John 12:23

John 12:23 says, And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified. Jesus began to speak more openly of His purpose.  He says, "The hour is come that the Son of Man should be glorified."  He had so far gone out of His way to avoid being noticed for the miracles He did, because the time had not come for Him to do so.  Now, He knew the time was at hand.  As we follow Christ, I believe that we will always know when the time is right to do what God has called us to do.  Verse twenty-four adds, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.  Jesus spoke of a grain of wheat dying alone in order to bring forth an abundance of grain.  Jesus was to die alone to bring salvation to everyone who would accept it.  We are to die to self that we can lead others to Christ.  Verse twenty-five continues, He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. Jesus said, "He that loveth his life shall lose it, and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal."  That does not mean that we are to live filled with self-hatred, but that we are to value God above all.  If we do everything simply for self-satisfaction, we are not following God's direction.  I find nothing in the gospel that states that if we follow Christ, we are going to be rich in material things.  I do find that we are to take up our cross daily, which is to die to self and live that others might be led to salvation. Verse twenty-six concludes, If any man serve Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there also shall My servant be: if any man follow Me, him will My Father honor.  Jesus was fully and firmly in the will of the Father, and if we are to follow Him, we must be also.  He said this when He was preparing to go to the cross, and we should be just as willing to follow God even to the death.  There are those who call Christianity an escape from the realities of life, but it is a call to faith even when faced with the realities of life.  There is nothing easy about dying to self and living for God so that others may be drawn to Him. As Jesus spoke about His death and resurrection being necessary, He was submitting to the will of the Father.  

John 12:21

John 12:21 says, The same came therefore to Philip, which was of Bethsaida of Galilee, and desired him, saying, Sir, we would see Jesus.  we see that the Greeks who came to worship were no longer satisfied with just going to a place, but they wanted to see Jesus.  When we do go to a place, the church building, we need to be there to meet with and worship God.  Simply going to a place is not enough.  We need to know that we have been in the presence of God when we meet in His name.  They sought Phillip of Bethsaida of Galilee and told him that they would see Jesus.  When people of the world want to see Jesus today, we need to pray that they will seek one of His followers to show them the way.  That is our purpose in life today.  We are to lead others to Christ.  Everything else is of secondary importance.  Verse twenty-two adds, Philip cometh and telleth Andrew: and again Andrew and Philip tell Jesus   Philip first told Andrew, and then they told Jesus.  When we are unsure of an action on behalf of God, we should seek the advice of fellow believers.  We must remember that there was a death sentence pronounced against Jesus and many people were hunting Him for that purpose.  Also, Jesus had told the disciples He had come for the house of Israel, and these were Greeks.  There are those today who would come into the church for reasons other than to see Jesus.  This does not mean that we are to judge them because of who they are, but we need to attempt to make sure that they are really coming because they want to see and follow Jesus.  It is not enough to get numbers on the membership roll.  We need to lead people to Jesus, and if they come to us asking how to find Him, we need to point them to the cross.  We need fellowship with other believers to strengthen our faith so that we will know how to be effective witnesses.  Above all, we need to lead people to a relationship with Jesus and not just to a place of worship.  The Greeks were already at the place of worship, but they wanted to meet the One Who should have been worshipped. 

John 12:17

John 12:17 says, The people therefore that was with him when he called Lazarus out of his grave, and raised him from the dead, bare record. The people who had been with Jesus at the raising of Lazarus from the dead bore witness to Jesus.  We today need to bear witness to the fact that Jesus raised us from spiritual death to spiritual life.  I believe these people were excited about what Jesus had done, and we should be also.  We get very excited about sporting events, but we almost act dead when it comes to worship.  We should be excited about worshipping but should make sure that all the excitement points to Him.  Lazarus would physically die again, but because of what Christ did on the cross, Lazarus, and everyone who believes in Jesus, would never die spiritually.  We need to daily lift up Jesus to the world and give praise to Him.  Verse eighteen adds, For this cause the people also met him, for that they heard that he had done this miracle. Many people came and met Jesus because of the miracle of raising Lazarus.  Our lives should be so transformed by Christ that people will want to know what is different about us, and then we should point them to Jesus.  Verse nineteen states, The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, Perceive ye how ye prevail nothing? behold, the world is gone after him. When we do, those that oppose Him will be like the Pharisees.  They will wonder what they are going to do, because the whole world is coming to Jesus. They had a death warrant out for Jesus, but they prevailed nothing.  We can rest assured that the world will not prevail against God today.  In verse twenty we see the truth of the words of the Pharisees. Verse twenty adds, And there were certain Greeks among them that came up to worship at the feast:   There were certain Greeks that had come to worship, and they desired to see Jesus.  If we, as His people, are truly effective witnesses, people will come to us desiring to see Jesus, and the whole world will be drawn to Him.  We need to live in victory and not despair. 

