JOHN 12:1-8 1
Then, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus
was who had been dead, whom He had raised from the dead.
2 There they made Him a supper; and Martha
served, but Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with Him.
3 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.
4 But one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot,
Simon’s son, who would betray Him, said, 5
“Why was this fragrant oil not sold for three hundred denarii and given to
the poor?” 6 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. 7 But Jesus
said, “Let her alone; she has kept this for the day of My burial.
8 For the poor you have with you always, but
Me you do not have always.”
What is "Passover" (John 12:1)?
Please read
earlier notes.
Where is "Bethany" (John 12:1)?
It's a village about 2 miles from Jerusalem.
Where did Jesus come from?
Most likely Ephraim, where He had gone (John 11:54) after raising Lazarus,
to wait for the Passover.
What is "spikenard" (John 12:3)?
It's a plant that only grows in India and
How expensive was the "very costly oil of
spikenard" (John 12:3) with which Mary anointed Jesus' feet?
Spikenard is a plant that only grows in the Himalaya mountains of India and
Nepal, so this would have been rare, imported oil in Israel. One dinari was
the wage for one day's labor, so if Judas' estimate is correct,
"three hundred denarii" (John 12:5) would have been
someone's annual salary, equivalent to several tens of thousands of dollars
today.
According to Jesus, why did Mary used it to anoint Jesus' feet?
To prepare His body for
"the day of My burial." (John 12:7)
If she’s preparing for His body for burial, why did she
anoint just His feet?
Does the passage above preclude her from having anointed other parts of His
body? The account in Mark indicates that she pour it on His head as well:
"And being in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, as He sat at
the table, a woman came having an alabaster flask of very costly oil of
spikenard. Then she broke the flask and poured it on His head. But there
were some who were indignant among themselves, and said, “Why was this
fragrant oil wasted? For it might have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor.” And they criticized
her sharply. But Jesus said, “Let her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has
done a good work for Me. For you have the poor with you always, and whenever
you wish you may do them good; but Me you do not have always. She has done
what she could. She has come beforehand to anoint My body for burial."
(Mark 14:3-8)
What discrepancies seem to exist between the accounts in
Mark and John?
Mark says the supper was
"at the house of Simon the leper",
not Lazarus, and that
"they", not just Judas, criticized
Mary.
Does that mean there are errors in the Bible?
The account in John above doesn't say the supper was at Lazarus' house. The
"they" in John 12:2 refers to the inhabitants of
Bethany who most likely wanted to honor Jesus for the great miracle He had
performed on His last visit, and the facts that
"Martha served" and
"Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table"
(John 12:2) would have
been foregone conclusions that wouldn't have been mentioned if the supper
had been at their house. As for criticizing Mary, Judas started it, but
given the value of what she used, others had joined in until Jesus put a
stop to it. Whenever biblical details seem to conflict, they turn out to be
cumulative in the end, not contradictory. There are no errors in the Bible.
Did Mary know that she was anointing Jesus to prepare
for His burial?
No, she had done it as an act of worship to express her gratitude and
reverence for what Jesus had done to her brother, and perhaps her contrition
for not having believed in Jesus' power to raise the dead until He
demonstrated it. She probably was taken aback by Jesus' explanation of her
action. God may have uses for our acts of worship that are beyond our
imagination.
JOHN 12:9-11 9
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. 10 But the chief
priests plotted to put Lazarus to death also,
11 because on account of him many of the Jews went away and
believed in Jesus.
Why might the supper have been held at Simon's house
instead of Lazarus'?
It may have been the biggest in Bethany and better able to accommodate the
"great many" (John 12:9)visitors.
Who was the main attraction, besides Jesus?
"Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead."
(John 12:9) Just imagine
their questions to Lazarus.
How did the chief priests' plot to murder Jesus change?
It expanded to include another innocent person.
JOHN 12:12-19 12
The next day a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they
heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, 13
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!” 14 Then Jesus, when He had
found a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written:
15 “Fear not, daughter of Zion; Behold,
your King is coming, Sitting on a donkey’s colt.”
16 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. 17Therefore
the people, who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of his tomb and
raised him from the dead, bore witness. 18
For this reason the people also met Him, because they heard that He had
done this sign. 19 The Pharisees
therefore said among themselves, “You see that you are accomplishing
nothing. Look, the world has gone after Him!”
Who was this "great multitude" (John 12:12) and why did
it go out to meet Jesus?
They were the people who had come to Jerusalem for the Passover
"feast" (John 12:12). Since Jerusalem was only 2 miles from Bethany, the word
spread overnight that the man who had the power to raise the dead is coming
to town, so they went out to welcome Him.
