The Judas NGO

 The Judas NGO

December 22, 2025

John 12:3-6 (NASB95) 

3 Mary then took a pound of very costly perfume of pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus andwiped His feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4 But Judas Iscariot, one of His disciples, who was intending to betray Him, said, 5 “Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and given to poor people?” 6 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.

If you have been following the news lately, you would have heard about the corrupt Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) that have been stealing billions of dollars from the government while promising to help the poor. This, of course, is nothing new. Theft and corruption have been a part of human civilization since the fall of Adam, Ana we see an example here right in Jesus’ inner circle. I’m sure Judas said all the right things to get people to contribute to Jesus ministry, and that certainly included promises to help the poor. That was certainly the case here in the house of Mary, Martha and Lazarus. But Jesus saw his true motive and allowed Mary to “waste” the perfume by anointing His feet. As they say now “Never let a crisis go to waste”, so we see where Judas was scheming to profit off of Mary’s expensive gift. His true motive was to enrich himself and get close to the seat of power that imagined Jesus would hold when he became the earthly king of Israel. Of course, Jesus had other plans and Judas sold his scheme to the high priest for 60 pieces of silver, the price of a man. That was a considerable sum, but it profited him nothing when he was overcome by grief and regret and hung himself.

So in this season where the world is trying to sell us all sort of schemes to help the poor, be careful and use wisdom. Not all who tell a good story are good people, even when they are in the inner circle of the “right” people. Judas was one of the twelve, but was corrupt of heart and was a traitor in the end. So by all means find ways to contribute to the poor at Christmas time, but be careful of who you support. Just because it feels good and the story sounds good doesn’t mean that it is a good cause.