some people in the room object to the act.
- Matthew and Mark speak of the disciples being indignant while John specifies that Judas voiced his objection.
- The Lord’s response to the disciples and Judas is practically the same in each account, although His response in John is shorter. He tells them that they will always have the poor with them and to leave her alone because her act is related to his burial.
According to this potential harmonization, John correctly states that this event took place in Bethany six days before the Passover. Matthew and Mark do not specifically state when the event took place. In these two Gospels, it follows a discussion of the plotting of the Jewish leaders to arrest and execute Jesus, a discussion that was said to take place two days before the Passover. According to this proposed solution, Matthew and Mark parenthetically refer to the account of the anointing four days earlier before resuming the narrative of Christ’s betrayal by Judas in Matthew 26:14 and Mark 14:10.
Gospel writers were under no obligation to present details chronologically (except for those areas where they reveal they are doing this), so this part of the scenario is plausible. However, this raises other difficulties. For example, Matthew and Mark clearly state that this act took place in the house of Simon the Leper, while John mentions that Martha took part in serving the meal, which seems to imply that it took place at the home she shared with Mary and Lazarus. Yet, it is possible that Simon the Leper invited Jesus and his followers over for a meal and Martha assisted with serving the meal at his place. Also, this view would require that the Lord’s head and feet were anointed during this time since Matthew and Mark speak of his head being anointed while John focuses on the Lord’s feet being anointed.
My reflection is that the problem of humanly good people is that they can be judgmental. I'm not saying all humanly good people act judgmental but they're in the danger of it since they have no real Spirit-driven righteousness. The Pharisees were viewed as the model and paragon of virtue but they were full of hypocrisy within. Luke describes the woman to have lived a sinful life. Was this woman even a prostitute? What's interesting is that Judas Iscariot would object to it saying it could've helped the poor. Judas Iscariot was indeed a big fool himself driven by greed. It's no wonder Judas Iscariot would eventually betray the Lord Jesus to the Pharisees. Both the Pharisees and Judas Iscariot were driven by personal motives. The Pharisees only acted as good men because it was good for their image. Judas Iscariot was simply trying to look good too.
I was thinking about why Jesus allowed the repentant sinful woman to anoint Him. Spikenard doesn't come cheap and neither did the alabaster container. John F. MacArthur in his commentary in the New Testament also writes this insight which I'd say is why Jesus allowed Himself to be anointed by a wretched woman:
The main thrust of this passage appears on the surface to be the transformed life of the sinful woman. But she was merely one element of the story, which focuses primarily on the Lord evangelizing a Pharisee. Jesus used her as a testimony to him and the others present of the truth and power of the gospel. Ironically, Jesus demonstrated His power to forgive sins and transform lives by using the very type of person the Pharisees despised the most. In reality, the self-righteous, hypocritical religious leaders were the worst possible sinners; people who believe they are not lost and think they do not need redemption cannot be saved.
The Lord Jesus Christ came to seek and save the penitent and believing lost (Luke 19:10)—the self-righteous members of the religious establishment as well as the outcast riff raff of society.
It's true that love for sin really distracts people from savingly believing. How often do you hear a person who loves his or her sin reject the Gospel because they love their sin? John 3:36 says that men love darkness. How often is that love for sin really a problem? Back then, I remembered how I had a burden to get away from my bad habits which eventually led me to salvation. However, other people chose to remain in the Jesuit-ran Roman Catholic parish I used to attend because of their unrepentant lifestyles. I'm not saying all people in that parish I stopped attending masses in (which happened because I had a faith crisis in Roman Catholicism) are living in sin. Sadly, some of them loved sticking around with Rome because of their love for sin. It's no surprise to have people living in sin who are also very religious. Some people are living-in together without the benefits of marriage (and sometimes, both are even having estranged spouses) then they go to Mass together. Yet, this woman who was a prostitute was now repentant. This once wanton woman gave up the most expensive perfume to Jesus when she understands even the most expensive perfume means nothing. This was a very lavish present that she gave up for Jesus. You can see a woman giving up everything for Jesus.
What I think Jesus is demonstrating here is the problem of the Pharisees. The Pharisees were probably hard-driven to mock the repentant people. The Pharisees most likely looked down at the tax collectors and prostitutes as "hopeless cases". Yet, Jesus said in Matthew 21:31 that the tax collectors and prostitutes are entering God's Kingdom before the Pharisees. This is not to say that Jesus was condoning sin. Instead, it was because the tax collectors and prostitutes saw their sinfulness far greater than the Pharisees. The Pharisees didn't think they needed saving. Tax collectors and prostitutes were treated as hopeless cases. Did the Pharisees forget that Rahab was once a Canaanite prostitute (presumably a temple prostitute) whose lineage led to David and eventually to Jesus? Did the Pharisees forget that Ruth was a Moabite idolatress who became part of the Jewish people by faith? Perhaps all their self-absorbed behavior made them forget that tax collectors and prostitutes are not away from God's life-changing offer of salvation.
Fortunately, this power of the Gospel is working ways to today's Pharisees, prostitutes, and publicans. I'm glad to see that some saved people were saved from their state as religious Pharisees (such as Roman Catholic priests, Rabbis, and Imams), former women who have ruined themselves in the sex trade, and cheaters. The Gospel is liberating for both the self-righteous and the obviously going to Hell population. I believe that the power of God's sovereign grace and effectual calling is the only reason why a person so blinded in sin and self-righteousness can truly believe. This Gospel is hard to believe because sinful people feel they can't be saved and self-righteous don't think they need saving. Yet, thankfully, the power of the Gospel can't be resisted when the Holy Spirit is truly at work.