What did the "branches of palm trees" (John
12:13) that
they "took" signify in those days?
Victory and conquest.
What did "Hosanna!" (John 12:13) mean?
“Save us!”
What did they call Jesus?
"The King of Israel!" (John 12:13)
So, what are they welcoming Him as?
A military leader who will save them by conquering the Romans and become the
new king of Israel.
What do military leaders ride into town on?
Stallions.
What's peculiar about the scene above?
Jesus is riding in on a baby donkey.
Why?
To fulfill a prophecy:
"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, a colt, the foal of a donkey." (Zechariah 9:9)
Everything Jesus did -
from the way He was born to how He died to how He entered Jerusalem, He did
with humbleness.
Why?
Perhaps to set the example for Christians to serve God with humbleness, and
to sure that what is preached about
Him later will be based purely on content of what He did and said, not
"showmanship”, and that should be food for thought for many Christian
leaders today.
How many days before the Passover was this?
Based on John 12:1 and John 12:12, this happened five days before the
Passover.
What did the people do five days before the first ever
Passover?
They picked out the lamb to be sacrificed:
"Speak to all the
congregation of Israel, saying: ‘On the tenth of this month every man shall
take for himself a lamb, according to the house of his father, a lamb for a
household. And if the household is too small for the lamb, let him and his
neighbor next to his house take it according to the number of the persons;
according to each man’s need you shall make your count for the lamb. Your
lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year. You may take it
from the sheep or from the goats. Now you shall keep it until the fourteenth
day of the same month. Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel
shall kill it at twilight." (Exodus 12:3-6)
From a spiritual perspective, what was the multitude doing?
Unbeknownst to them, they were picking Jesus to be their sacrificial
Passover lamb.
JOHN 12:20-26 20
Now there were certain Greeks among those who came up to worship at the
feast. 21 Then they came to Philip, who
was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, saying, “Sir, we wish to
see Jesus.” 22 Philip came and told
Andrew, and in turn Andrew and Philip told Jesus.
23 But Jesus answered them, saying, “The
hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified.
24 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. 25
He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this
world will keep it for eternal life. 26
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.
What has this Gospel been saying thus far about the timing of
Jesus' death?
"My time has not yet come." (John 7:6)
"His hour
had not yet come." (John 7:30)
"His hour had not yet come."
(John 8:20)
What does Jesus say in the passage above?
“The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified.”
(John 12:23)
So what signaled the "hour"?
Gentiles (
"Greeks") (John 12:1) - the outside world - asking for Jesus.
What is Jesus saying in John 12:24-25?
To serve Christ
("produces much grain"),
we must
die to ourselves and what the world tells us to grab onto: the wealth, the
status, the ambitions, the self-centered existence and pleasures - i.e., the
worldly possessions, positions and passions.
What will those who "love" such things
"lose" (John 12:25)?
"Eternal life." (John 12:25)
To gain eternal life, how must we treat such things?
"Hate" them.
Why?
They are not of God, but of Satan, who tries to have us waste our lives
chasing them in disobedience to God, and end up losing
"eternal
life".
How does Jesus want us to "follow" Him in John 12:26?
“If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take
up his cross, and follow Me." (Matthew 16:24)
What does it mean to "take up" the "cross"?
Taking up a cross in those days didn't mean picking up a cross, walking
around town for a while, putting it down and then going home. When you saw
someone carrying a cross, it meant one thing: he was going to die. Once
again, Jesus is telling us to die to the ways of this world.
What are the worldly passions, positions and possessions in
your life?
JOHN 12:27-30
27 “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. 28 Father, glorify
Your name.” Then a voice came from heaven, saying, “I have both
glorified it and will glorify it again.” 29
Therefore the people who stood by and heard it said that it had
thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to Him.”
30 Jesus answered and said, “This voice
did not come because of Me, but for your sake.
What did God the Father declare from heaven?
“I have both glorified it and will glorify it again.”
(John 12:28)
How has He already "glorified it"?
He demonstrated His love for us by sending His only begotten Son into the
world as a human being.
What would that be comparable to?
Perfectly holy God entering the sinful world as a human being is worse than a human
being entering a cesspool as a worm.
How will God the Father "glorify" His name "again"?
He will demonstrate His love for us again by having His Son die on the cross
to pay for our sins.
JOHN 12:31-36
31 Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world
will be cast out. 32 And I, if I am
lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.”
33 This He said, signifying by what
death He would die. 34 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?” 35 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. 36 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.
