As God is My Witness

 

For God is my witness, how greatly I long for you all with the affection of Jesus Christ.  And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.  --Philippians 1:8-11

Imagine it is the year 2450.  NASA has established a colony on Mars.  It is the highlight of human scientific achievement.  But as the years go by there are economic depressions, wars, and protests against "sending money into space while children starve here on Earth."  Communication with the Red Planet stops, and the space shuttle missions taking supplies start to become less frequent until they finally stop.

The people in the Martian outpost become discouraged.  Their existence becomes more and more hopeless.  Over time they adapt to find ways to survive the darkness, the cold, and the isolation.  After several generations, the stories of life on Earth seem less real and more like a fable or myth.

Suddenly, a gleaming metallic orb is seen in the sky.  As it approaches, its light shines brighter than the sun.  As its orbit descends and the craft achieves touchdown on the surface, a loudspeaker proclaims their mission.  "Good people of Mars, the people of Earth send greetings.  We bring good news, for we come with food, clothing, medicines, and building supplies.  Come and see.  For those who want to leave, we will take you back to Earth with us."

What do you think the reaction of the colonists might be?  Some might be afraid and run away.  Others may stand at a distance and watch with guarded curiosity.  Others might come close, grab a morsel, and run away like a scared rabbit, telling others to watch out.  There might only be a few who believe the message and approach the vessel.  These few have faith in the space travelers, and only they will receive the gifts offered to them.

This story shows us how our human nature sometimes leads people to not act in their own self-interest.

Many who study the New Testament will wonder how those people in the past could hear the words of Jesus and see His mighty works and not believe.  In the 12th chapter of John's Gospel, we are reminded that God had prophesied that most people would not believe.  The God who made us knows us intimately.

But although He had done so many signs before them, they did not believe in Him, that the words of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke: "Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?"  Therefore they could not believe, because Isaiah said again: "He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, les they should see with their eyes, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal them.  These things Isaiah said when he saw His glory and spoke of Him.  --John 12:37-41

John's narrative has several themes:  Signs.  Glory.  Faith.  All of these are emphasized here in the summary of the Gospel to this point.  Some Bible scholars divide John's Gospel into two unequal parts: the Book of Signs (1:1-12:50) and the Book of Glory (13:1-21:25).  NT Wright in his commentary John for Everyone writes

John has been telling us the story of a new creation.  The 'signs' have been building up: water into wine in chapter 2, the nobleman's son in chapter 4, the healing of the cripple in chapter 5, the bread in the desert in chapter 6, the man born blind in chapter 9, and most recently the raising of Lazarus in chapter 11.  And John has hinted, and will say again later (20:30), that Jesus did many, many other 'signs' as well.  These six are just the tip of the iceberg, selected to make their individual points about new creation, new dimensions to God's work, new Exodus, new life, new light.  And yet...

And yet they did not believe, just like God had predicted in Isaiah 53:1 and Isaiah 6:9-10.  Does God know human nature, or what?  He also knew about those who would hang out around the edges, believing but not committing.

Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.  --John 12:42-43

Scottish theologian William Barclay said that secret discipleship is a contradiction in terms, for "either the secrecy kills the discipleship, or the discipleship kills the secrecy.”  Jesus had just explained in verse 26 that if anyone served Him, they would receive honor from God.  Yet there were many who loved the honor that comes from other men more than the praise that comes from God.

Then Jesus cried out and said, "He who believes in Me, believes not in Me but in Him who sent Me.  And he who sees Me sees Him who sent Me.  And he who sees Me sees Him who sent Me.  I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness.  And if anyone hears My words and does not believe, 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 words, has that which judges him--the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day.  For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak.  And I know that His command is everlasting life.  Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak.  --John 12:44-50

I am not a Greek scholar, but I am told that the verb tense in verse 44, when John says that Jesus cried out, indicates that He kept on crying out.  In other words, this was a recurrent theme.  This passage echoes Christ's conversation with Nicodemus in John 3.  Here where John writes about light and darkness, we are reminded of John 3:19, "And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light."  And when John writes about judgement, we hear John 3:17 where it says, "God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him."  And when John says that Jesus is speaking the words given to Him by the Father, we hear John 3:34, "He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for He gives the Spirit without measure."

Again from NT Wright

We do well to ponder all this, to reflect on our own response to John's portrait of the Word made flesh.  This is the point in the story when Jesus speaks to the crowds in Jerusalem for the last time.  The next time they see Him it will be as a prisoner, standing before Pilate.  He will be on trial, and His words will be sifted as evidence against Him.  But the real trial is already under way, here in chapter 12.  Jesus is staring into darkness, and the darkness is staring back.  And everyone who reads this chapter must, sooner or later, make up their minds which side they're on.

As God is my witness, I could not have said it any better myself. 

To God Be the Glory

Everyone who is called by My name, whom I have created for My glory; I have formed him, yes, I have made him.  --Isaiah 43:7

Frances Jane Crosby was born in southeast New York in 1820.  At six weeks old she contracted an eye infection that resulted in blindness.  She attended the New York Institute for the Blind from 1835 to 1843.  In 1858 she married Alexander van Alstyne, a blind teacher.  Very soon after they were married, this blind couple had a child.  Unfortunately, the child died in infancy.  The child's death upset them terribly, and the couple ended up divorcing.