John 12:12

John 12:12 says, On the next day much people that were come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem,  The religious leaders were wondering if Jesus would come to Jerusalem for the Passover, and they got the answer.  Verse thirteen adds, Took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord.  He did not come quietly into the city.  When the people heard He was coming, they met Him with palm branches, and cried, "Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord." Palm branches were a sign of victory and triumph.  They were not meeting a man under a death sentence, but a man Who they saw as the true King of Israel.  When we meet Jesus today, we must meet Him the same way.  He is the victor over sin and death, and we must greet Him as such.  They declared Him the King of Israel Who came in the name of the Lord, but He was so much more.  He was and is the Lord.  Verse fourteen continues, And Jesus, when he had found a young ass, sat thereon; as it is written,  Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it for His ride into Jerusalem.  He wasn't greeted by those in power, but by the ordinary people.  He didn't ride in on a great steed, but on a donkey. Jesus did not come to bring an earthly kingdom of power into existence, but a spiritual kingdom of service.  He did not come just for the rich and powerful, but for all people.  We too often want the steed when we go out in His name.  We don't need private jets and thousand-dollar hotel rooms, but simply a way from place to place and a place to rest.  Verse fifteen concludes, Fear not, daughter of Sion: behold, thy King cometh, sitting on an ass's colt.  Jesus's entry was in fulfillment of a prophesy from Zechariah 9:9, which says, "Fear not, daughter of Sion: Behold, a King cometh, sitting on an ass's colt." God’s word has always been true. Verse sixteen says, These things understood not his disciples at the first: but when Jesus was glorified, then remembered they that these things were written of him, and that they had done these things unto him. The disciples at first did not understand the saying, but after Jesus was glorified, they realized these prophecies were written about Him and done to Him.  I think we too often see the fulfillment of prophecies about Jesus as Him checking off a list to accomplish.  The prophecies were fulfilled as Jesus lived His life instead of Jesus living His life to fulfill the prophesies.  We may not always understand everything that God is doing in our life until we look back on it, and the same was true with the disciples and the prophecies about Jesus.  As they looked back, they saw how the prophesies were fulfilled. 

John 12:9

John 12:9 says, Much people of the Jews therefore knew that he was there: and they came not for Jesus's sake only, but that they might see Lazarus also, whom he had raised from the dead.  Many of the Jews knew that Jesus was there.  There may be people today that know that Jesus is real, but they may be like the Jews then, who didn't come only because of Jesus.  They came to see Lazarus. Lazarus living was the result of the miracle. They knew he had been dead and was now alive.  People may come to see the result of a miracle as much as coming to see the author of that miracle.  We hear today of people who were clinically dead and returned to life, and we want to hear about their experience.  Lazarus was more than clinically dead, so it was natural for the people to be curious, but they were in the presence of Christ, and that should have been enough.  If people come to Christ due to a miracle, that is good.  If people come to Christ because of Who He is, with no need of miracles, that is even better.  Verse ten adds, But the chief priests consulted that they might put Lazarus also to death; When the chief priests heard people were coming to Jesus because of Lazarus, they thought they might need to kill Lazarus also. They were already seeking to kill Jesus, but now were wondering if they needed to go farther.  These were the leaders of God's people who were gathering to decide if they needed to kill a man miraculously raised from the dead in order to keep their fellow Jews from going to the Messiah.  People in the world today will go to great extremes to attempt to discredit the work of God in the world, but we need to ensure that we as His followers are not the ones doing it.  If something miraculous happens in our life, we need to make sure it points people to Jesus and never try to explain it away. Verse eleven continues, Because that by reason of him many of the Jews went away, and believed on Jesus.  Because of the resurrection of Lazarus, many of the Jews went away from them and believed on Jesus.  If we truly accept Jesus, many religious leaders may actually attempt to turn us away from Him. 

