Anointing for Burial
John 12:1-8 tells what happened after Lazarus was resurrected from the dead in the previous scripture. Jesus came back to Bethany six days before the Passover was to commence to see His friends. Lazarus, Mary, and Martha were all present and invited him to have supper with them. It is worth pointing out that not only was Lazarus resurrected from the dead, but his illness that had caused his death in the first place was in no way present in his body afterwards. Jesus had not only given him life, but had restored his general health.
At the dinner, Martha served both Lazarus and Jesus. Mary took a pound of spikenard and anointed the feet of Jesus, wiping His feet with her hair. Judas Iscariot, who looked over the finances of the disciples complained that the ointment could have been sold for a lot of money and helped the poor. He complained at the waste of a resource, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, by the Bible account.
Jesus corrects him and reminds him that there will always be poor around who need help, but that He would not be around much longer. Mary had kept the spikenard against the day Jesus would be buried and Jesus thought her actions were appropriate.
Many today use the portion of this verse about the poor to avoid helping the poor at all. There are just too many of them and I've worked hard for what I have is a common thread. There is no debate about that response. It is completely true that there will always be poor who need help. And if you have gotten whatever you have by honest work, more power to you. But it should be noted that Jesus was defending Mary against the comments of a thief, and Jesus knew Judas' heart. Jesus had compassion for everyone. He, and God himself, are not don't respect status when it comes to need. The Old Testament, which forms the basis for the Jewish religion and was given to them by God delineated a special tithe that was taken up periodically to help the widows, orphans, and strangers in the midst of the Jewish nation. And in fact, the New Testament church started out with everyone who had come to the Passover, stayed, and were saved, helping each other as their needs were seen. So I don't think it's very good practice to use this verse as an excuse to do nothing.
At the same time, there are many today who could work and choose to panhandle. Some even have jobs and panhandle for extra income. Knowing this, my advice is always to let the Holy Spirit be your sole guide in who you help. God knows the condition of the hearts and the financial status of everyone you encounter. If you are in tune with the Holy Spirit, He will let you know what you should donate. Try to get more and more in tune with Him, and what to do about the poor will answer itself. Who knows... you might be interacting with an angel.
Jealousy with Priests
The resurrection of Lazarus had varied effects on those who heard about it. You would think that the priests would think that the moving of God and such a great miracle was awesome. And I'm sure that some did. But there was a faction, seen in John 12:9-11, who were jealous of God moving through anyone but them. And I wouldn't bet that God had ever moved through them in such a way as this.
The people came around not only to see Jesus who had performed the miracle, but to see Lazarus with their own eyes to make sure that they had heard the truth. After all, it isn't every day that someone comes back from the dead. I suspect that if I died, was in the morgue for four days, and came back to life, there would be a great many people who I haven't seen in years coming by just to see if what they heard about me was true. And if a person had been involved like Jesus was, there'd be a news sensation like never before.
The chief priests, on the other hand, sought to kill Lazarus because his very existence was causing people to leave Judaism and turn to Christ. Sadly, I suspect that there would be similar factions at work between religions and denominations today were a Lazarus event to occur. That isn't to say that every person in a denomination or other religion would feel that way, as I suspect many would be just like the Jews who converted to Christianity. But if enough people quit a particular denomination or religion and joined the one associated with the resurrection from the dead, I'd bet there would be some at some level in each of the losers who would be wanting to "kill Lazarus" again, just like then, so the hemorrhaging of members would stop.
If you take anything at all away from this bit of the discourse, take away a desire to celebrate when God does something good, regardless of the denomination associated with His movement. Christianity has become too Balkanized today. Unity is called for. Rejoice when something good happens to any denomination. Pray for each other. Help each other in times of difficulty for any. Practice the love of Christ. Do. Don't just talk. And while you're at it, pray for God to move to change the hearts of leaders of false religions to turn everyone to Christ.
Wonder from People
In John 12:12-22 tells the story from the people's reactions to Lazarus' resurrection. They took palm branches and went before Him as He made His way into Jerusalem, crying out with Hosanna and Blessed is the King of Israel that comes in the name of the Lord. Quite a difference between them and the chief priests who should have been the happiest.
Jesus made the triumphal entry sitting on the colt of an ass, similar to how a king might have entered after fighting a winning battle. No battle has ever been fought like the battle that went on with Satan over the crucifixion of Christ though. One event that changed Satan's future forever, and all who had believed on God before and after, for that matter. The disciples were too caught up in the rejoicing of the people at the time to remember the prophecies, but when they thought back later, they remembered. We need to remember this as well. It is too easy to get caught up in the glamour or glory of some preacher or evangelist and not really think about what is being said. Always refer back to scripture and make sure everything lines up as it should. In Christ's case, He fulfilled all the Old Testament prophecies about His birth and death, and the way He carried out His ministry while on Earth. So should all we listen to.
At any rate, the people who were with Jesus when He called Lazarus out of the grave went before Him proclaiming what He had done. It is no wonder He had a triumphal entry. This stoked the jealousy of the Pharisees to extremes, claiming that the whole world was turning to Christ. If only that were true, it would be a much different place today. Many would find it a better place, but I suspect that like the Pharisees, there would also be many who would think the world had gone to pot. When Satan spreads his lies after the millennium, there will still be eager people to hear his lies and go against Christ once again after all.
