Palm Sunday: The Lord’s Entrance into Jerusalem
Philippians 4:4-9; John 12:1-18
Read John 12:1-18
Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory forever!
“But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was about to betray him), said, “Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?” (He said this not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief; he kept the common purse and used to steal what was put into it.)” (John 12: 4-6)
During the prayers of the Passion Week a connection is made between the 300 denarii that could have been in Judas’ purse if the perfume had been sold and the 30 pieces of silver that Judas received as a reward for betraying Jesus. In the prayers it is mentioned that Judas figured out what his cut would be from the expensive ointment and asked for that amount to betray Jesus.
There are examples in the Bible of one sin leading to another one. Cain is first jealous of his brother Abel and then kills him. The brothers of Joseph are jealous of their brother and then sell him as a slave. David commits adultery with the wife of Uriah and then makes sure that Uriah dies in the battlefield. And then we have Judas who covets the money he could have gotten from the expensive myrrh and then betrays Jesus.
A smaller sin begets a bigger sin. That is why it is important for us to make use of the Mystery (Sacrament) of Confession regularly in order to avoid this snowball effect.