Thursday, April 20, 2006

Simon the leper

For the last few days, I have been doing a comparitive study of the 4 Gospels to see if it could be determined what day Christ was crucified (as study is still in progress, look for that posting in the near future).

During the study however, the story of a woman annointing Jesus at a supper in Bethany brought a question to mind. It is just speculation and I can't see absolute proof, but it got me wondering: was Simon the Leper the father of Judas Iscariot?

Mark 14:1-8
After two days was [the feast of] the passover, and of unleavened bread: and the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might take him by craft, and put [him] to death. But they said, Not on the feast [day], lest there be an uproar of the people. And being in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard very precious; and she brake the box, and poured [it] on his head. And there were some that had indignation within themselves, and said, Why was this waste of the ointment made? For it might have been sold for more than three hundred pence, and have been given to the poor. And they murmured against her. And Jesus said, Let her alone; why trouble ye her? she hath wrought a good work on me. For ye have the poor with you always, and whensoever ye will ye may do them good: but me ye have not always. She hath done what she could: she is come aforehand to anoint my body to the burying.

John 12:1-7
Then Jesus six days before the passover came to Bethany, where Lazarus was which had been dead, whom he raised from the dead. There they made him a supper; and Martha served: but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with him. Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment. Then saith one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's [son], which should betray him, Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor? This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein. Then said Jesus, Let her alone: against the day of my burying hath she kept this.


(The passage in Matthew 26 echoes Mark's telling very closely)
Notice in Mark, Jesus is in Bethany 2 days before Passover. In John, He is in Bethany 6 days before Passover. Then both tell of the same story. When I first read it, I assumed that these were two different nights, one spent at Lazarus' house, and one spent at Simon the leper's house. But with the exact same story, with the same questions and answers given, and it only being within a 4 day window - I realized it had to be the same setting.

Mark identifies the location as Simon the leper's house. John states that Martha, Mary, and Lazarus are with Jesus and that Martha serves. Jesus is annointed (head in Mark, feet in John) with an ointment of spikenard by a woman who is unidentified by Mark but is identified as Mary by John. Then the same question is asked "Why wasn't it sold for 300 pence?", and the same answer is given "Let her alone; she annoints me against the day of my burial."

While Simon is identified in Mark, John identifies Judas as Simon's son. Now, it is quite possible that Judas' father is a different Simon, since it was a common name, but John's text oddly identifies him as "Simon's son" in the retelling of this story. Just curious about that identification at that moment.

1 comment:

Stevie J said...

My first thoughts were about the actual window of time... Keep in mind that if Jesus was at Simon's house 6 days before Passover, and he stayed at least 4 days, then truly Jesus was also at Simon's house 2 days before Passover. This has not been brought up as an issue, but I know some people would try it.

It's also interesting to me that they are all staying at a leper's house. Apparently, walking with Jesus tends to remove one's fear of disease, as Jesus was certainly not the only one there.

Nextly... the question Brian brought up about the parentage of Judas. We know that Simon was as common as Steve(n). I do see how you might find it odd, considering the wording of the two passages.