But the attention that Christ was getting even caused those who had come from outside Israel to the Passover to want to see Jesus. This would culminate in a great evangelical movement after Jesus' death as recorded in Acts 2 and following.
Affirmation by God
At this point, John 12:13-30 records some of the last public words of Jesus. He alludes to His death, saying that it was not only time for Him to be glorified, but that by the wheat falling in death to the ground, a great harvest would come. If this didn't happen, then it would just be eaten and not be multiplied in glory.
He warns His disciples, and us by extension, that we need to concentrate on the will of the Father. If we focus on our own will, we may have a good life on Earth, but suffer eventual destruction in hell. If we turn away from all the snares that Satan tries to throw in our path and hate the life of the world, and seek Him, we will have eternal life.
The choice is always ours. I know I wish at times it wasn't, It would be nice to just be saved and know that our destiny was secure. But, regardless of the belief of some, it is possible to backslide and lose the salvation you once had. There's a long commentary at Dake's 210 Plain Laws and Warnings about this very thing.
The choice was also Christ's. He didn't have to go through the crucifixion. There were legions of angels who would have come and destroyed the Earth should He have chosen that. But in this scripture passage, regardless of how troubled He was about what was to come, he acknowledged that He had come for this purpose and would fulfill the plan of the Father. He knew there was no other option for Him, and He willingly accepted His fate.
At this declaration, a voice from heaven declared that He had glorified the name of God and would glorify it again. Some thought it was an angel speaking, and some thought it was just a loud noise like thunder. But Jesus clarified that the word was spoken for their sake so they would know that God was involved in everything that was going on in Jesus life.
Foretelling His Death
John 12:31-36 goes on to clarify the type of death that awaited Christ. Jesus would fulfill His ultimate purpose for the part of His life spent on Earth 2,000 some years ago, and win the battle with Satan - the prince of the world. In His crucifixion, Jesus would draw people from all walks of life, from all parts of the Earth, to Him for salvation.
The people didn't understand this as they felt the Messiah would come and reign forever once He was made known. But Christ clarifies that the light (Himself) would only be directly there walking with them for a little while longer... literally days. He warned that darkness would come and that if you stayed in darkness, you wouldn't be able to see where to go. Little did they know that when He died the veil of the temple would be rent top to bottom, and that shortly after that, their beloved temple would be destroyed by the Romans. Their world would be plunged into darkness without sacrifices or proper worship, and that state has lasted for almost 2,000 years. The light literally went out of the Jewish religion after Christ was crucified.
He called on all of His followers to be children of the light... His children. We all need to be walking in that light day after day and night after night. He can light our darkest moments, and will, if we let Him. Trust Him to be the light that you need every day.
Obstacles to Belief
In the last section of this chapter. J, reasons for unbelief are listed. This group of people had seen Christ perform many miracles. But for one reason or another, the miracles weren't sufficient. I often pray for miracles to be more widespread than they are today. I pray for healing to happen for Christians who are suffering everywhere. At the cost of glasses, it would be awesome to be given 20/20 vision (as I've probably never had it). I'd like to see people who have suffered greatly healed. And I'd be happy to give God the glory for everything He did, because it is God who makes the changes and not the people here on Earth praying. But I fear that even if that did happen, few would choose to follow God because they would feel the current price was too great. They'd have to give up too much. Eternity is too far off in most people's minds to worry about changing to present to guarantee the future.
Satan is still out blinding people's eyes to miracles and healing. If something miraculous happens, it is dismissed because it isn't reproducible. Or the body could have probably just done it on its own without any outside divine intervention. The same lies of Satan that worked on the Jews of Israel are still just as deceptive today and work just as well if you listen to them.
He still blinds eyes and hardens hearts. How many in the world voluntarily turn on Christian radio or go to church, or listen to a youtube broadcast that is Christian? Too few. Their hearts are hardened.
Others are like some of the chief priests who believed, but didn't acknowledge their belief because they were afraid of the Pharisees because they didn't want to lose their positions in society. How many today don't want to give up their positions in the world, their riches, their influence, their lifestyle, their social position, their friends or lovers, by actively choosing Christ. Believe me, we want to be counted among those who confess Christ among men (Matthew 10:32, Luke 12:8, Revelation 3:1-5). We don't want to love the praise of men more than the praise of God. There are all to many today, even in the church, that want the praise of men above the praise of God.
I hope that every pastor or teacher will pay attention to the closing of the chapter. Christ came to be an image of the Father. If a person saw Christ, and saw how He lived His life while on Earth, that person would know how God Himself would behave. By rejecting Christ, they were rejecting God.He came to be a light.
But further, He didn't speak for Himself. He spoke what God through the Holy Spirit impressed on Him to say. His words were always God's words at least when dealing with His church and the unsaved. Perhaps every word He said was God's. Wouldn't it be awesome if all of the religious people in the world were only speaking what God wanted them to say? If you read this and your spirit is pricked that you are occasionally letting your own ideas slip in from the pulpit, then try to do better. Seek a closer walk with the Holy Spirit to find a true path and be a true speaker (1 John 2:1-6, 2 John 1:9-11).