What is the meaning of John 12:5? Why wasn’t this perfume • The setting is a dinner in Bethany where “Mary took about a pint of expensive perfume… and anointed Jesus’ feet” (John 12:3). • Judas Iscariot, identified in John 12:4 as the speaker, challenges the act. Though he frames his words as practical stewardship, John 12:6 reveals his true motive was greed. • Similar objections arise in the parallel accounts (Matthew 26:8; Mark 14:4), showing that some disciples shared Judas’s sentiment, yet Jesus affirmed Mary’s devotion (John 12:7). sold for three hundred denarii • Three hundred denarii was roughly a year’s wages for a laborer (cf. Matthew 20:2), underscoring how lavish the gift was. • The statement spotlights the costliness of wholehearted worship. David once said, “I will not offer to the LORD my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing” (2 Samuel 24:24). Mary’s act follows that same principle. • Scripture consistently presents sacrificial giving as precious to God, whether it is the widow’s two coins (Luke 21:1-4) or Mary’s flask of perfume. and the money given • Judas’s argument appears reasonable: redirect valuable resources to charity. Proverbs 19:17 commends generosity to the poor, and Deuteronomy 15:11 commands openhandedness. • Yet motives matter. John 12:6 discloses Judas “cared nothing for the poor.” God weighs the heart (1 Samuel 16:7), and outward philanthropy cannot mask inner corruption. • Jesus does not dismiss caring for the needy; He Himself fed the hungry (Matthew 14:13-21) and taught almsgiving (Matthew 6:1-4). He simply discerns the hypocrisy lurking beneath Judas’s proposal. to the poor? • Jesus answers, “The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have Me” (John 12:8), echoing Deuteronomy 15:11. His impending crucifixion gives this moment unique significance. • Honoring the Son of God takes precedence when an irrevocable opportunity is at hand. Acts 20:35 encourages continual care for the poor, yet worship of Christ remains first (Colossians 1:18). • Mary’s perfume, poured out now, prepares Jesus “for the day of My burial” (John 12:7). The fragrance fills the house (John 12:3), symbolizing how true devotion blesses everyone present (2 Corinthians 2:15-16). summary Mary’s costly act of love reveals the surpassing worth of Jesus. Judas’s objection exposes selfish motives cloaked in pious language. Scripture upholds both generous care for the poor and extravagant worship, but it insists that worship comes first and must spring from a sincere heart. |
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