The Full Extent of His Love

John 12:37-13:17 

Good morning, we will pick up today at the end of chapter 12 in the book of John.  Two weeks ago, we heard about Jesus’ return to Bethany.  He had been in hiding because the Jews were plotting to kill him after He had raised Lazarus from the dead.  Six days before Passover, there was a dinner given in Jesus’ honor.  At this dinner, Mary comes and anoints Jesus’ feet with a pint of purest perfume.  Everyone is shocked and even a bit embarrassed at this intimate display of love and some are indignant at this perceived “waste” of money.   Jesus rejects their complaint saying, “It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial.”  Carl pointed out that the strength of this perfume absorbed into Jesus’ skin would have lingered for days even until the crucifixion.

And things continue to accelerate toward that pinnacle event.  Last week, we heard about Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem.  Jesus arrives riding on a donkey as the people wave palm branches and lay them down before Him.  The crowds call out, “Hosanna! Blessed is the King of Israel!”  In the midst of this celebration, Jesus replies to the crowd, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.”

Do you ever watch political speeches, perhaps, the State of the Union address?  Sometimes there’s so much clapping, you wonder if they will ever get through the speech.  The crowds are likely shouting out “Hurrahs!” and “Hosannas!” at the top of their lungs.  They are ready to crown a king.  But perhaps the crowds are silenced or at least begin muttering among themselves as Jesus says, “I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed.”  And they are surely silenced as he goes on to talk about how a man who loves his own life will lose it, but the one who loses his life will keep it.

Father, Glorify Your Name

John 12:12-36

Welcome! Today we continue our exploration into the book of John, focusing on the middle of Chapter 12. Last week we read about how Jesus and His disciples had spent an extended time away from Jerusalem in a remote village on the edge of the desert called Ephraim because the Jewish leaders were actively plotting to kill Him. But at long last, just about a week before the Passover, Jesus and His disciples left Ephraim and went towards Jerusalem, stopping at a nearby town called Bethany. Bethany was the location where, earlier, Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead. When Jesus came into Bethany, everyone recognized Him, and a meal was prepared in His honor.

Sometime during the meal, Mary came up to Jesus with about a pint of an extremely expensive perfume and poured it all on Jesus’ feet, wiping His feet with her hair. This perfume, made of pure nard, had an extremely strong smell; even a few drops were potent. A jar of it had to be overwhelming. A speaker at the recent Faithwalkers conference suggested that Jesus probably smelled of this perfume even at the crucifixion, and I think he was probably correct. Judas complained about the extravagance, saying that it could have been used for the poor, but Jesus defended Mary, saying “Leave her alone. It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of My burial.”

Extravagant Perfume

John 11:45-12:11

Welcome! This is a welcome forward, to 2013. But it is also in a sense a welcome back, back to the incredible book of John. We began going into the book of John back in January of 2012, in which we spent a month looking at John Chapter 1. We took some time with other series after looking at John 1, but in April and May we went up through John 5, and from August until October, we continued in John up through most of John 11.

Today I want to begin by pointing out some recurring themes we have seen in the book of John so far. Starting from the very beginning of John: 

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood [overcome] it. – John 1:1-5