The Annonting at Bethany & Understanding the Parables
The Story
The story of the Anointing of Jesus' feet at Bethany in the Gospel of Saint Mark (14: 3-9) serves as an example of the nature of argumentation found in the pronouncement stories. The story only makes sense where it is situated in the Gospel, during the events of the Passion Week with the readers fore knowledge of what is destined for Jesus. It is created with the purpose of imagining the Gospel as a whole; the anointing is evidence for the robust and tenacious use and understanding of the rhetorical in the SynagogueMmovement. Saint Mark takes a traditional account of an Anointing of Jesus in Bethany and places it into the introduction of the Passion narrative. This placement has the ironic effect of juxtaposing the plots of the authorities and betrayal of Judas Iscariot with an anointing of Jesus as Messiah.
It is most likely that the story of a woman intruder anointing Jesus during a symposium (dinner for males) took various forms as it was related in the oral traditions. The anointing of Jesus’ feet is more likely the more original form, since foot washing was a standard form of hospitality at dinner parties. Mark places the incident just before his account of Jesus’ crucifixion and burial. This suggests that Mark is using this story to depict Jesus’ anointing ahead of his burial.
In addition to this, anointing was also appropriate for kings of Israel (1Sam. 10:1), a role assigned to Jesus by the Christian community. The woman and the objectors are used as props for the portrayal of the rejected king Jesus, whose forthcoming death will be of such significance that it will be preached throughout the world. It is futile to object and it is just as well. No one could possibly win against Jesus. Only devotion will suffice. Three possible independent sayings are emphasised. (1) “ She has done me a courtesy“{v6}. (2) “ There will always be poor around”{v7}. (3) “ Wherever the good news is announced in all the world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her”. {v9}
The third saying is apparently an internal reference to the Gospel of Saint Mark because the woman has been memorialised in Mark’s story. Likewise, the interpretation of the anointing as something done in anticipation of Jesus’ death is doubtless a signpost for those who already know the outcome of the Gospel; Jesus dies, but He is raised before his body can be anointed before burial. The second aphoristic statement is conceivably based on Deuteronomy 15:11: “ The needy will never disappear from the country.” Either way, the saying appears to clash with the sage, who said, “ Congratulations, you poor.” (Luke 6:20)
The first saying goes to the heart of the original story. A scandalous woman interrupting a symposium to anoint Jesus with some precious perfume, having Jesus responding with the first saying, “ You have done me a courtesy.” The Greek term, ‘Kalon’ may be interpreted as a good or beautiful turn or act. A play on the term is thinkable for a sage like Jesus, whose clever reply probably covered the embarrassment of having a woman entering a Symposium.
Through the anointing, this unknown woman’s action symbolises Jesus’ true Messiah-ship. This story is completely interwoven with His death and her memorialising of both herself and the Gospel of Saint Mark. Typical of the woman in this Gospel (5:25,7:25), she shows more insight into Jesus’ identity than those who were with him do. (15:41).
The Social Context
The pronouncement stories in the Gospel of Saint Mark do not record the debates Jesus had with the Pharisees. Nor do they record the way arguments ran between the Synagogue Reform Movement and the Pharisees. However, they do record the way the Jesus people wanted to imagine the conflict and it’s resolution in retrospect.
The actual debates are a thing of the past. In their place are imaginary fictions that tell the Movements story. The fiction was valued because it enabled Mark’s community to rationalise a separate social identity. The stories say that they were right and had been right all along, from the very beginning.
To the group, Jesus’ pronouncements attest their legitimacy. They use His words as the basis for developing a system of codes that will identify the group. Without any meditation, great sublime leaps, imaginary moments, or experiences of rapture, a figure of absolute authority emerged from His sayings to champion their cause against all criticism.
A trenchant outlook of the outside world and a new myth of origin provided reason enough for the formation of a new and distinctive society. The anointing of Jesus’ feet introduces Saint Mark’s community to the fact that boundaries have changed. Her service to Jesus represents our need to serve others within our community. In this way, we keep the community vibrant and alive, safe from the sins of the world.
The Parables serving the purpose of the writer of the Gospel
The Parables offer an Apocalyptic teaching on the Kingdom of God. However, the Parables also served Saint Mark in his own social situation. It must be remembered that he wrote the Gospel soon after the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem around 70 CE. This was an event that was so momentous to the Jewish and fledgling Christian Communities that a total re-assessment of Israel’s very existence took place.
Secondly, the Synagogue Reform Movement, which was vital to the Jesus people, began to fail. His Community was in disarray and there were signs of disintegration. There were shifts in loyalty and competing new styles of leadership and theologies. This is clearly seen in Mark 13. It was at this time that the Apostle wrote the Parables of Jesus.
So, how did Saint Mark respond to the crisis? Well, his approach was blatantly sectarian and conservative. He drew lines between those who were in the Movement and those who weren’t. He portrayed his group as an embattled enclave defending the true Jesus in an apocalyptic era. However, Mark envisioned a time when the troubles would pass and all those who remained loyal would reap the benefits of their faith.
The Gospel of Saint Mark and the use of the Parables, in particular, were used with this rationalisation in mind. His Apocalyptic Vision was transposed into Jesus’ Apocalyptic Vision and it was very much to the Evangelist’s advantage to present this new revelation within the framework of Jesus’ teachings.
