1 Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2 Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. 3 Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.
4 But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, 5 “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.” 6 He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.
7 “Leave her alone,” Jesus replied. “It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. 8 You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.”
9 Meanwhile a large crowd of Jews found out that Jesus was there and came, not only because of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. 10 So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well, 11 for on account of him many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and believing in him.
Read John 12:1-11 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!
Occasionally while reading an event, a phrase or detail will stand out and give me a clue into what the disciples thought, which reveals a little piece about their character.
The passage for this journal entry has such an insight, but it is most easily seen when looking at both Matthew’s and John’s versions together. In Matthew, we read the following verse: “When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. ‘Why this waste?’ they asked. ‘This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor.’” (Matthew 26:8)
Contrasting that with John’s gospel, we read, “But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, ‘Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.’ He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.” (John 12:4-6)
If we blend these two statements, we can see that at least some of the disciples were indignant, while Judas Iscariot perhaps was the one most irritated by this woman’s action. This irritation prompted Judas Iscariot to be the specific disciple who spoke as a representative for the group of those who were indignant.
John draws attention to Judas Iscariot’s motives – that he was a thief, and not really all that interested in the poor – but what is also interesting is that by being indignant – which Matthew attributes to all the disciples (or at least a majority of them), we can get a glimpse of what they all thought about money.
Currently circulating is a rumor/debate regarding whether the disciples were among the affluent, rich class of society, or whether they were the poor. The two occupations that I’ve heard given as examples of rich would be fishermen (at least four of the disciples) and tax collecting (one disciple). This gives us a group of about half of the disciples, and the group includes Matthew, who tells us that the bulk of the disciples were indignant at how much money had just been spent.
While it is possible that the other disciples were only interested in self-gain like Judas Iscariot was, what I see revealed here is something that revealed the money attitudes of other disciples. There are wealthy people who are stingy, but there are many wealthy people who would grasp spending a significant amount of money for something/someone special. Since Mary had the perfume, we can conclude that she had some level of wealth, but the way Matthew records how the disciples respond, they react like individuals who don’t have much money – and for whom a year’s wages was a lot of money.
If the disciples had lived a wealthier lifestyle, then they wouldn’t have been indignant over that amount of money being spent on Jesus.
Jesus responds by saying that it isn’t about money, but about the gift, the symbolism, and the focus – and in this case. In our relationship with Jesus, money should never be the focus. Instead, we should focus on what Jesus did, what He is currently doing, and how much He means to us.
This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!
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