Righteous Roots · Act III · Passion Week

Judas Betrays Jesus & a Woman Anoints Him: What the Gospels Actually Say

Popular retellings often merge several anointing stories into one seamless scene. The Gospels preserve related traditions with important differences.

The anointing accounts

Mark and Matthew place an unnamed woman in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper and connect her costly perfume with Jesus’ burial. John places the scene in Bethany, identifies the woman as Mary, sister of Martha and Lazarus, and specifically makes Judas the objector. Luke 7 contains an earlier anointing scene involving an unnamed sinful woman in a different narrative setting.

It is therefore too simple to say “Mary anointed Jesus and Judas objected” as though every Gospel tells exactly that version.

Judas and betrayal

The Synoptic Gospels narrate Judas arranging to hand Jesus over to chief priests. Money is part of the story; Luke and John also use satanic language. The sources do not give enough information to diagnose a complete psychological motive.

For the disciple profile, read Judas Iscariot.

The contrast

The Gospel traditions place costly devotion and betrayal close together, but a responsible article lets each evangelist make that contrast in its own way rather than inventing one universal scene.

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