Johannine Account of Jesus’ Anointing in Bethany: Jesus Anointed as the Servant to Die and to Rise – Monday of Holy Week

Some year's ago, one of my students told me, in regard to today's Gospel Reading(John 12:1`-11), "Mr. Masa, so, Jesus got a sort of 'spa treatment' before he suffered and died?" It seemed that this Gospel narrative gave him an impression that Jesus needed a luxury spa treatment as very heavy stuff was ahead of him to accomplish. 

But, this "luxury spa treatment" - anointing, before entering his Passion - has Christological and soteriological significance that we cannot afford to miss

Adelante

                                                                            *****

 
Holy Week began yesterday – Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion. As reflected in the  Gospel Reading for Procession before Mass with palm waving (Mark 11:1-10 for Cycle B), this feast commemorates Jesus’ triumphant entry into the city of Jerusalem to consummate his mission on the Cross. This is the very last time for Jesus to come to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover, which is on the first night of the seven-day long feast of the Unleavened Bread to remember how God had delivered the Israelites from Egypt (Exodus 12 – 13).

On that day, residents of Jerusalem cried out,” Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the kingdom of our father David that is to come!”(Mark 11:9-10). They praised and asked Jesus to save  (hosanna) them, reflecting Psalm 118:25, “יְ֝הוָ֗ה (Yahweh), אָֽנָּ֥א (ana – I pray) נָּ֑א (na –now) הוֹשִׁ֘יעָ֥ה (howosiah –save)” (Lord, save us!).  Hosanna means howosiah (הוֹשִׁ֘יעָ֥ה) ana (save!, I pray). And, the name, Jesus, really means yeshua (שׁוּעַ‎ ) , which implicates, Yahweh howosiah, Lord saves. Thus, people shouted “Hosanna” to Jesus suggests that they recognized him as Lord who saves, because his arrival in Jerusalem was to fulfill Zechariah 9:9, the coming of the Messiah-King. However, as the Gospel Reading for Palm Sunday Mass (Mark 14:1-15:47) reminds, the initial jubilation in welcoming and praising Jesus, spreading cloaks to show reverence to king (cf. 2 Kings 9:13) and waving palm branches to express festive joy (cf. Leviticus 23:40) (Mark 11:9), turned into their murderous mob indignant, demanding Pilate to kill Jesus (Mark 15:13-14).

During Holy Week, we remember and reflect how Jesus spent his last days in Jerusalem and Bethany, as reflected in the Palm Sunday Gospel reading and the Gospel Readings of each day during Holy Week.

The below you find a list of all First Readings and Gospel Reading during Holy Week: from Palm Sunday to Good Friday. There is no Mass from dawn to Sunday on Holy Saturday, because this is the day when the Church waits for the Lord to rise at his tomb. On Holy Saturday, the alter is made bare and there is no Mass. After sundown, we begin Paschal Vigil Mass.

Sunday	Isaiah 50:4-7	A: Matthew 26:14-27:66 B: Mark 14:1-15:47 C: Luke 22:14-23:56
Monday	Isaiah 42:1-7	John 12:1-11
Tuesday	Isaiah 49:1-6	John 13:21-33, 36-38
Wednesday	Isaiah 50:4-9	Matthew 26:14-25
Thursday	Exodus 12:1-8, 11-14	John 13:1-15
Friday   (Service - No Mass)	Isaiah 52:13-53:12	John 18:1-19:42

 From the above list, you realized that First Readings during Holy Week, except the one on Holy Thursday, reflect what are known as the Four Songs of Suffering Songs: Isaiah 42:1–4; 49:1–6; 50:4–7; and 52:13–53:12, found in the Deutero Isaiah, which is known as the Book of Consolation (Isaiah 40-55). The first three songs (Isaiah 42:1–4; 49:1–6; 50:4–7) point to the fourth one (Isaiah 52:13-53:12), as they reflect how Jesus, as the servant of the Father to face intensifying the darkness of suffering to his death, maintaining his strengths through his unweaving confidence in the Father to be resurrected. The increasing darkness of human evil, inflicting the increasing suffering to death on Jesus is also reflected in the tenabrae service, which runs through Paschal Triduum.

Because we commemorate Last Supper that Jesus hosted for his last Passover Seder dinner, the First Reading for this day is taken from Exodus 12, which addresses Passover (Pesach). The Gospel Reading for Holy Thursday from John 13 does not address the supper itself but the foot washing that Jesus performed on his disciples and the new commandment (mandatum novum). This is why Holy Thursday is also known as Maundy Thursday.

