I. The unnamed repentant woman, in the house of Simon the Pharisee in Galilee
“A woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that he was reclining in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster jar of ointment. Standing behind at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears, and she wiped them with the hair of her head, kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment.” (Lk. 7:36-50)
II. Lazarus and Martha’s sister, Mary, in the house of Simon the Leper in Bethany
"Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus from Bethany, of the village of Mary and her sister, Martha. It was that Mary who had anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother, Lazarus, was sick. (Jn. 11:1-2)
"Now when Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper, a woman came to him having an alabaster jar of very expensive ointment, and she poured it on his head as he sat at the table. ‘Most certainly I tell you, wherever this Good News is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be spoken of as a memorial of her.’” (Matt. 26:6-13)
"While he was at Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at the table, a woman came having an alabaster jar of ointment of pure nard—very costly. She broke the jar, and poured it over his head. ‘Most certainly I tell you, wherever this Good News may be preached throughout the whole world, that which this woman has done will also be spoken of for a memorial of her.’” (Mk. 14:3-9)
“Then six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, who had been dead, whom he raised from the dead. So they made him a supper there. Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with him. Therefore Mary took a pound of ointment of pure nard, very precious, and anointed Jesus’s feet and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the ointment.” (Jn. 12:1-8)
III. Mary Magdalene
- Healed of Seven Demons by Jesus (Lk. 8:1-2)
- Financially supported Jesus’s ministry (Lk. 8:2-3)
- Present at Jesus’s Crucifixion (Matt. 27:55-56, Mk. 15:40-41, Jn. 19:25)
- Present at Jesus’s Burial (Matt. 27:59-61, Mk. 15:46-47)
- Prepared to anoint Jesus’s lifeless Body (Matt. 28:1, Mk. 16:1, Lk. 24:1, Jn. 20:1)
- First witness (or second if you believe His Mother was the first) of Jesus’s Resurrection, and first disciple to announce it (Mk. 16:9-11, Jn. 20:14-18)
Summary
In Simon the Pharisee’s house, a woman who had been a well-known sinner, came to Jesus having brought with her an alabaster jar filled with ointment, already feeling repentant for her many sins, and weeping she accused herself, humiliating herself in a humble public confession represented by her tears. Using her hair, she wiped the tears, as well as the ointment, onto Jesus’s feet, thus consecrating herself as a disciple of His. In return, Jesus said to her that she was forgiven and saved, because she loved much. (Lk. 7:36-50)
In Simon the Leper’s house, Lazarus and Martha’s sister, Mary, displayed the same personal gesture as the woman in Simon the Pharisee’s house, though it was not humiliated so much, and it was more confidential in its reverent adoration. She came to Jesus having brought with her an alabaster jar filled with ointment, which she had kept for him, and poured the ointment onto His head and feet, without shedding any tears, and wiped it on Him using her hair. She felt that Jesus was about to die, and she wanted to anticipate the burial anointing for His body. In return, Jesus memorialized the gesture she made to Him. (Matt. 26:6-13, Mk. 14:3-9, Jn. 12:1-8)
It’s not unheard of for a person to repeat a personal gesture for different reasons or with a different feeling behind it. There are personal gestures which are repeated and are peculiar to a person, like the person’s style. They are unmistakable gestures. Therefore, at the very least, it’s reasonable to deduce that the unnamed repentant woman, in the house of Simon the Pharisee, and Lazarus and Martha’s sister, Mary—both of whom anointed Jesus using their hair—were the same person. Furthermore, considering the Evangelists thought it noteworthy to mention this Mary, once a well-known sinner, who became a disciple of Jesus, and her personal gesture of anointing Jesus with her hair on two separate occasions, which He memorialized, and that Mary Magdalene was also once a well-known sinner, who became a significant woman disciple, it’s also reasonable to deduce that these women were the same person.
Additionally, Maria Valtorta, another true spokesperson of God, received and described visions of scenes from Jesus’s life on earth. And, in her account, she reconfirms that Mary Magdalene, Lazarus and Martha’s sister, Mary, and the unnamed repentant woman in the house of Simon the Pharisee, were the same person. The parents of Lazarus, Martha, and Mary were Theophilus—a Syrian, who was the governor of Antioch, a faithful servant of Caesar—and Eucheria. Mary was a well-known prostitute, even among the Romans in Israel, and thus the disgrace of her family. By extension, her family was affected. They couldn’t go among people without having to put up with their mockery, including from the Pharisees and scribes, and Martha never married, because no one married the sister of a prostitute. During this time, Mary resided in Magdala, before she converted and lived with Lazarus in Bethany to help care for him while he was sick and dying. Mary’s conversion was a process, rather than an event. She, once a great sinner, became a great convert and disciple. I highly recommend reading Mary Magdalene and The Story of Mary Magdalene (both extracted from The Poem of the Man-God), as well as A Summa and Encyclopedia to Maria Valtorta’s Extraordinary Work, especially the chapters on proof in support of her writings having a supernatural origin.
