Mary Magdalene is traditionally depicted with a vessel of ointment, in reference to the Anointing of Jesus, in reality the jar is more likely to have been an Amphora, a much larger object.

The anointing of Jesus is an event reported by the Synoptic Gospels and the Gospel of John, in which a woman pours a whole jar of very expensive perfume over the head of Jesus. According to the Gospel of Mark the perfume in question was the purest of Spikenard. Luke adds that the woman had been sinful all her life, and was crying; and when, according to Luke, her tears started landing on the feet of Jesus, she wiped his feet with her hair. Though the Synoptic Gospels do not identify the woman, the Gospel of John names her as Mary, a sister to Lazarus, and the somewhat erotic iconography of the woman's act has traditionally been associated with Mary Magdalene. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1256x1097, 111 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Anointing of Jesus ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1256x1097, 111 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Anointing of Jesus ... Amphoræ on display in Bodrum Castle, Turkey An amphora is a type of ceramic vase with two handles, used for the transportation and storage of perishable goods and more rarely as containers for the ashes of the dead or as prize awards. ... The Synoptic Gospels is a term used by modern New Testament scholars for the Gospels according to Matthew, Mark, and Luke of the New Testament in the Bible. ... The Gospel of John is the fourth gospel in the canon of the New Testament, traditionally ascribed to John the Evangelist. ... Perfume is a mixture of fragrant essential oils and aroma compounds, fixatives, and solvents used to give the human body, objects, and living spaces a pleasant smell. ... Jesus (8–2 BC/BCE to 29–36 AD/CE),[1] also known as Jesus of Nazareth, is the central figure of Christianity. ... The Gospel of Mark is traditionally the second New Testament Gospel, ascribed to Mark the Evangelist. ... Binomial name Nardostachys grandiflora DC. Spikenard (also nard and muskroot) is a flowering plant of the Valerian family that grows in the Himalayas of India and Nepal. ... Resurrection of Lazarus by Juan de Flandes, around 1500. ... Mary Magdalene is described, both in the canonical New Testament and in the New Testament apocrypha, as a devoted disciple of Jesus. ...

In the narratives, some people get angry at the woman because the perfume could have been sold for a year's wages, which Mark enumerates as 300 denarii, and the money given to the poor. While the synoptics do not identify the objectors, the Gospel of John states that it was Judas. Jesus is described as justifying the action of the woman by stating that the poor will always exist, and can be helped whenever desired. While some scholars have criticised this response as lax morality, others have argued that Jesus is actually being portrayed as rebuking the objectors, since they had actually retained the valuable jar of perfume rather than selling it for the poor, and appear to only object when the jar is destroyed. The Roman currency system included the denarius, a small silver coin, as the most common coin in circulation. ... A boy from an East Cipinang trash dump slum in Jakarta, Indonesia shows his find. ...

Mark and Matthew say that this occurred while Jesus was in Bethany relaxing at the home of Simon the Leper, a man whose significance is not explained any further by surviving texts of Mark or Matthew, while Luke identifies Simon as a Pharisee that had invited Jesus to dinner, though the location is not specified. The Gospel of John, however, identifies the location as the home of Lazarus and his two sisters. The Roman Catholic Church follows the Synoptic Gospels in the location of the event. The Gospel of Matthew (literally, according to Matthew; Greek, Κατά Μαθθαίον or Κατά Ματθαίον) is one of the four Gospel accounts of the New Testament. ... Bethany was originally Ronnie Corbett Israel, best known located near Jerusalem, see Bethany (corbett). ... The Pharisees (from the Hebrew perushim, from parash, meaning to separate) were, depending on the time, a political party, a social movement, and a school of thought among Jews that flourished during the Second Temple Era (536 BCE–70 CE). ... Catholic Church redirects here. ...

See also

• Christ
• Messiah
• Ointment
• Chrism
• Anointing

This page is about the title or the Divine Person. For the Christian figure, see Jesus. ... In Judaism, the Messiah (מָשִׁיחַ Standard Hebrew , Tiberian Hebrew , Aramaic ) initially meant any person who was anointed by a prophet of God. ... An ointment is a viscous semisolid preparation used topically on a variety of body surfaces. ... Chrism (Greek word literally meaning an anointing), also called Holy Oil, or Consecrated Oil, is a consecrated oil used in the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches in the administration of certain sacraments and ecclesiastical functions. ... To anoint is to apply perfumed oil. ...

References

• Brown, Raymond E. An Introduction to the New Testament Doubleday 1997 ISBN 0-385-24767-2
• Brown, Raymond E. et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary Prentice Hall 1990 ISBN 0-13-614934-0
• Kilgallen, John J. A Brief Commentary on the Gospel of Mark Paulist Press 1989 ISBN 0-8091-3059-9
• Miller, Robert J. Editor The Complete Gospels Polebridge Press 1994 ISBN 0-06-065587-9