John 12:6Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

It closes both eyes and ears, makes men fiercer than beasts, and does not allow them to think of conscience, friendship, fellowship, or the salvation of their own soul. Turning them away from everything at once, it makes those captured by it its slaves, like some cruel tyrant. What is worst in this bitter slavery is that it even makes one delight in it. The more men give themselves to it, the more their pleasure increases. For this reason especially the disease becomes incurable. For this reason this beast is untamable. Love of money made Gehazi, from being a disciple and a prophet, into a leper. It destroyed Ananias. It made Judas a betrayer. It corrupted the rulers of the Jews, who accepted gifts and became accomplices of thieves. It produced countless wars. It filled roads with blood, and cities with lamentation and tears. It made suppers unclean, tables defiled, and the very foods full of lawlessness. Therefore Paul called it idolatry (Eph 5:5), though even this did not frighten them. Why does he call it idolatry? Many who possess wealth do not dare to use it. They regard it as sacred and hand it on intact to grandchildren and descendants. They do not dare touch it, as though it were something consecrated to God. If they are ever compelled to touch it, they are in such a state as though they had done something unlawful. On the other hand, as a pagan guards an idol, so you secure gold with doors and locks. Instead of a temple you make a chest for it, and you put it into silver vessels. But you do not worship gold, as he worships his idol? Nevertheless, you show it every kind of honor. Further, the pagan would sooner give up his eyes and soul than his idol. So it is also with those who love gold. But I do not worship gold, you say. The pagan also says that he does not worship the idol, but the demon who dwells in it. So you too, if you do not worship gold, worship the demon who enters your soul through the sight of gold and through passion for it. The passion of love of money is worse than a demon. Many obey it more than some obey idols. In many things they do not listen to idols, but they obey love of money in everything. They carry out whatever it commands them to do. What does it say? Be, it says, an enemy and adversary to everyone. Forget nature. Despise God. Sacrifice yourself to me. And in all this they obey. To idols men sacrifice oxen and sheep. Love of money says, "Sacrifice your soul to me," and this too they do. Do you see what altars it has, and what sacrifices it receives? "The extortioners shall not inherit the Kingdom of God" (1 Cor 6:10), yet they do not fear even this. Still, this passion is in itself weaker, because it is not born in us and does not come from our nature. Otherwise it would have been in us from the beginning. But in the beginning there was no gold, and no one loved gold. If you wish, I will tell you whence this evil arose. Each man, emulating those who lived before him, increased this disease. The predecessor stirred up the successor even against his will. As soon as people see splendid houses, many fields, crowds of servants, silver vessels, and a great collection of clothing, they strive by every means to have still more. Thus the first become the cause for the second, and these for those who follow. Yet if they wished to live modestly, they would not be teachers for others. Still, even these later ones have no excuse, because there are also those who despise wealth. Who, you say, despises it? This is precisely the calamity, that evil has increased so much that the virtue of non-possessiveness seems impossible. It is not even believed that anyone follows it. I could certainly name many, both in cities and villages. But what use would that be? You would not become better from this either. Besides, our present discourse is not about your squandering your property. I would wish this, but since this burden is beyond your strength, I do not compel you. I only urge you not to desire what belongs to another, and to give also from your own. There are many who are content with what is theirs, care for their own, and live by righteous labors. Why do we not emulate and imitate them? Let us remember those who lived before us. Do not their estates still stand, on which only their names remain? Here is the bath of such a man, here the suburb and inn of such a man. When we see this, shall we not at once sigh? Let us imagine how many labors he endured and how much plunder he committed. Yet he himself is nowhere. Others enjoy his possessions, of whom he never thought, perhaps even his enemies. Meanwhile he himself suffers the greatest punishment. This awaits us too. We too shall surely die. The same end will surely overtake us. Tell me, how much anger did they endure? How many expenses, how much enmity? And what fruit? Endless punishment, deprivation of every consolation, and condemnation by all, not only during life, but also after death. And when we see many portraits set up in houses, do we not weep all the more? Truly the prophet spoke well: "Surely every man living is troubled in vain" (Ps 38:6). Care for such things is truly confusion and useless anxiety. But it is not so in the eternal dwellings and in those habitations. Here one labors and another enjoys. There each will be master of his own labors and will receive a manifold reward. Let us strive, then, for that possession. Let us build houses for ourselves there, that we may rest in Christ Jesus our Lord. With Him to the Father and the Holy Spirit be glory unto the ages. Amen.

