Mary Anoints Jesus at Bethany
12:1 Six days before the Passover, Jesus therefore came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2 So they gave a dinner for him there. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at table. 3 Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4 But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was about to betray him), said, 5 “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” 6 He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it. 7 Jesus said, “Leave her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of my burial. 8 For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me.”
The Plot to Kill Lazarus
9 When the large crowd of the Jews learned that Jesus was there, they came, not only on account of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. 10 So the chief priests made plans to put Lazarus to death as well, 11 because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus.
The Triumphal Entry
12 The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. 13 So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!” 14 And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written,
15 “Fear not, daughter of Zion;
behold, your king is coming,
sitting on a donkey’s colt!”
16 His disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about him and had been done to him. 17 The crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to bear witness. 18 The reason why the crowd went to meet him was that they heard he had done this sign. 19 So the Pharisees said to one another, “You see that you are gaining nothing. Look, the world has gone after him.”
Some Greeks Seek Jesus
20 Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks. 21 So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” 22 Philip went and told Andrew; Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. 23 And Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. 25 Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.
The Son of Man Must Be Lifted Up
27 “Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” 29 The crowd that stood there and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.” 30 Jesus answered, “This voice has come for your sake, not mine. 31 Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. 32 And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” 33 He said this to show by what kind of death he was going to die. 34 So the crowd answered him, “We have heard from the Law that the Christ remains forever. How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?” 35 So Jesus said to them, “The light is among you for a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going. 36 While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.”
The Unbelief of the People
When Jesus had said these things, he departed and hid himself from them. 37 Though he had done so many signs before them, they still did not believe in him, 38 so that the word spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:
“Lord, who has believed what he heard from us,
and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”
39 Therefore they could not believe. For again Isaiah said,
40 “He has blinded their eyes
and hardened their heart,
lest they see with their eyes,
and understand with their heart, and turn,
and I would heal them.”
41 Isaiah said these things because he saw his glory and spoke of him. 42 Nevertheless, many even of the authorities believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue; 43 for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.
Jesus Came to Save the World
44 And Jesus cried out and said, “Whoever believes in me, believes not in me but in him who sent me. 45 And whoever sees me sees him who sent me. 46 I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness. 47 If anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. 48 The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day. 49 For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment—what to say and what to speak. 50 And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I say, therefore, I say as the Father has told me.” (ESV)
25The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
this verse is really good, because its saying who ever is obsessed with there life and loves it, and has idols and stuff will lose there, lives. be he who hates his life and totally gives it up for the lord will have eternal life!!!!
48There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day.
this verse is also cool for evangalism because our non-christian friends will meet jesus on judgement day and he will condemn them anf they will be in hell, thats why should evangalize to all our friends who aren’t christians, and we should even be sharing the gospel every single oppertunity we have even its to random people!!!!!!!!!!!!
im the first one!!!!!!!!!:))) hahaha
45 When he looks at me, he sees the one who sent me.
this verse encouraged me, thinking of how much Christ is and should be represented in our lifestyles… with me, many people watch my every move and wait for me to mess up on something where they can call me out on and hurt my reputation as a follower of CHrist… this is why its so important that we lead a blameless lifestyle so that every aspect of our lives doesn’t reflect our own glory, but the glory of God…
28 Father, glorify your name!” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.”
This is the attitude that we need to have. Christ knew that the time of His death was approaching, and so He prayed that God would be brought glory through it. In the same way, we need to pray that God would use us to bring glory to Himself every day. As long as we are willing to be used by God and not afraid of what may can say or do, then we will be able to live a life that glorifies God. But if we cannot put Christ above the world in our lives, then we cannot truly live a life that brings Glory to the Father, for we care more about ourselves than about Him.
43for they loved praise from men more than praise from God.
Is this us? Do we fear man more than we fear God like these leaders? We must remember that our fear must be in God and not in man because God is the only eternal one who determines eternity. May we remind ourselves daily to fear the Lord and not things of this world!
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42Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not confess their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue;
This is exactly what we always talk about…….Fear GOD; not man! No matter what you think will happen to you because you say your a christian, it does not even compare to God’s wrath that will come upon you.
45 When he looks at me, he sees the one who sent me.
This verse shows Christ’s diety and really how worthy he is of all our praise and our lives! People who say there is a God but dont believe in Jesus have no idea what they are talking about!!
48There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day
This verse reminds me of the sermon from Revival “Caring for the Damned” It should encourage us to go tell our non-christian friends about God because otherwise they will be judged and condemed to hell……which we should neevr want that to happen to anyone!
25 The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
I struggle with this daily. It is hard not to be comfortable with just living part of your life for Jesus. When really Jesus calls us to hate our life in this world and live it fully for Him.
25The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
26Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.
We need so badly to be not of this world.we need to follow Gods commands and not store treasures down here on earth, for they are temporary and of this world, but we need to be in Gods word, and do as He commands and store up treasure in heaven, because we will be there for eternity.
Bobby said something that i really liked a few weeks ago.
worldly things are here, present and seen.
God and the holy spirit, those that are for eternity are unseen.
its so true. and i think we need to know that because we store treasures up down here, and we make them idols.and they come before God.we need to serve God like it says in verse 26, and in order to do that, we need to have a clear path towards Him, and not have temporary idols in the way of 100% being in this AMAZING relationship that we have with Christ Jesus!!
MARANATHA BABY!!
wow!I have always loved john 12 but I have never really thought about the words and what it says. I love verse 25 because it made me realize that. I don’t live my whole life for Jesus and that’s what I need to do so for now on it not about me or anything else but always about Jesus 24.7
What a great passage. I like verse 46 “I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.”
45When he looks at me, he sees the one who sent me.
In this verse Christ is stating flat-out that He is God. Now to all those who don’t believe in the divinity of Christ, here is the statement to prove them wrong. If Jesus didn’t know what He was saying He must have been crazy, or a liar. But He could have been right. We know that He was right, and now it’s up to us to show othersthat He was right.
50I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say.”
The Lord’s commands is the Bible and if we do what the Bible says to do, like repent and have faith in Christ, and to love the God with all of our heart, mind, and stregnth, then this will lead us to eternal life, it’s not by our works, by a gift God has given us.
47″As for the person who hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge him. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save it.
this verse was the one that stuck out at me most. Here Christ shows his love and humbleness. i like the last part of part “a”, I do not judge him. Christ did not come into the world to judge us and make us seem like idiots, (which we are) but he came because God sent him to give us a way, the only way, of salvation. Jesus Christ died fo us so that we would die to our sins, and be reseurected through him. Jesus never had the “im better than you because im God’s Son” attitude. he was always respectful and humble, even with the Pharisees and Sadducees, who sined multiple times against him. He talked them and wanted them to see that they were going to hell. when we evangelize, Christ is a good model to follow (of course) because he cares for the damned. we could go in with an attitude that we are Chrsitians, and we are better than you, and that will turn people off. but if we go in as a humble sinner, people will see that we are different
3Then 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’s act here is one of humble service to Jesus that cost her much financially and socially. Perfume was usually poured over one’s head, but the fact that Mary poured it over Jesus’ feet shows that she is His servant. Also, it was not respectable for a woman to let her hair down in public. By wiping Jesus’ feet with her hair Mary was showing Jesus that she would humbly serve Him and fear God more than man. Do we serve Christ like this? Do we make great sacrifices to Him with our material posessions? Do we not care about what others think about us and serve God with our whole hearts? Mary’s example is one that all Christians should follow!
Wow! This chapter was filled with so many great verses…
25 The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
I love this verse. Whoever loves their own life more than God will lose it for an eternity when they die. Anyone who hates their life compared to the love they have for God will keep it for eternal life. We must give up our whole selves for God in our lifetime. Then, when we die, we will receive it for an eternity in heaven with God.
43 for they loved praise from men more than praise from God.
This is a horrible yet common way for someone to live. It’s sad knowing that most people are living to glorify themselves, not God. We need to be setting godly examples for others by praising only God, especially when we go back to school.
Mary took some really expensive perfume in your hand and rubbed it on Jesus’ feet.
Some people my ask themselves why would Mary do this. Well simply because Mary recognizes Jesus as a higher being and knows he is worthy of such care. I think we could all learn from Mary. To humble ourselves to Christ.
35Then 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. The man who walks in the dark does not know where he is going.
This is so true we need to stay walking in the light and stay away from the darkness. If we don’t sin will overtake us and make us stumble. So lets stay in the light.
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 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.
