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| Chapter 12 |
| Bible Text | Notes and Thoughts |
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1 ¶ Then Jesus, six days before the Passover, came to Bethany where Lazarus was, who had been dead and whom He had raised from the dead. 2 There they made Him a supper; and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with Him. 3 Then Mary took 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 odor of the ointment. 4 Then one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son who was to betray Him, said, 5 "Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence and given to the poor?" 6 This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the money bag and took what was put therein. 7 Then Jesus said, "Let her alone; against the day of My burying hath she kept this. 8 For the poor always ye have with you, but Me ye have not always." 9 Many people of the Jews therefore knew that He was there. And they came not for Jesus’ sake only, but that they might see Lazarus also, whom He had raised from the dead. 10 But the chief priests consulted, that they might put Lazarus also to death, 11 because by reason of him many of the Jews went away, and believed in Jesus. 12 ¶ On the next day many people who had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, 13 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!" 14 And Jesus, when He had found a young ass, sat thereon, as it is written: 15 "Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, thy King cometh, sitting on an ass’s colt." 16 These things His disciples understood not at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written of Him, and that they had done these things unto Him. 17 The people therefore who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of his grave and raised him from the dead, bore record. 18 For this cause the people also met Him, for they heard that He had done this miracle. 19 The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, "Perceive ye how ye prevail not at all? Behold, the world has gone after him!" 20 ¶ And there were certain Greeks among them, who came up to worship at the feast. 21 They came therefore to Philip, who was of Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, saying, "Sir, we would see Jesus." 22 Philip went and told Andrew, and again Andrew and Philip told Jesus. 23 And Jesus answered them, saying, "The hour is come that the Son of Man should be glorified. 24 Verily, verily I say unto you, unless a grain of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abides alone; but if it die, it brings forth much fruit. 25 He that loved his life shall lose it, and he that hated his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. 26 If any man serve Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there shall also My servant be. If any man serve Me, him will My Father honor. 27 ¶ "Now is My soul troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour?’ But for this cause came I unto this hour. 28 Father, glorify Thy name." Then there came a voice from Heaven, saying, "I HAVE BOTH GLORIFIED IT, AND WILL GLORIFY IT AGAIN." 29 The people therefore who stood by and heard it said that it thundered. Others said, "An angel spoke to him." 30 Jesus answered and said, "This voice came not because of Me, but for your sakes. 31 Now is the judgment of this world; now shall the prince of this world be cast out. 32 And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto Me." 33 This He said, signifying what death He should die. 34 The people answered Him, "We have heard from the law that Christ abides for ever; and how sayest thou, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up?’ Who is this son of man?" 35 Then Jesus said unto them, "Yet a little while is the Light with you. Walk while ye have the Light, lest darkness come upon you; for he that walked in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth. 36 While ye have Light, believe in the Light, that ye may be the children of Light." These things spoke Jesus, and departed and hid Himself from them. 37 ¶ But though He had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not in Him, 38 that the saying of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke: "Lord, who hath believed our report? And to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed?" 39 Therefore they could not believe, because as Isaiah said again: 40 "He hath blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them." 41 These things said Isaiah when he saw His glory and spoke of Him. 42 ¶ Nevertheless, among the chief rulers also, many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; 43 for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God. 44 ¶ Jesus cried out and said, "He that believeth in Me, believeth not in Me, but in Him that sent Me. 45 And he that seeth Me, seeth Him that sent Me. 46 I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth in Me should not abide in darkness. 47 And if any man hear My words and believe not, I judge him not; for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. 48 He that rejected Me and received not My words, hath One that judged him; the Word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the Last Day. 49 For I have not spoken of Myself; but the Father who sent Me, He gave Me a commandment, what I should say and what I should speak. 50 And I know that His commandment is life everlasting. Whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto Me, so I speak." |