Some say that the keeping of the money was entrusted to Judas as the lesser task. For serving around money is less than teaching. So also in Acts the apostles say: "It is not right that we should leave the word of God and serve tables" (Acts 6:2).

He had the money box with him and carried what was put into it. Did he carry it, or carry it away? For service he carried it. For theft he carried it away. Hear, then, that this Judas did not perish when he betrayed the Lord after being bribed by the Jews. Many who read the Gospel inattentively think Judas perished then, when he received money from the Jews to betray the Lord. He did not perish then. He was already a thief. He already followed the Lord as one lost, because he followed Him with his body, not with his heart. He entered the number of the twelve apostles, but he did not possess apostolic blessedness. He was the twelfth in appearance. When he fell away and another replaced him (see Acts 1:26), apostolic truth was restored, and the integrity of the number was preserved. My brethren, to what did our Lord Jesus Christ wish to move His Church when He willed to have one betrayer among the twelve? Was it not that we should endure the evil and not divide the Body of Christ? Behold, Judas among the saints. Behold, Judas a thief. And do not forget that he is not just any thief, but a sacrilegious thief. He is a robber of the money box, and not an ordinary one, but one belonging to the Lord. He is a robber not of an ordinary money box, but of a sacred one. In the courts a distinction is made between theft and embezzlement of public funds. The theft of private property is not punished as the theft of public money is. How much more severely must the sacrilegious thief be punished, who dared to steal not from just anyone, but from the Church? Whoever steals anything from the Church is comparable to the lost Judas. Such was that Judas, and yet he was numbered with the eleven holy disciples and went out from that number. He also came to the Lord's Supper. He could share with them, but he could not defile them. Peter and Judas partook of one Bread. Yet what fellowship has the faithful with the unbelieving? Peter partook unto life, but Judas unto death. The Good Bread is like fragrance. As fragrance, so also the Good Bread gives life to the good and brings death to the evil. For whoever eats and drinks unworthily eats and drinks judgment to himself (1 Cor 11:29). Judgment to himself, not to you. If it is judgment to himself and not to you, then you, as good, endure the evil. Then you will attain the reward of the good and not be sent to the punishment of the evil. Attend to the example given by the Lord while He dwelt on earth. Why did He have a money box, He whom angels served? Was it not so that His Church too might possess its money? Why did He tolerate a thief, if not so that the Church also might patiently endure thieves? But the one who was accustomed to take money from the box did not tremble when he took money to sell the Lord Himself.

Having become disappointed in the advantages he expected from joining Christ’s company, he began to compensate himself by stealing from the common purse. And now, at the sight of Mary’s generous sacrifice, which translated into money would have made a considerable sum for the apostolic chest, wholly at his disposal, his soul overflowed with indignation and fury.

The devil had already taken possession of him. Tormented by the spirit of greed, with feigned philanthropy he gloomily remarked: Why such waste? "Why was this myrrh not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?"

These offerings from those favorably disposed toward the Lord were intended for the daily needs of Christ’s small company, and also for distribution to the poor (cf. Lk 8:3; Jn 13:29).

"He carried away, that is, stole what was put there, and he was sacrilegious, appropriating to himself alms given for a holy work" (Theophylact).

The question of why the Lord entrusted precisely to Judas this box, which was especially dangerous for him, coincides with the general question of why the Lord chose Judas among His disciples and kept him with Himself until the last time.

He had long known him as the future betrayer. The answer is found in divine predestination, founded upon foreknowledge of all that had to happen (cf. Acts 1:16; Jn 2:23; Jn 6:70ff.).

Some of the disciples expressed displeasure at the wasting of the nard out of a good-natured, though misplaced, concern for the poor. Judas, however, though he too spoke about the poor, was in fact concerned for his own gain.

He had been entrusted with the box for receiving alms needed for common expenses. But each time he stole enough from the alms so as not to be noticed in the theft.

Εβαςαζε means "he secretly took." Such is the meaning of Βαςαζειν (Flavius, Antiquities 1.8.2); otherwise it would be tautology. Origen, Chrysostom, the Ethiopian translator, and Augustine understood it this way.

The latter says: "The Lord Himself had boxes into which offerings and money were placed for the use of those who were with Him" (In Ps. 103). "Why did He who was served by angels have boxes, if not because His Church also was to have them?" (In Iohan. tract. 50).