Tragic, right?

Through all this pain and suffering, however, Frances (or Fanny to her friends) remained a committed Christian.  Throughout her life, she wrote over 8000 hymns of faith.  One of the hymns she wrote was To God Be the Glory.

In our Bible study today, we continue with a theme of Glory that was begun last time.  To recap, in John 12:23, Jesus said, "The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified."  Then He spoke of a grain of wheat being buried and dying, so that it would produce much grain.  We can see, then, that when Jesus spoke of Himself being glorified, He did not mean that He would achieve fame or fortune.  He was not talking about His picture being on the cover of The Rolling Stone.  He wasn't speaking of being Time magazine's "Man of The Year," or being listed as one of People magazine's "Ten Sexiest Men Alive."

Not even close.

When Jesus spoke of being glorified, He was referring to His own death.  As we will read in our passage today, Jesus humbling Himself to the point of death was to bring glory to God.

"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.  Father, glorify Your name."  Then a voice came from heaven, saying, "I have both glorified it and will glorify it again."  Therefore the people who stood by and heard it said that it had thundered.  Others said, "An angel has spoken to Him."  Jesus answered and said, "This voice did not come because of Me, but for your sake.  Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.  And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself."  This He said, signifying by what death He would die.  The people answered Him, "We have heard from the law that the Christ remains forever; and how can You say, 'The Son of Man must be lifted up'?  Who is this Son of Man?"  Then Jesus said to them, "A little while longer the light is with you.  Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going.  While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light."  These things Jesus spoke, and departed, and was hidden from them.  --John 12:27-36

We see that Jesus's only purpose was to glorify the Father.  In the Synoptic Gospels, we read of Jesus's prayer in Gethsemane, "Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless not as I will, but as You will."  John's account here sheds some light on that prayer.  Jesus was not praying, "Father, save Me from this hour," because His whole purpose for coming to Earth was to die a sacrificial death.  In doing the Father's will, Jesus was glorifying God.

Next, a voice from heaven spoke:  "I have glorified My name and will continue to glorify it."  Jesus and the Father are of the same mind here.  This is the third time God's voice was audibly heard by those who followed Jesus.  The first was at His baptism, when God said, "This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased."  The second was at the Transfiguration, when He said, "This is My Son; hear Him."

When I read about the peoples' reception to this audible voice of God, I am reminded of Jesus's parable of the sower.  Some seed fell on hardened ground--in this case, this refers to those who thought God's voice was merely thunder.  Some seed fell on rocky or weedy ground, corresponding to those who acknowledged the audible voice, but attributed it to an angel.  Only the faithful ones, whose hearts were ready to receive it like the good ground in the parable, heard and acknowledged the voice of God.

Jesus says the voice of God was not for His benefit, but for the people who heard it.  If you hear the voice of God and respond to it by faith, you will have authority over Satan by the power of God through Jesus.  In this way the "ruler of this world" will be cast out.

Next, we see that Jesus uses a figure of speech that, in this case, has a double meaning.  Today in American English, we refer to death as "passing away."  When we hear someone speak of a loved one "passing away" we know that they have died.  In the same way, when Jesus spoke of being "lifted up", everyone there would have understood it not only as dying, but of a public execution.  In history we have read of public executions by hanging, where criminals were "lifted up", or decapitations, where heads were "lifted off" of people.  Therefore, when Jesus said that He would be "lifted up," the people knew what He meant.

This caused the people to question Jesus.  Their reading of the Torah indicated that Messiah would live forever.  So how was He claiming to be the Messiah but predicting His own death?  It didn't make sense to them.  Jesus had already taught His disciples what would happen.  Mark 9:31 says, "For He taught His disciples and said to them, 'The Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill Him.  And after He is killed, He will rise the third day.'"

In our passage here in John 12, Jesus only warns them to walk in the light while the light is still with them.  Walking in darkness increases the risk of them losing their way.  

When we think of Jesus being lifted up, we think of Him as being glorified, exalted, and praised.  We know now that Jesus was raised from the dead, and His resurrection is why we lift up His name in praise.  It is why we give Him glory.  It is why we sing with Fanny J. Crosby

To God be the glory, great things He hath done,
So loved He the world that He gave us His Son,
Who yielded His life an atonement for sin,
And opened the life gate that all may go in.

Oh, perfect redemption, the purchase of blood,
To every believer the promise of God;
The vilest offender who truly believes,
That moment from Jesus a pardon receives.

Great things He hath taught us, great things He hath done,
And great our rejoicing through Jesus the Son;
But purer, and higher, and greater will be
Our wonder, our transport, when Jesus we see.

Refrain:
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, let the earth hear His voice!
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, let the people rejoice!
Oh, come to the Father, through Jesus the Son,
And give Him the glory, great things He hath done.

When it's time, it's time....and it's time.

 

Time is a created thing.  To say, "I don't have time" is to say, "I don't want to."  --Lao Tzu

When an expectant mother says, "I think it's time," there is a paradigm shift.  Everything stops.  Everyone around drops whatever they are doing.  Nothing is more important than bringing the woman to the hospital or else bringing the midwife to the soon-to-be mother.

