Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

The Feet of Jesus Anointed by Different Women

Svärd, David LU (2014) Society of Biblical Literature International Meeting 2014
Abstract
There are significant differences between the anointing episodes in Luke 7:36-50 and in John 12:1-8, and the relation between them has been much debated. I propose that the episodes testify to a similar Christological emphasis as well as a different one which may indicate that one or both evangelists were aware of the work of the other. There is reason to assume that the Lukan as well as the Johannine anointing stories are meant to confirm the messianic identity of Jesus. They both differ from the Markan and Matthean accounts in singling out Jesus’ feet as the object of the anointing. This is due to a common emphasis on Jesus’ messiahship as inherently being servanthood, as the feet represent servants. One important difference between the... (More)
There are significant differences between the anointing episodes in Luke 7:36-50 and in John 12:1-8, and the relation between them has been much debated. I propose that the episodes testify to a similar Christological emphasis as well as a different one which may indicate that one or both evangelists were aware of the work of the other. There is reason to assume that the Lukan as well as the Johannine anointing stories are meant to confirm the messianic identity of Jesus. They both differ from the Markan and Matthean accounts in singling out Jesus’ feet as the object of the anointing. This is due to a common emphasis on Jesus’ messiahship as inherently being servanthood, as the feet represent servants. One important difference between the episodes is that in Luke a sinful woman anoints Jesus while in John the pious Mary performs the act. The latter corresponds to Mark and Matthew and confirms that Jesus is the Messiah of the faithful Jews. The former shows that Jesus is the Messiah even for sinners and outcasts – a Lukan theme. These corresponding and differing details of the anointing episodes should be interpreted Christologically and the inclusion of them by the respective evangelists may indicate Luke’s awareness of John’s Christological feet emphasis or vice versa.



http://sbl-site.org/meetings/abstract.aspx?id=30081 (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to conference
publication status
unpublished
subject
conference name
Society of Biblical Literature International Meeting 2014
conference location
Vienna, Austria
conference dates
2014-07-06 - 2014-07-10
language
English
LU publication?
yes
additional info
The information about affiliations in this record was updated in December 2015. The record was previously connected to the following departments: Centre for Theology and Religious Studies (015017000)
id
e4415266-4003-410e-9847-168913838a46 (old id 4612141)
date added to LUP
2016-04-04 13:21:30
date last changed
2018-11-21 21:13:27
@misc{e4415266-4003-410e-9847-168913838a46,
  abstract     = {{There are significant differences between the anointing episodes in Luke 7:36-50 and in John 12:1-8, and the relation between them has been much debated. I propose that the episodes testify to a similar Christological emphasis as well as a different one which may indicate that one or both evangelists were aware of the work of the other. There is reason to assume that the Lukan as well as the Johannine anointing stories are meant to confirm the messianic identity of Jesus. They both differ from the Markan and Matthean accounts in singling out Jesus’ feet as the object of the anointing. This is due to a common emphasis on Jesus’ messiahship as inherently being servanthood, as the feet represent servants. One important difference between the episodes is that in Luke a sinful woman anoints Jesus while in John the pious Mary performs the act. The latter corresponds to Mark and Matthew and confirms that Jesus is the Messiah of the faithful Jews. The former shows that Jesus is the Messiah even for sinners and outcasts – a Lukan theme. These corresponding and differing details of the anointing episodes should be interpreted Christologically and the inclusion of them by the respective evangelists may indicate Luke’s awareness of John’s Christological feet emphasis or vice versa.<br/><br>
<br/><br>
http://sbl-site.org/meetings/abstract.aspx?id=30081}},
  author       = {{Svärd, David}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  title        = {{The Feet of Jesus Anointed by Different Women}},
  year         = {{2014}},
}