Thursday, November 5 –
We
continue our reading in the Gospel of John and today’s reading is John 11:45 –
12:19. After reading the Scripture first, please come back and we’ll walk
through it together.
The miracle of Lazarus’ resurrection was the last of the signs that Jesus did
to demonstrate who he was. Many of the
people present became believers, and the news spread rapidly, even all the way
to Jerusalem.
“Many
of the Jews, therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what he did,
believed in him, but some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what
Jesus had done” (11:45-46).
What
Jesus did demonstrated that he was God-incarnate, yet, the Pharisees and
religious authorities could not see it, and once again they met to discuss what
to do with Jesus. In 11:47-48, we read that they knew that Jesus had “performed
many signs”, but could not see him as anything more than a troublemaker who
would bring down the wrath of Rome. The
authorities made up the Sanhedrin, the ruling body of the Jewish faith, and the
quasi-puppet government of the Roman empire.
They knew that Jesus was not fomenting a revolt – after all, he had no
army. It was Caiaphas (kīä
fës) who as High Priest made a
statement that turned out to be quite prophetic – as John comments in the
verse:
“…Caiaphas,
who was high priest that year, said to them, ‘You know nothing at all.
Nor do you understand that it is better for you that one man should die
for the people, not that the whole nation should perish.’ He did not say
this of his own accord, but being high priest that year he prophesied that
Jesus would die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but also to gather
into one the children of God who are scattered abroad. So, from that day on
they made plans to put him to death” (11:49-53).
Caiaphas
does not know he is prophesying what God had sent His son to do anyway; but
rather acting out of political cynicism.
Since Jesus was a threat, let the Romans know that and have them deal
with Him. That way the population will
not blame the leaders, but the Romans.
John the Baptist had proclaimed Jesus as “the lamb of God that will
take away the sins of the people”, and now Caiaphas points to him as the
sacrifice the nation needs to spare them from the Romans. The ruling is set in place and from that day
forward the plot to put Jesus to death begins.
The chapter ends with a note that Jesus withdrew from the area and went
to Ephraim – a place that is lost in history.
It may be that the place was once called Ephron, a day’s walk from
Jerusalem.
When
we turn the page to chapter 12, John’s Gospel makes a transition from the
“signs” of Jesus – that he had done over three years of time – to the drama
surrounding the death of Jesus, i.e., the last week of his life on earth, and
in fact, at chapter 13, it is the last couple of days of his earthly life. In the first eleven chapters, Jesus had spoken
in both Galilee and in Judea (Jerusalem) and demonstrated that he was the Messiah,
but the Jewish people and leadership (for the most part) rejected him and the
Sanhedrin time with him by plotting to kill him. Jesus had spoken often that “his hour” had
not yet come. Now the “hour” is close at
hand. Once again, the story begins with
Jesus with his friends, Mary, Martha, and a very-much-alive Lazarus in their
home in Bethany:
“Six
days before the Passover, Jesus, therefore, came to Bethany, where Lazarus was,
whom Jesus had raised from the dead. So, they gave a dinner for him
there. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at table”
(12:1-2).
It was
six days before the Passover, and the dinner was a celebratory one for Martha
and Mary. Mary, who once sat at Jesus’
feet to learn from him, created quite a stir when she went to find a jar filled
with “pure nard” – an oil-like perfume sometimes called “spikenard” –
and began to anoint Jesus’ feet with her hair.
While many would have wondered what she was doing, or perhaps thought it
was a generous way to show her thanks to Jesus for raising her brother from the
dead, Jesus knows it is more of an ominous prophecy of the days ahead. It would have been shocking to all, and Judas
points out that it seems to be a terrible waste of money that could be used for
other things – including himself.
“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. But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples
(he who was about to betray him), said, ‘Why was this ointment not sold
for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?’ 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. Jesus said,
‘Leave her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of my burial’” (12:3-7).
John
recalls Judas’ words and his motives for saying them too. But, he also reminds us that Jesus knew the
implications of Mary’s actions. His
“hour” was soon at hand, and her actions were not celebratory, but
sobering. Jesus appeals to Mary’s honor and then reminds them that the ability to care for the poor will always be
around, long after Jesus has done (12:8).
Jesus reminds us that the motivation for our actions to help others has
to be grounded in our gratitude for God’s grace in our lives. We, who have been saved by the grace given to us
by Christ Jesus, are able to act as agents of grace to others – but only will it
last if it is done “for” and “in” Christ.
Once
again, a crowd gathers – gawking because they want to see both Jesus and
Lazarus (12:9). Once again, the chief
priests (Sanhedrin) begin to plot to also kill Lazarus. The crowd’s curiosity is in the foreground,
but operating in the background is Satan and his religious friends. The dinner ends, but the next day, Jesus once
again enters Jerusalem – the way that a King enters after a victory.
“The
next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming
to Jerusalem. So, they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet
him, crying out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord,
even the King of Israel!” And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it,
just as it is written, “Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your king is
coming, sitting on a donkey’s colt!” (12:12-15).
My brother Edward points out: “kings rode
on donkeys to visit, and rode on horses in victories”. The young donkey is a colt, and John
remembers the prophecy of Zechariah 9. We call it a “triumphal entry”, but the
triumph is not yet seen. He does not
come to overthrow either the corrupt religious leaders or the Roman
tyranny. Instead, his hour is approaching,
and God is setting both of these in place to do their will – which is God’s
will!
John
ends this with three notes: First, the
disciples didn’t understand any of this until after the resurrection
(12:16). Second, the crowd were the same
people who had seen Lazarus raised from the dead, and they were there to
testify that Jesus was indeed the anointed one of God, the Messiah
(12:17-18). Last of all, the Pharisees
stood dumbfounded because they understood what was happening – “You see that
you are gaining nothing. Look, the world has gone after him” (12:19). Their exasperated sense of “what in the
world is going on here?” belies their motives – they just wanted to get rid of
Jesus.
Confused,
Convinced, or Despising – it seems that all of humanity fits into that
today. John is pointing to this last
public event as a way of saying “Jesus is King”, but only those who are
convinced will believe it. He is not
your typical King for he does not rule by force, but by humble sacrifice. He came to “lay down his life, and then
take it up again”, and even though many think differently, he is totally in
control of it all. The Pharisees were prophetically correct: “look, the
world has gone after him”.
Peace
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