There are times in our lives when the status quo comes to an abrupt halt, when a single event alters our trajectory in such a way that we look back on that event as pivotal.  Before that singular event, we were one way; but after, we were forever changed.

There was a time in the life of Jesus and His disciples that was pivotal.  The meaning of "bringing people to Jesus" changed.  The meaning of ministry changed.  The meaning of discipleship changed.  And it all happened when Jesus said, "The time has come that the Son of Man should be glorified."

Now there were certain Greeks among those who came up to worship at the feast.  Then they came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, saying, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus."  Philip came and told Andrew, and in turn Andrew and Philip told Jesus.  But Jesus answered them, saying, "The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified.  Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.  He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.  If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also.  If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor.  --John 12:20-26

 Jesus was spending His time teaching in Jerusalem, near the Temple.  Some men approached who spoke Greek, the predominate world language at the time.  Commentator David Guzik writes, "These Greeks had heard of Jesus, perhaps of His reputation as a teacher and worker of miracles. What they did know of Jesus made them want to know more about Him, so they came to Philip (the one disciple with a Greek name) asking to see Jesus."

Philip wants to check with the other disciples, perhaps to see if there is any conflict in Jesus's schedule.  Maybe it was someone that Peter knew, and not finding him Philip seeks out Andrew, Peter's brother.  We are not told of the details, but we do know that this was an established form of evangelism.  The New Cambridge Bible Commentary called it "social networking."  We have seen it before:  In the beginning of Jesus's ministry, Andrew brought Simon to Jesus and Philip brought Nathaniel.  Later in John's Gospel we see that the Samaritan woman brought the men of her village to "come and see."  We know that Martha brough Mary to Jesus.

Today, sadly, most of our evangelistic efforts stop at inviting people we know to church.  By contrast, effective evangelism is people going outside the church walls and giving testimony of Jesus to other people.  In the Great Commission, Jesus did not tell us to "go into all the world and invite all men to church."  He said instead that we should make disciples of all men.  We should bring them to faith in Jesus first, then help them find a local Bible-believing church to be involved in.

We see next in our passage that when the disciples try to introduce these Greek seekers to Jesus, He says, "My time has come."  We are reminded of the first sign miracle in John 2, when Jesus's mother tells the servants, "Do whatever He tells you."  Jesus said to Mary, "My time has not yet come."  In another passage in John 7 when the Jews tried to arrest Jesus, John said "no one laid a hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come. (verse 30)"  

Here we see a dramatic shift in priorities.  Like an expectant mom who says, "It is time!" Jesus expresses the same sentiment.  The difference is that instead of saying it is time to add one more convert, one more disciple, one more new life in the kingdom of God, Jesus says the time has come for Him to be glorified.

The Miriam-Webster dictionary says "glorify" has four distinct meanings: to make glorious by bestowing honor, praise, or admiration; to light up brilliantly; to represent as glorious, i.e. extol; to give glory to, as in worship.  Here, Jesus says the time has come for the process to start, the end result of which will be His glorification.  However, the process is not yet complete; it is just starting.  

Jesus's words here can be seen as poetic.    In Jewish poetry, there is not so much rhyming words as rhyming ideas.  It begins with a statement, which we will call A, followed by another statement, called B.  Then the second statement is restated; let's call this "B prime" or B'.  The final line is a restatement of the first, called "A prime" or A'.  Let's look at Jesus's words in this context.

A.  The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.

B.  Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.

B'.  Those who love their life, lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.  Whoever serves Me must follow Me, and where I am there will My servant be also.

A'.  Whoever serves Me, the Father will honor.

Assuming that "glory" and "honor" refer to the same value in antiquity, the two brackets (A and A') speak of divine honor shown, first to Jesus ("glorified") and then to His servants ("honor").  Why?  For walking the way described in B and B'.  The talk there is of dying and bearing fruit, hating and keeping, or becoming a servant and being honored.  All recognize this as the type of radical discipleship demanded by Jesus (see Mark 8:34-38).   --The New Cambridge Bible Commentary.

In short, in order for Him to be glorified, He must die.  Only then will He bear much fruit.

The same goes for us.  We must die to self in order to be like Him.  Romans 6 makes this clear.

What shall we say then?  Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?  Certainly not!  How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?  Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?  Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised form the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.  For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.  For he who died has been freed from sin.  Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more.  Death no longer has dominion over Him.  For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God.  Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.  --Romans 6:1-11

Jesus foretold of His death when He spoke of a seed being planted and dying in order to produce much fruit.  It would not happen immediately; He must first go through the "labor pains" of a mock trial, of being whipped and beaten, of having a crown of thorns thrust upon His head and His being nailed to a cross.  The entire process would produce a paradigm shift.  No longer would God's mercy be limited to a particular nation, but grace would be available to the whole world.  No longer would we be bound by the Law, but by faith in Him we can find salvation.

The crucifixion and resurrection marked the beginning of a sea-change in history, a shift in cosmic order and religious freedom.  Even though secular humanists want to do away with historical designations like BC and AD, the truth is that even what they call BCE or "before common era" refers to history before Jesus, and what they call CE or "common era" refers to history after Jesus.  

Oh, and if you are still wondering about the riddle posed in the graphic above, the answer is it's time to get a new clock.

