John 11:55-12:11

Please turn to the end of John chapter 11.

John 11 · chapter mention

And we're looking at John 11.55 to chapter 12, verse 11.

!

The first half is all action.

Jesus does miracles.

He does signs.

He turns water into wine.

He heals a man's son from a great distance.

He heals a man who's been paralysed for 38 years.

He feeds 5,000 people with a packed lunch.

He heals a blind man.

He raises the dead, chapter 11.

In the second half of Mark's gospel from chapter 13,

he goes away from the public.

He gathers his followers, his disciples, into an upper room

and he talks to them about his death.

And chapter 13 onwards is all about his passion, all about his death.

Chapter 12 is the hinge between those two halves.

And in chapter 12, Jesus says his last public words.

He does his last public actions.

And he explains why he's going to die.

The heart of the chapter, the key that unlocks the chapter, is verse 23.

Jesus answered them,

The hour has come.

Now is the time for the Son of Man to be glorified.

Truly, truly, I say to you,

unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone.

But if it dies, it bears much fruit.

Do you notice that word glory?

It's one of John's key words.

It's one of the words that Christians use.

We use it for big things that we can't really describe.

Glory.

And what Jesus is saying here is that the glory of God

cannot be separated from the death of the Lord Jesus.

The glory of God cannot be separated from his brutal, violent execution on the cross.

And that is strange.

Glory is not just majesty, dignity and power.

Glory has to do with suffering and sacrifice

and with pain and with his giving of his life.

And that's why Jesus says,

And the hour has now come for the Son of Man to be glorified.

The glory of God, the heart of God,

has an eternal connection between suffering and love, sacrifice and honour.

Between expensive giving and love.

Chapter 12, verse 1, Jesus comes back to Bethany,

to the very, very happy home of Mary and Martha and Lazarus.

Why are they so happy?

Well, verse 1, this is Lazarus,

whom Jesus had raised from the dead in the last chapter.

Verse 9, there is Lazarus.

The crowds are coming to see him.

Lazarus, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.

It's just a little throwaway line in the story.

Twice we are told, Lazarus is standing there.

He's a very popular boy.

He is exhibit A.

Everybody wants to get a piece of Lazarus.

You can see down in verse 10 and 11 that.

I'm guessing there would be movie offers if he was living today.

Big interviews with Piers Morgan and Lorraine Kelly.

And I think the question would be,

what would you want to ask Lazarus?

What would you want to ask Lazarus?

What would you ask him?

Anyone want to shout out?

What would you ask him?

Anyone?

I think you did.

What were you going to say, John?

What was it like being dead, isn't it?

Isn't that the question?

Surely.

The question I would want to ask Lazarus is,

what was it like?

What was it like going through death

and then coming back again?

I think that Lazarus might actually have been a bit disappointed,

don't you?

Coming back into this life, don't you?

It's just my theory.

We're not told.

And I think we're not told because that isn't the point of the passage.

Here's the point.

At the centre of this first episode in John chapter 12,

John 12 · chapter mention

Mary,

Lazarus' sister,

anoints Jesus for his burial.

It's about Jesus' death.

The story is framed with references to Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead.

Do you remember in chapter 11,

he is the one who marched to the tomb

and he said,

Lazarus, come out,

even though he'd been dead for days,

he turned to Mary and Martha

and he said,

I am the resurrection and the life,

which is not something you do, is it?

Unless you're able to raise the dead.

And I think the shocking thing that we hear in John 12

is that Jesus,

the resurrection and the life,

Jesus,

the eternal word of God,

is going to die.

It's absolutely impossible.

Absolutely impossible.

The eternal word

who was made flesh

at the beginning of the gospel

who says,

I am the source of all life.

Who tells us,

I am the bread of life.

I am the resurrection and the life.

I am the way, the truth,

and the life.

How can he die?

What would possess him

to do such a thing?

And the answer is in verse 1.

Six days before the Passover,

Jesus therefore came to Bethany.

The Passover is the trigger

for Jesus to go up to Bethany.

Look back in chapter 11 and verse 47.

The chief priests and Pharisees,

they gathered to the council together

and they said,

what are we to do?

For this man performs many signs

if we let him go on like this.

Everyone will believe in him.

The Romans will come.

They'll take away our place

and our nation.

But one of them,

Caiaphas, the high priest that year,

that's how high priests

are supposed to talk.

He says,

you know nothing at all.

You're absolutely clueless.

Don't you understand?

It's better that one man die

for the people

and not that the whole nation should die.

So verse 53,

from that day on,

they make plans to put him to death.

In verse 54,

Jesus goes into hiding.

In verse 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.

In chapter 12,

it opens with the Passover.

The Passover was the messiest festival

in the Jewish calendar.

thousands upon thousands

of sheep and oxen

are slaughtered.

The historical records tell us

that Jerusalem,

the streets ran with blood.

The stench would have been incredible.

This is the great event

in the Jewish year

because it celebrated

the great redemption

of the Old Testament

when God rescued his people

out of slavery and Egypt

and when God sent

the angel of death

into Egypt

and the angel of death

passed over every house

that was marked

by the blood of the Lamb

and everyone

whose house was marked

by the blood of the Lamb

was safe.

And the Passover comes

and Jesus says,

now is the hour

for the Son of Man

to be glorified.

We've gone through

John's Gospel

right from the start

and we remember

in chapter 1

when John the Baptist

saw Jesus walking

towards his baptism

and John says,

behold the Lamb of God

who takes away

the sin of the world.

