S118P5 – Loaded statements: Judas Iscariot
Jn. 12:3-6
Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil. But one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, who would betray Him, said, “Why was this fragrant oil not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the money box; and he used to take what was put in it.
It is not until much later in the chronological story of Jesus Christ that we read of Satan entering Judas, but it is clear that the devil had a hold on him much earlier than that. Like all the other disciples, Judas was a man on a mission. Like all the other disciples, Jesus had selected him for a purpose. It would take someone of a certain character to sell Jesus for a couple pieces of precious metal. That is what he did. Someone had determined that the life of Christ, or the death of Christ, was worth some measley amount of money, and it surely did not take much to convince Judas of that. His heart is laid bare right here in this passage. The Lord’s betrayer was motivated by nothing more than the love of self.
When we look at the words and actions of Judas here, there is something very striking about his intentions. We see that he was accustomed to stealing from the poor. It might shock us that someone in ministry would have that inclination, but his thievery was much more despicable than that. He was not only stealing from the needy, but he was attempting to steal from the Lord himself. Mary pouring that oil on Jesus was her way of blessing him because He deserved it. Forget about the amount of money involved here. She just wanted to praise the Lord by anointing him, and Judas wanted to take even that. Stealing from men is one thing. Trying to take that which was meant as an offering of worship to God is quite another.
The scriptures tell us that love is not self-serving. It seeks to give, not to take. It was not enough for Judas just to withhold what he should have given, to be selfish with what was his. No, he had to take that which others were called to give and which they gave gladly to the Lord. From all appearances, there simply would not have been enough to satisfy that man. The words of Judas were not about stealing from needy people or even stealing from the Lord. The target of his theft was not important, as Judas simply wanted all he could get from whatever the source. Father, show where we have forgotten love and have turned to ego, and teach us to give as You would have us give.