Author: Michael Smith

Jesus was now laser focused and on mission.  He used this last night to complete the final preparation of His Apostles to build His church. As with any great servant leader, Jesus knew how to calm His friends’ fears and answer the questions that were troubling them.  Jesus first reminds the men that they are to believe in God and also believe in Him, the Messiah.  He was not abandoning them. He was only finishing the current assignment and preparing for His return to the Father. Jesus also revealed to them He would make things ready in heaven for their arrival, whereupon they would rule with Him.

Thomas, the guy that needs facts, was the first to jump in. If it were today, Thomas’ question might have been, “Siri, driving directions to the place where our master is going!”  While Thomas voiced the question, clearly, it was on the heart of all the men – “We need to know how to get to you, Lord!” 

That is when Jesus revealed one of the hardest principles to understand about this new life in Himself – getting to God is not a question of what to do or where to go, but rather the simple belief that He is Lord! His response to Thomas echos through the halls of faith – “EGO EIMI” – “I AM the way, the truth, and the life.  NO ONE comes to the Father, except through me.”

Reuniting with God will never be about our activity or our accomplishments. It will always be based soley on knowing Jesus and following His lead by faith. Jesus was God! He was and is the I AM. Jesus, as Emmanuel, (God with us) remains the answer to the impassable and impossible abyss that sin created between us and the Father.

Jesus was not simply one way to God. He was not a short cut. He was the only bridge that allowed us safe crossing into the kingdom of God. Even now, thousands of years later, we still struggle with the narrowness and exlusivity of God’s plan for redemption. We want some measure of control in shaping our destiny. It is simply not meant to be.  Since the beginning, God knew we could never earn our salvation; sin precluded that.

Jesus, with the unconditional love of the Father, took away any question. I AM the way, the truth, and the life.  There is no one that can crawl into the warm embrace of the eternal God by their own means.  Jesus knew that His main leadership had to grasp this truth before any other. 

God Bless You

“Do not let your heart be troubled; ^[a]believe in God, believe also in Me. ² In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. ³ If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also. ⁴ And you know the way where I am going.” ⁵ Thomas *said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, how do we know the way?” ⁶ Jesus *said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.

Oneness with the Father

⁷ If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him.”

⁸ Philip *said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” ⁹ Jesus *said to him, “Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? ¹⁰ Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works. ¹¹ Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; otherwise believe because of the works themselves. ¹² Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father. ¹³ Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. ¹⁴ If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.

For the next several days, we will be looking at Jesus’ last night with the apostles.  Judas had just gone out into the darkness of the night. With the tension of the impending betrayal behind Him, Jesus focuses upon His final discussion with these friends and disciples.  

Their night together was much like a graduation from Rabbi training. Graduation is always bittersweet and Jesus poured out some final and important truths to the graduates.  John pulls back the curtain and allows us inclusion into the final moments.

The items left for discussion were raw and real. Jesus began by simply telling the men that He was leaving and that where He was going, they could not follow. It sounded much like the discussion between Elijah and Elisha when Elijah passed the baton.  Disciples do not like being turned loose. It is frightening, uncertain, and often impossible to perpetuate the legacy that their master has built.

Peter was defiant!  He would die first before allowing anything to happen to the Master.  Jesus, as was His way, called Peter out on his comment.  “Before the rooster crows, You will deny me three times!” 

This had to be a gut punch to Peter. Hadn’t he always been loyal to a fault? He was the first to acknowledge Jesus as Messiah and he was the only disciple that stepped out in faith and walked on water. Now, for Jesus to question his loyalty was both hurtful and uncalled for…or so Peter thought. 

Jesus was focused on leaving these men with every principle they would need to build the Church.  As we listen in, we can also grasp and embrace these principles in our personal walks with God. Like the disciples, we will change lives and become the very people God has called us to be. So, strap in and get ready for the graduation lecture of a lifetime.