Shouts of Hosanna under a shadow of the Cross

 

Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.  --2 Corinthians 2:14

Tomorrow is Palm Sunday, when Christians celebrate what we call the Triumphal Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem.  Wednesday is the beginning of Passover, when our Jewish friends celebrate God's power and mercy, in commemoration of the night before their ancestors who were slaves in Egypt placed the blood of a lamb on the lintel and doorpost so that the Angel of Death might pass over them.

There is a lot of crossover between the two religious celebrations.  Passover to the Jews is when a lamb is sacrificed, while Christians believe that Jesus is the sacrificial Lamb of God.  If you imagine the blood on the lintel dripping to the ground, you have four points of blood.  Draw a line from top to bottom, and from side to side connecting the blood on the left and right doorpost, and you have an image of the cross. Christians know that there was blood on the top from the crown of thorns Jesus wore, and blood on the bottom where His feet were nailed to the cross, and there was blood on either side where nails pierced His two hands.  

Hebrews 9:22 in the Christian Bible reminds us that, "Under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins." (ESV).  Bearing this in mind, we read about Jesus's triumphal entry with the foreshadowing of the cross.

John's Gospel describes it this way:

The next day a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried out: "Hosanna!  Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! The King of Israel!"  Then Jesus, when He had found a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written: "Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your King is coming, sitting on a donkey's colt."  His disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written about Him and that they had done these things to Him.  Therefore the people, who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of his tomb and raised him from the dead, bore witness.  For this reason the people also met Him, because they heard that He had done this sign.  The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, "You see that you are accomplishing nothing.  Look, the world has gone after Him!"  --John 12:12-19

The first thing we should notice about this passage is that it is in the context of Lazarus being raised from the dead.  We are told just before this passage, in verses 10 and 11, that the Jews were plotting to kill Lazarus because so many people were coming to see Jesus after hearing what He had done for Lazarus.  John records seven significant signs or miracles that Jesus did which point to Him as the Messiah.  The raising of Lazarus from the dead was the seventh sign, and the most significant.  John will later write in 20:30-31, "These signs were written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God."

The crowd that had gathered to make Jesus their King were those who had heard the witness of Lazarus, as well as others that bore witness of Jesus.  I can imagine there might have been some in the crowd who were present at the wedding in Cana where Jesus had turned water into wine.  I'll bet the nobleman from Capernaum was there, whose son Jesus had healed with just His words.  I'd even be willing to bet that the man whom Jesus met at the pool of Bethesda, who had been infirm for 38 years before Jesus healed him--he was there, too.

You know that some of the 5000 whom Jesus had fed with the two fish and five barley loaves were there in the crowd shouting and waving palm branches.  And of course, the disciples were there who had witnessed Jesus's walking on the water through the storm.  There is even a high probability that the man was there who had been born blind, to whom Jesus gave the gift of sight, was there in the crowd shouting, "Hosanna!"  These, along with those who were witnesses of the raising of Lazarus from the dead, were all there, all bearing witness to these seven signs and wonders that Jesus had performed and that John had memorialized in his gospel.

What a glorious reception.  What a joyous occasion.  What a sight that must have been.

The second thing we see in this passage is the prophetic passages that were fulfilled when the crowd wanted to crown Him king.  Jesus was riding on the young donkey, just as had been written in Zechariah 9:9, where it says, "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!  Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem!  Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey."

The word Hosanna is a Greek transliteration of a Hebrew phrase meaning "Save us, please" or "Save us now."  It is written in Psalm 118:25-26, "Save now (yasa na), I pray, O Lord; O Lord, I pray, send now prosperity.  Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord!"  The crowd spontaneously spoke these words, perhaps chanting them together as Jesus passed.  Some of them may have remembered the words of the Psalm, but probably not all of them had this in mind.  John says in verse 16 that the disciples didn't put it all together until after Jesus had died and was resurrected.  It was only after Jesus had been glorified and ascended into heaven that they realized that the ancient prophesies had been fulfilled in Jesus.

There is a juxtaposition of Jesus's purpose and the crowd's chants.  Commentator Leon Morris wrote, “The ass was not normally used by a warlike person. It was the animal of a man of peace, a priest, a merchant or the like. It might also be used by a person of importance but in connection with peaceable purposes. A conqueror would ride into the city on a war horse, or perhaps march in on foot at the head of his troops. The ass speaks of peace.”  Yet the people wanted to crown Jesus King.  They wanted a political ruler to overthrow Roman rule.  FF Bruce wrote of this passage, "One who could summon a dead man back to life would certainly be able to deliver the holy city from the yoke of Caesar."

Which brings us to the third thing we see in this passage: the contempt of the Pharisees.  You will recall in the previous chapter John told us of the chief priests and Pharisees who gathered in council and said, "What shall we do? For this Man works many signs.  If we let Him alone like this, everyone will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation." (11:47-48).  In the same way the Pharisees said among themselves, "You see that you are accomplishing nothing.  Look, the whole world has gone after Him!" (12:39).

