ok I guess it was a bit too speculative just based upon the Deut reference.
the poor
by peacefulpete 15 Replies latest watchtower bible
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trevor
The poor will always be with you , but I will not.
Sounds like the sort of thing the British Prime minister would say. I dont know if you hear Tony Blair much on American TV - but he always pronounces the word poor as pooher.
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hmike
ok I guess it was a bit too speculative just based upon the Deut reference.
It's a good topic, Pete. It has application even for today in how to allocate resources. I'd like to see more input on it. I'm still thinking about it myself.
The problem I see with putting the words in the woman's mouth is that it would mean she understood about the impending death of Jesus where no one else did, even his closest disciples whom he had foretold it to. I'm not sure the text requires us to think she was conscious of the implications that Jesus ascribed to the act.
I think it's worth exploring further from different angles.
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peacefulpete
hmike the author knew the end of the story.
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hmike
Of course He did!
Sure, I know what you mean.
OK, looking at it from your perspective, I get the impression that this story was placed in the texts to give some honor to a woman who it was believed did a special kind of thing for Jesus, and either she or her direct descendent(s) were still alive in the community.
It could also be placed here to justify diverting resources from aiding the poor to bestowing missionaries (God's annointed) with honors.
Looks like there isn't any more interest in this topic.
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peacefulpete
That's the idea but the motive of an original story is often lost through the crosssing agendas of the versions. Remember:
Mark...setting Bethany,Simon the Leper's house,unnamed woman ,perfumed oil, on Jesus' head,complaint about waste of hundreds of denrii, response about poor always with you, timed to end of Jesus story.
Luke...Setting unnamed, home of Simon the Pharisee, sinful unnamed woman uses her hair, perfumed oil on feet, complaint about the woman's sinfulness, responds with illustration about hundreds of denarii forgiven, timed to beginning of Jesus story.
Matt....setting Bethany, home of Simon the Leper, unnamed woman, perfumed oil on Jesus' head, complaint about waste of hundreds of denarii, response that poor always with you, timed to end of Jesus story.
John....setting Bethany, home of friend Lazarus, Mary used her hair, perfumed oil on Jesus' feet, complaint about waste of hundreds of denarii, response that poor always with you, timed to end of Jesus story.We might hypothesize the motivation for each author though analyzing the additions and ommissions they each made. Notice the descriptions of the woman vary from an unnamed sinful one to Mary a familiar name without a hint of sinfulness. Also the setting as in a friend's house rather than a Pharisee's. There is some evidence that in the earliest layers Jesus was given a lover who had a sinful past. Perhaps this is just a fragment of the early legends that has been innoculated like the wedding, Passover and crucifixion scenes. The motive for the original version of the story is lost to us (especially when we can't establish if any of our 4 versions reflect the original) but we can detect the personality of the authors who reformed it.