God Bless You

 Therefore, when he had gone out, Jesus *said, “Now ^[d]is the Son of Man glorified, and God ^[e]is glorified in Him; ^32 [f]if God is glorified in Him, God will also glorify Him in Himself, and will glorify Him immediately. ³³ Little children, I am with you a little while longer. You will seek Me; and as I said to the Jews, now I also say to you, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come.’ ³⁴ A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. ³⁵ By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

³⁶ Simon Peter *said to Him, “Lord, where are You going?” Jesus answered, “Where I go, you cannot follow Me now; but you will follow later.” ³⁷ Peter *said to Him, “Lord, why can I not follow You right now? I will lay down my life for You.” ³⁸ Jesus *answered, “Will you lay down your life for Me? Truly, truly, I say to you, a rooster will not crow until you deny Me three times.

As John began the discussion of Jesus’ last supper, he dealt with the painful topic of Jesus’ betrayal by Judas Iscariot. Jesus was acutely aware of Judas’ heart and plan to betray Him. Despite that, He continued to treat Judas with the same love and care as He had the other disciples.

However, now it was time for Judas to set the plan into motion. Jesus announced to the disciples that one of them would betray Him. John and Peter were seated close to Jesus and asked Him which disciple was the one.  Jesus dipped bread and handed it to Judas.  He told Judas to go quickly and do what he was going to do. John says at that moment Satan entered Judas and he went out into the night.

Many questions arise from that moment.  First, did Judas have a choice? This was an event that had been forcast throughout time, spoken of by the prophets and esential to the culmination of Jesus’ mission. The answer is yes. Judas could have chosen not to betray the Lord. 

One often mistakes God’s knowing all things and seeing all times at once as a means for God to push buttons and move pieces around. That is not how God has operated.  He knew Judas was never going to believe and trust Jesus. Still, Judas was given the same opportunity each of the apostles were given. He was treated with honor and trust, being the treasurer of the group. Judas just did not truly believe.

Next, would Jesus have forgiven Judas if he would have truly sought forgiveness? Jesus told us that the Father desired that none should perish.  I believe that included Judas. Still, Judas chose to reject Jesus. That choice left Judas with regret and remorse, but sadly, not with a desire to repent and follow Jesus. So, while it would have made for a great happy ending, it was simply not going to happen.

Finally, was Judas the only man who could have set in motion a plan for the Saviour’s betrayal? Absolutely not! Satan would love to redirect attention from the Lord’s act of love to the other minor players.  The plain fact is that Jesus was born to be the sacrificial lamb of God. The rest of those involved, while an integral part of the story, were not the reason for our salvation. Judas handed the Lord over for the price of a nice night out on the town.  Judas was a tragic character who simply did what so many others have done before and since.  He traded his chance to enjoy a wonderful life with God for a worthless treasure that led to death.

God Bless You

²¹ When Jesus had said this, He became troubled in spirit, and testified and said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, that one of you will ^[c]betray Me.” ²² The disciples began looking at one another, at a loss to know of which one He was speaking. ²³ There was reclining on Jesus’ bosom one of His disciples, whom Jesus loved. ²⁴ So Simon Peter *gestured to him, and *said to him, “Tell us who it is of whom He is speaking.” ²⁵ He, leaning back thus on Jesus’ bosom, *said to Him, “Lord, who is it?” ²⁶ Jesus then *answered, “That is the one for whom I shall dip the morsel and give it to him.” So when He had dipped the morsel, He *took and *gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. ²⁷ After the morsel, Satan then entered into him. Therefore Jesus *said to him, “What you do, do quickly.” ²⁸ Now no one of those reclining at the table knew for what purpose He had said this to him. ²⁹ For some were supposing, because Judas had the money box, that Jesus was saying to him, “Buy the things we have need of for the feast”; or else, that he should give something to the poor. ³⁰ So after receiving the morsel he went out immediately; and it was night.