NT Wright in his commentary John For Everyone writes, 

The Pharisees, like Caiphas before them, speak a contemptuous word which John intends us to understand in a much more positive sense.  In verse 19 they scoff at Jesus and His ragtag following.  Just as in 7:49 they sniffed dismissively at the common crowd ("this rabble that doesn't know the law!"), so here they are determined to distance themselves from Jesus's supporters: "the world has gone off after Him".  The tone of voice can be imagined all too easily.  They regard themselves as infinitely superior to the common herd of people.  They, after all, know the Torah, and keep it to exacting standards that most people wouldn't even understand.  But John wants us to hear something else as well, which will then be developed in the next passage.  Jesus has come into the world because God so loved the world (3:16).  He has other sheep to find and rescue as well as the lost sheep of Israel (10:16).  His death will deliver not only the nation but also the children of God throughout the world (11:52).  It is no accident that immediately after this contemptuous statement of the Pharisees...that Jesus sees this as a sign that the moment is fast approaching when He will complete His work.  "When I am lifted up from the earth," He says in verse 32, "I will draw all people to Myself."

There is some hyperbole in the Pharisees' envy over Jesus's success, as well as some irony.  Clearly not everyone had gone after Jesus, but they had discovered that they were clearly not in charge of the situation.  There is, however, some ironic sweetness in their statement, "Look, the world has gone after Him!"  

May it ever be so.

Jesus bade us to go into all the world and preach the Gospel.   His Great Commission was that we spread His word until the whole world knows.

Missing Jesus in all the drama

 

But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.  Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.  --James 1:14-15

We are coming up on Easter.  Historically, Easter Sunday is the one Sunday when church pews are full.  The good news is that more people hear the Gospel from the pulpit on this one day than any other Sunday.  The bad news is that more people are distracted, too.  

They may watch their children sing in the kiddy choir, then sleep through the sermon.  They may be looking to see how all the other people are dressed--either looking down on those dressed more casually or looking with jealousy of those who may be dressed more nicely.  They may be thinking of the effort it took to get everyone up and dressed in time for church, or of the argument they had with their spouse in the car on the way to church and completely miss the message of Jesus.

In the twelfth chapter of John's Gospel, we see one of the greatest acts of true worship ever.  The disciples, however, may have missed it because of some drama going on.  Let's read it together.

Then, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was who had been dead, whom He had raised from the dead.  There they made Him a supper; and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with Him.  Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair.  And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.  But one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, who would betray Him, said, "Why was this fragrant oil not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?"  This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the money box; and he used to take what was put in it.  But Jesus said, "Let her alone; she has kept this for the day of My burial.  For the poor you have with you always, but Me you do not have always."  Now a great many of the Jews knew that He was there; and they came, not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead.  But the chief priests plotted to put Lazarus to death also, because on account of him many of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus.  --John 12:1-11

The remarkable act of worship

While Martha served, Mary bowed at the feet of Jesus.  This is reminiscent of the first time we met the two sisters, as recounted in Luke 10:38-42.  You probably know the story.  Martha was busy serving, but Mary sat at the feet of Jesus to learn.  Martha complained, and Jesus said that Mary had made the better choice.

Here in John's narrative, Martha was again expressing her spiritual gift of service, but Mary expressed her own spiritual gift of giving.  Here's what WJ Erdman wrote:

“The life of Mary is painted for us, in three memorable pictures, in each of which she is at the feet of Jesus.” 

Luke 10:39: Mary sat at Jesus’ feet and learned.

John 11:32: Mary fell at Jesus’ feet and surrendered.

John 12:3: Mary anointed Jesus’ feet and honored Jesus.

David Guzek in his Study Guide for John says this:

In the midst of the supper, Mary gave a remarkable gift to Jesus. It wasn’t unusual to wash the feet of a guest, but it was unusual to do it during the meal itself, to use very costly oil of spikenard to do it, and to wipe the feet with her hair, using the hair as a kind of towel.

• Mary’s gift was remarkably humble. When a guest entered the home, usually the guest’s feet were washed with water and the guest’s head was anointed with a dab of oil or perfume. Here, Mary used this precious ointment and anointed the feet of Jesus. She considered her precious ointment only good enough for His feet. “To attend to the feet was the task of the most lowly slave. Thus Mary’s action denoted great humility as well as great devotion.” (Morris)
• Mary’s gift was remarkably extreme. She used a lot (a pound) of a very costly oil of spikenard. Spices and ointments were often used as an investment because they were small, portable, and could be easily sold. Judas believed this oil was worth 300 denarii (John 12:5), which was worth a year’s wages for a workingman.
• Mary’s gift was remarkably unselfconscious. Not only did she give the gift of the expensive oil, she also wiped His feet with her hair. This means that she let down her hair in public, something a Jewish woman would rarely do.

The Distractions

She was showing out, unbecoming of a lady.

Not only did Mary sit at Jesus's feet, but she made an outrageous gesture.  NT Wright in his commentary John for Everyone says this about an observant Jewish woman of the day letting her hair down in a public setting: "That's roughly the equivalent, at a modern polite dinner party, of a woman hitching up a long skirt to the top of her thighs.  You can imagine the onlookers' reaction.  Had she no shame?  What was she trying to say--to Jesus, to the onlookers?  All sorts of disturbing thoughts must have been flying round the room."

She was being wasteful.

We are not told that the disciples confronted Mary about this brazen display.  We are told, however, that Judas excoriated Mary for wasting perfectly good perfume.

