Abstract:
This article explores whether the Jesus saying in Matthew 26:11 contradicts the
Jesus tradition about caring for the poor. Bultmann’s understanding of the love
commandment provides a key to understanding this perceived paradox. On the
one hand, in Matthew 19:21, Jesus says that to love one’s neighbour as required
by the Decalogue means, in practice, to dispose of all riches and give the money
to the poor. On the other hand, in Matthew 26:6-14, Jesus pardons the woman who
anointed him with precious oil in anticipation of his burial rather than selling the oil
and giving the money to the poor. The article argues that the Matthean Jesus did
not contradict himself. Bultmann’s insight into the dialectical dissociation between
Christian ethics and Stoic ethics supports the coherence in Jesus’ view on caring
for the poor.
