Jeff Englund

March 22, 2019March 26, 2019

On the Map – John 12: 19

So the Pharisees said to one another, ”See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!”

John’s gospel includes many interesting tidbits. This verse is one of them.

The Pharisees, who have been plotting against Jesus say, “…this is getting us nowhere.” What is the “this” that they are referring to?

Verse 53 in chapter 11 tells us that they were plotting to take Jesus’ life. Then in verse 57, we learn that they had given orders. Anyone with information on Jesus’ whereabouts should report it. Then they could arrest him.

It seems clear from the context here that what was getting them nowhere was their plan to arrest Jesus. Waiting on someone to betray him wasn’t working out.

If their goal was to quietly take Jesus out of circulation, they were failing miserably.

March 21, 2019March 20, 2019

The Word – John 12: 17-18

Now the crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to spread the word. Many people, because they had heard that he had performed this sign, went out to meet him.

Why do people “spread the word?” People talk all the time, and often the talking is just to pass the time of day. It feels good to talk and have someone listen to us. Yet, spreading the word is different.

March 20, 2019March 19, 2019

Humility – John 12: 14-16

Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, as it is written:
”Do not be afraid, Daughter Zion;
see, your king is coming,
seated on a donkey’s colt.”
At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and that these things had been done to him.

These days, if visiting royalty were to come to town, or the President of the country, or even the Pope, they would be conveyed in a very nice limousine. They would also be accompanied by other people in more limousines. They might even have a police escort or other security around them.

Years before Jesus’ time, in the days of King David, people did something similar. When David’s son, Absalom, was plotting to take over the kingdom, he exalted himself by buying the fanciest chariot he could and then hiring fifty men to run ahead of him. (2 Samuel 15: 1)

Throughout time, the more important the person, the fancier the car, and the more people they have attending them.

Enter Jesus.

March 19, 2019March 16, 2019

Defiance – John 12: 12-13

The next day the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting,
”Hosanna!”
”Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
”Blessed is the king of Israel!”

Up to this point, John has skipped through three years of time rather quickly. In his gospel, John has given us a portrait of Jesus that emphasizes his divinity. Now we move into the second half of John’s gospel. In the next nine chapters, John covers the last few days of Jesus’ life before his crucifixion. In a way, it is if we have been watching a time-lapse movie of Jesus’ life. At this point, the movie abruptly shifts to slow motion. Now every moment is examined in minute detail.

We begin with an amazing closeup of Jesus as king.

John 11: 55 tells us, “When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, many went up from the country to Jerusalem for their ceremonial cleansing before the Passover.” Verse 56 adds, “They kept looking for Jesus…” Perhaps some of these people had been with Jesus when he fed the four thousand or the five thousand. Many of them likely knew someone Jesus had healed. Many had been healed themselves.

This point is the crescendo of Jesus’ ministry.

It looks like the worst fears of the chief priests are coming true! The crowds have decided that Jesus is king. They defy their instructions to report a sighting of Jesus and ignore the chief priests. Instead, they welcome Jesus with palm branches and shouts of “Hosanna!” Out in the open! Without fear of the chief priests!!

Let’s Discuss: If Jesus had been a man like any other, and not God, what might have happened at this point?

March 18, 2019March 16, 2019

Depravity – John 12: 10-11

So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well, for on account of him many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and believing in him.

I was watching a murder mystery on television the other night. At the end of the story, we discover the antagonist is an older woman who was spurned by her younger lover. She had killed the young man and ten years later killed three more times to protect her secret. When caught, she reveals that the reason she killed him was that he was unfaithful. “He was so depraved!” she complained. I marveled at the fact that her character could not see her own depravity.

March 17, 2019March 15, 2019

Pointer – John 12: 9

Meanwhile a large crowd of Jews found out that Jesus was there and came, not only because of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead.

As people gather around the house that Jesus is in, the crowd grows. Already the small dwelling was full. Jesus’ disciples, and the friends and family that Mary, Martha, and Lazarus may have invited are there. Now the crowd presses in.

Lazarus has become a sort of celebrity. Once dead, now alive, I am sure people had many questions for him. In every case, I suspect that the answer Lazarus gave was, “Jesus.”

March 16, 2019March 16, 2019

Pitch Perfect – John 12: 7-8

“Leave her alone,” Jesus replied. ‘’It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.”

As we see in every case where Jesus is attacked, his response is pitch perfect. He does not respond out of anger or out of fear. His perspective on the situation remains perfectly balanced. He knows who Judas is and what he will eventually do. (John 6: 70) So how does he respond?

March 15, 2019March 13, 2019

Perfect Moment – John 12: 4-6

But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, ”Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.” 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.

Have you ever experienced a perfect moment? Was it in a novel, a movie, a television ad with two people running towards each other in a field of flowers? Maybe it was even in real life?

This moment that Jesus and Mary were sharing, as she wiped the nard from his feet with her hair, was perfect. Jesus, Creator of the Universe, Giver of Life reclined at the table. Mary, one whom Jesus had freed from the power of Satan, whose brother is saved by Jesus, humbly washing his feet.

March 14, 2019March 14, 2019

Fragrance – John 12: 3

Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

Jesus has been invited to be the guest of honor in Bethany. Mary, Martha, and Lazarus are honoring their Lord. This would not have been a casual affair, at least not as I picture it. I see smiles and joy, but also a room full of awe. All the people in the house are in the presence of the one called Jesus, the one who raised Lazarus from the dead.

As the meal progressed, Mary comes and sits at Jesus’ feet. Luke 10: 38-42 records that this was not the first time Mary had sat at the feet of Jesus. The first time she sat in awe of what he said. This time she is in awe of who Jesus is.

In my mind’s eye, the room is full of people, and Jesus is the center of attention. The aroma of nard fills the room. Conversation stops, and now Mary is the center of attention. What is she doing?

March 13, 2019March 12, 2019

Celebration – John 12: 1-2

Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him.

Our last post ended with the Pharisees and the chief priests plotting to kill Jesus. Jesus retreats to Ephriam, a village about ten miles north of Jerusalem and Bethany. There he stays for a while. Meanwhile, John mentions that it is getting close to the time of the Passover festival. People are asking about Jesus, wondering if he will be there.

Apart from all this activity, Jesus bides his time. Then, six days before the Passover, Jesus arrives in Bethany.