Category: John 12

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John John 12 Mark Mark 14 Matthew Matthew 26

True love, false love

The gospels

Here we see a stark contrast in love. One person’s love came from the heart. The other’s came only for what profited him.

Jesus was in Bethany having dinner at the house of a man named Simon. Lazarus, Mary, and Martha were all there, as were Jesus’ disciples.

And at the meal, Mary took some expensive perfume and poured it on Jesus’ feet and on his head.

Judas’ reaction was immediate.

Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages. (John 12:5)

And apparently, the other disciples chimed in with Judas.

John tells us, however, that Judas’ love and concern for the poor was not genuine. Instead,

He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it. (John 12:6)

But of Mary, Jesus said,

Leave her alone… Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me.

The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me.

She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial.

I tell you the truth, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her. (Mark 14:6-9)

Judas’ reaction? He went to the chief priests and betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver.

We will always wonder why Judas decided to do this, but I don’t think it was simply because Jesus rebuked him in front of the disciples.

I think it went much deeper than that: His love for Jesus (and for others) apparently didn’t go much further than what it benefited him.

As treasurer among the disciples, he was happy to give to the poor as long as he could help himself to some of the money himself. And as a disciple, he was happy to follow Jesus as long as it seemed Jesus would become king.

But time and again, Jesus talked not about ruling as Messiah, but of his death. Perhaps frustrated and fed up with this, Judas thought, “Fine, if you want to die, die.”

And he went to betray him.

Mary’s love, on the other hand, came from her heart. And unlike Judas, who followed Jesus for what he could get, she loved Jesus enough to give him what was precious to her.

I love what John said about what happened when she opened the bottle of perfume. He said,

The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. (John 12:3)

And that’s what our love for Jesus and others should be like. It should permeate the world around us. It should be so evident, that no one can miss it. Some people, like Judas, will criticize us for it. But to Jesus, it’s a sweet-smelling aroma.

How about you? Is your love selfish, only interested in what you can gain? Or is it a sweet-smelling aroma to Jesus and the world around you?

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John John 12

When we see and hear Jesus

John

So many people say, “I believe in God,” but refuse to put their faith in Jesus.

But if you truly believe in God, that is exactly what you cannot do. Jesus says here,

Whoever believes in me does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me.

The one who looks at me is seeing the one who sent me.

I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness. (John 12:44-46)

Jesus is saying here that to believe in him is to believe in God. To see him is to see God.

He then said,

For I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me to say all that I have spoken.

I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say. (John 12:49-50)

So to hear Jesus also means to hear God, because he speaks the very words of God. And to reject Jesus’ words is to reject God’s words. More, to reject Jesus means to reject God himself.

And Jesus says,

There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; the very words I have spoken will condemn them at the last day. (John 12:48)

All of us will be held accountable for what we have heard Jesus say.

If you believe him, you will find light and life. But if you reject him, you will find only judgment and darkness.

What will you choose?

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John John 12

From whom we seek praise

John

One of the saddest comments you’ll ever read in the Bible comes from these two verses.

Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him.

But because of the Pharisees they would not confess their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved praise from men more than praise from God. (John 12:42-43)

Basically, you see in this passage a bunch of undercover believers.

They had seen all that Jesus had done and had heard all his teaching, and they believed. But they did not tell anyone because they feared being put out of the synagogue. And to be put out of the synagogue was essentially to be cut off from society.

But what that showed was that they were more interested in what people thought of them rather than what God thought of them.

If Satan cannot prevent you from becoming a believer, the thing he wants to do most is to prevent you from sharing your faith.

And his best weapon in doing so is asking the question, “What will happen if others find out if you believe?”

For some, the answer is clear cut. It means rejection by their family, their friends, and those around them.

That’s what these leaders faced. A certain excommunication from the synagogue and society.

For others, the answer is not so clear. But they are ruled by the fear of what others might think of them.

I know I was that way all the way through my sophomore year in high school. I didn’t tell anyone I was a Christian, not because I knew I would be rejected, but because I feared I might be rejected.

But God does not want us to live that way. He wants us to make a difference in this world for him, but we cannot as long as we are afraid of what others think.

Some people will reject us for our faith. As one preacher put it, that is an occupational hazard of being a Christian. Not everyone will like us.

As I’ve said before, Jesus was perfect, and people still hated him. How can we expect to be any different from our master?

But what we’ll find is that if we share our faith, some will receive it and be saved.

So let’s not worry about being rejected because of our faith in Christ. Let us proclaim it boldly and let the chips fall where they may. For as Jesus said,

Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven.