This chapter starts with Jesus spending time with His friends Mary, Martha and Lazarus Luke 10:38-42 and ends with many followers searching their hearts on what to believe. Jesus knew that the Jewish leaders were seeking to arrest and kill Him. but He still returns to Bethany, which was only 2 miles from Jerusalem, the location of most of His enemies. Once again we see the different personalities of Mary and Martha, they were having supper, Martha was serving, Mary was worshiping Jesus. This account of Mary anointing her Lord is also found in Matt 26:6-13 and Mark 14:3-9. The event in Luke 7:36-50 is not the same as it took place in the house of Simon the Pharisee in Galilee. If you combine the three accounts you find that Mary anointed both the head and feet of Jesus, it was an act of pure love for her Lord. She had sat at His feet and taken in all He had said so perhaps she had realized that He was about to suffer death. She knew what she was doing, it was an act of worship in public, personal and sacrificial as it would have taken a years wages for a normal worker to purchase the ointment. Her act of worship made the house and surrounding full of fragrance, but also her act of worship has spread throughout the world since then. Matt 26:13; Mark 14:9. After anointing His head she humbled herself to do the task of the slave and wash His feet. She must have undone her hair (not done by Jewish women in public) to wipe the feet, laying her glory at His feet 1 Cor 11:15. v4-6 Criticism of her actions soon appears, Judas was first to complain, but not for the reason he gave, he was a thief and wanted the money. Matt 26:8 tells us that the other disciples were also critical. The disciples did not realize that Judas was a devil John 13:2 and thought is was a good point to make about the poor. v7,8 Jesus tells them that she is preparing the way for His burial, the poor are always here, I am not. It is possible that the comments of Jesus during this event caused Judas to start having doubts about his position, in Matt 26:14 we find that after this event Judas makes contact with the Jewish leaders and starts to arrange for the betrayal of Jesus. We must not forget Martha during this event, she is continuing to prepare and serve the meal for Jesus, her action are just as important as Mary’s worship. She is working in the background so that the other events can happen. Lazarus is also important, he does not speak but his presence attracts the people to see him, he is the witness of the power of Christ. The three people join together to bring the people to hear the words of the Lord. Their presence also was causing the leaders a problem, especially the risen Lazarus, he was a walking miracle and proof that Jesus was something special, Jesus said that "Ye are of your father the devil" John 8:44, they would probably like to kill Lazarus as well as Jesus. v12-19 The Passover Pilgrims. The next day we see the only "public display" Jesus allowed while on earth, as prophesied by Zechariah 9:9 (‘Zion’ is another name for Jerusalem). The result was the Jewish leaders were even more stirred up, they thought that Jesus may have won the day. They thought Jesus would do something special during the Passover, but actually Jesus was about ‘to force’ the Sanhedrin into acting, the Lamb was ready for the sacrifice, v23. All 4 Gospels record this event, Matt 21:1-11; Mark 11:1-10; Luke 19:28ff there are three types of people involved, the Passover visitors, v12,18, the local people who had been involved with the resurrection of Lazarus v17 and the religious leaders v19. Was this when Jesus was to make the first steps to establish Himself as King? Jesus was openly telling the people that He was the King Of Israel, the promised Messiah. What did the people think? they spread their garments, wave palm branches as a symbol of peace and victory. (See Rev 7:9) but even while they did this Jesus is weeping Luke 19:37-44, He knew what was the future for this city and nation, war, destruction, the people scattered throughout the world, persecution, gas chambers. The people had seen their God and were about to reject Him, the next time they see Him as the King will be Rev 19:11ff, it was all part of God’s plan Luke 24:25ff. v20-36 The Gentiles. The original text shows that the Greeks were regular visitors to the feast, they may be following, or seeking the truth in the Jewish faith. They appeared to have repeatedly asked Philip if they can see Jesus, Philip tells Andrew and together they tell Jesus. We are not told if Jesus did see these people but He left an important message. Jesus did not say that He was about to be crucified, but to be glorified, v23. The image that a seed has to ‘die’ to produce the fruit, shows there can be not fruitful life without the old life dying, we must give ourselves to Jesus to ‘plant and grow’ Gal 2:20. v27-30 Jesus has many things on His mind, He is about to die a terrible death on the cross in place of mankind, He had a choice, "Father save me" or "let it happen as planned and bring glory to the Father." The Father responds, some must have heard the words and perhaps understood what was said, others said it "just thundered." The voice came for the people to realize and understand that when Jesus prayed, the Father answered. v31-33 Jesus now openly talks about the next few hours, the cross and what it meant, Satan would be defeated, punishment for man’s sins would have been taken. The "lifted up" showed that He would die on the cross but it also shows that this act will also bring glory to Him. By this act all people, Jew and Gentile will be drawn to Him, they then have to make a choice, accept or reject. John 3:14-17. v34-43 The Son Of Man. "The Son Of Man" was a title for the Messiah but the people could not understand that the Messiah had to die, they thought that the Messiah was to live for ever. It was the hour of fulfilling all the prophesies, Jesus told them that you have seen my miracles, heard my words, the ‘Light’ has been shining on you to see the way to go. Do not let the light go out as you will be in darkness and get lost. They had seen and heard but just as Isaiah had prophesied Is 6:8-10 they did not believe. v42 But some did believe, including a few in the Sanhedrin, but because of the power and threats of the Pharisees did not openly admit it. They loved the position and praise given by man and did not want to be rejected. v44-49 Believe in Me Jesus is now coming to the end of His public ministry, He sends the last messages to the people, "BELIEVE IN ME," I came with a message from the Father for you, you can have everlasting life if only you would believe. But the nation would not believe. Jesus now withdraws Himself from public, His hour has come. |
Easy English Translation
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