I also agree with James and Mrs. Lauder!! it also shows Mary and Martha’s great love and thankfulness to Jesus, of whom just raised their brother from the dead. It just reminded me of how often we really show our gratefulness to the one who freed us from our slavery to sin. We cannot forget to humble ourselves everyday and praise God for all the blessings that he has given us! :)
25The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
26Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.
This verse tells us that God should be our absolute top priority in life. If fact, everything else should be so far in second place, that when we compare #1 and #2, it looks like we hate #2. Each day, each moment, we must ask ourself is God #1? If he is not, lets recognize it and make him #1. Let us start to “hate” anything that is competing for first place in our lives.
“And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.” 2 Corinthians 5:15
25The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
I really like this verse it reminded me that so many people including christians always think about there life and oh im not happy because I dont have this… were only here for a little short period of time we should be worrying about how God thinks of us and if He is happy with us not if were happy for a few short years
25The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
This verse reminds me of those shirts that say life is good and has a little picture of something they love around it. Everyone that is a Christian should be hating their life so much and be loving eternal life. Christians should be wanting to be with Jesus and not on this world. That’s why some people have shirts or hats that say NOTW. They are in the world, but not of the world. Some people have really good lives on this world and are loving it so much, but this world is not even close to comparing with the Kingdom of Heaven.
47″As for the person who hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge him. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save it.
48There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day.
God’s grace is so amazing. Even though we reject Christ and sin, God does not immediately cast us into Hell, like we deserve, but instead gives us time to come to Him. However, one day we will all be judged, so we need to thank God for the grace He as given us and glorify Him with it by evangelizing everyone we know so that they might be saved while they still have time.
Ha my sister commented today! Claps for Sarah!
1Six days before the Passover, Jesus arrived at Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.
Ha I love how Jesus went to the town of Bethany…I feel special. Anyways,
39For this reason they could not believe, because, as Isaiah says elsewhere:
40″He has blinded their eyes and deadened their hearts, so they can neither see with their eyes, nor understand with their hearts, nor turn—and I would heal them.”
I’m just now realizing that not everyone is going to be saved. like I knew it before but it’s just now hitting me. That not every person on this earth is going to hear the news about our Lord Jesus. Not every person is going to see the truth because God won’t reveal it to them. It kind of made me depressed when I read those verses. But God has a plan for everyone and we are lucky enough to be His chosen ones! :)
37Even after Jesus had done all these miraculous signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him.
This reminds me of Jesus’ story of the Rich man & Lazarus (not the Lazarus in this passage): when the rich man, in hell at this point, asks to be able to appear to his living brothers to warn them about the judgment to come if they don’t repent, Jesus tells them that they will not repent EVEN IF SOMEONE RISES FROM the DEAD. The point is that the fulcrum of someone putting their faith in Christ is not necessarily being rationally/intellectually convinced–it boils down to will (God’s, & man’s to some extent). When people’s minds are made up, despite what they see with their own eyes and even understand, they will REFUSE to repent & put their faith in Christ. In the Garden of Eden, Adam & Eve REBELLED against God willfully, just as people today rebel against Him willfully. Rebellion against God = enemy of God, which warrants punishment, i.e. Hell. Unfortunately, when evangelizing, many people simply refuse to comprehend & believe; at that point, all we can do is pray for them that GOD will turn their hearts toward Him.
46I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.
I really like the analogy of “light” and “darkness” that Jesus has already used a few times in the gospel of John. If we believe in Christ, the light of the world, we will live like Him, holy and pure. No follower of Christ should continue in sin and error. We know from John 8:12 that a real Christian won’t stay in darkness– “Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness.”
i really like v.25 because we cant focus on this life but we have to look toward what is ahead
Great to see you on here Kyle!!!!
7″Leave her alone,” Jesus replied. ” It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial.
This verse stood out to me because it shows how God has a plan for EVERYTHING! Even something so small as a bottle of perfume. We need to always remember to rely on Him in everything we do, because He is the one in control and is working all things for the good of those who trust and love Him!
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.
This just proves the fact that we can’t be living for this world if we are following Jesus. We need to be living for the Lord 100%!!!
24I tell you the truth, 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.
25The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
26Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.
I like vs. 25 because it says basically we need to understand we are here to do the will of God and then look forward to heaven.