Mark was written against the Simonians, too.

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Giuseppe
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Mark was written against the Simonians, too.

Post by Giuseppe »

This thread continues my interpretation of proto-Mark as partially an apology against other Christians who were going to identify independently the Christ with a person of the OT , with John the Baptist and with a guy named Simon.

And so we have the following episode:

Mark 14

3 While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head.

4 Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, “Why this waste of perfume? 5 It could have been sold for more than a year’s wages[a] and the money given to the poor.” And they rebuked her harshly.

6 “Leave her alone,” said Jesus. “Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. 7 The poor you will always have with you,and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me. 8 She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial. 9 Truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”

10 Then Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Jesus to them. 11 They were delighted to hear this and promised to give him money. So he watched for an opportunity to hand him over

Luke gives us a more original version of the story insofar he says us who was the person who was assuming that he knew what Jesus should have to know: that the woman was a prostitute.

That man is Simon. There is an identity between Simon and Jesus for all the time when Simon is putting himself in the place of Jesus: "this man should know that this woman is a prostitute".

The evangelist says us that this identity of thought is failed, since Jesus wasn't thinking what Simon thought that Jesus had to think. So the danger of considering Simon as an alias of Christ is exorcized.


Here is the independent evidence of the my interpretation:

The Simonians were preaching that their Christ recognized a woman as a prostitute: the lost Sophia, embodied in Helene of Tyre.
Nihil enim in speciem fallacius est quam prava religio. -Liv. xxxix. 16.
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