«Jt .aak;RENMA Phra tervad, Lizmis late ar Mear, whom, chap. 11. he 1d note r4ilhd from the Dead, There comes a Woman (* Fobn Nth ber Nene was Moy ) and rakes a Pound otthe Ointment of Stttenard , tz/thow and Hark lay wn was 1nan Alabaſter-Bix; 75% taich (he did .nint vis Feet, ad wiped them with her Hair. "Y1rtbew 2nd York fay nothing of her anoiuting his Feet, bur of un Head only. Though theretore Opinions both oft ancient and nudern Divines be very various, fome chinking that the Evange- liſts tpcak bur of one Anoincing ; others, thar rhey ſpeak of two z ethers, that racy ſpeak of three: yer it ſeems moſt probable char thev ſpeak of two, one of which js mentioned by Like, a Year before this; the other is mentioned by Matthew, 34 [,, and 7obn. VIi>fo deliberately reads over the Hiſtory in Luke, and com- pare:{ it wich che Record of it in rhe chree others, will fee Rea- tons cno2uzh to conclude that Litho tpeakerh ot another Perſon, and another Time, and anorher Place; tor cercanly 57mm me Phtzriice, and Simon rae Leper, Were not rhe ſame. Beftdes, we
ON ve x} bt Se kt ot
- _
read in £be,that that 55/17 carp ar our Saviour, tor Ictting ſuch 1 finful Woman come. near him. Here js nothing like it 1n this Story: 1 fall therefore here conſider the Hiſtory, as reported by our Evanyeliſt. raking in what Mark and John have, to make 1t
comp!eat, 3/:tthew and Mark fay 1t was in Bethany, in the Howe
of Simvn the Lopor. Fo/m mentionerh nor the Houſe, bur adds, -
that Lrooizs was at the fame time at Supper with our Lord, and thar Marth wained, It will not frem hence follow that our Sa- viour was at the Hoale of L132, (as ſome think; ) for as the emer Toincelitts exprets another Honie , ſo 7obn gives no ſuſpt- cinn of any Ich ghing, bur by mentioning the preſfence of La- rich 3nd his two Sitters there; which might be, and one of thouzh they were at the Houſe of a Friend. Theye ome 179 lil a Tromaun (fo ſay Mathew and 21k; John Taith it
L "We, = - - wis 34, cone cf the Siſters of Lugarims,_) ſhe having an Ala- i
F2CIN Wait.
19,2 143%
t or-Bx of Cintrment very precious, poured it on bus Head as he fate ut Tit, Join faith the Ointment was of Spikenard, very coſtly ;
1nd that the aninted his Feet, and wiped them with her Hair; and
Gus
rar 726 Quantity of it wasa Pound, fo as the Odour of it did fill
fr 13 certain, thar in thoſe Exftern Corniries , this was an uſual Eathion to entertain their Gueſts ar Banquets, by Anoinring them zirh Ol, ro which the P/almi# alluderh, Pſal. 23. 5. This Wo- mn ſeemerh to have exceeded the uſual Complement of rhis rature, in the ind of Oil ſhe uſed, the quantity of 1t, and in her eminting his Feet, (which ſhe poſſibly did inftead of waſhing his Feer, which was very uſual with them;) in theſe things ſhe ſhewed the greatneſs of her Love rothis Gueſt, When Þis Diſci- ples {.nw it, they had indignation, ſ.zying, To what purpoſe us this waſte ? Z2larh adds, they murmured at the Woman they ſaid, FTÞis Ointment might have been ſold for much, and given to the Poor, ] Aink and Fobn ſay , for Three hundred Pence. _ ſaith ir was Fs Tearint that ſpake the words, and gives the Reaſon for it, becauſe he b112 the Bag , into which the Price of the Ointmenc { had it bcen ſold ) muſt have come, and he was a Thief : He ſpake nt rhis our of any regard to the Poor, bur to himſelf. Ic is likely other of che Diſciples might alſo think thar ic was too grear a 1f.:/e up>n ſuch a Complement. Our Lord underſtand- ing it, vindicateth the Woman. 1. He tells them, Thar ſhe had done a £34 Work. Adtions not forbidden by the Divine Law, ror commanded in it, take up their Goodnefs or Badneſs from tacir Principles and Ends; what ſhe had done, was done our of a Principle of Love to Chriſt, and for his Honour and Gioryv, ſo ic was a good Work. 2. He tells them, Thar they hid the Pry with them always, but they ſhould not have him alway. A Work may be gocd, done at an extraordinary time, and upon an extraordinary cccation ; which 1s not ſo, if brought into or- dinry prafice. Chriſt here declares that he had no deſign ro diſcouraze the Relief of the Poor, but they would have daily occaſions to do them gcod, but he was not Jong to be with them. 3. He teils them, That fe had poured this Ointment upon him o21in8t his Burial. That 1s, It this Coſt had been ſpent upon my Dead Body, you would not have blamed her, Un thoſe kiad of Pertumes, boch Moiſt and Drv, wz2re much uſcd 1n their Em- taimi!,” Dead Bodies;) I ain about codie ; I have often told you fo; You believe 1t nor; She believerh ir, and hath our of her Love to me, but beſtowed tuck a Coft upon my dying Body, as you would v9t have blamed, had it been beſtowed upon my ard Body, $5 ſhe ſhewed her Eiith in Chritt's Words, as well as is Perſ2n. Or it this Woman did not do 1t with any ſuch [arenrion, yer ( faith our Saviour ) the harh done the thing; I {h.:!! fuddenly die, and the hath bur anointed me afore-hand, and is certainly as much excuſable as thoſe that ſpend more abour B-dies already dead, Finajly , he tctls tnem, | That Whereſoever thi: G ofpol friild be preached, what ſhe had done ſhould be told to her Hmur and Pratie, for a Monorial of hcr. | Chriſt ſeeing that her Adqtion proceeded from an hearty and burning Love to him, accepterh hc AR, as an extraordinary Act of Kindneſs ro him, and proportioner}; her a Reward, Without Love, it a Man give all his Gocds ro the Poor, it fignifieth nothing : Bur 1f there be Love in the Heart, it makes the Gift acceprable. Love feldom under-dorh in an At ot Kindneſs; and it cinnor over-do, where Chriſt is the rrue Object of ir. Men, wio know not our Hearts, may be rea-'v to blame us for A&ions which God will highly commend and reward. The Evanzelis having thus far digreiied {rom his Diicourfe (probably ro give us an Account of the Rea- fon of 7:25 his Diſzult co our Saviour) he now rerurneth to a Diſcourſe about what was done ar the Cuuncil he had told us of 1. 3.4.8 Thefcar of an Uproar amongſt the People, ſeemed to be that alone which made them ſhy of Apprehending him on PF;
te Feaſt-Dav.
'> 22m, She did cerrainly anoint both his Zeaz and his Feet. |
TH £EM
14 Then one of the twelve, called * Judas 34 rior, wc unto the chief pricſts, .
& A11C
and I will deliver him unto you > Ard tt; nanted with him for thirty picces of filycr. 16 And from that time he ſoughr OPPOrtunit:
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