Mark's Gospel

The Anointing at Bethany

(Mark 14:1-9)

Simon the leper had apparently been cured, possibly by Jesus himself. The action of the woman was highly symbolic:

1. Kings were anointed with oil at their crowning.

2. The word Messiah (Greek 'Christ') means 'anointed one'.

3. Bodies were anointed before burial. Mark would have known that there had been no time to anoint the body of Jesus before burial.

The woman's action was therefore a confession that Jesus was the Messiah.

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