190414 Jesus’ Last Days

John 12:1-8 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.”

There are very few dates on the liturgical calendars that impress me. The days surrounding Jesus’ crucifixion, burial and resurrection are some of those dates. The early Christian church did not observe a date for Jesus’ birth. The early church did not observe memorial days for Jesus’ early years or his baptism and ministry. I suspect they were too busy staying alive to spend time figuring out what those anniversaries might’ve been. We can be fairly sure that the timeline of his entry into the city until the Passover is accurate. There are some disagreements as to the exact day of the week these things occurred but that means nothing in relation to our salvation.

We will begin with events a few days before Jesus’ entry into the city. We do not know exactly how much time passed between restoring Lazarus to life and Jesus’ coming back to Bethany for a meal and the triumphal entry into the city the next day. Jesus had gone with his disciples across the Jordan to a region near the wilderness in order to await the right time. I believe that this was the area where John the Baptist had baptized many hundreds including Jesus. At least that is the way the area was described before Jesus came to Lazarus’ tomb.

In Jesus’ life…

The village of Bethany was important. Let’s look at John 11:1-4. Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. ² It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. ³ So the sisters sent to him, saying, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” ⁴ But when Jesus heard it he said, “This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”

This is one of the stories that John fondly remembered that had not been included in the other Gospels. The only other gospel that includes the name “Lazarus” is Luke. However, the Lazarus mentioned there was a beggar and I am sure was not the man we are looking at today!

Remember, Jesus and his disciples were on the east bank of the Jordan River waiting the time that Jesus had fixed to face the rulers of the Jews.

Mary and Martha sent word to Jesus that his good friend was very sick. Jesus put off his trip to Bethany for two days. He did this, we can assume, because he wanted his disciples, and us, to see how God would glorify himself through the sickness. Jesus would tell his disciples when it was time to go back to Judea. Since they knew he had been waiting for the right time they questioned why they were going now.

Jesus referred to Lazarus as having “fallen asleep”. With that statement, the disciples assumed that Lazarus was mending. After all, there is much healing in sleep. Then it was necessary for Jesus to say, “Lazarus has died.” The disciples did not really understand why it was important for them to go if indeed Lazarus was dead. But, the disciple, who would later be referred to as “Doubting Thomas”, spoke these fateful words, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.” Meaning, die with Jesus!

When Jesus arrived Lazarus had been dead four days. There was a great crowd gathered for the mourning period. It was expected that people would gather from near and far and grieve together at the death of a loved one.

As Jesus approached the town Martha hurried out to meet him. Mary stayed behind in the house. Martha spoke words that could be considered a rebuke. “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died,” Jesus assured her that her brother would rise again. Now Martha was a believer who had settled her relationship with God and understood there would be a resurrection. So she said, “I know he will rise again…” And then Jesus spoke those oft-quoted words, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” At first glance, she did not seem to directly answer his question. Her answer was way beyond the surface. She replied, “Yes, Lord; I believe you are the Christ, the son of God, who is coming into the world.”

Martha hurried to Mary to tell her that the master had come and he was calling for her. On hearing those encouraging words Mary jumped to her feet and ran to him. When she found him she fell at his feet with the same rebuke Martha had. “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” Jesus did not bother to answer her. He simply asked, “Where have you laid him?” Seeing the crowd weeping John remembers that Jesus was very troubled by the scene before him. Jesus was deeply moved when he came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone covering the entrance. So Jesus commanded them to take away the stone. Martha who was always the one who kept things clean and in order told Jesus that there would be a strong odor because he had been dead four days.

Jesus insisted and they took away the stone. Then Jesus said a short prayer designed to assure the crowd that he was working in the power of the Father. So the scene was set for Jesus to work. “He cried out with a loud voice, Lazarus, come out.”

Many people have observed that if Jesus had not used the qualifier of the name “Lazarus” all the dead in the vicinity would have risen. Picture the scene with me. Lazarus was wrapped in grave clothes. And the crowd had the necessity of removing the wrappings. A spiritual comparison to this event would be when a new brother or sister comes to faith in Christ they still have the grave clothes of their bondage to sin wrapped around them. It is the responsibility of the church to unwrap him/her and let them go.

