“This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein.”
My Notes
What Does John 12:6 Mean?
"This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein." John interrupts Judas's pious objection to Mary's expensive ointment ("Why was not this ointment sold and given to the poor?") with an editorial exposé: Judas didn't care about the poor. He was a thief. He managed the money bag and stole from it. His concern for poverty was a mask for personal greed.
The editorial note is John's most devastating character assassination — a narrator's aside that unmasks the spiritual-sounding objection as financial self-interest. The disciple who sounds most compassionate is the one who's been stealing. The charity argument is the theft's cover story.
Reflection Questions
- 1.Where have you seen spiritual-sounding objections mask financial self-interest?
- 2.How do you identify the difference between genuine concern for the poor and a Judas-style cover story?
- 3.What does Mary's extravagant worship versus Judas's calculated objection teach about what Jesus actually values?
- 4.What 'bag' (access, control, financial interest) might be driving an objection you're hearing from someone?
Devotional
He didn't care about the poor. He was a thief. John pulls back the curtain on Judas's pious objection and shows you what's behind it: greed wearing compassion's clothing.
Not that he cared for the poor. John says it plainly — without softening, without qualifying. The concern for the poor that Judas expressed wasn't real. The poverty argument was a weapon crafted by a thief who wanted the money to pass through his hands so he could skim from it. If the ointment were sold, the money would go into the bag Judas controlled. And Judas bore what was put therein — meaning he took what was put in.
Because he was a thief. The simplest explanation for Judas's spiritual-sounding objection is the most damning: personal financial interest. He's been stealing from the common fund that fed the disciples. The ministry's cash box is his personal ATM. And the ointment that Mary poured on Jesus' feet represents money that Judas couldn't embezzle.
The spiritual-sounding objection that masks financial self-interest is the most dangerous form of hypocrisy in religious communities. The person who objects to generous worship on behalf of the poor might be protecting their own access to the treasury. The ministry leader who redirects resources for 'better purposes' might be redirecting them toward themselves. The voice that sounds most righteous in the budget meeting might be the one with the most to gain.
John's editorial note teaches you to look behind the objection. When someone objects to generosity toward Jesus on behalf of the poor, ask: what's their actual interest? Because Judas's interest was never the poor. It was the bag. And the bag's content was his real religion.
Mary poured out expensive worship. Judas wanted the expense in his pocket. Jesus said: leave her alone. The worship that looks wasteful to the thief is precious to the Lord.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
This he said, not that he cared for the poor,.... He had no affection for them, and was unconcerned about them, and took…
See this passage explained in the notes at Mat 26:3-16. Joh 12:2 A supper - At the house of Simon the leper, Mat 26:6.…
Not that He cared for the poor - There should be a particular emphasis laid on the word he, as the evangelist studies to…
In these verses we have,
I. The kind visit our Lord Jesus paid to his friends at Bethany, Joh 12:1. He came up out of…
the bag Better, the box, the cash-box in which the funds of the small company were kept. The word means literally -a…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture