Seeking before Hiding
Reading: John chapter 12 verses 1-50.
Quote:
• Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is mystery.
• Today is a gift. That’s why it’s called the present!
Ill:
Time video clip.
Quote:
• Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is mystery.
• Today is a gift. That’s why it’s called the present!
Quote:
• It is sadly ironic how it takes horrific events to place things into perspective,
• But it so often does.
• In the U.S.A. on September 11th 2001.
• 2,974 people died as an immediate result of terrorist attacks by al-Qaeda,
• Many of us saw the pictures, the events happening on our TV screens;
• And I guess those images will stay with us throughout our lives.
• One preacher Doug Kershaw wrote these words in one of his sermons:
• Entitled ‘What a Difference A Day Makes’:
“On Monday we emailed jokes.
On Tuesday we did not.
On Monday we thought that we were secure.
On Tuesday we learned better.
On Monday we were talking about heroes as being athletes.
On Tuesday we relearned who our heroes are.
On Monday we were irritated that our rebate checks had not arrived.
On Tuesday we gave money away to people we had never met.
On Monday there were people fighting against praying in school.
On Tuesday you would have been hard pressed to find a school where someone was not praying.
On Monday people argued with their kids about picking up their room.
On Tuesday the same people could not get home fast enough to hug their kids.
On Monday people were upset that they had to wait 6 minutes in a fast food line.
On Tuesday people didn't care about waiting up to 6 hours to give blood to the dying.
On Monday we waved our flags signifying our cultural diversity.
On Tuesday we waved only the American flag.
On Monday there were people trying to separate each other by race, sex, colour and creed.
On Tuesday they were all holding hands.
On Monday we were man or woman, black or white, old or young, rich or poor, gay or straight, Christian or non-Christian.
On Tuesday we were Americans.
On Monday politician argued about budget surpluses.
On Tuesday grief stricken they sang "God Bless America".
On Monday the President was going to Florida to read to children.
On Tuesday he returned to Washington to protect our children.
On Monday we had families.
On Tuesday we had orphans.
On Monday people went to work as usual.
On Tuesday they died.
On Monday people were fighting the 10 commandments on government property.
On Tuesday the same people all said "God help us all" while thinking "Thou Shall Not Kill".
• It is sadly ironic how it takes horrific events to place things into perspective,
• But it so often does.
• In John 12, Jesus begins his last week on earth.
• Pain, rejection, and death await Him,
• YET he can face it all because He has accepted God's plan,
• 1 Peter chapter 2 verse 23: "Entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously"
(1). A Survey of the Final Week
• After Jesus brought Lazarus back to life,
• The infuriated Pharisees made serious plans to kill Him.
• But Jesus was always one step ahead of the Pharisees;
• They would not take his life, he would give it!
• He would lay down his life when the time was right!
• When he decided, it would be his choice not theirs!
• So (chapter 11 verses 53-54) Jesus withdrew with His disciples to Ephraim,
• Ephraim was a remote city north of Jerusalem, it was on the edge of the Judean desert.
Notice:
• At this juncture, Jesus begins to alter His ministry.
• Three very important changes take place:
• FIRST, He changes His public outreach to a private one-
• He moves from seeking the multitudes to sequestering Himself with the disciples.
• Chapter 12 verse 36b:
• “When he had finished speaking, Jesus left and hid himself from them”.
• SECOND, He shifts His emphasis away from signs to teaching.
• He concentrates on quiet, intimate conversation with His disciples;
• That is what takes place in chapters 13-17.
• In fact, the raising of Lazarus is the last sign of Jesus until His own Resurrection.
• AND THIRD, He reduces His travels,
• Returning to Jerusalem and staying there (12: 12).
• He's not out evangelising;
• He's preparing to leave and preparing the disciples for His departure.
Pause:
What about Your Last Week?
• If you knew you had only one more week to live,
• How would you spend your time?
• I guess it would show us what is really important to you?
• It would be a stark reminder as to our current priorities in life!
Ill:
Jam jar and stones.
• Using a large clear jar already filled “full” with large stones,
• Ask the congregation if the jar is full.
• Then take a container of smaller stone and pour them into the container;
• So that they fill the cracks and ask again, “is the jar full?”
• Again take sand and pour the sand into the container and ask,
• “is the jar full?”
• By this time the congregation has caught on and hesitant to say “yes.”
• Take water and pour it into the container until it is truly full;
• And ask again is the container full?”
• The real point is that the large stones represent our priorities,
• And unless we place them in first the stuff of life comes in to crowd them out.
• Taking one of these stones out;
• Would cause the other things to fill in around it taking its place,
• And so it is in our lives,
• If we don’t set our priorities first everything else will fill its place.
Quote:
“Time and priorities go hand in hand.
God wants our time to reflect the priorities he has given to us.
In fact, I don’t think we will ever be truly satisfied with our management of time until our schedule reflects God’s priorities”.
When you look closely at Christ's last days before the Cross.
• Notice that he chose to spend His final moments with those most dear to him,
• He chose to spend His final moments with His closest friends.
