Judas—The Self-Righteous!

Have you ever noticed that there are plenty of people with opinions on what you should do with what you have, how you should do it, and why? Rarely is it possible to do anything right for these people, which is the case in today’s reading. Mary anoints Jesus’ feet, and a disciple is filled with opinions on what she should have done and why. Then Mary took a twelve-ounce jar of expensive perfume made from essence of nard, and she anointed Jesus’ feet with it, wiping his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance. But Judas Iscariot, the disciple who would soon betray him, said, “That perfume was worth a year’s wages. It should have been sold and the money given to the poor.” (John 12:3–5, NLT)

Self-righteous people often emerge to criticize what convicts them. Interestingly, they sound pious in their critiques but care nothing about what they suggest you should have done. Not that he cared for the poor—he was a thief, and since he was in charge of the disciples’ money, he often stole some for himself. (John 12:6, NLT) Judas didn’t care about the poor; he coveted the value of the ointment for himself. He was also blind to the immeasurable worth of the one Mary anointed. He cared neither for the poor nor for Jesus!

Jesus told Judas to leave her alone! In Matthew and Mark’s accounts of this story, he also told him that she had done what she could and that what she had done was beautiful. Self-righteous people don’t do what they can; they are too busy telling others what they should have done. Yes, there will be no shortage of criticism for doing what you can for God. However, never forget that doing what you can is beautiful in God’s eyes.

Thank you for joining me as I read and journal chronologically through the Bible! This devotional reflection comes from Mark 11; John 12.