I. The Woman Who Broke the Alabaster Jar and the Clash with Secular Justice
In Matthew 26, we find an account of Jesus staying at the home of Simon the leper in Bethany, when a woman comes with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume. She breaks the jar and pours it on the Lord’s head. Looking at the cultural and social background of the time, we see that this woman held a position easily marginalized, as a woman’s possessions could be considered part of her property or inheritance. Moreover, Luke 7 describes a woman who poured perfume on the Lord and washed His feet with her tears as a “sinful woman.” Yet regardless of society’s evaluation, this woman realized the Lord’s unconditional love and gave Him her most precious and costly treasure with joy. This act appeared wasteful even to the disciples, and particularly provoked Judas Iscariot’s deep anger and dissatisfaction.
The disciples insisted that the expensive perfume could have been sold and the money used to help the poor (Matt. 26:8-9). On the surface, their statement sounds righteous, logical, and practical. However, what they failed to grasp was the most vital, profound reality of all: the “love that seems wasteful” demonstrated by Jesus. Indeed, aiding the poor is a beautiful act aligned with God’s heart, yet the disciples’ motives were more about rationalizing their own stance than about true compassion for the poor. John 12:6 notes that Judas, who kept the money bag, would sometimes steal from it. This suggests his indignation did not stem from genuine concern for the poor but rather from another layer of self-interest. Ultimately, he missed the value of Christ’s unconditional love—so abundant as to appear foolish—and, through this incident, began closing his heart to it.
Pastor David Jang, reflecting deeply on this scene, emphasizes that when “even the disciples closest to Jesus failed to understand this love, it led to Judas’s betrayal.” Being near Jesus is an enormous blessing, yet it also requires spiritual vigilance. The closer we listen, the closer we watch, the more we can experience greater grace and love; but if we judge that “wasteful” love by worldly standards, grave misunderstandings can arise. Judas, who was entrusted with serving and supporting Jesus from the closest vantage point, ultimately succumbed to human definitions of justice, greed, and distorted judgment, and betrayed the Lord. It serves as a tragic lesson for us all.
When the disciples asked, “Why this waste?” it was a kind of pushback—stemming from human wisdom and secular measures—to a love so immense and profound that it cannot be easily understood. It was also a foreshadowing of the extreme end of that question: selling Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. While one woman lavishly poured out her precious perfume on the Lord to express her love, the disciples—especially Judas—were indignant and branded her act as “wasteful.” They forgot how deeply they themselves had been nurtured in their Master’s grace and love. Likewise, we who profess to follow Jesus may sometimes measure God’s love against a worldly scale. Even if that seems more rational or more practical, such an approach can cause us to miss the glorious essence of this love in the kingdom of the Lord.
Pastor David Jang reminds us that these attitudes can easily arise within our own faith as well, urging that we must hold reverence, not ridicule, toward the Lord’s holy “waste” and what appears to be His folly of love. Whether in the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard (Matt. 20), the Parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15), or even within the story of Job’s suffering, Scripture repeatedly reveals a facet of God’s love that often appears utterly irrational. Yet this love surpasses our understanding and calculation, springing from God’s absolute and unconditional desire to save us. Indeed, it is the true path of life we must cling to.
Thus, faced with the beautiful, selfless devotion of the woman who broke the alabaster jar, the secular justice of Judas and the other disciples was skewed. Claims of “doing good,” “benefiting the poor,” and even “this man leads people astray” coalesced into a plan to eliminate Jesus. As a result, Judas sold Jesus for a mere thirty pieces of silver—an incredibly paltry sum—leading even himself into spiritual destruction.
II. Judas’s Betrayal and Unconditional Love: Pastor David Jang’s Reflection
Jesus being sold for thirty pieces of silver remains one of history’s saddest symbols of betrayal. In Genesis, Joseph was sold by his brothers for twenty pieces of silver (Gen. 37:28). Yet Joseph’s story culminates in a remarkable ending where God’s providence transforms that betrayal into good. On the other hand, in Jesus’ story, He willingly chose the path of the cross to atone for humanity’s sin, making the weight of that betrayal infinitely heavier and more profound in meaning. Once Judas took the thirty silver coins for handing over the Lord, his internal swirl of misunderstanding, distrust, and selfish intent was finally crystallized. Though physically close to the Lord, the moment he viewed Jesus’ love through the lens of a worldly system, his soul had already begun to shatter.