Come again?  That's what was wrong with this picture?

The perfume was apparently very costly.  Judas valued it at about a year's wages for a common laborer.  That Mary poured it out on Jesus's feet, and then dried His feet with her hair, so that the fragrance filled the house--this galled Judas.  She could have sold the perfume, he said aloud; that money could have been given to the poor.  As an aside, John explained that the disciples later understood that Judas, who was the group's treasurer, was skimming money from the offering box.  He wasn't so concerned for the poor as he was his own pockets.

Jesus stepped in to the controversy but was misunderstood (again).

Jesus tells Judas and the other disciples to calm down.  "Leave Mary alone," He told them.  "She is using the perfume to prepare Me for My burial."  This particular prophecy concerning His imminent death apparently went over everyone's head at the time.  What they likely heard was the next statement, that the poor would always be with them, but He would not always be there.  Again, Jesus was speaking of His death and burial, but the disciples likely took it to mean after Jesus was gone (at some point in the very distant future), then they could worry about the poor.

The Jews were there to see Lazarus, the "flavor of the day."

The crowds followed Jesus and His friends, mainly to see the miracles.  In this instance, they weren't there to see Jesus, but to catch a glimpse of Lazarus, who had been dead for four days then was brought back to life.  Yeah, yeah, we know: Jesus was the One who brought him back to life, but wow, look at Lazarus.  Doesn't he look healthy?  He doesn't look like a corpse at all, does he?

How many times do we travel to a distant city to see a famous preacher, but miss his message?  Like, we saw Billy Graham before he died; it was great.  Really? What did he preach about?  Well, I don't really remember, but it was really great to see him and hear him preach.

The Pharisees plotted to kill Jesus, and Lazarus too.

The chief priests saw the crowds around Jesus and Lazarus, and they felt threatened.  Remember what they had said in the previous chapter:   In John 11:48 they said, "If we let Him alone like this, everyone will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and nation."  So they added Lazarus to their "hit list", as one who needed to be taken out of the picture, so that sanity could be restored and they could go back to their status quo.

Distractions from this passage even today.

There is disagreement among biblical scholars of whether this event is the same as is found in Mark 14:3-9 and Luke 7:36-38, or if it is a totally different event.  There are similarities between the two accounts--the costly perfume poured out on Jesus, the cost estimate of 300 denarii that should have gone to the poor, and Jesus's response that the woman did the right thing, and that the poor would always be with them.  There are also marked differences between John's narrative and that of Mark--the one says it was at the house of Lazarus, the other at the home of Simon the leper (whom Jesus had healed); the one says it was six days prior to Passover, the other says two days; the one says the woman poured the perfume on His feet, the other says it was poured on His head.

These differences lead some scholars to believe that they were two separate events.  The similarities lead others to think that they were the same event given by two witnesses with different perspectives.  Atheists and skeptics will use passages like this to say that the text is unreliable, that the stories contradict one another.

Just like the disciples missed the significance of the anointing of Jesus when they were distracted by Mary's actions and Judas's complaint against her, we sometimes miss the point of the Gospel.  Just like commentators argue about whether there was one event or two, we sometimes get caught up in insignificant details and forget the One who died for us and rose again on the third day.

We need to take our eyes off the drama going on around us and focus solely on Jesus.  Are we, like Mary, willing to do outrageous things for our Lord, or will we get distracted by the drama of controversies, complaints, and catcalls?  Are we willing to give up our pride, our reputation, and our standing in the community for the sake of the Savior?

Jesus asks that we follow Him, no matter what society says.

Isn't that ironic?

 

No doubt you are the people, and wisdom will die with you!  --Job 12:2

In the movie The Princess Bride, there is an iconic dialogue between Vizzini, played by Wallace Shawn, and Inigo Montoya, played by Mandy Patinkin.  Vizzini has used the same expression throughout the film, saying, "Inconceivable!" when something unexpected happens or whenever his plans go awry.  At one point, Vizzini has cut a rope that the hero Westley is climbing up.  But when he reaches the edge and peers over, Vizzini sees Westley climbing up the cliff face.

"He didn't fall?" Vizzini says incredulously.  Then he exclaims, "Inconceivable!"

Inigo Montoya, who has heretofore been a loyal henchman to Vizzini, innocently says, "You keep using that word.  I do not think it means what you think it means."

In the Gospel of John, there is a scene involving the High Priest Caiaphas as he addresses the Sanhedrin that drips with irony when he says, "You know nothing at all!"  John was not a member of the Sanhedrin, so he probably heard about this council meeting from Nicodemus or Joseph of Arimathea (members of the Sanhedrin who later became Christians) after the fact.  Likely it was after the resurrection of Jesus, which made the exchange all the more ironic. Let's read about it, starting in John 11:45 and following:

Then many of the Jews who had come to Mary, and had seen the things Jesus did, believed in Him.  But some of them went away to the Pharisees and told them the things that Jesus did.  Then the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered a council and said, "What shall we do?  For this Man works many signs.  If we let Him alone like this, everyone will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and nation."  --John 11:45-48

 After Jesus had opened the eyes of the man born blind and then raised Lazarus from the dead, many peopled believed that Jesus was the Messiah.  There was simply no other conclusion that could be drawn.  Commentator David Guzik points out that everyone in the council believed it, too.  Ironically, they had changed their opinion of Jesus, but it did not change their disdain of Him.  "First they opposed Jesus because they weren’t convinced He was the Messiah. Now they opposed Jesus because they were convinced that He was the Messiah. They admitted the miracles, but look how they treated the Miracle-worker:

• They denied Him.
• They opposed Him.
• They were afraid of His influence over the people."

