Jesus enters Jerusalem
The Triumphal Entry
John 12:12The next day the great crowd that had come for the Feast heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. 13They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting,
“Hosanna![c]”
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”[d]
“Blessed is the King of Israel!” 14Jesus found a young donkey and sat upon it, as it is written,
15″Do not be afraid, O Daughter of Zion;
see, your king is coming,
seated on a donkey’s colt.”[e]
16At 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 they had done these things to him.
17Now the crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to spread the word. 18Many people, because they had heard that he had given this miraculous sign, went out to meet him. 19So the Pharisees said to one another, “See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!”
Have you ever been in the crowd when the President of the United States was speaking? When I was twelve years old President John F. Kennedy came to Arkansas to dedicate Greers Ferry Dam. He addressed the crowd on October 3, 1963, and later that day spoke at the State Fair and Livestock Show. My aunt checked my sister and me out of school so that we could be in the crowd.
I wonder how many twelve year olds were in the crowd that day when Jesus entered triumphantly to the sound of hosannas and the waving of palm branches? Did they realize the import of what was happening? Did they feel the electricity in the crowd? Did they know how that week would end?
It is important to remember that those crying “hosanna” were not the same people who one week later would be spitting upon Jesus as he went from court to court so that the authorities could legally put Him to death. And it is equally important to see that Jesus was fulfilling a prophecy from Zechariah as he rode into town. After all, most of the travel in Jesus’ day was on foot, so the fact that He arrived in Jerusalem on the back of a donkey was unusual for Him. And, a donkey was an animal of submission, a work animal, rather than a powerful steed which could have reinforced His followers’ belief that Jesus was a conquering King come to set the Israelites free from Roman rule.
Jesus, of course, was in Jerusalem to set His people free, but not from the bondage which they wanted to escape. Instead, He was there to set them, and all people, free from the bondage of sin.
Have you been set free from the bondage of sin, or are you still waiting for someone to free you from debt or some other obsession? The same Jesus who entered Jerusalem 2000 years ago is waiting to make a triumphant entry into your heart. Open your heart’s door and let the King of Kings make His home within you.
Mary anoints Jesus with perfume
John 12
Jesus Anointed at Bethany
1Six days before the Passover, Jesus arrived at Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. 3Then Mary took about a pint[a] 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.
4But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, 5″Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.[b]” 6He 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.
7″Leave her alone,” Jesus replied. ” It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. 8You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.”
9Meanwhile 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. 10So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well, 11for on account of him many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and putting their faith in him.
During the first century A.D. it was a common practice when a visitor entered a home in the Middle East to have a servant wash his feet. The roads were dusty, chances are the visitor had traveled by foot for a long distance, and foot washing was a sign of hospitality. But in this case, it was not a servant who washed Jesus’ feet, but a beloved follower, Mary, the sister of Lazarus whom Jesus had raised from the dead. And, Mary did not use water to cleanse Jesus’ feet, but a rare and expensive perfume.
Judas, ever concerned about money, criticized Mary for her generosity, saying she had foolishly wasted this precious substance. Jesus, however, made the point that what Mary did was good, and that this perfume had been saved just for this purpose.
I want Mary’s heart. I want to be so in love with my Savior that I am willing to spare no expense to show Jesus the love I have for Him. Father, let it be.
The plot to kill Jesus
The Plot to Kill Jesus
45Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, put their faith in him. 46But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. 47Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin.
“What are we accomplishing?” they asked. “Here is this man performing many miraculous signs. 48If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our place[c] and our nation.”
49Then one of them, named Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, spoke up, “You know nothing at all! 50You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.”
51He did not say this on his own, but as high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation, 52and not only for that nation but also for the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one. 53So from that day on they plotted to take his life.
54Therefore Jesus no longer moved about publicly among the Jews. Instead he withdrew to a region near the desert, to a village called Ephraim, where he stayed with his disciples.
55When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, many went up from the country to Jerusalem for their ceremonial cleansing before the Passover. 56They kept looking for Jesus, and as they stood in the temple area they asked one another, “What do you think? Isn’t he coming to the Feast at all?” 57But the chief priests and Pharisees had given orders that if anyone found out where Jesus was, he should report it so that they might arrest him.
Footnotes:
John 11:48 Or temple
Can you imagine yourself in the crowd outside of Lazarus’ tomb when the dead man walked from the darkness of the tomb and into the light of day? Would you believe a dead man was resurrected, or would you think it some sort of trickery?