The Lord had deeply trusted Judas. He was entrusted with the money bag among the disciples—a clear sign of the Lord’s confidence in him. This is not a case of Jesus “misjudging someone”; Jesus loved His disciples to the very end (John 13:1). Yet each person’s heart received that love differently. For some, that love became the power that transformed their entire being, while for Judas, it remained something he could neither fully embrace nor truly appreciate, eventually turning into a heavy burden and source of discontent. On this point, Pastor David Jang observes: “Jesus’ love is perfect and requires no justification. When we try to partially accept or interpret it, distortions inevitably result.”
Viewed with human eyes, the Lord’s unwavering mercy and grace can seem “too foolish or unfair.” In the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard, those who toiled from early morning and those who came late in the day receive the same wage, prompting us to feel “that’s not fair.” In the Parable of the Prodigal Son, the father throws a grand feast when his younger son returns after squandering all his inheritance. Such an event could appear unjust to the older son who had faithfully stayed by his father’s side. The common thread in these stories is that the Father’s love transcends our logic and ordinary standards.
The snare that trapped Judas lay in his attempt to measure Christ’s love by a practical yardstick. Perhaps he reasoned: “If the Lord is truly the One who will build God’s kingdom, He shouldn’t allow such waste (the breaking of the alabaster jar). He should judge right from wrong and provide more effectively for the poor.” Yet the love Christ modeled often looks inefficient and even foolish in the world’s eyes—like a waste. He welcomed sinners and lavished His entire being on those deemed worthless by society. Indeed, to worldly thinking, that seems a “waste.” But to God, it is a holy “waste” and absolute love for the sake of salvation.
Ultimately, after the alabaster jar incident, Judas heads to the chief priests (Matt. 26:14-16). “What are you willing to give me if I hand Jesus over to you?” is his bitter and wretched question. He sold Jesus like a slave, receiving thirty pieces of silver—a paltry sum. The disciple whom the Lord had so dearly loved, the disciple who had lived in the grace of the Lord day after day, decided to sell Him out for a few coins. Perhaps within him lay the twisted belief that “Yes, He misleads people. He goes against the justice we need in this world.” When one fails to understand love properly, one may go so far as to reject its power and declare, “That’s wrong. It must be eliminated.” Judas’s betrayal was the ultimate form of rejecting the love he could neither comprehend nor accept.
Only after he had handed Jesus over did Judas come to hear the voice of conscience within him (Matt. 27:3-4). Realizing he had betrayed an innocent man, he returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests, confessing, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” Before the betrayal, perhaps he imagined that the money would fulfill some desire or ambition. But once all was done, the money stood only as a bitter symbol of his own self-destruction. His remorse came too late. Falling into despair, he ultimately took his own life. Pastor David Jang asks, “Was there truly no way for Judas to return to the Lord?” In the Parable of the Prodigal Son, no matter how badly the son had ruined his life, the father welcomes him with a feast the moment he returns, reflecting the heart of God the Father. Jesus even loved His enemies, forgiving those who mocked Him on the cross. The person who kept the door shut was Judas himself, not the Lord. Thinking, “I’ve gone too far to return,” he refused the love that still remained available. Let us not forget this truth: the Lord’s love does not fade by human standards.
In a paradoxical sense, Judas’s story reflects our present condition. We attend church, speak of the Lord’s teaching, and confess God’s love, yet in our actual lives, we can find ourselves using worldly standards to dissect that love, or misapplying our zeal to criticize others. And even if at some point we have “turned away from the Lord,” we must remember that the way back is always open. Just as the father ran out to embrace his returning son in the parable, so the Lord’s arms are constantly stretched out to us in love.
III. Holy Waste and the Cross: The Path Judas Missed and the Path We Can Take
Many people who met Jesus—particularly tax collectors, prostitutes, and those on society’s fringes—experienced first-hand how His love was given without precondition. By the letter of the law, they were deemed sinners, and social norms labeled them “worthless.” Yet the Lord looked them in the eye, extending compassion and mercy. The kingdom He proclaimed is built upon a love that shatters our human reasoning and seems sometimes like wasteful extravagance and unfair generosity. This love culminates most powerfully in the cross—His death and resurrection.
Pastor David Jang states, “The cross is the greatest ‘holy waste’ and at the same time the deepest testimony of love.” Jesus, being God, died in place of sinners though He Himself was sinless. From the world’s perspective, it is impossible to conceive of a more “wasteful” act. Why would the Son of God give His own body and shed His blood for us? Yet without that “waste,” we would have no way of escaping our eternal punishment for sin. The seemingly foolish sacrifice on the cross is God’s plan of salvation—His absolute expression of love for humanity.