• This year, this month, this week, this day, could be your last.
• How are YOU investing your time?
(2). A Study of the First Part of the Week
As this last week unfolds, the things Jesus does and says are of top priority.
• He's still in the public eye at the beginning of the week,
• And John captures three events in his twelfth chapter.
(A). Six days before (vs 1-11).
• After His stopover in Ephraim,
• Jesus is back in Bethany as the guest of honour at a dinner party.
• Relaxing around the table with Him are the disciples and Lazarus.
• While Martha serves them,
• In verse 3:
• Mary enters the room with a dramatic gesture.
“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”.
Mary performs this worshipful act of love with no regard for appearance.
• Respectable Jewish women never let their hair down in public,
• Nor did they sit around the dinner table with Jewish men.
• But notice Judas, doesn't condemn her for these cultural failings.
• Instead he condemns her extravagance.
• Verse 5:
• “Why wasn't this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year's wages”.
That sounds noble, doesn't it?
• But John the writer of this gospel informs us that Judas' response was not so pure.
• Verse 6:
“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.”
• Judas is really thinking to himself;
• She is wasting money that I could have helped myself to!
• Judas was the treasurer for the disciples,
• That meant he was seen as the most trusted man in the group.
• But Jesus, who sees fully the betrayal in his heart (see verse 4),
• Defends Mary's selfless devotion.
“Leave her alone, Jesus replied.
It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial.
8 You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.”
• Mary is symbolically preparing Jesus' body for burial,
• After all when they go to the tomb to anoint the body it won’t matter;
• Because the victim is dead.
• The victim cannot appreciate the spices because it is only a corpse;
• But Jesus is alive at this point in time
• And so he can fully appreciate the act of devotion done to him by Mary.
Pause and note The Other Guest in the story:
• John says that this dinner party is for Jesus (v. 2),
• But another guest draws quite a bit of attention too.
• In verse 9, we see that a great crowd has gathered outside the house,
• Not just to see Jesus, "but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He raised from the dead."
• Lazarus is a living miracle, dead for 4 days and then raised back to life again by Jesus.
• And, by merely living, he's spreading the gospel. He is a walking visual aid!
• No wonder the chief priests want Lazarus dead too (verse 10)
• His very life bears witness to Jesus' c1aims.
Application:
• Like Lazarus, our lives speak the gospel to others.
• For good or for bad,
• We influence those around us every day.
• Are we drawing them to Christ? Or are we pushing them away?
Ill:
The young salesman was disappointed about losing a big sale,
• And as he talked with his sales manager he lamented,
• “I guess it just proves you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink.”
• The manager replied,
• “Son, take my advice: your job is not to make him drink. Your job is to make him thirsty.”
• So it is with evangelism.
• Our lives should be so filled with Christ that they create a thirst for the Gospel.
B. Five days before (vv. 12-19).
• John next transports us from the sleepy village of Bethany;
• To the bustling metropolis of Jerusalem.
• With Passover just five days away,
• The city is bursting with people who have come to celebrate.
At Passover during the time of Christ:
• A constant stream of humanity made its way towards Jerusalem.
• Devout Jews poured in from all corners of the world;
• To worship Jehovah in the mountain of His holiness.
• Every male Jew who lived within 15 miles of Jerusalem had to attend 3 times a year:
• At Passover, at Pentecost, and at the Feast of Booths or Tabernacles.
• But for many others who lived very far from Jerusalem,
• The lengthy pilgrimage at Passover was the fulfilment of a once-in-a-lifetime dream.
The number of permanent residents in the Jerusalem at the time of Jesus:
• Was about six hundred thousand.
• A conservative estimate, is that during Passover it went up to about two million people.
• That means at Passover, the visiting pilgrims;
• Swelled the city's population to almost four times its normal size.
With Passover just five days away:
• The city is bursting with people who have come to celebrate.
• Many of them had heard about Jesus bringing Lazarus out of the tomb;
• Some had actually been there, eye witnesses to this incredible event.
• It was the talk of the town, the number one topic for gossip.
• Because this miracle worker was coming to their city!
• And who knows what might happen next?
Verses 12b-15:
“The next day the great crowd that had come for the Feast heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem.
13 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!
14Jesus found a young donkey and sat upon it, as it is written,
15Do not be afraid, O Daughter of Zion; see, your king is coming, seated on a donkey's colt.”
The Pharisees can't believe their eyes.
• The way Jesus entered into Jerusalem was calculated and quite deliberate:
• He was claiming to be the promised king;
• He was claiming to be the Messiah that the people had been waiting for.
• His entrance was fulfilling an Old Testament prophecy.
• 500 years before Jesus walked on planet earth;
• A man called Zechariah wrote these words (chapter 9 verse9).
"Rejoice greatly; O Daughter of Zion!
Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See your King comes to you,
righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey".
• And in verses 14- 15 of John chapter 12:
• We will read of this prophecy being fulfilled
• Quote: “There were no accidents in the life of Christ”
• He was a person destined to experience certain events.
• The script had been written in heaven;
• And the people were watching it being acted out in front of their very eyes.
