John 12:4-8 4But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples, the one who was about to betray him, said, 5 “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” 6He said this, not because he was concerned about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having the moneybag, he stole the things put into it. 7Then Jesus said, “Leave her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of my burial. 8For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me.”
Judas Iscariot illustrates the other response people give to Jesus. The story of Judas is complex, with an apparent contradiction of his position as a disciple and apostle compared with his behavior shown in this passage. John’s note that Judas was a disciple raises the question of his commitment level to Jesus. As one of the twelve specially chosen disciples who were “sent out” as apostles, Judas followed Jesus, watched his miracles, and heard his teaching, just like the other eleven and the many other disciples who were not designated as apostles. He had the inside look at Jesus, the rarest and most special position in all creation. Yet his heart was full of sin. What went wrong in his life? John again (6:71) foretells that Judas was about to betray Jesus. John’s repetition of this idea indicates that Judas had this label in the early church.
What led him to betray Jesus and react to Mary’s anointing of him? Interestingly, Judas was the treasurer of the group, in charge of the money bag. Treasurers are known for being tightwads because they know the price of things. It can be difficult to get money from an organization’s treasurer. For some reason, this person takes on ownership of the money. Judas’ problem was that he began at some point to think it was his own money or justified in his thinking that he could dip into the money for his own use. Embezzlement is a big temptation for treasurers.
The selfishness of Judas’ thinking comes through in verse 5 with his complaint that the ointment Mary “wasted” on Jesus was worth 300 denarii, which was how much a laborer would earn in one year of full-time work, minus Sabbaths and holidays. As the treasurer, Judas knew the value of things, and he saw this as a great waste. This significant amount could have fed many poor people. The irony of Judas’ co-called compassion is that he helped himself to the money also. Judas appeared compassionate, but in his heart, he was a scheming thief. He tried to sound pious while hiding his sin. He is an example of a pious-looking hypocrite. The picture of Judas given in these few brief verses confirms the later portrayal of him as someone who would betray Jesus for only thirty pieces of silver.
Jesus rebuked Judas for his comment about Mary (the verb leave is second person singular, pointing to Judas). Likely, no one present understood Jesus’ comment about his upcoming burial. Ointments were used for burials because of the bad smell of decay. Mary would not be able to anoint Jesus’ body after he died, so this was a prophetic action out of love for him. She did not realize this at the time since no one knew what would happen in six days. The wording of verse 7 can be confusing. Did Mary not use all the ointment at that time? Did Judas’ comment interrupt her in the middle of what she was doing so that she had some left over? Was this the ointment some of the women meant to use on Jesus’ body after the Sabbath after he was crucified? We cannot answer these questions for sure, but the possibilities are intriguing.
What effect did this rebuke have on Judas? Instead of repenting because of his own bad financial stewardship, he may have hardened his heart even more. Jesus’ rebuke was an opportunity for Judas to repent and show the type of concern, honor, and worship that Mary showed. Mark 14:10-11 makes it even clearer that this was a breaking point in Judas’ thinking. He put money before Jesus. He had not learned to trust Jesus and believe what he said. Judas acted like the world that refuses to be humble and believe. He embodied the rejection and unbelief of the Jewish leaders. He is the paradigm of those who love darkness and will face judgment mentioned in 3:18-20.
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