By Mark Grace, CCCNZ Ambassador
John 12:5
“He aha tenei hinu te hokona ai ki nga pene e toru rau, ka hoatu ai ki te hunga rawakore?”
“Na lē fa‘atauina atu aiseā lenei suāu‘u manogi i tenari e tolu selau, ma tu‘uina atu le tupe mo ē e matitiva?”
“Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.”
Jesus is both a comforter and a confronter.
We know Jesus cared for the poor. At the beginning of his ministry, Luke records Jesus opening a scroll of Isaiah and reading a very specific portion: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.”
In John chapter 12, one of Jesus' disciples mimics his love for the poor.
Exceedingly expensive perfume had been wasted in a lavish, exuberant display of adoration.
Judas, apparently sharing Jesus' heart, raises this question: “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages“.
His response seems logical. It seems like Judas is being practical; weighing the cost of the gift and the good it could do. On the surface, the question mirrors Christ’s concerns—a year of income could certainly help the poor. But John immediately exposes Judas’ motives for the question.
"He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it".
Judas wasn't concerned about the poor. Judas loved Judas, far more than Jesus. His motives were self-deception, self-improvement and self-importance.
What has got me squirming is this: as I reflect on my own heart, my motives are often mixed. Even my best actions can be influenced by my heart’s self-deception and self-importance.
What happens next is surprising. Jesus confronts Judas, and tells him that the expensive gift wasn't a waste. "Leave her alone,” Jesus replied. “It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me”.
Jesus doesn't call Judas out for stealing, although he obviously knows about it. Instead, he uses the situation to point forward to his death on the cross.
Even as I'm confronted about my mixed motives, I'm reminded about the cross. There, Jesus covered the cost of all my sins and yours. What my heart needs is to be confronted and comforted by who Jesus is and what he has done.