³¹ Therefore when he had gone out, Jesus *said, “Now ^[d]is the Son of Man glorified, and God ^[e]is glorified in Him; ^32 [f]if God is glorified in Him, God will also glorify Him in Himself, and will glorify Him immediately. ³³ Little children, I am with you a little while longer. You will seek Me; and as I said to the Jews, now I also say to you, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come.’ ³⁴ A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. ³⁵ By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

³⁶ Simon Peter *said to Him, “Lord, where are You going?” Jesus answered, “Where I go, you cannot follow Me now; but you will follow later.” ³⁷ Peter *said to Him, “Lord, why can I not follow You right now? I will lay down my life for You.” ³⁸ Jesus *answered, “Will you lay down your life for Me? Truly, truly, I say to you, a rooster will not crow until you deny Me three times.

One of the first principals of servant leadership is grasping the truth that it is only possible if you’re confident in the role.  So many people think that “lowering oneself” to completing selfless acts for others is a sign of weakness. That is absolutely the polar opposite of reality.

John recounts Jesus washing the  feet of the disciples with a critical reminder for all servant leaders:

      “ ³ Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, 

         and that He had come forth from God and was going back to God…”

Emmanuel, God with us, knew all things and had title to all things.  Jesus was God and His death was the only way to restore the relationship between God and mankind.  It was from that place of confidence in who He was that gave Jesus the ability to strip down and wash feet.

As Jesus reached out and took hold of each man’s feet, He looked at them with the genuine love of God and served them as He knew one day, they would have to serve others. When Peter objected to the Lord washing his feet, Jesus told him that he would understand in full later, but that this act was of supreme importance.

Ironically, it was Peter that would later call out the Sanhedrin and tell them,  “You can decide whether or not it is right or wrong to talk about Jesus, but I am compelled to tell people what He has done for me!” It was Peter that would later shatter the wall between Jew and Gentile.  Finally, it was Peter, after receiving a death sentence, who asked humbly to be crucified upside down, saying he did not even merit dying the same way our Savior did! 

In our lives, the world screams that one must “Look out for old number one!” Sadly, that myopic focus completely nullifies any opportunity to be great. The “Me First” mentality only makes one small and insignificant in the sight of others. Sure, the selfish may get their way in the short term, but they will never leave a positive and lasting impact on those that pass through their lives.

 Jesus began the transformation of the world by showing that true greatness and power has to be wrapped in a humble heart and a confident, but selfless life. As His chosen, we can no longer be conformed to the pattern of this world.  Instead, like Peter, we must be transformed into His image by the renewing of our minds.  Romans 12:1-2.God Bless You

 ³ Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come forth from God and was going back to God, ⁴ *got up from supper, and *laid aside His garments; and taking a towel, He girded Himself.

Jesus Washes the Disciples’ Feet

⁵ Then He *poured water into the basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded. ⁶ So He *came to Simon Peter. He *said to Him, “Lord, do You wash my feet?” ⁷ Jesus answered and said to him, “What I do you do not realize now, but you will understand hereafter.” ⁸ Peter *said to Him, “Never shall You wash my feet!” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.” ⁹ Simon Peter *said to Him, “Lord, then wash not only my feet, but also my hands and my head.” ¹⁰ Jesus *said to him, “He who has bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you.” ¹¹ For He knew the one who was betraying Him; for this reason He said, “Not all of you are clean.”

¹² So when He had washed their feet, and taken His garments and reclined at the table again, He said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? ¹³ You call Me Teacher and Lord; and ^[b]you are right, for so I am. ¹⁴ If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. ¹⁵ For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you. ¹⁶ Truly, truly, I say to you, a slave is not greater than his master, nor is one who is sent greater than the one who sent him. ¹⁷ If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them. ¹⁸ I do not speak of all of you. I know the ones I have chosen; but it is that the Scripture may be fulfilled, ‘He who eats My bread has lifted up his heel against Me.’ ¹⁹ From now on I am telling you before it comes to pass, so that when it does occur, you may believe that I am He. ²⁰ Truly, truly, I say to you, he who receives whomever I send receives Me; and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me.”

John, sitting by his fire on Patmos, was recalling the high points of the week before Jesus was to surrender to His death. Unlike the synoptic writers, John was embracing and reporting those events that captured the true humanity of the Savior.

The apostles and Jesus were having a family moment.  They gathered to remember the deliverance of Israel and to break from the craziness of their week in Jerusalem. The apostles had no idea what was going on in the heart and mind of the Messiah!  Jesus was shuffling through the final mental index cards and paternal emotions to assure Himself that He had successfully completed the ministry and education necessary to release these men into the world-changing season called the “Church Age”.

Suddenly, Jesus stands up, strips down, and begins the ritual of washing these men’s feet.  It was as if the greatest Rabbi and teacher of all time saved the best lesson for last.  John highlights Peter’s reaction of shock and embarrassment.  He probably remembered Peter’s response because Peter was infamous for speaking his mind. 

This lesson would stay implanted in these men and spread to the hearts of all committed to a life of following Jesus.  Simply put, there is no act of service too menial to perform as a leader and teacher. Further, true leaders are not scratching their way to the top. Rather, they are wholly and completely focused on the mission and the care of their people.

If we could grasp that most critical lesson, then we would realize that Jesus did, in fact, save the best for last. Jesus had absolutely nothing left to prove and nothing left to lose. So, He chooses to drive home this point – highest and best leadership is found in a leader’s willingness to serve those under him.

Whether we are leading a few or leading an army, we are called to lead humbly.  In doing so, we are in no way diminishing our credibility or our authority; we are simply conforming to the image of our Lord and Savior.

God Bless You

Now before the Feast of the Passover, Jesus knowing that His hour had come that He would depart out of this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them ^[a]to the end. ² During supper, the devil having already put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, to betray Him, ³ Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come forth from God and was going back to God, ⁴ *got up from supper, and *laid aside His garments; and taking a towel, He girded Himself.

Jesus Washes the Disciples’ Feet

⁵ Then He *poured water into the basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded. ⁶ So He *came to Simon Peter. He *said to Him, “Lord, do You wash my feet?” ⁷ Jesus answered and said to him, “What I do you do not realize now, but you will understand hereafter.” ⁸ Peter *said to Him, “Never shall You wash my feet!” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.” ⁹ Simon Peter *said to Him, “Lord, then wash not only my feet, but also my hands and my head.” ¹⁰ Jesus *said to him, “He who has bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you.” ¹¹ For He knew the one who was betraying Him; for this reason He said, “Not all of you are clean.”

¹² So when He had washed their feet, and taken His garments and reclined at the table again, He said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? ¹³ You call Me Teacher and Lord; and ^[b]you are right, for so I am. ¹⁴ If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. ¹⁵ For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you. ¹⁶ Truly, truly, I say to you, a slave is not greater than his master, nor is one who is sent greater than the one who sent him. ¹⁷ If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them. ¹⁸ I do not speak of all of you. I know the ones I have chosen; but it is that the Scripture may be fulfilled, ‘He who eats My bread has lifted up his heel against Me.’ ¹⁹ From now on I am telling you before it comes to pass, so that when it does occur, you may believe that I am He. ²⁰ Truly, truly, I say to you, he who receives whomever I send receives Me; and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me.”

Jesus could sure read a room. As He saw the end approaching, He continued to make clear His mission.  While preaching to the crowds, Jesus knew and acknowledged that He was being watched by three unique groups. 

First, He was being watched by those that believed and wanted to follow Him. Jesus spoke clearly to reassure them that their discovery of the light of God would forever release them from the darkness of sin and death.

