Gospel Jn 12:1-11
“Six days before Passover Jesus came to Bethany,
where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.
They gave a dinner for Him there, and Martha served,
while Lazarus was one of those reclining at table with Him.
Mary took a liter of costly perfumed oil
made from genuine aromatic nard
and anointed the feet of Jesus and dried them with her hair;
the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.
Then Judas the Iscariot, one of his disciples,
and the one who would betray Him, said,
“Why was this oil not sold for three hundred days’ wages
and given to the poor?”
He said this not because he cared about the poor
but because he was a thief and held the money bag
and used to steal the contributions.
So Jesus said, “Leave her alone.
Let her keep this for the day of My burial.
You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have Me.”The large crowd of the Jews found out that He was there and came,
not only because of Him, but also to see Lazarus,
whom He had raised from the dead.
And the chief priests plotted to kill Lazarus too,
because many of the Jews were turning away
and believing in Jesus because of him. “
where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.
They gave a dinner for Him there, and Martha served,
while Lazarus was one of those reclining at table with Him.
Mary took a liter of costly perfumed oil
made from genuine aromatic nard
and anointed the feet of Jesus and dried them with her hair;
the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.
Then Judas the Iscariot, one of his disciples,
and the one who would betray Him, said,
“Why was this oil not sold for three hundred days’ wages
and given to the poor?”
He said this not because he cared about the poor
but because he was a thief and held the money bag
and used to steal the contributions.
So Jesus said, “Leave her alone.
Let her keep this for the day of My burial.
You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have Me.”The large crowd of the Jews found out that He was there and came,
not only because of Him, but also to see Lazarus,
whom He had raised from the dead.
And the chief priests plotted to kill Lazarus too,
because many of the Jews were turning away
and believing in Jesus because of him. “
The Jerusalem Establishment was getting closer to getting rid of their competition for believers’ dollars. They didn’t care if Jesus was the prophesied Messiah. They only knew that the Jews who believed in Jesus weren’t giving them as much support.
The plotters’ obvious choice of an ally within the believers’ camp was Judas. He was so greedy for things of the world that he was known for stealing from the poor in the name of fairness.
In every age, those who betray God steal from the poor. Like Judas, they turn from the worship of God to get money ostensibly collected to make distribution of worldly goods “more fair”.
We see that the political figures who go on and on the most about “fairness” tend to leave people poorer than ever. A dark, bitter hatred for love, truth, and neighbor is behind every excessive “concern” for the poor.
