When You Have Been Blessed

"WHEN YOU HAVE BEEN BLESSED"

by Robert E. Dyson

Pastor, Mt. Holy Baptist Church

Tonight I want to continue preaching through the book of John. I want for us concentrate our focus on the first of three key events surrounding the last days of the life of Jesus. First, the supper that was held in his honor in Bethany, Second, the Lord’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem, when he fulfills the prophecies of Zechariah concerning the King of the Jews. Thirdly, John focuses on the reaction of Jesus to a group of Greeks whom asked to see him while he was in the city to celebrate the Passover.

Tonight from Jn 12: 1 - 3, I want to speak from the subject of "WHEN YOU HAVE BEEN BLESSED".

JN 12:1 Six days before the Passover, Jesus arrived at Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2 Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. 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.

Introduction

Have you every greeted a fellow Christian or neighbor with the question how are you doing only to be told by him or her I am blessed? It has become a common experience to here people talk about how blessed they are. This common occurrence has caused me to pause here to night and for a few moments take a look and see what happens to a person when they really have been blessed by God. I must confessed that the problem that I had was that a lot of people

That I hear spouting and shouting I am blessed are fellowship dropouts, and they manifest no visible commitment to Christ, The church or the things of God. So this created a dilemma for me, I had their public profession of blessedness on one hand and the absences of faithfulness and obedience on the other.

Let me clearly state that I don’t believe we have to wear crosses, priest collars or wear sign around of necks to let people know that we are children of God and that we are blessed. The bible, the bible says in Mt 5:16 let your light so shine before men. This is the mandate that we operate under and it comes directly from the master. The songwriter said, "Oh what a wonderful change has come into my life since Jesus came into my life", and tonight I want to look at this text and lift out some timeless principals from this portrait of a blessed family. In our last message Jesus was calling Lazarus from the grave. Tonight John begins his countdown to the crisis of the cross, by continuing the sequel to the resurrection of Lazarus. Walk with me, for a moments if you will.

Body

John introduces the sequel to us in the closing verses of Chapter 11:

Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and many went up from the country to Jerusalem before the Passover, to purify themselves. They were looking for Jesus and saying to one another as they stood in the temple, "What do you think? That he will not come to the feast?" Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if any one knew where he was, he should let them know, so that they might arrest him. {John 11:55-57 RSV}

I believe these verses are important to our understanding of our text because they convey the atmosphere that prevailed in Jerusalem just before this Passover. Josephus, the Jewish historian, has written that during the Passover the population of the city frequently rose to more than three million people. Now, remember if you will that there were no hotels (Holiday Inns)or motels(Circle 8’s) to accommodate these vast numbers, so people camped out on the hillsides, stayed with friends, or rented or if fortunate borrowed homes. They came from all over Palestine and also from many foreign countries, coming, as John writes, to "purify themselves" in anticipation of the Passover and as John declares of some "they were looking for Jesus." I would that you understand that by this time Jesus had become notorious throughout the whole countryside. I submit unto you that Jesus had become the orginal public enemy number one or bad boy. He was the sensation of the nation, men and women everywhere were talking about Jesus. No group could gather anywhere without the conversational topic focusing in on Jesus. The talk was so much so that the Pharisees had put out a warrant for his arrest. Let’s imagine for a moment, can you hear the religious patrol passing the word Attention! Attention be on the look out for Jesus. Hair like lams wool, feet like brass coals, eyes so lovely yet like fire, last know address Nazzareth. Attention be on the look out, suspect is considered dangerous can’t you hear them. As far as the Sanhedrin was concerned, he was Public Enemy No. 1. If we imported this sence into our modern culture his picture would be up in the post office, his picture would be flashing across the television screens. A special edition of America’s Most Wanted would be aired featuring Jesus. The pilgrims now gathering for the feast wondered if he would dare show himself in defiance of the authorities. Thus we see the a group whom I will call the curious, they were uncertain as to whether or not he would appear, they were on the lookout for the notorious prophet from Galilee whom had been painted with a dark brush by the propaganda campaign of the powers that be of that day.