Next, Jesus was being watched by several of the Jewish elite that knew the Messiah was in their presence. Even with their knowledge of the Messiah, they could not acknowledge Him. If they did acknowledge Jesus, they would be kicked out of the Temple and lose their standing as the Jewish elite. They were the saddest of the bunch because they knew where their freedom from sin and death was standing, but like the rich young ruler, they were too attached to their prestige and acclaim to forsake it and follow Jesus.

Finally, there were those in the crowd that rejected the truth of Jesus and literally hated Jesus and wanted Him dead. They were the ones that should have been the first to bow the knee.  They knew Torah! They had the law, the poetry, and the prophecy practically memorized.

They watched as Jesus healed, freed, cleansed, and fed people and raised others from the dead. However, as Isaiah had prophesied hundreds of years before, “He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, so they can neither see with their eyes, nor understand with their hearts, nor turn—and I would heal them.” Isaiah 6:10.

There would never be enough signs, miracles, or revelations to sway that crew. Their hatred of Jesus was, in fact, a deeper hatred of God. There is an old joke that says, “God created man in His image, and man has been trying to return the favor ever since.” These men wanted God to check off their boxes for the Messiah.  God’s refusal to do so was an affront to them, and these men would have none of it!

In modern day, the same groupings observe the works of our Lord and just like the folks at the temple, they line up in the same way. The question each of us has to answer is, “In which  one am I going to stand?”

Please do not let the world or the things of the world stop you from submitting to the grace so freely offered. It would truly break the Father’s heart! 

If you find yourself considering the entire message of God to be ludicrous and there is no proof sufficient to sway you, sadly, you are in the last company. Like the Jewish elite, your real hatred for God has blinded your eyes and deafened your ears. Apart from the Holy Spirit doing a work to open your eyes and ears, you will never be convinced. 

Please understand, it will not be Jesus condemning you in the end.  He loves you and came to save you.  Your rejection of His love will lead to judgement.  That judgement will lead to eternal separation from the Lord. Let it never be!

God Bless You

³⁷ Even after Jesus had performed so many signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him. ³⁸ This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet:

“Lord, who has believed our message
    and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”^[h]

³⁹ For this reason they could not believe, because, as Isaiah says elsewhere:

⁴⁰ “He has blinded their eyes
    and hardened their hearts,
so they can neither see with their eyes,
    nor understand with their hearts,
    nor turn—and I would heal them.”^[i]

⁴¹ Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus’ glory and spoke about him.

⁴² Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not openly acknowledge their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; ⁴³ for they loved human praise more than praise from God.

⁴⁴ Then Jesus cried out, “Whoever believes in me does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me. ⁴⁵ The one who looks at me is seeing the one who sent me. ⁴⁶ I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.

⁴⁷ “If anyone hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge that person. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. ⁴⁸ There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; the very words I have spoken will condemn them at the last day. ⁴⁹ For I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me to say all that I have spoken. ⁵⁰ I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say.”

As the clock began to run down to the final moments, the Lord struggled with the mission and where things stood. While Jesus was completely God, He was also completely man.  John did a masterful job of pulling back the curtain and allowing us to see Jesus’ personal anguish and frustration.

In these final days, there was little left to be done.  Jesus was, in effect, telling the followers, “This is it! I am at the climax of my mission.  In these final days, Father, glorify your name.” Then God speaks audibly back, “I have glorified my name, and I will glorify it again!”

One has to wonder how many nights when Jesus would go off and pray that He and the Father had these open and two-way conversations.  It was kind of God and of John to let us in on one. Jesus had convinced many of His role as Messiah, but most had not yet understood that He was the Messiah for eternity.  He never claimed to be an earthly king, nor did He ever desire such a limited role.

As this final week moved forward, all would soon see what God’s promises and prophecy really meant. Jesus had not minced words, but none of these folks would be able to grasp the sacrifice or the payoff until it actually occurred.  God knew that, as did Jesus. Soon, His disciples would finally understand.  Once they understood, they would become firebrands and builders.  They would lead thousands to a relationship with the living Savior and begin to change the world.