Saint Mark, being the leader of his Community could only garner a limited amount of power and influence. Thus, to invoke the name of Jesus as the voice of these parables would elevate not only his Gospel and himself, but also his particular Faith Community. His Community could now move beyond their decaying past. With Jesus as their guarantor, with the help of the Parables, the Community could also, as American Theologian Burton Mack (1931-2022) puts it, “ understand, take heart, watch for the end and perhaps endure.”
Through their Faith the early Jesus Community were immune from the Wrath of God on Israel, as they were now part of the New Kingdom. Saint Mark, as the first writer of Jesus’ life, keenly brought Jesus in to his world and the presentation of the Parables play a major role in offering an Apocalyptic Vision.
Through the Parables, Jesus is the One who provides the assurance of Salvation and Eternal Life through His teachings, Sacrifice, and Resurrection. The Apostle teaches us that Jesus is the mediator between God and humanity, offering a guarantee of God’s promises to believers.
Saint Mark’s Gospel: Is it too Triumphialistic? Maybe yes, maybe no.
In order to determine if Saint Mark’s Gospel is too triumphalistic, we must reexamine the purpose of the text. This Gospel is Apocalyptic which was quite normal for its time, especially after the Jewish war of 66-70 AD. This period was a time of decline for the Christian churches, which emphasised the Parousia. With all the turmoil around them, these Faith Communities had to come to terms with the apparent delayed return of Jesus and how they would live out their faith as a result.
Saint Mark attempts to answer his Communities concern for the future. Everything he presents is pronounced in loud tones. He wants to draw the reader into each story. He challenges them to take up there Cross and to give up their life for others. The times demanded language that went to the very emotional core of the believer. The listener empathised with the betrayal of Peter and is brought to the point where they are left wondering if they themselves had abandoned the Messiah.
The message is clear, stay the course, do not abandon Jesus and the Kingdom of God will be yours. Of course, the main thing was to be aware of the imminent coming of Jesus and be patient in the meantime. While they await the return of Jesus, believers would serve one another as an outward sign of perfection and readiness. Their lives would be modelled after the life of Jesus. It would define them as true disciples.
Saint Mark goes to great pains to instruct his readers in Discipleship. The ethic of service to the Community is essential to the survival of the followers of Jesus. For Mark, service exemplifies understanding and confessing loyalty to the Good News of the Kingdom of that Jesus proclaimed. Mark’s “Community” is basically a group of followers who hope to remain until the end. Because of the social upheaval that existed in the sixties AD, the Apostle viewed the world as a place of sin and destruction. The Kingdom promised vindication from an increasingly hostile outside world.
With regard to Triumphalism, there is no doubt that Saint Mark probably felt a need to have his particular Jesus Movement put in the light of carriers of a great message. They were withdrawing from the Jewish Reform Movement and were at a stage of re-defining their purpose as a Faith Community. Mark integrated several traditions of the Jesus and Christ Movements and put them into a single and comprehensive narrative. Those who chose to believe the story and follow the Movement were part of the future Kingdom and those who were on the outside were never to know the benefits of Salvation.
This, of course, is the criticism of Saint Mark’s Gospel. ‘Conversion’ means loyalty to the cause of the righteous; ‘rejection’ means expulsion to the forces of opposition. This rationale appears to show the basic inadequacy of the Gospel, because it simply does not speak to the minds and hearts of a twenty-first century listener. Some would argue that it hardly seems like good news to any society that claims to value inclusiveness.
However, the exclusive and fair exchange of ideas would seem unimaginable in Saint Mark’s world. Those on the outside are viewed as inferior and in need of conversion. Any wavering from the norm would be perverse and not the high standard set by the Christian concept of the Kingdom.
But, to be fair to Saint Mark, the stories he wove and the message he wanted to send was not meant for the modern listener. Yes, it is triumphalistic, but I believe that it is an honest attempt to sort out difficult problems. To us, it is a naïve attempt to rally the troops for a common cause. I believe that the author is telling his readers, “ Hey look, our innocent and rightful King has been rejected and put to death by others, by those outside the Kingdom of God, those undeserving of its benefits, those whose fate is already sealed.”
However, even at this early stage in the development of the Christian church, there appears to be an undertone of anti-Jewish sentiment and this would naturally go back to the Crucifixion of Jesus and culminating in the break up of the Reform Movement in the Synagogues. Unfortunately, once canonised, this Gospel left a permanent mark on the notion that others will pay the price whilst believers will be set apart and saved.
There is little doubt that Saint Mark is somewhat triumphalistic and perhaps on occasion in need of reinterpretation. But, we should realize that his was the first Gospel and that reanalysis of his work began with the Gospels of Saint Matthew and Saint Luke, as well as by countless scholars over the centuries. There is, nevertheless, little doubt that his Gospel holds a prominent place in the Canons of the Bible; and because of this, it will always be under some kind examination. We should always remember to be grateful for the genius of Saint Mark; for his creativity and devotion to Jesus Christ. And as he taught us, Let us always strive to “understand, take heart, watch for the end and endure.”
End.
Originally entitled: The Creativity of Gospel Writers submitted to the Rev. Dr. William Cantelon as a Master of Theological Studies course requirement for 505E - Introduction to Christian Scriptures St. Stephen's Theological College University of Alberta Published on February 24th, 2002 {Revised August 10th, 2024}
© Dr. Charles Warner 2024
Comments