The Pharisees were determined to hold on to their elevated place in society.  Even while under the rule of Rome, the Pharisees enjoyed semi-autonomy as leaders in the Jewish nation.  They wanted to keep it that way.  N.T. Wright, in his commentary John for Everyone, says, "Obviously, they thought, He was gathering support for some kind of prophetic or even messianic action, perhaps a march on Jerusalem itself.  Once that happened, if the Romans got wind of it they would call up the troops.  And that would be the end of any national hope they might still have.  As likely as not, it would be the end of the nation itself."

Ironically, this very thing would happen a generation later.  There would be a Jewish uprising in 70 AD that would result in the destruction of the Temple and would leave Jerusalem a smoldering ruin.  Reading the text 2000 years later, we know that this was not Jesus's intent at all, but the Sanhedrin's attempt to maintain the status quo was driving their decision making.

And one of them, Caiaphas, being high priest that year, said to them, "You know nothing at all, nor do you consider that it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people, and not that the whole nation should perish."  Now he did not say this on his own authority; but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, and not for that nation only, but also that He would gather together in one the children of God who were scattered abroad.  --John 11:49-52

Clearly, Caiaphas thought that killing Jesus would maintain social order and avoid the wrath of Rome.  Little did he know that he was prophesying that the death of Jesus, the Messiah, would in fact become the way of salvation for all people, not just the Jewish nation. Remember what John had recorded Jesus saying to Nicodemus back in chapter 3?  "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."  2 Peter 3:9 underscores this notion, stating that God "is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

Alas, the Jewish leaders did not repent.

Then, from that day on, they plotted to put Him to death.  Therefore Jesus no longer walked openly among the Jews, but went from there into the country near the wilderness, to a city called Ephraim, and there remained with His disciples.  And the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went from the country up to Jerusalem before the Passover, to purify themselves.  Then they sought Jesus, and spoke among themselves as they stood in the temple, "What do you think--that He will not come to the feast?"  Now both the chief priests and the Pharisees had given a command, that if anyone knew where He was, he should report it, that they might seize Him.  --John 11:53-57

This was the beginning of the end.  The Sanhedrin had issued an all-points bulletin, that if anyone saw Jesus they should report it to them, so that they could arrest Jesus.  

You will remember that John's entire Gospel centers around the feasts of the Jews. Jesus had always showed up in Jerusalem during the important Jewish feasts, even when He had told His brothers that He would not (see John 7:3-15).  So when the Jews started gathering in Jerusalem in the week leading up to the Passover, they wondered where and when Jesus would appear during this important feast. 

Little did they realize that this particular Passover would be the transition from the Old Covenant to the New Covenant; that Jesus would become the Passover Lamb sacrificed for our sins so that the Angel of Death would not consume us.   He would be lifted up like the bronze serpent in the wilderness so that "by His stripes we are healed."  

All the Messianic prophecies point to Jesus alone.

The irony is that people don't see it. Or, like the Pharisees, they see it and reject it for personal reasons. They don't realize that rejecting the salvation offered by Jesus condemns them to everlasting punishment, which is not in their own self-interest at all.

When expectations are changed, then exceeded

 

He (Abraham) did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform.  And therefore "it was accounted to him for righteousness."  --Romans 4:20-22

The Bible is full of narratives that have unexpected twists.  Things don't always go as we think they should.  One example of this is Abraham.  He and his wife Sarah were old and childless.  Abraham was all ready to leave his estate to his nephew Lot.  Then God appeared to Abraham and told him that he would have a son.

Abraham and Sarah did finally have their miracle baby and called him Isaac.  But then God told Abraham to offer his son Isaac as a burnt offering.  Abraham obediently built the altar, stacked the wood, and raised the knife to slay his son, when God stopped him.  Abraham had proved himself faithful, and believed God would somehow work it all out for His glory.  Isaac was a miracle child after all, and Abraham believed God would raise his son from the dead.  

I often wonder what I might have done in that situation.  If God had given me a miracle baby to carry on my family name, and God had promised to make his descendants as numerous as the stars in the heavens, would I have obeyed God's command to offer my miracle baby as a sacrifice?

Probably not.

Often that's the way we sometimes approach stories we see in the Bible narrative.  We try to see the situation through our own eyes.  Sometimes we may judge the characters, saying things like, "Well, I would never have done that--Jesus was right there!  For the love of God, man, have faith!"  Other times we may approach the story line in humility.  We may bow our heads and admit, "I could not imagine myself in that situation.  I would not have trusted God the way they did.  God forgive me!"

Bearing that thought in mind, let's continue in our study of John.  You will recall that early in chapter 11, Jesus hears that His friend Lazarus is sick.  He takes that opportunity to teach His disciples a lesson on glorifying God.  Later in the chapter, we see Jesus interact with Martha and Mary.  It is a very emotional scene, as the sisters believe Jesus came too late to save their brother.  Even Jesus is moved to tears.

Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb.  It was a cave, and a stone lay against it.  Jesus said, "Take away the stone."  Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, "Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days."  Jesus said to her, "Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?"--John 11:38-40

Let's stop right here.  Jesus is still emotional.  He is groaning audibly.  When they approach the tomb, Jesus wants the stone covering removed.  Perhaps Martha thinks that Jesus is overcome with grief and wants to see his friend Lazarus one last time, maybe even hold him close like a friend and brother who had missed an opportunity to say goodbye.

It's a reasonable assumption.  From a human perspective, they knew that Jesus loved Lazarus.  They had already gotten on His case about not coming earlier, perhaps to heal Lazarus and keep him from dying; or, as an alternative, to be able to say a proper goodbye before he had passed away.  Martha may have misinterpreted Jesus's tears as tears of grief along with some shame or regret.  So when Jesus asked that the grave be opened, she spoke to Him, maybe to bring Him back to reality.  "Jesus, Honey, you don't really want to do that.  Four days in the ground is a long time.  There's going to be a smell."

Jesus's response whips Martha out of the physical reality of unbelief back into a spiritual reality of faith.  He had just told her in verse 23, "I am the resurrection and the life.  He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.  And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die.  Do you believe this?"  

Moments before, Martha had expressed faith.  She told Jesus that she knew whatever He asked of God, that God would do it.  Now that they were at the grave, however, the reality of death sunk in, and her faith was shaken.  Jesus had to remind her that she needed to keep the faith, to believe and to glorify God.

Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying.  And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, "Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.  And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me." --John 11:41-42

Another plot twist.  Martha had indeed expressed some measure of faith before, saying that she knew that whatever Jesus asked of the Father, it would come to pass.  If Jesus was going to pray, He would certainly ask God to raise her brother from the dead.

But that's not what Jesus prayed.

Jesus said, "God, thank You for hearing Me."

Remember back in verse 6, when Jesus had received the news that Lazarus was sick?  It says He stayed there two more days.  Some commentators think that Jesus spent those two days in prayer, either asking the Father's guidance in this situation, or more probably, that God would be glorified in this situation.  Jesus likely knew that Lazarus would die, and that he would be resuscitated.  His prayers for this miracle may have happened in the two days that Jesus delayed His coming.

Today we may wonder why Jesus has delayed His second coming.  Our hearts' desire is to be with Him in His glory.  Romans 8:34 says, "It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us."  Jesus is praying for us even now.

Other commentators say that when we see that Jesus was groaning in verse 38, that He was praying even then.  We are reminded of Romans 8:26, "Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses.  For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered."  When Jesus prayed, "Thank You, God, for hearing Me," we can take heart.  God also hears our prayers.

Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice," Lazarus, come forth!"  And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face wrapped with a cloth.  Jesus said to them, "Loose him, and let him go."  --John 11:43-44

Jesus had the authority Himself to raise the dead.  When He called Lazarus, Lazarus came out, either hopping or penguin walking because of the graveclothes that bound him.  Jesus commanded those who were with Him to unbind Lazarus.

We were dead in our trespasses and sins.  Jesus called out to us, and we responded in faith.  We could only take baby steps because of the remnants of the grave still clinging to us.  We must rely on others who follow Jesus to free us from what binds us.  That's why we are encouraged to go to churc.  And when Jesus calls someone new out of the sepulcher of sin, we should not make fun of them; we should heed the call of Jesus to release them from the cloths (or chains, if you will) that bind them.  We should remind ourselves that where they came from, where they were when Jesus called them, we were there, too.  This is the ministry that Jesus calls us to.

Then many of the Jews who had come to Mary, and had seen the things Jesus did, believed in Him.  But some of them went away to the Pharisees and told them the things that Jesus did. --John 11:45-46

You may recall that when Martha and Mary were sitting shiva in their house, that many Jews were with them.  The passage hinted that those same Jews were enemies of Jesus.  They knew about His past miracles, and whispered among themselves, "Could not this Man who had opened the eyes of the blind have kept Lazarus from dying?"

Jesus heard their murmurings against Him, which added to His emotions.  We don't like to think of Jesus as being angry at anyone, but He certainly was.  Part of what made Jesus so emotional perhaps was the specter of death that followed Him.  There was foreshadowing: 

• Lazarus was buried in a cave with a stone sealing the entrance.  Jesus was likewise buried in a carved rock enclosure with a large stone set in place at the entrance.
• The stone at the entrance had to be removed.
• Lazarus came out with the graveclothes still wrapped around him, and his face covered.  Jesus came out with the graveclothes still sitting in the tomb, and the face covering neatly folded and placed apart from the rest.

How could anyone who witnessed the miracle of Lazarus being raised up from the dead by Jesus not believe in Him?  Some did, but others went back to the Pharisees to tattle.  The Pharisees clearly did not believe.

How could anyone hear about the resurrection of Jesus and not believe in Him?  Some do, but others deny Him and even persecute those who believe.  Those who choose not to believe must have whiplash from all the, "wait, what?" moments in Scripture.  Their expectations are not met in the narrative, and they do not have faith to adjust their expectations.  For those of us willing to adjust our expectations, Jesus continues to exceed them.