The long Passion narrative for Palm Sunday Mass reflects how Jesus was from his anointing in Bethany on Holy Wednesday (Spy Wednesday) to the death and burial of Jesus on Good Friday. And the Gospel Readings from Monday to Friday on Holy Week give more specific stories corresponding to what Jesus did and what happened to Jesus on each day of Holy Week, except on Tuesday. The Gospel Reading on Tuesday reflects the announcement of Judah’s betrayal, giving the new commandment of love, and the foretelling of Peter’s denial at Last Supper. This helps us connect to the Gospel Reading for Wednesday, reflecting on how Judas betrayed as a spy for those who had planned to have Jesus killed, thus known as Spy Wednesday, as well as, to the Gospel Reading for Good Friday, describes how Judas’ betrayal led to the arrest of Jesus, followed by his trial by the Sanhedrin and by the Pilate, being tortured and crowned with thorns, carrying the Cross, being crucified and lifted up on the Cross, dying on the Cross, and being buried, reflecting the second, third, fourth, and fifth sorrowful mysteries of the Holy Rosary,  and the latter part of the Good Friday Johannine Passion Gospel Reading reflect the Via Dorolosa punctuated with the 14 Stations of the Cross.

With the above general flow of the Scripture readings throughout Holy Week, today’s Gospel Reading (John 12:1-11) is the Johannine account of Jesus’ anointment in Bethany.

Though Mark puts the anointment of Jesus in Bethany after his triumphant entry into Jerusalem, as it was read on Palm Sunday, John describes it before his entry into Jerusalem. And, Mark described this event was at the house of Simon the leper in Bethany, and it was an unnamed woman to anoint Jesus, according to Mark. On the other hand, John describes that the anointing of Jesus before his Passion took place at the house of Lazarus, Martha, and Mary, in Bethany, and it was Mary, sister of Martha and Lazarus to anoint Jesus. Lazarus was the one, whom Jesus raised from the dead (John 11:1-44). And, prior to this, Jesus had visited this house (Luke 10:38-42). Thus, to Jesus, it was a very familiar place, and he was with very good friends, when he was anointed before entering in Jerusalem to go through the Passion toward death.

Below, you can compare and contrast the Mark’s version of Jesus’ anointing, as read on Palm Sunday, and John’s version, as read today.

Mark 14:3-9 : part of the Palm Sunday (B) Gospel Reading

John 12:1-11 : Monday of Holy Week Gospel Reading

When he was in Bethany reclining at table in the house of Simon the leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of perfumed oil, costly genuine spikenard. She broke the alabaster jar and poured it on his head.   There were some who were indignant. “Why has there been this waste of perfumed oil?   It could have been sold for more than three hundred days’ wages and the money given to the poor.” They were infuriated with her.   Jesus said, “Let her alone. Why do you make trouble for her? She has done a good thing for me. The poor you will always have with you, and whenever you wish you can do good to them, but you will not always have me. She has done what she could. She has anticipated anointing my body for burial. Amen, I say to you, wherever the gospel is proclaimed to the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her.”

Six days before Passover Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. They gave a dinner for him there, and Martha served, while Lazarus was one of those reclining at table with him. Mary took a liter of costly perfumed oil made from genuine aromatic nard and anointed the feet of Jesus and dried them with her hair; the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.   Then Judas the Iscariot, one [of] his disciples, and the one who would betray him, said, “Why was this oil not sold for three hundred days’ wages and given to the poor?” He said this not because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief and held the money bag and used to steal the contributions.   So Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Let her keep this for the day of my burial. You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.”   [The] large crowd of the Jews found out that he was there and came, not only because of Jesus, but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead.   And the chief priests plotted to kill Lazarus too, because many of the Jews were turning away and believing in Jesus because of him.

 

One interesting difference between Mark’s version and John’s version is that an unnamed woman anointed Jesus on his head, according to Mark, while Mary, sister of Martha and Lazarus, anointed Jesus on his feet, according to John. And, Mary dried Jesus’ feet with her hair.

In the Johannine account of Jesus’ anointing, there is an image alluded to Last Supper. Both Jesus and Lazarus were reclining at dinner, and this is juxtaposed Jesus and John being close at Last Supper. And, Mary anointed Jesus on his feet, not his head, projecting to Jesus washing his disciples’ feet at Last Supper.

Mark described the woman anointing the head of Jesus. And this recalls Samuel anointing on David’s head as king of Israel (1 Samuel 16:13) . Thus, the Maran version of Jesus’ anointing implies that Jesus entered in Jerusalem as the King and to die as the King of the Jews, as it was why he had to be executed by the Romans. On the other hand, John’s version gives an impression that Jesus was anointed as a servant leader by his fellow servant, Mary. And, as the servant leader, Jesus initiated the foot washing for his disciples at Last Supper.

Reading these two Gospel accounts on Jesus anointing on Palm Sunday and Monday of Holy Week, in contrast, we see that Jesus as both King (anointed on head) and Servant (anointed on feet). And, Jesus was killed because he was falsely accused to have claimed himself as the king of the Jews, while the First Readings of not only today but the rest of the days of Holy Week, except for Holy Thursday, we see Jesus as the suffering servant to die to fulfill the salvific will of the Father.

By Mary, Jesus was anointed on his feet to die as not only the servant leader to wash his disciples’ feet as an act of love that he commands but also as the servant reflected in the four songs of the suffering servant (Isaiah 42:1–4; 49:1–6; 50:4–7; and 52:13–53:12) , serving the will of the Father on him and for our salvation.

Jesus is, indeed, the anointed Servant King to die and rise for us.