John 12 - If You Ever Wonder If Jesus Loves You, Just Look Up to the Cross!

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Jesus Anointed at Bethany

A little later Jesus is now at the house of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus in Bethany. One can only imagine how grateful Lazarus is to be eating anything at all. Martha was serving everyone, and Mary took a pint of expensive nard perfume, poured it on Jesus feet, and wiped it with her hair. 

This seems a little bit strange unless you understand the culture they lived in. 

Mary’s gift was remarkably humble. When a guest entered the home, usually the guest’s feet were washed with water and the guest’s head was anointed with a dab of oil or perfume. Here, Mary used this precious ointment and anointed the feet of Jesus. She considered her precious ointment only good enough for His feet. “To attend to the feet was the task of the most lowly slave. Thus Mary’s action denoted great humility as well as great devotion.” (Morris)

Judas complained about how the money could have been used for the poor. As Judas' later actions at the Last Supper showed, Judas cared about one thing ... himself. He was the keeper of the money bag, but helped himself to it when he felt like it. Jesus commended Mary for her extravagant act of worship, and connected it with his burial. This story is in all four gospels. 

 “Unusual expense at a funeral was not regarded as unseemly; why should anyone object if the ointment which would otherwise have been used to anoint his dead body in due course was poured over him while he was still alive and able to appreciate the love which prompted the action?” (Bruce)

The people gathered not only to see Jesus, but the man Jesus raised from the dead. While they continued to plot to kill Jesus, they also added Lazarus to the "hit list", because he was responsible for bringing even more people to Jesus. How could he not. If someone raised me from the dead, you can be sure I would be singing his praises for the rest of my life. But rather than being grateful that Lazarus was raised from the dead, they should the depravity of their hearts.

Jesus Comes to Jerusalem as King

As much as they tried to squelch the fervor surrounding Jesus, it only grew larger. Since it was the Passover festival, there were thousands of Jewish and other Gentile converts in town. Apparently they believed in Jesus, as they laid palm branches along the road and shouted, 

Hosanna! “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Blessed is the king of Israel!”

This large, enthusiastic crowd greeted Jesus with words from the Messianic Psalm 118:25-26. The cry Hosanna meant “save now,” and on this day the crowd received Jesus as a triumphant Messiah.

Jesus got on a donkey in fulfillment of another prophecy. 

Do not be afraid, Daughter Zion; see, your king is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt.”

Jesus did this both as a deliberate fulfillment of prophecy (Zechariah 9:9) and as a demonstration of the character of His kingdom. It was a spiritual kingdom, not a military kingdom. He came in peace, not war. - Guzik

Word of mouth spread regarding the signs and wonders Jesus was doing, and so more and more people flocked to see him. The Pharisees could remark, "See the whole world has gone after him!"  

Jesus Predicts His Death

Some of the pilgrims were Greek-speaking Jews, who came to the Passover. These may have been converts to Judaism, or possibly "God fearers!" They came to see Philip, who was also from the town of Bethsaida. Respectfully they said, "Sir, we would like to see Jesus."

We see a great model for evangelism. It says, "Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus."

Philip went to Andrew, and Andrew took him to Jesus. That is why Andrew was called "the bringer". This is what evangelism is all about. We just need to "bring people to Jesus!" 

We don't and can't convert anyone. It is only as people have a living encounter with Jesus will they come to know him. 

Jesus characterizes his impending death, as like a seed is falls on the ground, is broken, and dies. But as it dies, it produces many seeds. His death will bring the salvation of many souls. The idea of dying and producing fruit is the calling card of Jesus' disciples. We die "to self". and our need to conrol our lives, and we bear much fruit showing ourselves to be his disciples. 

We see Jesus struggling to give up his life. He says, "His soul is troubled". In another version it says, "His sweat was like drops of blood." One thing is for sure, Jesus experienced death on a cross just as we would. He was completely human. But Jesus says, "No it is for this hour I came to glorify your name."

Jesus obediently went to the cross for two reasons. First, in obedience to His Father. Second, because of his love for us. If you ever wondered if Jesus loves you just look up to the cross where he died for you. 

Belief and Unbelief Among the Jews

Even with all Jesus has done, there were still some who didn't not believe in him. Why? John quotes Isaiah the prophet who says,

“He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, so they can neither see with their eyes, nor understand with their hearts, nor turn—and I would heal them.” Isaiah 6:10

This passage can understandably be very challenging to understand. Why would God intentionally blind someone and harden their hearts, so they could not come to believe? Doesn't God want all people to be saved?

There are no easy answers to this question. Like every difficult question, we need to look at the whole counsel of the bible. We intepret difficult and obscure passages with those which are clear! These two excellent New Testament commentators provide helpful explanations.

“Not one of them was fated to be incapable of belief; it is made plain below (John 12:42) that some did in fact believe. But the OT prediction had to be fulfilled, and fulfilled it was in those who, as matter of fact, did not believe.” (Bruce)

“He does not mean that the blinding takes place without the will or against the will of these people. So with the hardening of their heart. These men chose evil. It was their own deliberate choice, their own fault.” (Morris)

John tells us that there were other Jewish leaders who did believe in Jesus, but they were afraid to stand up for their beliefs for fear of the Pharisees. Sometimes we need to confront our fears as we testify to our belief in Jesus. There were times in high school where it was difficult for me to stand up for Jesus, especially in situations where my decisions had to go against the crowds to be obedient. There were times I was faithful to stand for Jesus and other times I was not. Thank God for God's grace.

Though in other verses Jesus talks about the judgment he brings, in this passage says, 

“If anyone hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge that person. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. 48 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."

Although one day Jesus will come back to judge the living and the dead, here he is pointing to the fact that God the Father is the only who judges. But note this judgment is based on what someone does with the words Jesus has spoken. Jesus came to save the world, but there are those who will not accept His words. 

Today the same dynamic exists. Jesus loves everybody the same. He died for all people. But just like a gift cannot be appreciated or enjoyed until it is opened, Jesus' gift of eternal life needs to be accepted and opened and believed in faith. 

Have you opened the gift Jesus gave to you when he died for you on the cross? 

As John 1:12-13 said, "To all who received him, he gave them the right to become children of God. Children not born of flesh and blood, but born of God!"