The Gospel Dispute

“While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of a man known as Simon the Leper…” (Matthew 26:6, NIV)

Have you ever wondered about the differences that are sometimes presented in the Gospels? Matthew says this, Luke says that, Mark agrees with Matthew, and John says something completely different from everybody. Which one is right?

“While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of a man known as Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head.” (Mark 14:3, NIV)

Alright, we’ve got two accounts of this happening at the home of Simon the Leper. So far we’re on track. Let’s see what Luke has to say…

“Now one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, so he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume and as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.” (Luke 7:36-38, NIV)

Wait, what? I thought we were at Simon the Leper’s house. Gee, this is confusing. Let’s turn to John…

“Six days before the Passover, Jesus arrived in Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house filled with the fragrance of perfume.” (John 12:1-3, NIV)

Now was it Simon the Leper, a Pharisee (also known as Simon the Leper?), or Lazarus? What’s going on here? Personally, I am predisposed to go with the version in John. That is my favorite of the gospels. BUT after spending four months in an extensive study of Matthew, then reading through the other gospels in order, I’m picking up on details that had eluded me before. There is a much deeper thing happening in the Gospels that one does not notice if one does not delve into it.

In John, Jesus goes to Lazarus’ house. He had just brought him back from the dead (four days dead, that’s pretty far gone) and Mary is pouring spikenard on Jesus’ feet and wiping it with her hair. In this book, we can understand where Mary is coming from. She is thankful and overcome with the emotion of knowing that Jesus loves her family as much as they love him, having just brought her brother back to life. Meanwhile a large crowd is gathering. They want to see Lazarus with their own eyes, this man who was brought back to life. They also know Jesus is there, the man who raised him from the dead. All of this is happening before the celebration of Passover. This account is different from how Matthew, Mark and Luke record it but its got some good details in it.

Here’s the thing: all of the Gospels layer one upon another. They each offer a unique perspective on what the writer saw and/or remembered. Each of the writers lived and viewed these events from different angles. For example (this is purely imaginary, just to paint a picture) say that Matthew was sitting in front of Jesus. He was looking at Jesus, saw his facial expression and recorded the tone in which Jesus said something. At the same time, Mark was just coming in the door and missed the beginning of the conversation and the facial expression and tone, BUT he remembers the smell of the perfume that filled the room. He knows there is some lady doing something to Jesus’ feet. Then there is John who may be sitting beside Jesus, seeing what Mary is doing and maybe also noticing other things, like maybe Lazarus is getting sleepy or there’s a little mouse scurrying in the background.

What one man sees is not what every man sees. They may all be present, but they may not all have the exact same experience. They may recall things differently and from their own point of view. Therefore, the records differ, but layered together they take us from a one dimensional view to a 3 dimensional view. If they were slightly transparent and we put them one on top of the other, we’d see a fantastic full picture.

One conversation can sound different to three different people. Here’s an example:

Person 1: “Have you seen the project I’ve just completed?”

Person 2: “No, I haven’t yet.”

Person 1 may hear that as “I have no time for caring about whatever it is you are doing” and be completely offended. Person 2 may have said it with interest in their voice and the implication that they hadn’t seen it yet because they didn’t know about it, but they’d like to see it sometime. Person 3 may have heard what both said, taken the conversation for face value and not known that Person 1 felt slighted, or that Person 2 had future plans to go see the project. All three versions are accurate from each person’s point of view.

When we look closer at all the layers put together in the Bible, there are more details that come to light. A fuller understanding of the culture, political climate (the friction between Rome & the Jews), the excitement of the coming Passover combined with Jesus coming into full view as the Messiah, the threat this posed to the Pharisees and Sadducees, the millions of people packed into Jerusalem at the time, the possibility of a mass riot breaking out at any moment… we need these layers to show us the depth of what was happening. One story told the exact same way from each person would not give us these things.

So don’t stress out over which Gospel is correct. They’re all correct according to the writers. Allow the differences to be enriching, not confusing.

Editor’s Note: Though Kelly Baker has not returned to her columnist position at the Herald, she’s been thinking of us as we’ve been thinking of her. She was kind enough to share this thought with us.