12:3-5
"Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment ...". The "therefore" is interesting. It is said as if it was the sort of thing that you would expect Mary to be doing. She anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume, indicating how much of it was used. In Matthew/Mark we are told that some of the disciples expressed disapproval at the "waste" of the perfume. Here these remarks are directly attributed to Judas. John also tells us that Judas was in the habit of pilfering money, and that Judas's concerns had very little to do with any genuine concern for the poor. There have always been attempts to rehabilitate Judas, but these are all flights of fancy with no substance behind them. We should take Judas as the Bible presents him.
12:7,8
There is some doubt as to the precise meaning of v7, namely around what is she to be allowed to keep? The substance is that Jesus is (i) approving of her actions; and (ii) saying that her actions are looking ahead to the day of His burial. "The poor you will always have ...." is not a statement looking down on the poor, nor being critical of caring for the poor! Rather it is putting things in context. Mary's actions would not stop anyone giving money to the poor. Those who were suddenly full of compassion for the poor had plenty of opportunities to exercise their compassion!
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