4. Dixit ergo unus ex discipulis eius, Iudas Iscariotes, qui erat eum traditurus:4. Then one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, he that was about to betray him, said:
5. Quare hoc unguentum non veniit trecentis denariis, et datum est egenis?5. Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor?

4, 5. From SS. Matt. and Mark, it would seem that at least two of the disciples must have murmured, for St. Matt. says: “And the disciples seeing it, had indignation;” and St. Mark: “Now there were some that had indignation within themselves, and said: Why was this waste of the ointment made?” We may admit, then, that some of the others joined Judas in murmuring, but probably from a different motive; or, we may hold, with some commentators, that the plural is used indefinitely for the singular.

Judas Iscariot (Gr. Judas Iscariot, son of Simon: see notes on [vi. 72]) spoke out, asking why this ointment was not sold at 300 pence, and the price given to the poor? We discussed above on [vi. 7], the value of the Roman silver penny at this time current in [pg 211] Palestine, from which it appears that this box of ointment was thought to be worth nearly £10 of our money.

6. Dixit autem hoc, non quia de egenis pertinebat ad eum, sed quia fur erat, et loculos habens, ea quae mittebantur portabat.6. Now he said this, not because he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and having the purse, carried the things that were put therein.

6. St. John here declares the motive of Judas. It was not love for the poor, as he pretended, but because, being purse-bearer, for our Lord and the disciples, he was always anxious to receive money, that he might have an opportunity of filching some of it for himself. Whether with our Rhemish Version we give ἐβάσταζεν the meaning of “carried,” or, as others prefer, “made away with,” at all events, it is plain from the verse, in which Judas is declared a thief, that he sometimes appropriated to his own uses money from the common purse. In his case, too, the saying was true: “Nemo repente fit turpissimus.”

7. Dixit ergo Iesus: Sinite illam ut in diem sepulturae meae servet illud.7. Jesus therefore said: Let her alone, that she may keep it against the day of my burial.

7. There is a difference of reading in this verse. Many ancient authorities read: She has kept it (τετήρηκεν) against the day of my burial; and the meaning of this reading is plain. The more probable[80] Greek reading, however, is: “That she might keep it (ἱνα ... τηρήσῃ) against the day of My burial.” In this reading we take our Lord's reply to mean: Let her alone: it was not sold (Judas had asked: Why was it not sold?) in order that she might keep it against the day of My burial. Thus we would read “servaret” instead of “servet” in the Vulgate; and we take “ut” to depend not on “sinite,” but on some words such as “non veniit” (it was not sold) understood. St. John's report of Christ's words agrees substantially with that of St. Mark, who represents our Lord as saying: “She is come beforehand to anoint My body for the burial” (Mark xiv. 8); and both accounts, as well as that of St. Matt. (xxvi. 12), “She hath done it for My burial,” signify that our Lord's death was so close at hand that this unction might be regarded as a preparation for His burial; and hence Mary was not to be blamed, inasmuch as such [pg 212] honours were usually paid to bodies before burial.

Immediately after their account of this unction, SS. Matt. and Mark narrate the compact of Judas with the Jews to betray Jesus for thirty pieces of silver; so that it is extremely probable that it was spite at losing the price of the ointment used on this occasion that finally determined Judas to betray our Lord.

8. Pauperes enim semper habetis vobiscum: me autem non semper habetis.8. For the poor you have always with you; but me you have not always.

8. But me you have not always. Christ as God is, no doubt, everywhere, even now; and even as man He is still upon our altars in the Blessed Sacrament; but He is no longer with us in a mortal body capable of deriving sensible pleasure and comfort from such ministrations as those of Mary upon this occasion.