July 26, 2023

 The Lying Cheat 

“But Judas Iscariot, one of His disciples, who was intending to betray Him, said, ‘Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and given to poor people?’ Now he said this, not because he was concerned about the poor, but because he was a thief, and as he had the money box, he used to pilfer what was put into it.”

John 12:4-6 (NASB)

            I investigated an attorney during my time working in the Investigations, at the Sheriffs Office. He had been charged with stealing from an old woman’s settlement. He was her attorney. The victim had been a car accident, and he had been fighting for her compensation. Eventually, he won the case. The case was settled and provided her a six-figure settlement. When I called him for an interview, he agreed. After advising him of his Constitutional Rights, he waived and agreed to speak. After several hours, he confessed to stealing most of the money. He, at the time, was responsible for disbursements from her settlement. After he confessed that day he gave a statement. He admitted his severe gambling problem, as he used the money for it. He spent over 150 thousand dollars of her settlement. Later he was found guilty, lost his license to practice law, and received probation, along with monetary reimbursement to the victim. He was supposed to be her advocate, but secretly he was stealing from her. He wasn’t concerned about the poor lady because he was a thief. Thieves are selfish. They don’t care about anyone but themselves.

            “Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and given to poor people? Now he said this, not because he was concerned about the poor, but because he was a thief,” Three hundred denarii today is about 50 dollars. The amount of money Judas was concerned about was probably nothing compared to the amount of money he had already stolen. The disciples didn’t know at the time. Judas didn’t care about the money, or the people it might affect. He was more concerned about himself in the future. “Clearly the disciples did not know then that Judas was a petty thief. That knowledge came later after he took the bribe of thirty pieces of silver for betraying Jesus (Matt. 26:15), for the disciples did not suspect Judas of treachery (John 13:28f.), let alone small peculations.”[1] If we think about the smell of the perfume in the house with its odor, a poison of Judas words were contaminating the home. If fact, the amount Judas betrayed Jesus was the amount equal to the price for a gored slave (Ex. 21:32; Zech. 11:12–13).[2] A gored slave was one who had been injured by an animal while working for his master. Judas was clearly concerned about himself, with no thought for tomorrow.

            When I took the time to ask the attorney “Why?” he stole from the woman, he said “It was only about the money.” Clearly that day he admitted the sin of gambling had taken over his life. He couldn’t think about anything else. As I began to ask him “Why, an old lady?” he started crying. He told me he didn’t even think about her as a person. He was only getting what he could get at the time to fulfill his own desires. That day, I actually felt bad for both parties. One was consumed by greed, and the other consumed by the acts of a thief. You see, sin slips in; before you know it, it has taken you on a journey to a place you didn’t want to go; and never receiving what you thought you wanted…

[1] Robertson, A. T. (1933). Word Pictures in the New Testament (Jn 12:6). Broadman Press.

[2] Blum, E. A. (1985). John. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 316). Victor Books.