Did you know Judas was a thief? Did Jesus know?

Did you know Judas was a thief? Not just suspect it, but do you actually remember reading it? Did Jesus know? If Jesus knew Judas was a thief, why would He allow Judas to be the keeper of the money for the twelve disciples?

If you didn’t already know, finding out Judas was a thief probably isn’t a surprise. I mean, he sold out Jesus for thirty pieces of silver.

But did you know the Bible records that Judas was a thief?

It’s one of those things that’s easy to miss. We’re so focused on Judas selling out Jesus that we can just breeze right through one sentence about him being a thief.

And besides, if whichever Gospel author knew Judas was a thief, why was he allowed to continue to be with the group?

On top of that, if Jesus knew, why was Judas allowed to steal money from His inner circle?

It all sounds so weird.

Judas was a thief.

And yet, one of the Gospels does record that Judas was indeed a thief.

When we read the passage where this little tidbit is revealed, we see even more reasons why it can be missed. Or forgotten.

John wrote that Judas was a thief

Jesus Anointed at Bethany – John

12:1-8 Ref—Mt 26:6-13; Mk 14:3-9; Lk 7:37-39

Jn 12:1 Six days before the Passover, Jesus arrived at Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2 Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. 3 Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

Jn 12:4 But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, 5 “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.’” 6 He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.

Jn 12:7 “Leave her alone,” Jesus replied. “It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. 8 You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.”

Jn 12:9 Meanwhile a large crowd of Jews found out that Jesus was there and came, not only because of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. 10 So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well, 11 for on account of him many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and putting their faith in him.

Did you see it?

Jn 12:4 But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, 5 “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.’” 6 He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.

Mark did not write that Judas was a thief

Now, if John wrote that, how come Mark didn’t include it when he wrote about the same event?

Jesus Anointed at Bethany – Mark

14:1-11 pp — Mt 26:2-16
14:1, 2, 10, 11 pp — Lk 22:1-6
14:3-8 Ref—Jn 12:1-8

Mk 14:1 Now the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread were only two days away, and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were looking for some sly way to arrest Jesus and kill him. 2 “But not during the Feast,” they said, “or the people may riot.”

Mk 14:3 While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of a man known as Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head.

Mk 14:4 Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, “Why this waste of perfume? 5 It could have been sold for more than a year’s wages and the money given to the poor.” And they rebuked her harshly.

Mk 14:6 “Leave her alone,” said Jesus. “Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. 7 The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me. 8 She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial. 9 I tell you the truth, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”

Mk 14:10 Then Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Jesus to them. 11 They were delighted to hear this and promised to give him money. So he watched for an opportunity to hand him over.

OK – do you see the differences?

Mark recorded that some of those present talked about wasting the cost of the perfume.
But John identified Judas specifically.

Mk 14:4 Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, “Why this waste of perfume? 5 It could have been sold for more than a year’s wages and the money given to the poor.” And they rebuked her harshly.

Jn 12:4 But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, 5 “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.’”

Also, Mark said nothing about Judas being a thief.
But John did make note of Judas stealing money.

(Since Mark didn’t identify Judas specifically, there’s no verse corresponding to what John recorded in verse 6 below)

Jn 12:6 He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.

By the way, Matthew and Luke also recorded nothing specific about Judas complaining or about being a thief.

Why is John the only one who wrote that Judas was a thief?

This begs a question. How is it that John seems to be the only one who knew Judas was a thief? The operative words there are “appears to be”. Let’s explore why that’s the case.

It’s generally accepted that John’s Gospel was the last of the four to be written. The most likely scenario is that additional information came to be known after the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke were written, but was available to John before he completed his Gospel.

Here are some of the thoughts on this.

{Judas}As Treasurer. When the twelve became an organized body, traveling, receiving money and other offerings, distributing to the poor, it became necessary that someone should act as steward; we learn that this duty fell to Judas and also that “he was a thief, and as he had the money box, he used to pilfer what was put into it” (John 12:4–6; 13:29).  ¹Unger, M. F., Harrison, R. K., Vos, H. F., Barber, C. J., & Unger, M. F. (1988). In The new Unger’s Bible dictionary (Rev. and updated ed.). Moody Press.

Not because he cared for the poor (οὐχ ὁτι περι των πτωχων ἐμελεν αὐτῳ [ouch hoti peri tōn ptōchōn emelen autōi]). Literally, “not because it was  a care to him concerning the poor” (impersonal imperfect of μελει [melei], it was a care). John often makes explanatory comments of this kind as in 2:21f.; 7:22, 39. But because he was a thief (ἀλλε ὁτι κλεπτης ἠν [alle hoti kleptēs ēn]). Clearly the disciples did not know then that Judas was a petty thief. That knowledge came later…  ²Robertson, A. T. (1933). Word Pictures in the New Testament (Jn 12:6). Broadman Press.

This is a parenthetical note by the author. This is one of the indications in the gospels that Judas was of bad character before the betrayal of Jesus. John states that he was a thief and had responsibility for the finances of the group. More than being simply a derogatory note about Judas’ character, the inclusion of the note at this particular point in the narrative may be intended to link the frustrated greed of Judas here with his subsequent decision to betray Jesus for money. The parallel accounts in Matthew and Mark seem to indicate that after this incident Judas went away immediately and made his deal with the Jewish authorities to deliver up Jesus. Losing out on one source of sordid gain, he immediately went out and set up another.  ³Biblical Studies Press. (2006). The NET Bible First Edition Notes (Jn 12:6). Biblical Studies Press.

So it seems to be accepted that non of the disciples knew, at the time, that Judas was stealing money. It was at some point after the anointing at Bethany that they became aware of it.

Whether they find out before the first three Gospels or not, we don’t know for sure. If the three authors did know, they chose not to include that knowledge.

However, while we don’t know for sure when he learned of the thefts, John did include it.

When did Jesus know Judas was a thief?

Here’s the big question. When did Jesus know? It’s like these days, when interrogating someone – what did you know and when did you know it?

Guess what? Jesus knew before selecting Judas as one of the twelve.

Inherently, every Christian knows Jesus knew all along.

Even before Jesus was born, everything was known by God.

So now, the question becomes, was Judas chosen in spite of the fact that he was a thief, or because of it?

Well, we know what ultimately happened with Judas. He betrayed Jesus. And killed himself.

It makes sense to think Judas was chosen because of his character. Or lack of character. Being a thief is, in a sad way, one more box checked on his qualification list for the job of betraying Jesus.

Footnotes

• 1
  Unger, M. F., Harrison, R. K., Vos, H. F., Barber, C. J., & Unger, M. F. (1988). In The new Unger’s Bible dictionary (Rev. and updated ed.). Moody Press.
• 2
  Robertson, A. T. (1933). Word Pictures in the New Testament (Jn 12:6). Broadman Press.
• 3
  Biblical Studies Press. (2006). The NET Bible First Edition Notes (Jn 12:6). Biblical Studies Press.