It is great to be able to look back at the scene and know Jesus was God.  We do not have to struggle as the disciples did.  Still, we often underestimate His power in our lives and His leadership in our personal journeys.  

As His chosen, we must walk by faith, through all the circumstances placed in our path.  As we do, we need to glorify God with our attitudes and our actions.  We can never give up nor ever lose hope.  Jesus has and will complete His work in our lives until we either join the Lord in Heaven, or Jesus returns as the Mighty Warrior and reclaims the world.God Bless You

²³ Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. ²⁴ Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. ²⁵ Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. ²⁶ Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.

²⁷ “Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. ²⁸ Father, glorify your name!”

Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.” ²⁹ The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him.

³⁰ Jesus said, “This voice was for your benefit, not mine. ³¹ Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. ³² And I, when I am lifted up^[g] from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” ³³ He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die.

³⁴ The crowd spoke up, “We have heard from the Law that the Messiah will remain forever, so how can you say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this ‘Son of Man’?”

³⁵ Then Jesus told them, “You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. Whoever walks in the dark does not know where they are going. ³⁶ Believe in the light while you have the light, so that you may become children of light.” When he had finished speaking, Jesus left and hid himself from them.

There is absolutely no way that the apostles would have expected this trip to be their last one with Jesus.  With Lazarus alive and the crowds teaming everywhere that Jesus showed up, there was no reason for the disciples to embrace the grief that Jesus was carrying.

Jesus had been playing this tape over in His head since the dawn of creation. He knew that this sacrifice that He was about to make would literally kill Him and spiritually separate Him from the Father. The human factor must have been crushing to Jesus. 

Still, for Jesus it was time.  Jesus entered Jerusalem knowing that all the crowd would soon change their chants about His royalty into raging cries for His crucifixion. He spent these final days preparing His disciples for the chaos that was about to ensue. Jesus made it very clear that they needed to hold on loosely to life and its demands.  

We will never be able to fully comprehend how serious Jesus was about our need to trade our lives for relationship with God. As with Jesus, sometimes that trade is just a little inconvenience of embracing the lonely, healing the sick, or freeing those enslaved. Still, at other times the sacrifice may be as dramatic as leaving family, losing friends, or even giving up one’s life. 

Whatever the cost may be, we will never match Jesus’ sacrifice. Our Lord made His triumphal entry into Jerusalem knowing He would be giving up something that He had enjoyed for an eternity – life and fellowship with His Father in Heaven.

God Bless You

¹² The next day the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. ¹³ They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting,

“Hosanna!^[d]”

“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”^[e]

“Blessed is the king of Israel!”

¹⁴ Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, as it is written:

¹⁵ “Do not be afraid, Daughter Zion;
    see, your king is coming,
    seated on a donkey’s colt.”^[f]

¹⁶ At 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 these things had been done to him.

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 performed this sign, went out to meet him. ¹⁹ So the Pharisees said to one another, “See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!”

Jesus Predicts His Death

²⁰ Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the festival. ²¹ They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. “Sir,” they said, “we would like to see Jesus.” ²² Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus.

²³ Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. ²⁴ Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. ²⁵ Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. ²⁶ Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.

²⁷ “Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. ²⁸ Father, glorify your name!”

We often want the Bible to be a book where everyone does the right things for the right reasons. After all, this is God’s word; shouldn’t the stories in the word of God be uplifting and positive?  The fact is, God’s word is full of truth. One of the main truths in life and in the Bible is simply that men are an evil and wicked lot.

Jesus had just raised Lazarus from the dead.  The family (Lazarus, Mary, and Martha) wanted to say thank you. So, they hosted a celebratory dinner at their home in Bethany to honor Jesus. The story then turns sideways.  Mary anoints Jesus with an expensive perfume and uses her hair to dry His feet.