John 12:1

John 12:1 says; Then Jesus six days before the passover came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, which had been dead, whom he raised from the dead.   Six days before the Passover Jesus returned Bethany.   This was the home of Lazarus, Mary and Martha.  After His time of withdrawal, Jesus was now back where He had performed the miracle of raising Lazarus from the dead. We may have times when we need to withdraw for a period to renew our strength, but we then must get back into the world witnessing for Jesus.  We were never called to withdraw from the world, but to go into every part of it.  Verse two adds, There they made him a supper; and Martha served: but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with him.  Jesus was at the home of Lazarus, Mary and Martha, and they had made Him supper.  Martha was serving and Lazarus was at the table.  Martha was a was a woman who took charge of things.  We need people like that today, those who make sure the details are taken care of.  Verse three continues, Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment. Mary was at the feet of Jesus, where she took a pound of very costly ointment and anointed His feet.  She the dried His feet with her hair.  She was paying honor to Jesus before all else.  We definitely need people like Mary in the church today as well, those who don't think about the cost nor their position, but simply do everything to honor God.  We are told the house was filled with the odor of the ointment.  The church needs to be filled with the odor of our honor to God.  Verse four states, Then saith one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, which should betray him, Verse five adds, Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor?  Judas Iscariot, who would betray Jesus, asked why the ointment hadn't been sold and the money given to the poor.  We today may question why certain things are done by the church, but if they are done to honor God, we shouldn't. Verse six continues, This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein. We are told the real reason for Judas's concern.  It wasn't because of concern for the poor, but because he was a thief and controlled the purse.  There are those today that say Judas was just misunderstood, that He really just wanted to force Jesus to become an earthly ruler, but that doesn't fit with what the Bible tells us about him.  When people who control the money question doing things to honor God, we need to question their motive. Verse seven states, Then said Jesus, Let her alone: against the day of my burying hath she kept this.  Verse eight adds, For the poor always ye have with you; but me ye have not always.  Jesus said to leave Mary alone, that they would always have the poor, but He would not always be with them.  That wasn't a statement that He didn't care for the poor, but He knew His death was near. 

John 11:54

John 11:54 says, Jesus therefore walked no more openly among the Jews; but went thence unto a country near to the wilderness, into a city called Ephraim, and there continued with his disciples.  Jesus at that time was not walking openly among the Jews. He had been walking freely, teaching the people He encountered, and performing miracles.  At this time, He withdrew. I do not believe that He withdrew because He was afraid of the Jews.  He had accomplished His purpose, the resurrection of Lazarus, and the result was a death sentence from the religious leaders.  Jesus withdrew into a country near the wilderness with His disciples. They went to a city called Ephraim. Sometimes, when faced with great opposition, we may need to gather with fellow believers to renew our strength.  We need to remember that Jesus was a man, subject to getting tired just as we are. Verse fifty-five adds, And the Jews' passover was nigh at hand: and many went out of the country up to Jerusalem before the passover, to purify themselves. We are told that the Passover was near, and many Jews went to Jerusalem to purify themselves. They were going through the rituals, but they had rejected the Messiah.  We need to pray that we will never be observing the rituals of worship but missing the relationship with Christ.  Verse fifty-six continues, Then sought they for Jesus, and spake among themselves, as they stood in the temple, What think ye, that he will not come to the feast? They sought Jesus at the Passover and questioned if He would come. When we gather in His name, we need never question whether He will be there.  They were questioning Jesus's character again.  If He did not come to observe the Passover, He could be said to once again be ignoring religious teachings or He was afraid for His life. We can rest assured that Christ never ignored the will of God nor acted in fear, and neither should we. Verse fifty-seven concludes, Now both the chief priests and the Pharisees had given a commandment, that, if any man knew where he were, he should shew it that they might take him.  The chief priests and Pharisees had given a commandment that any who saw Jesus should tell them so that they could take Him.  They were determined to kill Jesus, and they didn't care how many people they involved in their sin.  We should know that those who oppose God today do not care how many people they take down with them.