13. (Power of One - deals with) Plots and criticism

14:1-2

Priests sought to seize him

14:10-11

Judas sought to betray him

14:1-2 Now it was the Feast of the Passover and the feast of unleavened bread in two days time. The chief priests and the scribes sought how they might seize him by guile in order the kill him.

14:10-11 Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve went to the chief priests in order to betray him (Jesus) to them.

14. (Power of One - deals with) Taking initiative

14:3-9

Woman anoints with jar - to be remembered

14:3-9 When he was in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper (and) reclining, a woman came in. She had an alabaster phial of ointment nard. It was pure and costly. Breaking the phial she poured the ointment over his (Jesus’) head. Now there were some there who were angry within themselves. “Why such a waste of ointment? Couldn’t this ointment be sold for over three hundred denarii and be given to the poor?” And they were indignant with her. But Jesus said. “Leave her alone. Why do you cause her trouble? She has done a good work for me. The poor you always have with you and whenever you wish you can do good to them. But you do not always have me. She did what she was able. She has anointed my body beforehand for the burial. Truly I tell you that wherever the gospel is proclaimed in all the world, what this woman did will be re-told as a memorial of her.”

In other versions of Reality Search the significance of the middle paragraph (as above) of a concentric circle has been discussed. It has been pointed out that here, in this passage, the ‘ointment woman’ appears to be “the one” who understands Jesus and his destiny. In Luke's gospel the woman is presented as a forgiven sinner but that is not mentioned here or in the other gospels. The gospel of John says it is Mary the sister of Lazarus who does the anointing. John says Lazarus is present at the meal and their sister Martha is serving. John's account matches that of Mark and Matthew in locating the incident at Bethany where Lazarus and his sisters also lived. It may have been a celebration as Lazarus was recently raised from the dead. Traditionally it is thought that the woman is Mary Magdalen. But even Luke, who describes the ointment woman as a public sinner and who mentions the Magdalen after his version of the incident, does not tell us this. In Mark the ointment woman appears as a 'caring stranger'. In Matthew she appears as an 'outsider'. In Luke she is a 'forgiven sinner' and in John she is one of a family of dear friends. Whatever, it would appear that Judas Iscariot “got the message” about her status as far as Jesus was concerned. For him this was the last straw and after this he went out to betray Jesus.