Ill:
• We tend to think of a donkey as a lowly animal;
• But to the Jew it was a beast fit for a king:
• Israel’s greatest King, David rode on one (1 Kings chapter 1 verses 33-34).
• In war, kings would ride horses, but in peace, they entered the city riding donkeys.
Quote Ken Gire in his book 'Intense moments with the saviour':
"In so coming Jesus forces the hand of the religious aristocracy.
After this public act, they would have to cast a public vote.
No more meetings behind closed doors. No more plotting in private.
They would have to come out in the open.
They would have to confess him or curse him.
Crown him or kill him".
So the Pharisees can't believe their eyes.
• They knew the claim that Jesus was making;
• And they had the visual reminder of Lazarus as living evidence of those claims.
• Virtually all the priests were Sadducees,
• That meant they did not believe in the resurrection of the dead.
• Ill: Old Joke that’s why they were ‘Sad-U-see’!
• Ill: These Pharisees having to see Lazarus;
• Were like members of the Flat Earth Society watching undeniable evidence that the world is round!
So the Pharisees got more and more annoyed;
• Because more and more people were putting their faith in Jesus;
• The one who had given him life!
• This local man Lazarus;
• Was causing the Pharisees so much trouble (verses 17-18):
17” 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.
18 Many people, because they had heard that he had given this miraculous sign, went out to meet him.”
• The more they tried to ignore him or shut him up;
• The more the people flocked to see him.
• Ill: Like a celebrity at a book signing to promote their latest bio;
• These people all wanted a piece of the action!
Verse 19 sows us that they realize they've lost their grip on the peoples hearts.
“So the Pharisees said to one another, See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!”
Ill:
Doug Barnett was a man who planted an assembly, a Church in Pembroke Dock, Wales.
• Not only did he start a Church but he started a Bible college.
• In fact it was a school of evangelism.
• Some of you know Ivor Cooper (Holiday Club/Mission),
• Ivor trained there for a few years.
• I remember hearing Doug preach and talk about the Church plant;
• And Doug said; ‘That the Church prayed for a Lazarus’.
• He meant of course a conversion of someone who would impact the community;
• It could not go unnoticed and would draw folks along to see what had happened.
(3). Four days before (vs 20-50).
• Once again John changes the scene without warning;
• And he introduces a third set of characters.
Verses 20-21:
“Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the Feast.
21 They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. Sir, they said, we would like to see Jesus”.
These Greeks were God-fearing Gentiles:
• They were probably not yet proselytes (converts to Judaism);
• But they were attracted too and admired much of what they saw in Judaism.
• The Greeks had hundreds of their own gods they were polytheistic;
• But many people were ‘put off’ Greek religion by the immorality that accompanied it.
• They became attracted too and seekers of the Jewish religion.
• They came regularly to the Jewish feasts, seeking for the things of God.
• Now because Philip has a Greek name,
• Perhaps this group thinks he will be sympathetic to their request.
• Unsure of what to do, Philip goes to Andrew;
• And together they bring the request to Jesus5 (v. 22).
Note:
• I am sure you are aware that Andrew is mentioned three times in the Bible.
• And each time he is bringing someone to Jesus (John 1:40-42, 6:8-9, 12:22)
Ill:
• The New Testament records tell of forty people,
• Each suffering from some disease, who had been healed by Jesus.
• Of this number, thirty-four were either brought to Jesus by friends
• Or Jesus was taken to them.
• In only six cases out of forty did sufferers find their way to Christ without assistance."
• I guess the application is obvious!
Jesus answers Andrew & Philip in verse 23:
“Jesus replied, The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.”
• Notice that Jesus responds as though the Greeks aren't even present.
• His mind is preoccupied with one thing-His death.
Note:
• From this verse the end of the chapter, Jesus presents His last public teaching,
• In this final teaching to the crowds; He says four major themes.
• FIRST (verses 23-28, 32):
• The cross is imminent,
• We know that it was only four days away (72 hours, 4320 minutes):
• SECOND: The pain is great (verse 27).
• THIRD, the need is urgent (verses 35-36)
• FOURTH, the response will be varied (verses 37, 42, 43);
• Some will accept him, while others will reject him
(4). Application. 3 principles to note:
(1). Salvation is not limited to certain types.
• Judas was Christ's disciple, the trusted treasurer.
• But he defected.
• Mary was emotional and unconventional,
• Yet she embraced Christ with all her heart.
• Likewise, the Jews in the street believed Him, the Greeks were in awe of Him,
• But the religious officials rejected Him.
(2). Worship is not limited to specific times.
• We can worship God anywhere and at any time.
• Mary worshiped at the dinner table.
• The crowd worshiped in the street.
• The Greeks worshiped as He spoke.
• There is no limit to when we can worship,
• And sometimes our most meaningful worship times are spontaneous.
(3). Christianity is not lived on selfish terms.
The Christian life is a paradox:
• To keep, we must give ... to be great, we must serve ... to live, we must die.
• And not until we die will we realize the real joy of giving, or the emptiness of keeping.
