💫WEB · John 12:5
What does John 12:5 mean?
"“Why wasn’t this ointment sold for three hundred denarii, and given to the poor?”"
— John 12:5 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
So they made him a supper there. Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with him.
Mary, therefore, took a pound of ointment of pure nard, very precious, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the ointment.
Then Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, one of his disciples, who would betray him, said,
“Why wasn’t this ointment sold for three hundred denarii, and given to the poor?”
Now he said this, not because he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and having the money box, used to steal what was put into it.
But Jesus said, “Leave her alone. She has kept this for the day of my burial.
For you always have the poor with you, but you don’t always have me.”
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