John 12
-Six days before
the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where He had raised Lazarus from the dead.
Mary and Martha made a supper for Him there at that time, and Lazarus reclined
at the table with the Messiah. Martha served them, but Mary did something more
audacious as she took a pound of very costly perfume of pure nard and anointed
Jesus’ feet wiping it with her hair. The house was soon filled with the
fragrance of this perfume, and Judas Iscariot was none too pleased with the
activity. He asserted that this perfume could have been donated to the
disciples’ ministry for the poor at 300 denarii (a day’s wage). John maintains
here that Judas, who would be the betrayer of Christ Jesus, was actually doing
this from a motivation of thievery as he was known to pilfer the money box of
the disciples as its treasurer. Money often corrupts (1 Timothy 3:3; 6:10,
Hebrews 13:5). Jesus rebuked him for this accusation, “Let her alone, so that
she may keep it for the day of My burial, for you always have the poor with
you, but you do not always have Me.” There was a large crowd there who were
curious with Jesus’ presence as well as Lazarus’, whom they desired to see post
resuscitation. However, John notes here that the chief priests were planning to
put Lazarus to death also. We don’t know how that all turned out. Because of
the miracle Jesus had performed with Lazarus, many of the Jews were going away
and believing in Jesus’ teachings. This brought the wrath of the religious
establishment for sure (John 12:1-11).
-The next day, which was Palm Sunday, the large crowd who
had come to the Passover Feast took the branches of the palm trees and went out
to meet Jesus as He came into Jerusalem. They shouted, “Hosanna! Blessed is He
who comes in the Name of the LORD, even the King of Israel.” Jesus, as
prophesied (Zechariah 9:9), rode on a young donkey humbly entering the sacred
city where He was about to sacrifice His life for the forgiveness of sins.
These things went right by the disciples as they were happening so quickly.
Their understanding, not yet filled with the Holy Spirit, was dull; but, when
Jesus was glorified, He enlightened their understanding, and they recalled
these events. Testifying kept occurring by those who had seen His miracle of
raising Lazarus. This was bringing curious observers out to meet the Lord. They
had heard about His sign and wanted to inquire further during this desperate
time of looking for a Messiah in their Jewish nation. The Pharisees were
getting more fired up at all this controversy claiming that the whole world had
gone after Him (John 12:12-19).
-There were some Gentile Greeks among those going up to
worship at the feast. They came to Philip wishing to see Jesus. Philip told his
fellow disciple, Andrew, and they both came to Jesus. Jesus told them frankly
at this time, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly,
truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it
remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. He who loves his life loses
it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal. If
anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be
also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.” Jesus then went on, “Now
My soul is troubled; and what shall I say, ‘Father, save Me from this hour’?
But for this purpose I came to this hour.” Then He asked the LORD to glorify the
Father’s Name. A Voice came out of Heaven, “I have both glorified It, and will
glorify It again.” The crowd, which was around, thought it to be thunder, but
some were saying, “An angel has spoken to Him.” Jesus told them that this Voice
had not come for His sake, but for theirs. Then He some more profound teaching
came forth, “Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler (the devil) of this
world will be cast out. And I, if I am lifted up from the earth (the cross),
will draw all men to Myself.” Jesus was telling them that the Greeks could look
to Him for salvation. Very shortly He would be sacrificed on Calvary for the
redemption of all mankind who would believe. The crowd had limited biblical
knowledge at this juncture and wanted to know why the Christ wouldn’t remain
forever. They could not fathom the possibility that this could be a suffering
Servant, even though Isaiah had clearly predicted this (see Isaiah 53 among
other places in the OT). Jesus further taught on Him being the Light and for
His followers to keep walking in this Light so that darkness would not overtake
them. Darkness is related to blindness and not being able to find one’s way.
Jesus said, “While you have the Light, believe in the Light, so that you may
become sons of Light.” After saying these important things, the Lord went away
and hid Himself from them (John 12:20-36).
-Even though the Lord performed so many signs before them, they
still were not believing in Him as the Son of God. This also fulfilled the
prophecies, and John uses Isaiah 53:1 and Isaiah 6:52 as his proof texts. Isaiah,
John says, had seen the glory of the LORD and spoke of this Messiah in plain
language. But, even though there were many in doubt, there were many who did
believe, even among the rulers of the Jews. However, because of their fear of
man, the religious leading Pharisees, they were not openly confessing Him as
Lord. Their fear was founded on them being cast out of the synagogue and open
shame among their brethren. “They loved the approval of men rather than the
approval of God.” Faith determines the action (John 12:37-43).
-Jesus now boldly summarizes His message:
“He who believes in Me, does not
believe in Me but in Him who sent Me. He who sees Me sees the One who sent Me.
I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will
not remain in darkness. If anyone hears My sayings and does not keep them, I do
not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. He
who rejects Me and does not receive My sayings, has One who judges him; the
word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day. For I did not speak on My
own initiative, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me a commandment as to what to say and what to speak. I
know that His commandment is eternal life; therefore, the things I speak, I
speak just as the Father has told Me (John 12:44-50).”
-*Application*- We
should see the value of anointing Jesus as Lord as a major theme of this
chapter. He should come before our community service and any works-based charity.
Plus, we always need to do things with a righteous heart and pure motives.
Stealing is forever wrong. Again, as we have seen so many times in John, belief
is the crossroads in our stand with Christ Jesus. Are we seeking the approval
of God or man? Is it man-made institutions or God’s Kingdom, earth or Heaven,
that concern us the most? If we want to save our lives, we must lose them (Matthew
16:25, Mark 8:35, Luke 9:24, John 12:24-25). Following the Lord will always go
against the tide and require obedient faith as the cross draws us into
redemption.
Verses to Memorize:
John 12:11, 24-25, 32, 43
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