Judas Iscariot raises a fuss because the perfume could have provided more funds into the budget. (The budget he helped himself to). The Jewish people in the community heard Jesus was in town and poured in to see both Jesus and Lazarus.  Many had begun to follow Jesus as the Messiah, while others simply wanted to get a peek at the guy that was brought back from the dead.

Finally, other Jews were acting as spies and reporting Jesus’ activities to the Sanhedrin, who now were plotting not only Jesus’ death, but also Lazarus’ death as well.  

In the midst of all the fussing and plotting, Jesus stops and recognizes the kindness of His friend to anoint Him for His burial. The evilness of men had clearly become evident and as God sat among these people, only a very few were truly embracing the miracle that was Emmanuel–God with us.

In our day, little has changed.  We rush through our busy lives and as we look around, there is a great deal of fussing, evil, and intrigue.  Men are evil. Life has lost its value. Families have fallen into completely disarray. 

Even though God’s word is literally one click away at all times, we have lost the ability to focus upon the grace and greatness of God and our Savior, Jesus.  It is time to regain the passion of Mary, the only one in the room who showed her gratitude. Like Mary, we need to focus on Jesus and on what the Lord has done in our lives.  If we will, the white noise of the bickering and intrigue will fade out and we will be able to listen to the leading of God’s Spirit. We can once again be grateful for all He has done. 

God Bless You

1 Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to 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^[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.

⁴ But 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]” 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.

⁷ “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,^[c] but you will not always have me.”

⁹ Meanwhile 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. ¹⁰ So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well, ¹¹ for on account of him many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and believing in him.

After Jesus raised Lazarus, many Jewish observers believed. Still, some ran to the Pharisees and told on Jesus…It raised such a stir, that there was a special session of the Jewish theocratic government.  The High Priest, Caiaphas addressed the counsel who were literally in a panic as they realized they had become obsolete and somewhat a laughingstock to the people on the street.  

The Jewish elite had invested much time and energy to discredit the Lord, and now, He was winning the hearts of the people and devaluing the worth of the religious leadership.  They were literally concerned that Jesus’ popularity would drive them out of business and Rome would foreclose on the temple.

Caiaphas said in effect, one cannot underestimate the value of one man’s death saving a nation. It seemed like Caiaphas was being a bit sarcastic, but John stops and takes a moment to document the fact that the High Priest, sworn enemy of Jesus, had actually prophesied the sacrifice of our Lord for the Jewish nation and the world! What an irony!

As a result, Jesus and His disciples had to go into seclusion.  They could no longer walk openly among the people. God’s time for the sacrifice had not yet come, but, the clock was ticking.  It had to be a little frustrating to the Lord to have to stay secluded and not love on the people He was sent to save.

We can never appreciate fully the struggle it must have been for Jesus to know his time was coming to an end. Like any loving parent, He would spend the rest of the ministry preparing the 12, they had to be equipped to build the nation of priests God called for in Exodus 19. None the less, Jesus knew and operated from that point on as if it was “Game On”!

God Bless You

Therefore, many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him. ⁴⁶ But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. ⁴⁷ Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin.

“What are we accomplishing?” they asked. “Here is this man performing many signs. ⁴⁸ If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our temple and our nation.”

⁴⁹ Then one of them, named Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, spoke up, “You know nothing at all! ⁵⁰ You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.”

⁵¹ He did not say this on his own, but as high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation, ⁵² and not only for that nation but also for the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one. ⁵³ So from that day on they plotted to take his life.

⁵⁴ Therefore Jesus no longer moved about publicly among the people of Judea. Instead he withdrew to a region near the wilderness, to a village called Ephraim, where he stayed with his disciples.

⁵⁵ When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, many went up from the country to Jerusalem for their ceremonial cleansing before the Passover. ⁵⁶ They kept looking for Jesus, and as they stood in the temple courts they asked one another, “What do you think? Isn’t he coming to the festival at all?” ⁵⁷ But the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that anyone who found out where Jesus was should report it so that they might arrest him.