With this very public event being proclaimed throughout the land…

The Jews began to plot his death.  Let’s look at John 11: 54-57. Jesus therefore no longer walked openly among the Jews, but went from there to the region near the wilderness, to a town called Ephraim, and there he stayed with the disciples. ⁵⁵ Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and many went up from the country to Jerusalem before the Passover to purify themselves. ⁵⁶ 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 at all?” ⁵⁷ Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where he was, he should let them know, so that they might arrest him.

Jesus returned to his wilderness resting place. He could not allow himself to be arrested until Passover. In preparation for the Passover, the people would have come to Jerusalem and purified themselves. We know that they practiced a type of baptism. That might have been included in this purification process.

All the while that the people were preparing themselves spiritually the rulers were preparing themselves politically. They believed if Jesus’ popularity continued to expand it would become a threat to Roman rule. Caiaphas, the high priest, had pointed out that it was better that one man should die for the people and not the whole nation be destroyed. Without realizing it Caiaphas had prophesied the reason for Jesus’ death. He died, not just for the Jews, but for all children of God wherever they were scattered (John 12:49-53).

Six days before the Passover, Jesus returned to Judea and a banquet was prepared in his honor at the house of his friends. While the feast was for Jesus, Lazarus took up a lot of attention. Here Mary anointed Jesus’ feet with a very expensive ointment and wiped the excess off with her hair. Judas Iscariot reacted to this. “Why was this ointment not sold… And the money given to the poor?”

John tells us that Judas was not concerned about the poor. That ointment was worth a year’s wage for a laborer. Judas held the purse and helped himself anytime he wanted money.

The rulers enlarged their hit list. Let’s read on John 12:9-11. 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 crowd gathered to see Jesus but also to see Lazarus. Lazarus was “Living Proof” as to Jesus’ divinity. Now from the viewpoint of the Jewish rulers, it was necessary that he be killed also. By the grace of God, so far as we know, the rulers of the Jews never managed to take Lazarus’ life. He lived out his normal life span and returned to heaven. I have often wondered how he might’ve felt! He had spent four days in Paradise and Jesus had called him back. The next day…

Jesus’ entered the city in triumph. Let’s read John 12:12-13. 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!”

This was not the typical military parade that would be seen after a great conquest. In such a parade the Romans, for instance, would have had the legions with banners flying and images of Eagles on the top of the poles. They would also have with them prisoners taken in battle.

Jesus’ captives were not human prisoners of war, they were spiritual enemies. Jesus led all the opposition forces in captivity.

Later, the apostle Paul would write in his second letter to the Corinthians “though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:2-5).

The fears of the ruling class were being fulfilled it was true…

The world followed him. Let’s look at John 12:20-23. 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.

We don’t have any evidence that these Greeks ever got to talk to Jesus. His time was pretty well taken up that day. In a side note: The Greeks may have come to Philip because he has a Greek name. It is very possible that at least one of Jesus’ disciples/apostles was a Greek and not a native-born Jew.

Philip brought the request to Andrew and the two of them went to Jesus. Apparently, Jesus saw this request as evidence of the right time for him to lay down his life. It was time for him to be glorified. So he turned to the Father and…

The Father honored the Son. Let’s look at John 12:27-29. “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.”

Jesus was not looking forward to what lay ahead of him. At least three times he had told his disciples that he would go to Jerusalem, be arrested and turned over to the Romans to be crucified. He always added that he would be raised again on the third day. It seems the disciples never fully understood that last concept. Only after the coming events did they begin to understand what it was all about. Later, in the garden, he would ask the Father to let this cup of suffering pass from him. But, each time he asked, he added, “Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done” (Luke 22:42).

Three times God the Father proclaimed his love and support for the Son. First, when Jesus was baptized by John. Second, when Jesus met with Moses and Elijah to discuss the upcoming events leading to Jesus’ crucifixion. Third, after his triumphal entry into the city as recorded here. John, the gospel writer, was present at all three events. A crowd was present at the first and third events. The second event was witnessed only by Peter, James, and John his closest men. Later, Peter would remember that event on the mountaintop. We have the complete witness of the word of God. Although sometimes we might want to have an audible voice it is not really necessary. Our faith rests on the biblical testimony. We can trust our lives to our God.

All scriptures quotes are from: The Holy Bible: English standard version. 2001. Wheaton, Ill, Standard Bible Society.

Matthew 21:1 through 11