John 12:6

"“Why wasn’t this ointment sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?”"

Key Reflection

In John 12:6, the question posed by some of Jesus' disciples regarding the ointment's value and its potential sale to benefit the poor highlights the conflict between financial stewardship and sacrificial acts of love. The original audience would have understood that three hundred denarii was a substantial amount—equivalent to an average worker’s yearly salary. Thus, the question reveals the tension between practical charity and the devotion shown by Mary in anointing Jesus, foreshadowing the disciples' future priorities and the high cost of true discipleship.

From the Scholars: Barnes' Notes

Verse 6. Had the bag. The word translated bag is compounded of two words, meaning "tongue," and "to keep or preserve." It was used to denote the bag in which musicians used to keep the tongues or reeds of their pipes when travelling. Hence it came to mean any bag or purse in which travellers put their money or their most precious articles. The disciples appear to have had such a bag or purse in common, in which they put whatever money they had, and which was designed especially for the poor, Lu 8:3; Mt 27:55; Ac 2:44.

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