John, in the Gospel that bears his name, has one primary goal — to convince his readers that Jesus is God, come or clothed with flesh.
As you follow the life and ministry of Jesus, you see He certainly had His highs and lows as far as the public was concerned.
Chapter 12 of John’s gospel gives us an amazing focus on the people’s reaction to our LORD and Savior.
1. On the one hand, He appears to have been accepted but He was in fact rejected.
2. On the one hand, it seems the people believed Him but the record shows he was disbelieved.
3. On one hand, He appears to have been honored but in reality, He was hated and hunted.
There were those who really loved Him, especially His friends in Bethany. What a relief it must have been for Him, from time to time go to his friends, Martha, Mary and Lazarus, and just be with them. Their home must have been like an oasis to Him.
There are significant words and phrases in this chapter that must not escape our attention.
1. For example, when He was anointed by Mary, He said she did it “for the day of My burial.” (12:7)
2. Even as He made what seemed to be His triumphal entry into Jerusalem, He refers to his death — “Unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single kernel of wheat. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.” (12:24)
3. It wasn’t long after that, He said, “My heart is troubled,” and He referred to His coming “home,” meaning His trial and crucifixion. (12:27)
4. In 12:31-33, He spoke of “lifted up” from the earth. Here, He was referring to the kind of death He would die, but would also mean that God’s judgment was going to come on the world.
5. We don’t have forever to get our act together so, in 12:44-50, Jesus urges “the people to believe while they still had time.”
I wish we could take time now to extrapolate the truth in this chapter, but it would be too long. So, let’s take just one segment of the chapter and we will title it —
The Generosity or Unselfishness of Love. John 12:1-8
In this chapter, John focuses on the ending of Christ’s public ministry and he introduces the subject of our Savior’s death.
There are three main incidents in the chapter that are related and in one way, or another, they focus on His death. Christ’s friends planned a wonderful dinner of food and fellowship in His honor. In Matthew 26:6, we are told that this dinner was held in the home of Simon — a man who had been afflicted with leprosy, but was now healed.
One day this man, who had been an outcast and a derelict of society met Jesus and his life was forever changed. We are told that Martha, Mary and Lazarus were there and Martha served. (John 12:2)
In those days, if you were afflicted with leprosy, you were literally under a death sentence. Your only hope was for a miracle. Simon received such a miracle from Jesus.
· Then, in verse three, we read “Mary took a twelve-ounce jar of expensive perfume, made from essence of nard, and she anointed Jesus’ feet wiping it with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance.”
1. What took place was an expression of gratitude and generosity from sinners. How grateful we should be as we contemplate how incredibly we have been blessed by the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus. The attitudes displayed by those present is remarkable.
· Simon hosted the event
· Martha served (not grumbling this time)
· Mary worshiped
· The disciples grumbled
· Lazarus fellowshipped
· Judas criticized the act of worship by Mary
2. Consider Mary’s Gift.
Sometime during the evening, she came in and bowed at the feet of Jesus. What she did was an expression of adoration and worship. We are told that she took a very expensive jar of pure spikenard, broke the seal and poured the entire contents upon Him as an expression of love and devotion to Him.
It is interesting that there are three different scenes referring to Mary and each time she is at the feet of Jesus.
· In Luke 10:39, she is seated at His feet.
· In John 11:32, she had fallen at His feet.
· Here, she is anointing Hiss feet as an expression of her love and devotion for Him.
Folks, that jar of perfume represented a year’s wages or savings of a lifetime. She was there to honor, adore and worship her LORD. How about you and me?
3. We must not miss the griping of Judas, John 12:4-6.
I find it astounding that Judas could be a part of our LORD’s outreach team, be exposed to the nature, teaching and ministry of our LORD, yet be a traitor.
I believe Jesus loved Judas as much as the others, but it is obvious he didn’t love Jesus. He resented the display of affection shown by Mary. Listen to his griping — “But Judas Iscariot, the disciple who would soon betray Him said, ‘That perfume was worth a year’s wages. It should have been sold and the money given to the poor.’ Not that he cared for the poor — he was a thief, and since he was in charge of the disciple’s money, he often stole some for himself.”
· He did not love the LORD.
· He did not care for the poor.
· He thought only of himself.
· He stole from the others.
In closing, let me ask you a very personal question —
Do you have an extravagant love for Jesus?
Are you generous in your affection and service for Him?
Do you care about the less fortunate?
Are you a conduit of love for Jesus that reaches out to others who are struggling through life?
“When I really think about His love for me and the sacrifices that He has made for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for Him.”
Jim Elliott
Be sure to register for the Josh McDowell Conference. This will be an incredible event! I don’t want anyone to miss it. We ask that you register so that we can be sure we have enough seating and refreshments for the break times. Please encourage others to attend with you.
REMEMBER – PLEASE REGISTER! GO TO:
HOW TO REGISTER FOR JOSH McDOWELL CONFERENCE:
(You must register for each event – a different ticket for each event)
Discover the Evidence
Saturday, Jan. 25th – 9 AM – 12:30 PM
1. Go to: EventBrite Registration
2. Tap on “Register” (green tab)
3. Select how many tickets you want
for this event. (drop-down box)
4. Tap on “Register” (red tab)
“check out” (“register” red tab)
IF YOU ALSO PLAN TO ATTEND SUNDAY EVE, REGISTER AGAIN BELOW:
Relationships that Transform
Sunday, Jan. 26th – 5 PM – 6:30 PM
1. Go to: EventBrite Registration
2. Tap on “Register” (green tab)
3. Select how many tickets you want
for this event. (drop-down box)
4. Tap on “Register” (red tab)
. “check out” (“register” red tab)
Your free ticket(s) will be sent to your email.
(You may print or show on your phone at arrival.)
You will need to do this for both Jan. 25th and Jan. 26th events.