But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven. (Matthew 10:32-33)

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John John 12

Before it’s too late

John

Sometime people put off following Christ thinking they can always do it later. But in this passage, we see the danger of that.

Jesus in thinking about the cross and his determination to follow the Father’s plan cried out,

Father, glorify your name! (John 12:28a)

In a voice that all could hear, the Father replied,

I have glorified it and will glorify it again. (John 12:28b)

Yet though all could hear the voice, it seemed that few if any actually heard it.

Some said it was thunder. Others said it was an angel. Why couldn’t they understand the Father’s words? John later comments,

This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet: “Lord, who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”

For this reason they could not believe, because, as Isaiah says elsewhere:

“He has blinded their eyes and deadened their hearts, so they can neither see with their eyes, nor understand with their hearts, nor turn–and I would heal them.”

Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus’ glory and spoke about him. (John 12:38-41)

I’ve explained this passage in another blog, and essentially what it comes down to is that the people couldn’t hear the voice because they had already hardened their hearts to Jesus.

Some hardened their hearts because his background as a carpenter from Nazareth was not what they expected from a Messiah.

Others rejected him because he exposed the hypocrisy of their religion.

Others rejected him because his teaching went against their religious rules and traditions.

And when Jesus performed miracles that proved who he was and the truth of his words, they tried to explain it away saying he did them by Satan’s power, or in this case, by trying to say it never really happened. That they were just imagining things.

The problem was, the more they hardened their hearts, closing their eyes and ears to the truth, the more blind and deaf they became.

And so Jesus tried to warn them, saying,

You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you.

The man who walks in the dark does not know where he is going.

Put your trust in the light while you have it, so that you may become sons of light. (John 12:35-36)

In other words, “Your time is short. If you don’t soften your hearts, you will become blind forever. Put your trust in me and the light I bring while you still can.”

Jesus says the same thing to you. He was lifted up on a cross that all people might be drawn to him and be saved.

But if you harden your heart to him, if you close your eyes and ears to what you know is true, the time will come when you can no longer recognize the truth though it’s right in front of you. And then it will be too late.

As Paul wrote,

I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation. (2 Corinthians 6:2)

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John John 12

In order to serve

John

With all the buzz surrounding Jesus, both with his spectacular entry into Jerusalem, and his just as spectacular cleansing of the temple, it’s little wonder that first time visitors would wish to see him.

In this case, it was some Greek proselytes who became interested in who this Jesus was. Perhaps it was because Phillip had a Greek name that these men approached him first.

And together with Andrew (someone who always seemed to be introducing others to Jesus), Phillip brought these men to Jesus.

Jesus responded by saying,

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

Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. (John 12:23-24)

In saying this, Jesus was talking about his death and resurrection. As long as he was alive, his ministry would be limited to what he could do in Israel.

But after his death, through the Holy Spirit, his work would spread all over the world, touching not only the Greeks, but every tribe and nation.

But Jesus then said to his disciples,

Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.

Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me. (John 12:25-26)

Here Jesus says both the blindingly obvious, and the paradoxical truth.

The blindingly obvious? That whoever serves Jesus must follow him, and that wherever he is, his servant must be.

It’s very hard to serve a person when you’re never around him. And if you really want to serve Jesus, you need to be in a place where you can see and hear what he wants.

But in order to be where Jesus is, you sometimes need to leave things behind, including things and people you love.

And that’s why he says something seemingly paradoxical: Whoever loves his life will lose it, but anyone who hates his life will keep it for eternal life.

This doesn’t mean that we should hate everything and every moment of our lives. But the things and people we love in this world need to take second place to Jesus.

If, for example, Jesus leads you to leave your country in order to serve him in another, then you need to follow him there.

Or if Jesus says, “Leave your high-paying job so you can serve me better,” then you need to be willing to do so for the sake of his kingdom.

Sometimes following Jesus means change. Sometimes it means sacrifice.

But we can’t serve Jesus if we’re not where he is. And while the change or sacrifice might seem painful at the time, in the end, we’ll find it was all worth it.

I found that out coming to Japan. I never dreamed that I’d ever leave Hawaii.

But when I came to Japan, I found out that I was happier here than I ever was in Hawaii. I found life by leaving what I loved in Hawaii in order to follow Jesus.

And so will you.

How about you? Are you where Jesus is?

