We come to
the final week of Lent. It is Saturday
and by the following Friday, Jesus will be hung on the cross, crucified by the
Romans at the behest of the Jewish authorities.
The
Disciples and followers of Jesus will be in disarray, confused and
depressed. It will become one of
those “what just happened here?”, “I
don’t understand”.
In this
final week, let’s take the journey with the disciples and follow the pathway of
Jesus that takes us to the cross.
John
12:1-11 1 Six days before the Passover, Jesus therefore came to Bethany,
where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.
2 So they gave a dinner for him there. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at table.
3 Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.
4 But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was about to betray him), said,
5 “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?”
6 He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it.
7 Jesus said, “Leave her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of my burial.
8 For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me.”
9 When the large crowd of the Jews learned that Jesus was there, they came, not only on account of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead.
10 So the chief priests made plans to put Lazarus to death as well,
11 because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus.
2 So they gave a dinner for him there. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at table.
3 Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.
4 But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was about to betray him), said,
5 “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?”
6 He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it.
7 Jesus said, “Leave her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of my burial.
8 For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me.”
9 When the large crowd of the Jews learned that Jesus was there, they came, not only on account of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead.
10 So the chief priests made plans to put Lazarus to death as well,
11 because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus.
Passover
began on Thursday evening that year, and continued on through the Friday, where
at sundown the day shifted to Sabbath.
Six days before, that Saturday, Jesus moves his disciples to Bethany, a
village a few miles from Jerusalem and the place where Jesus’ closest friends –
Lazarus, Mary and Martha – all lived. It
was here a while before that Jesus had come to raise Lazarus from the grave.
Jesus was
already on the Pharisees and Jewish authorities “hit list”.
John 11:47-48 47 So
the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the council and said, “What are we
to do? For this man performs many signs.
48 If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.”
48 If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.”
This
Saturday was not filled with the intensity of any of that though:
·
They gave a dinner for him there.
·
Martha served, and Lazarus was one of
those reclining with him at table.
·
Mary took a pound of expensive
ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet
with her hair.
·
The house was filled with the
fragrance of the perfume.
You can
sense the joy-filled atmosphere, yet one filled with a sense of “who knows if
we’ll ever be able to do this again”.
Had Jesus
filled them in with what was going on?
Did they
have some prophetic sense of where things we’re going in the next few days?
We don’t
know…what we know is that Jesus went to His friend’s house to have a good time
and to get ready for the week ahead.
Judas makes
a scene…Jesus sets him straight…and the disciples are generally relaxed in the
house of Jesus’ friends.
It’s the
same with us. When we know God is in
control, that our lives are hidden in Christ – we can relax, have fun with
friends and family…enjoy THIS day and not worry about tomorrow.
Peace
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