How many times was Jesus anointed with oil and is Simon the Pharisee also Simon the Leper?

Introduction

There are actually three events, where Jesus was anointed. Similar events in the Bible are often cross-referenced. So the reader could wrongly accept it as referring to the same event. 

According to Reference 1, “Simon the Leper is sometimes identified with Simon the Pharisee¹” Reference 2 indicates that: “But Simon the Leper and Simon the Pharisee were probably one and the same²“.

In this article, we will look at all three events at which Jesus was anointed and explore clues about each event to determine the date and place where it occurred. This will allow us to determine if the two Simons are the same person.

First Anointing in the house of Simon the Pharisee (

Luk 7:36-50

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Luke explicitly states in

that his recording of events is chronological, NIV “Therefore, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus.

This has been confirmed by Fung³:” Most scholars have reservations about the Gospel’s order being strictly chronological. One of the major reasons is because when the content of the Gospel is compared with those of Matthew and Mark’s, there are numerous unresolved problems regarding chronology which lead them to believe that kathexēs does not refer to chronological order, and some even believe that it does not mean any particular order at all. However, the findings of this thesis support the argument that Luke writes his gospel in strict chronological order.”

Luke mentioned, before this anointing that Jesus, after the Sermon on the Mount, went to Capernaum.  

NIV “When Jesus had finished saying all this in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum.”

We also know that Jesus moved from Nazareth to Capernaum. See Mt. 4:13 NIV “Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali —” Therefore the first anointing of Jesus was most probably in Capernaum or nearby.

After this event of anointing, Luke recorded a storm on the Sea of Galilee:

NIV “As they sailed, he fell asleep. A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger.” Easterly windstorms are mostly during Winter⁴ and especially during December. Therefore the first anointing of Jesus must have taken place during, before, or after December.

According to “Jesus Chronicles” (See event 79)⁵, the first anointing of Jesus happened in Capernaum, Jesus’ hometown, or nearby during August 28 AD.

Second Anointing in the house of Matha and Mary in Bethany (

John 12:1-8

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NIV “Six days before the Passover, Jesus arrived at Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.”

Mary anointed His feet in Bethany on Friday 31 March 30 AD. (also see Part 6, event 198⁵.)

Third Anointing in the house of Simon the Leper in Bethany (

Mat 26:6-13

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and

Mark 14:3-9

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Two days before Jesus’ funeral, a woman in Bethany anointed His head with oil. Also, see incident 229 ⁵.

Looking at the first and third anointing, we can therefore deduce that Simon the Pharisee (in Luke) and Simon the Leper (in other Gospels) are not the same person. The first event of the anointing of Jesus happened in the Capernaum area and the third event in Bethany. Also, the lapse time between the two events was about 20 months.

References

1. Simon the Leper by Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_the_Leper#:~:text=anointing%20of%20Jesus.-,Identification,anointed%20by%20a%20penitent%20woman.
2. Are Simon the Leoer and Simon the Pharisee the same?-and why it matters http://www.livingwithfaith.org/blog/are-simon-the-leper-and-simon-the-pharisee-the-same-and-why-it-matters
3. The meaning of “orderly” (kathexēs) account in
   Luke 1:3

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   by Dr. Benjamin W. W.  Fung https://dspace.nwu.ac.za/bitstream/handle/10394/25339/Fung_WWB_2017.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
4. Easterly Wind Storms over Israel https://www.researchgate.net/publication/225906415_Easterly_Wind_Storms_over_Israel
5. Jesus’ Chronicles https://jesus-chronicles.com/