The interesting thing about the Scriptures we are reading today is that the Chief Priests and Pharisees of the Sanhedrin did not suffer from disbelief. Instead, they were concerned that if Jesus were left alone to perform even more miracles that everyone would believe He was the Messiah, and the Romans would take both the temple and the nation, perhaps even dispersing the Jews again.
It is hard for us to understand how religion and politics were so intertwined during the time Jesus lived. And, for those of us who live in the United States we still are sometimes unable to comprehend the blending of these two elements that still exists in places like Iran and Iraq today. The fact is that the Sanhedrin (a judicial body made up of leaders from each sector in Israel) were less concerned with whether Jesus fulfilled the prophecies of the Messiah than with the possible negative implications toward the power they enjoyed by virtue of the Roman authorities.
I was talking with some Christians the other day who are also of Jewish descent. In fact one of them was raised in the Jewish faith and later converted to Christianity. They were attending a Bible study where the leader boldly proclaimed that the Jews were to blame for Jesus’ death.
It has been almost 2000 years since Jesus died yet we are still accusing the Jews of His death? Neither the Jews nor the Romans killed Jesus, but merely played their part in the sacrifice that was planned from the foundation of the world. Jesus left His home in heaven, voluntarily, to be born into this world to become the spotless lamb for sinnners slain (Phil 2:5-11). Jesus allowed the authorities to capture Him, voluntarily, and sentence Him to death upon a cross. And, Jesus remained on the cross, voluntarily, until He had taken the sins of the world upon Himself and His blood was shed to cover those sins and restore each of us to a right relationship with God the Father. Lastly, Jesus’ body remained entombed for three days, voluntarily, until He arose on that first Easter morning, victorious over sin, death and hell.
Do not be deceived. Regardless of how powerful the Sanhedrin thought itself to be, regardless of how much authority the Romans carried, neither of them could have captured, tried and put to death our Lord without His consent. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life,” John 3:16.
Believe.
If my people will pray
2 Chronicles 7:14 (New International Version)
14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
Yesterday, May 6, was the National Day of Prayer in the United States. I had sent emails to two of the Sunday School classes in our church to ask for participation in the events on the steps of our state Capitol building. Four of us attended the services, which sounds pretty pitiful until I tell you that there were probably not more than thirty-five people in attendance at the noontime service. We are in the Bible belt, and less than fifty people came to pray for our nation, for our churches, for our leaders, for our schools, for our businesses, and for the media.
What has happened in our churches and in our country? Do people see what is occurring both in America and abroad?
I have noticed a dearth of prayer in my own church for quite some time, and am convinced that the root of the problem is in the breakdown of the family. What we are seeing in our churches and in our land is a mere reflection of what is occurring in our homes. Our families are not praying the way we used to, or the way we need to, and because we have turned from our first love a deep and abiding apathy seems to have infected our lives. Will it take another 9/11 to send us to our knees or are we too far gone for even another national tragedy to drive us to repentance.
2 Chronicles 7:14 is not a suggestion, it is an offer of restoration made to us by the one true and living God. We can heed His call and be saved, or we can continue to turn away and suffer the consequences. The choice is yours. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. (Josh 24:15)
Jesus Raises Lazarus from the Dead
Jesus Raises Lazarus From the Dead
John 11:38Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. 39″Take away the stone,” he said.
“But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.”
40Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?”
41So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.”
43When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.
Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”
I have heard it said that Jesus’ words were so powerful, that had He not called out Lazarus by name that all of the dead in the tombs would have arisen. What a sight that would have been!
Look at the order of what occurred here.
- First, Jesus says, “take away the stone.”
- Next, Martha objects because the stench of death would be strong
- Jesus answers that He is about to reveal the glory of God
- Jesus thanks the Father for what He is about to do.
- Jesus calls Lazarus forth.
- Lazarus emerges.
Jesus and the Father were One, so He had no need to pray that God would resurrect Lazarus, He only needed to thank Him for what was about to happen. This miracle of God was not just an act of compassion, it was a foreshadowing of what would occur following Jesus’ death. It was yet another way to prepare the disciples for what was about to come.
There are so many parallels in the Scriptures, but we sometimes overlook them. I pray that as we read God’s word the depth of meaning would be revealed, and that the miracle of resurrection would bring new life to each of us.
Seeking Holiness 