Bill Mounce
For an Informed Love of God
For an Informed Love of God
There are two stories in the Gospels about a woman pouring perfume on Jesus, and there are enough differences that some people argue Luke created the account and hence he is not trustworthy. But despite the similarities, there are so many differences that they must be two different accounts, and hence there is no contradiction.
Luke 7:36–50 is often compared to Matt 26:6–13 (paralleled in Mark 14:3–9 and John 12:1–8), charging Luke with altering the story and concluding that he s not trustworthy. There are striking similarities and yet significant differences in the four stories.
Matt 26:6–13 | Mark 14:3–9 | Luke 7:36–50 | John 12:1–8 |
---|---|---|---|
Simon the Leper's house | Simon the Leper's house | Antagonistic Pharisee named Simon | With Mary, Martha, and Lazarus |
Bethany | Bethany | Probably Galilee | Bethany |
Timing: last week | Timing: last week | Timing: early in ministry | Timing: last week |
Unnamed woman (not called a sinner) | Unnamed woman (not called a sinner) | Unnamed woman (well-known sinner) | Mary (certainly not a “sinner”) |
Recline at the table | Recline at the table | Recline at the table | Recline at the table |
Alabastar jar | Alabastar jar | Alabastar jar | Pint |
Expensive perfume | Expensive perfume (nard) | Perfume | Expensive perfume (nard) |
Poured on head | Poured on head | Poured on feet | Poured on feet |
Wet feet with tears | |||
Wiped feet with hair | Wiped feet with hair | ||
Kissed feet | |||
Disciples complained of waste | Some complained of waste | Pharisee complained | Judas Iscariot complained of waste |
Loss of money | Loss of money | Touched by sinner | Loss of money |
Always have poor | Always have poor | Discourse on love and forgiveness | Always have poor |
Prepare for burial | Prepare for burial | Prepare for burial |
While there are shared details, some of them were common, but points #1, 3, 8, and 10 are significantly different and strongly argue these are different events and there is therefore no contradiction.
Blomberg adds, “Someone unfamiliar with papal protocol today might be convinced that two separate accounts of the same pope walking down airplane stairs onto a tarmac, kissing the ground, and being greeted by dignitaries in a formal welcoming line, each of whom kisses his hand, must be doublets of a single original story because those are far too many details to recur repeatedly. In fact, there have been dozens of such papal visits with this exact cluster of details since airplanes were invented.”
For further discussion, see:
Comments
Helpful. Thanks.
I'm not sure. Curious about
Unnamed Pharisee
You're right. I(
Sinful Woman Lk 7.36-50