Right to the end, Judas failed to understand the meaning of this “holy waste.” He could not see that the same lavishness he had criticized in the woman with the alabaster jar would be fulfilled in the Lord’s self-giving on the cross. Rather, he unwittingly set in motion the events leading to that very sacrifice. Considering the height of Christ’s love as a “foolish deed,” Judas acted to eliminate it, colluding with the chief priests to turn Jesus over. Yet God used even that choice to accomplish humanity’s salvation. By shedding His blood on the cross, Jesus opened an eternal path of life for all people.
So, how will each of us respond to this love? If we weigh it by worldly standards, we can never truly comprehend the meaning of the cross. When faith wanes, human intellect and logic can blind us. In Genesis, God commanded Adam and Eve not to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil (Gen. 2:17), cautioning them not to define good and evil by their own knowledge, but rather to remain under God’s word and abide in His love. Yet we often rely on our own reasoning—wondering, “Is this love truly right? Isn’t this situation too inefficient?”—and end up questioning the Lord’s perfect guidance. As a consequence, we sin and destroy ourselves spiritually, only to discover too late the emptiness and sorrow of life without the Lord.
Pastor David Jang observes, “Betraying the Lord is not just about outright denial; it begins in the heart that rejects His love by worldly logic and scorns the unconditional love and devotion often found within the church or the community of faith.” Love reaches fulfillment through deep relationship, and that deep relationship invariably demands the “wasteful” time and sacrifice that make no sense to the calculating mind. Think of a parent’s devotion to a child, which involves a seemingly endless outpouring of sacrifice and energy, yet that sacrifice is never considered wasted. It’s embraced with joy. Every moment of a child’s birth and growth is an act of love, and through that love, the parent also experiences deep joy.
The same applies to the Lord caring for His disciples—and for us. His love is unconditional and sometimes seems almost foolish in its total acceptance of us, even when we are spiritually immature. That is the heart of God’s mercy, the essence of holy “waste.” Judas misunderstood this, measuring it by his own standards and concluding, “This cannot continue,” and so he sold his Master for thirty silver coins. In the end, he neither found the worldly justice nor the personal gain he sought, perishing in utter despair.
Yet our story does not end there. Even within this tragedy, we discern the profound mystery of God’s redemption. The Lord employed Judas’s betrayal to complete the road to the cross, and by giving Himself there, He gifted eternal life to His chosen children. This is the definitive proof that no matter our sin, God’s love never fails. Even if we stumble and betray Him, if we repent and come back, He will always embrace us.
This is the significance of the Lenten season, during which we reflect upon the Lord’s unconditional love and suffering. Before God, we need to break our pride and worldly wisdom, just as the woman broke the alabaster jar. Sometimes, like her, we may need to pour out our entire being in devotion to the Lord, even when cynical voices label it “waste.” In the face of such derision, we must stand firm in our conviction that this is “holy waste” unto the Lord. The way of the cross appears wasteful, but it is the way of life. If we follow it in full faith in the Lord’s love, we will never regret it.
Pastor David Jang concludes with this exhortation: “When we offer all that we have to the Lord, the world may sneer at it as waste, but the Lord accepts it as the most beautiful devotion. Mary sitting at the Lord’s feet to listen, the sinful woman who broke the alabaster jar to anoint Him, and the prodigal son returning to his father’s embrace—these are the true realities of God’s kingdom, proclaimed by the gospel.” We must heed the cautionary tale of Judas’s tragedy so as not to share his fate, and thus resolve to trust deeply in the Lord’s love. It is an eternal love that never gives up on us, and it has the power to transform us into glorious witnesses of His kingdom.
Ultimately, the choice is ours. We can either walk Judas’s path—declaring “this love is irrational” and choosing betrayal—or follow the example of the woman who broke the alabaster jar, proclaiming “this love is worth giving everything for” and walking in devotion. And even if we once chose Judas’s path, it is never too late to return to the Lord. He does not reject a repentant heart. Which path will we take? Will we cling to thirty pieces of silver and forfeit the glory of God’s kingdom, or will we perceive the depths of the love Jesus has shown and journey alongside Him? Our answer to this question is our confession of faith—one that must manifest daily in our practical choices and commitments.
www.davidjang.org