John 12
Jesus’ Anointing
12:1 Then, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom he had raised from the dead.
While the enemies of Jesus were preparing His death, the friends of Jesus were preparing His dinner.
12:2 So they prepared a dinner for Jesus there. Martha was serving, and Lazarus was among those present at the table with him.
Martha was the hostess serving her guests.
12:3 Then Mary took three quarters of a pound of expensive aromatic oil from pure nard and anointed the feet of Jesus. She then wiped his feet dry with her hair. (Now the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfumed oil.)
This was very expensive perfume from northern India. It was only to be used for special occasions. This was not Mary Magdalene, but Mary the sister of Lazarus and Martha, who placed herself in a servant role.
12:4 But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was going to betray him) said,
Judas was a zealot who wanted to use violence and terrorism to free Israel from Rome.
12:5 “Why wasn’t this oil sold for three hundred silver coins and the money given to the poor?”
Mary was performing a wonderful act of worship, but she was criticized by a skeptic. Modern day skeptics still do this today.
12:6 (Now Judas said this not because he was concerned about the poor, but because he was a thief. As keeper of the money box, he used to steal what was put into it.)
Jesus intentionally chose a thief to be the treasurer for His ministry.
12:7 So Jesus said, “Leave her alone. She has kept it for the day of my burial.
Mary had enough Bible doctrine to believe what no one else would believe.
12:8 For you will always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me!”
Jesus will only be on the earth for six more days. As long as Satan is “the god of this world,” there will be poor. When Christ returns and establishes the Millennial Kingdom, there will only be prosperous people.
12:9 Now a large crowd of Judeans learned that Jesus was there, and so they came not only because of him but also to see Lazarus whom he had raised from the dead.
The Judeans possessed more light than anyone. They should have been the first to believe on the Messiah. Instead, they plotted His murder.
12:10 So the chief priests planned to kill Lazarus too,
Man is so totally depraved and evil that he will wipe out any evidence of God. He will think that he is actually doing good.
12:11 for on account of him many of the Jewish people from Jerusalem were going away and believing in Jesus.
Lazarus was a living example of the resurrection power of Jesus. The Jews who were leading Israel were placed in position by Satan himself. He was the father of the Jewish leadership. He would use his own sheep to eliminate evidence of the one true God.
The Triumphal Entry
12:12 The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem.
Large crowds of devout Jews from all over the Roman Empire attended the Passover ceremonies. Jesus always taught a large audience at the festivals.
12:13 So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him. They began to shout, “Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the king of Israel!”
The Jews were singing Psalm 118:25. They were praising Jesus as the Messiah. The Hebrew word “hosanna” means “save me.” Jesus was the One coming in the name of the Lord. Jesus is the messianic King of Israel. He will not claim His kingdom until all of Israel sings this Psalm. Many of the Jews were His enemy at this time.
12:14 Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written,
Jesus rode an unbroken colt into Jerusalem. Generals entered cities on war horses. Kings bringing peace entered cities on donkeys.
12:15 “Do not be afraid, people of Zion; look, your king is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt!”
This was a prophecy from Zechariah 9:9 which was written four hundred years before Jesus was born. The King of Israel entered not on a war horse, but on an unbroken donkey colt.
12:16 (His disciples did not understand these things when they first happened, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written about him and that these things had happened to him.)
The disciples did not recall this prophecy until after Jesus ascended into heaven. Then, the Holy Spirit helped them recall these events and match them to the prophetic scriptures.
12:17 So the crowd who had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead were continuing to testify about it.
After Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, the believers and enemies testified of these events.
12:18 Because they had heard that Jesus had performed this miraculous sign, the crowd went out to meet him.
Everyone in Jerusalem for the Passover wanted to meet the Messiah who raised Lazarus from the tomb.
12:19 Thus the Pharisees said to one another, “You see that you can do nothing. Look, the world has run off after him!”
The Pharisees were losing disciples and Jesus was gaining disciples.
Seekers
12:20 Now some Greeks were among those who had gone up to worship at the feast.
These were not Gentile proselytes, but “Gentiles at the Gate.” These Greeks knew that there was nothing to the Greco-Roman polytheistic system. They knew there was one true God, but they did not want to commit to the rituals of Judaism. Therefore, they were worshipping in the Court of the Gentiles.
12:21 So these approached Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and requested, “Sir, we would like to see Jesus.”
These Greeks could not enter into the Court of the Jews, or they would be executed. Therefore, they sent Philip into the Court of the Jews to talk to Jesus.
12:22 Philip went and told Andrew, and they both went and told Jesus.
Philip was a Jewish disciple of Jesus, but he possessed a Greek name. He most likely spoke Greek as well.
12:23 Jesus replied, “The time has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.
The Son of Man is the messianic title given by the prophet Daniel. The Son of Man will defeat the Antichrist and end Gentile control of Jerusalem. The Son of Man will establish a literal 1000 year (millennial) kingdom.
12:24 I tell you the solemn truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains by itself alone. But if it dies, it produces much grain.
When a kernel dies and is buried, it produces a large field of crops. When Jesus dies and is buried, He will also produce a large crop.
12:25 The one who loves his life destroys it, and the one who hates his life in this world guards it for eternal life.
This is the great paradox of life. The one who loves the satanic world system will lose his soul. The one who hates the satanic world system will live with Christ in eternity.
12:26 If anyone wants to serve me, he must follow me, and where I am, my servant will be too. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.
The meaning of life is to serve Christ. Anyone who does not serve Christ is wasting his life.
12:27 “Now my soul is greatly distressed. And what should I say? ‘Father, deliver me from this hour’? No, but for this very reason I have come to this hour.