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John John 12 Luke Luke 19 Mark Mark 11 Matthew Matthew 21

What would bring us peace

The gospels

Lots going on in these passages, and as you look at all four gospels, you really get an idea of the frenzy going on due to Jesus’ entrance in Jerusalem. People are shouting,

Hosanna to the Son of David!
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
Hosanna in the highest heaven! (Matthew 21:9)

And,

Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! (Mark 11:10)

And again,

Peace in heaven and glory in the highest! (Luke 19:38)

And ultimately,

Blessed is the king of Israel! (John 12:13)

Because of the frenzy some people were asking, “What’s going on? Who is this guy?” And others replied, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.” (Matthew 21:11)

We see from John that one of the reasons for all this frenzy was that people were still talking about Jesus’ raising Lazarus from the dead. (John 12:17-18)

At first, the Pharisees tried to stop all of this, even trying to get Jesus to stop his disciples from crying out all these words of praise. But when Jesus refused, they muttered to themselves,

This is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him! (John 12:19)

But for all the frenzy surrounding Jesus’ coming the most poignant moment comes just before Jesus enters the city. In the midst of all the cries of joy from the people, Jesus wept when he saw Jerusalem, saying,

If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes.

The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side.

They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls.

They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you. (Luke 19:42-44)

And that’s exactly what happened in AD 70 when Titus came and destroyed Jerusalem and its temple.

Why did this happen? Because they “did not recognize the time of God’s coming” to them.

And because of that, they missed the peace that could have been theirs. Peace within themselves. But more importantly, peace with God.

The same is true with us. God comes to each of us at some time in our lives.

According to Romans chapter 1, even the one who has never heard of God knows about him.

And when they gaze into the sky or see all the nature around them, I believe the Spirit speaks to them saying, “This cannot be an accident. This was designed. You were designed. Seek the Designer.”

For others, the call is much more direct. It comes at church or through a friend telling them about Christ.

And at that point people reach a crossroad. What will they do with this call? Will they listen and follow? Or will they reject it? To follow is to find peace with God and eternal life. To reject it means judgment and eternal death.

How about you? If you are reading this, God is calling you now. Now is the day of salvation. Won’t you receive him today?

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John John 12 Luke Luke 19 Mark Mark 11 Matthew Matthew 21

The Lord needs it

The gospels

We have now reached the home stretch of the life of Jesus, his final week.

As I read this passage, one phrase struck me. Jesus was instructing his disciples to do something very unusual, to go into the village, and just take a colt and donkey that they found there. And if anyone challenged them, they were to simply say, “The Lord needs it.”

The disciples did as they were told, and when the owners saw this, they immediately asked,

Why are you untying the colt? (Luke 19:33)

The disciples responded as Jesus had commanded, and immediately the owners acquiesced.

The question that came to my mind was, “When the Lord says to me of something, ‘I need this,’ how do I respond?”

If Jesus, for example, were to say, “I need you to give some money to this person. They are in need.” Would I immediately say, “Yes Lord?”

Or if I were headed somewhere, and I happen to run into someone, and Jesus were to say, “I need some of your time. Stop and talk to this person,” would I do so?

Or if God were to tell me, “It’s time to leave Nishinomiya. I need you elsewhere for another work,” would I say yes?

Or would I instead cling to what is mine?

Honestly, I don’t know, and probably too often, the Lord has told me, “I need this from you,” and for whatever reason, I said no.

“I’m too busy.”

Or,

“I need that money for other things.”

The disciples brought the colt to Jesus, set him on it, and honored him as king. And we need to do the same.

When Jesus says to us, “I need this,” we need to bring it to Jesus, setting him above it, and honoring him as our king over all.

Do I?

Do you?

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John John 11 John 12

Recognizing truth when we see it

John

I’ve mentioned the problem the Pharisees and the priests had where they saw all that Jesus said and did, and still did not believe.

It all comes to a head here. Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, and there was absolutely no way to refute it. Not after Lazarus had been dead for four days and buried in the tomb before Jesus came.

As a result, people were coming to believe in Jesus left and right.

The Pharisees’ and priests’ response?

“We know what he’s doing. We can’t deny it. But we will not believe.”

All the evidence was there that Jesus was the Messiah, but they would not believe in him.

Instead, their sole concern was that their nation would be taken from them by the Romans if the people tried to declare Jesus king.

The irony of the High Priest Caiaphas’ thoughts on the matter was not lost on John. Caiaphas said,

You know nothing at all! You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish. (John 11:49-50)

What Caiaphas meant was that it was better for Jesus to die than to have the nation taken away from them by Rome.

But John commented,

He did not say this on his own, but as high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation, and not only for that nation but also for the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one. (John 11:51-52)

These men were so blinded by their pride and ambition, they could not recognize the truth though it was literally coming out of their mouths.

How about you? Can you recognize truth when you hear it? When you see it staring you in the face?

Jesus said, “I am the truth.” (John 14:6)

If you are ever going to see truth, it starts with recognizing one thing. That Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. Until you admit that, you will be forever blind.

How about you? Have you come to know the Truth?