Simon of Bethany

Simon of Bethany is the name of a man in the New Testament .

Narration in the Synoptic Gospels

Simon is mentioned in the synoptic gospels as the host of Jesus. Mark (Mk 14.3-9) and Matthew (Mt 26.6-13) call him Simon the leper. In contrast, Luke (Lk 7.36-50) speaks of a Pharisee named Simon. The place of residence Bethanien is only mentioned in Matthew and Mark. Luke only speaks of "the city". This Simon is not mentioned anywhere else in the Gospels.

Simon was one of the few Pharisees who were on friendly terms with Jesus. He had been healed of leprosy and felt a bond with the rabbi from Nazareth, even though he did not consider him the Messiah. Simon was physically healed, but his thoughts and actions remained unchanged.

On the way to Jerusalem, Jesus stopped at Bethany. There were still six days until Passover, time enough for Jesus to visit his friend Lazarus. When Simon heard about this, he invited Jesus to dinner. While Jesus was with Simon for supper, the Pharisees in Jerusalem set the course for his killing. In all three synoptic gospels, a woman comes during the common meal, whom Luke describes as a sinner, who has a bottle of anointing oil with her. With this she anoints Jesus' head (Mark and Matthew) or feet (Luke).

The reaction of those present also differs in the Gospels. They only have in common that the woman's act is criticized, but for different reasons.

With Mark and Matthew, the waste of the expensive oil is the reason, the proceeds of which would have been better spent on the poor. Jesus reacts by protecting the woman and pointing out to the critics that they have the poor with them at all times, but that they won't have him with them much longer. The woman's act is interpreted as a premeditated anointing for burial . The position of the story at the beginning of the Passion story also fits in with this .

With Luke, on the other hand, the story is not in the context of the Passion, but in connection with Jesus' ministry in Galilee. There, Simon himself criticizes what has happened in his mind. His main point of criticism is that Jesus should have known that the woman is a sinner , and he should not be touched by him. In a parable, Jesus explains to him that the woman has much more reason to rejoice in the remission of her guilt and speaks of the forgiveness of sins. He depicts Simon himself as a bad host who has not fulfilled his duties (cleaning feet etc.), whereby these were more than fulfilled by the woman. Luke also mentions that the wife of Jesus washed her feet with her tears, dried them with her hair, and kissed them. There is no mention of Jesus' burial.

Parallel passage in Johannes

In the Gospel of John chap. 12: 1-8 there is a similar biblical story that is also set in Bethany. However, the host is not Simon, but Lazarus , who was raised from the dead by Jesus. The anointing is done by Mary , the sister of Lazarus and Martha . The criticism of the anointing is the same as that of Matthew and Mark, but this time it comes from Judas Iscariot , who is said to have run the common treasury and embezzled. As with Matthew and Mark, this anointing introduces the passion story with John.

In the Middle Ages, the people Mary of Bethany, Mary of Magdala and the unknown sinner were identified with one another.

literature

• Franz Georg Untergaßmair:  Simon the Pharisee. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 10, Bautz, Herzberg 1995, ISBN 3-88309-062-X , Sp. 415-416.

filming

British actor Francis De Wolff portrayed Simon in Jesus of Nazareth from 1977, the Israeli Miki Mfir in Jesus from 1979 , and the Italian Vittorio Amandola in Maria Magdalena (2001) .

Web links

Commons : Simon the Pharisee  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files