Jesus came to suffer on the cross. He was to be separated from the Trinity with all of the sins of the world placed upon Him. Jesus did not look forward to this separation from God the Father and God the Holy Spirit.
12:28 Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.”
Jesus did not come to glorify Himself. He came to glorify God the Father. God the Holy Spirit glorifies Christ. The Holy Spirit does not seek glory for Himself. The voice of God came down from heaven.
12:29 The crowd that stood there and heard the voice said that it had thundered. Others said that an angel had spoken to him.
God is omnipotent. When He speaks, only the elect will hear His voice. Some heard the voice of God from heaven. Others thought it was the voice of an angel.
12:30 Jesus said, “This voice has not come for my benefit but for yours.
The voice was for the benefit of those who believe.
12:31 Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out.
After the atonement of Christ is accomplished, Satan will be driven out of the world.
12:32 And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”
When Jesus died on the cross, He drew both Jews and Gentiles to Himself.
12:33 (Now he said this to indicate clearly what kind of death he was going to die.)
Blasphemy under the Mosaic Law was death by stoning. Jesus died by crucifixion.
12:34 Then the crowd responded, “We have heard from the law that the Christ will remain forever. How can you say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this Son of Man?”
The crowd did not understand the Suffering Servant passage of Isaiah 53. They did not understand that Christ would suffer for the sins of the world at His first coming, but reign as an eternal king at His second coming.
12:35 Jesus replied, “The light is with you for a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, so that the darkness may not overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going.
Unbelievers, skeptics, atheists, and pagans are walking around this world in darkness. They have no idea where they are going. They are blinded by Satan. They are completely lost. They are so arrogant, that they do not realize that they are blind. They think believers are ignorant and they are the enlightened. Unless the Holy Spirit opens their eyes, they will remain in this state of deception. They will burn in the Lake of Fire forever.
Jesus is the light of the world. He knows the future. He knows where He is going. He knows that those who follow Him will be heading down the right path. Jesus will leave the earth in six more days. The powers of darkness will again come upon the world. During these dark days, the believers need to walk in the light. The light is Bible doctrine.
12:36 While you have the light, believe in the light, so that you may become sons of light.” When Jesus had said these things, he went away and hid himself from them.
The people of Israel will only have “the Light of the World” for six more days. They need to believe in the light, become sons of the Light or they will live in darkness for eternity. Jesus hid Himself from the Jewish religious leaders who were attempting to arrest Him and kill Him.
The Outcome of Jesus’ Public Ministry Foretold
12:37 Although Jesus had performed so many miraculous signs before them, they still refused to believe in him,
If a person is not called by God, then he is so depraved and evil, that he will reject God even if miracles are done right in front of his eyes. The Christ-rejecters will explain away the miracle and give credit to demonic sources.
12:38 so that the word of Isaiah the prophet would be fulfilled. He said, “Lord, who has believed our message, and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”
This is a quotation of Isaiah 53:1. 700 years before Jesus was born, Isaiah predicted that the Jewish nation would not believe in their own Messiah.
12:39 For this reason they could not believe, because again Isaiah said, 12:40 “He has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, so that they would not see with their eyes and understand with their heart, and turn to me, and I would heal them.”
This is a quotation from Isaiah 6:20. Since Jesus was rejected, God blinded the unbelievers from seeing the truth. The Word of God either softens or hardens the heart. It will not return back void.
12:41 Isaiah said these things because he saw Christ’s glory, and spoke about him.
Isaiah saw the glory of the Messiah 700 years before Jesus was born.
12:42 Nevertheless, even among the rulers many believed in him, but because of the Pharisees they would not confess Jesus to be the Christ, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue.
Many in high positions believed in Jesus, but they feared man rather than God.
12:43 For they loved praise from men more than praise from God.
Many carnal and baby Christians today are the same. They love the praise of man more than the praise of God.
Jesus’ Final Public Words
12:44 But Jesus shouted out, “The one who believes in me does not believe in me, but in the one who sent me,
God the Father sent God the Son.
12:45 and the one who sees me sees the one who sent me.
One cannot believe in God the Father without believing in God the Son. This is the mistake of the Jehovah Witnesses.
12:46 I have come as a light into the world, so that everyone who believes in me should not remain in darkness.
The dark world is the satanic world system. Jesus is the Shekinah Glory, the presence of God on earth. He brought light to the world so that those in darkness could see the truth. Even when a light shines, the blind still cannot see. The ones blinded by Satan will not be able to see the Light.
12:47 If anyone hears my words and does not obey them, I do not judge him. For I have not come to judge the world, but to save the world.
Jesus is the logos. The logos is the living Word of God. When He speaks, it is the same as God the Father speaking because Jesus is God in the form of a man. Jesus gave the words of eternal life. Jesus did not come to judge the world, but He came to save the world. God the Father will judge the Christ-rejecters at the Great White Throne Judgment.
12:48 The one who rejects me and does not accept my words has a judge; the word I have spoken will judge him at the last day.
Those who reject the words of Jesus will be judged by their own words at the Great White Throne Judgment.
12:49 For I have not spoken from my own authority, but the Father himself who sent me has commanded me what I should say and what I should speak.
Jesus was the Second person of the trinity, equal with God the Father, but he joyously and humbly placed Himself under the authority of God the Father. The husband-wife relationship is to follow this example.
12:50 And I know that his commandment is eternal life. Thus the things I say, I say just as the Father has told me.”
The commandment of God the Father was to believe on God the Son for eternal life. Jesus gave the Jews of that day divine revelation from God the Father.