Who is the “ruler of this world” in John 12:31?
Satan.
How will Satan be "cast out" (John 12:31) and how will
"all peoples" (John 12:32) be drawn to Jesus?
As long as people remained guilty of their sins, Satan retained his grip on
humanity. When Jesus pays for those sins by accepting our death penalty on the cross,
Satan's grip will be cast off and Christians from
"all peoples"
will come to Jesus for salvation that is in and through Him.
What do the people mean by, "We have heard from the
law that the Christ remains forever" (John 12:34)?
They're referring to a prophecy by the prophet Isaiah,
"Of the
increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne
of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment
and justice from that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of
hosts will perform this." (Isaiah 9:7)
What does John 12:34 indicate the people to have understood
about Jesus' statement in John 12:32?
That being
"lift up" meant death.
What two things didn't they know?
That Jesus would return in resurrection, and the prophet Daniel's
Son of Man
reference to Jesus.
What "light" is Jesus referring to in John 12:35?
Himself and His teaching:
"In Him was life, and the life was the
light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not
comprehend it." (John 1:4-5)
Does Jesus answer their question in John 12:34?
Yes, but indirectly. Instead of saying, "I'm Him!" He
tells them to
"walk" while the light is still shining and
showing them the way since that was about to change in five days.
Why didn't Jesus give them a direct answer and why did He
then depart, being "hidden from them"?
Much like the crowd that chased after Jesus following His feeding miracle,
this crowd had come to make Him King and lead a rebellion against the
Romans. And this is also why He
"departed, and was hidden from them." (John 12:36)
JOHN 12:37-43 37
But although He had done so many signs before them, they did not believe
in Him, 38 that the word 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?”
39 Therefore they could not believe,
because Isaiah said again: 40 “He has
blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, lest they should see with
their eyes, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so
that I should heal them.” 41 These
things Isaiah said when he saw His glory and spoke of Him. 42 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;
43 for they loved the
praise of men more than the praise of God.
Whose eyes and heart had God "blinded" and
"hardened", and why?
John 12:38-41 refers to a time in the Old Testament when God grew tired of
Israel's continued rebellion and disobedience and announced to prophet
Isaiah (Isaiah 6:10) His decision to punish them by sending them into exile.
In the meantime, He
"blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts,
lest they should see with their eyes, lest they should understand with their
hearts and turn, so that I should heal them.”
Who are the "rulers" and
"Pharisees" in John 12:42?
A "ruler" refers to anyone who was a member of the
Sanhedrin, which also
included many
Pharisees.
What had the Sanhedrin recently decided to do after Jesus
raised Lazarus from the dead?
Kill Jesus (John 11:53).
To what extent did the believing rulers love "the
praise of men more than the praise of God" (John 12:43)?
Enough to kill God. Think about this for a second. These men
"believed" (John 12:42) that Jesus is the Messiah. Yet they loved the praise of
men and feared being
put out of the
synagogue so much that they gave their silent consent to His
murder.
How much easier is it for people who hold worldly power and position today to "confess"
(John 12:42)
Jesus?
If it means losing that power and position, not much easier.
What words did Jesus have for such people?
"For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is
himself destroyed or lost? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him
the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His
Father’s, and of the holy angels." (Luke 9:25-26)
JOHN 12:44-45 44
Then Jesus cried out and said, “He who believes in Me, believes not in
Me but in Him who sent Me. 45 And he who
sees Me sees Him who sent Me.
Who is the "Him who sent Me" (John 12:45)?
God the Father.
So what is Jesus equating in John 12:44-45?
Believing in Jesus equals believing in God the Father.
What's the flipside of that?
One cannot believe in God the Father without believing in Jesus.
JOHN 12:46-50 46 I have
come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not
abide in darkness.
47 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.
48 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. 49 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. 50 And I
know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak,
just as the Father has told Me, so I speak.”
Does Jesus judge those who don't believe in Him?
No,
"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."
(John 12:47)
But do they end up judged anyway?
Yes,
"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." (John 12:48)
Why does Jesus call Himself "light" (John 12:46) again?
He is making it clear that He is the light that He spoke of a few days
earlier (John 12:35-36) in response to their question recorded in John 12:34.
Why now?
For a couple of reasons. For one, this is not the same crowd that was trying
earlier to crown Him king and have Him lead a rebellion. But more
importantly, it is now one or two
days before the Passover and this is the last occasion for Jesus to address
the crowd before His crucifixion. The next seven chapters of John cover the
24 hours that led up to His sacrifice on the cross.
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