And here he is.

Here is the one

to whom all the Old Testament

has been pointing.

And it's such an irony,

isn't it?

It's an irony

that the Jews

are going up to Jerusalem

to have their sins

purified by ceremonies

and in the midst of them

is the one,

the Eternal One,

the Lamb of God

who's going to take away

the sins of the world.

The great rescue

is about to come.

The interesting thing,

believe it or not,

we're still in the introduction,

the interesting thing is

in this first story

of John 12,

Jesus is not

the main character.

Verse 3,

we meet Martha

and she is serving,

serving,

serving.

She's going on serving.

And then Mary

does this extravagant action

and Jesus is passive.

It's one of those occasions

in the Gospel

where Jesus is not

the main actor.

And what Mary does

is she takes a pound

of extraordinarily

expensive ointment,

pure and hard,

and she pours it

over Jesus' feet.

And then she undoes

her hair,

which as a Jewish woman

had been bound up

and she wipes

his feet with his hair,

with her hair.

Everyone present

is shocked.

It is a shocking thing

to do.

It would be the same

sort of thing

if someone did that

in your home today.

And John is at pains

to tell you

how much it cost.

He says,

it is pure nard,

it's a pound of nard,

pound weight.

He tells us,

and Judas helpfully

fills in the details,

this thing that

she has just done

is worth a year's wage.

It is deeply personal,

creative,

extravagance.

And she takes

her life's wages,

she takes

a year's wages,

her life savings,

and she pours it

over Jesus.

It is great humility

and love.

And John tells us

this lovely little line

at the end of verse 3.

Can you see it?

In fact,

can you smell it?

The house was filled

with the fragrance

of the perfume.

You don't actually

know that

unless you were

an eyewitness

or a nose witness.

But it shocks

the disciples.

Look at Judas,

verse 4,

he's offended.

Why on earth

was this not sold

to the poor?

To poor?

It's said so aggressively

that he expects

everyone in the room

is going to agree with him.

It is a terrible waste.

And Judas asks

the most obvious question,

doesn't he?

Jesus responds

and says,

let her alone now.

Leave her alone,

verse 7,

that she may

keep it for the day

of my burial.

For the poor

you will always

have with you,

but you do not

always have me.

Here is something

that is socially awkward.

It is quite inappropriate,

to be honest,

in a way.

Jesus takes it

and he brings it

to the point

of his death,

his burial.

I am not sure

that Mary understood

all of what she did,

but by her extravagance

she moves close

to the heart of God.

And Jesus takes it

and he is honoured

by it

and pleased by it

and he says

this is an incredibly

precious thing

that she has done.

And incidentally,

I don't know

if you've had a debate

on this,

but in verse 8

when Jesus says

the poor you always

have with you

but me you don't,

Jesus is not saying

there don't worry

about the poor.

There are better things

to do with your money

than them.

I've heard some people

use the verse

in that way.

But actually

Jesus is quoting,

and this shocked me

this week,

Jesus is quoting

Deuteronomy 15.

In Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy 15 · chapter mention

chapter 15

God is speaking

to the people

of Israel

and in Deuteronomy

15

God is taking away

the excuse

of the people

of Israel

and he says

do not be greedy

and he is saying

in Deuteronomy 15

you have to care

for those who are

among you

who are poor.

That's the duty

of the people of God.

Let me quote you

one or two verses

from Deuteronomy 15.

It says

you shall give

to him freely

that's the poor

and your heart

shall not be grudging

when you give to him

because for this

the Lord your God

will bless you

in all your work

and in all

that you undertake.

Then he says

there will always

be poor in the land

for there will never

cease to be poor

in the land.

Therefore I command you

you shall open

wide your hand

to your brother

to the needy

to the poor

in your land.

Jesus takes

that quote

and he reminds them

you've got an obligation

to the poor

but he says

there's something

more important here.

that his death

is more important

than all the world's poor

and that is shocking

particularly as he quotes

the verse

where God says

I stand with the poor.

It would have been

wouldn't it

a very good thing

if Mary had taken

this ointment

and sold it

and given the proceeds away

that would have been

a good thing

but Jesus says

actually she's doing

something better

and the fragrance

of what she does

fills the house

and continues

to fill the house.

Now the question is

what are we to do

with this contrast

between Mary

and Judas?

What is behind it?

And I think

what we're meant to see

in the rest of the time

we have tonight

is the contrast

of faith.

The contrast

of believing

and unbelief.

Verse 11

if you just look

at the end

of the story

John tells us

that everyone

is going away

and believing

in Jesus.

Everyone is going

over to Jesus.

It's the thing

the authorities

are most afraid of

and if you go

to the end

of the gospel

that is where

the gospel

is going.

John writes

all these words

this book

so that you might

believe in Jesus

and have life

in his name

and the contrast

between Mary

and Judas

is a contrast

between belief

and unbelief

between faith

and unfaith.

We Christians

speak a lot

about faith

don't we?

We've said it

already

in our services

that I confess

that Jesus

is

we did it

this morning

I believe

in God

Father Almighty

and here is

a concrete example

of what

true faith

looks like

and John

brings this out

by showing

true faith

and unfaith

there's three

contrasts

I'll be brief

three contrasts

the first contrast

is a contrast

of values

real faith

demonstrates

itself

in a contrast

of values

what Mary

does

is socially

inappropriate

but it's a

perfect demonstration

of real faith

John

drives this home

in verse

three

the word

there

pure

nard

the word

there is

literally

the word

pure

there is

literally

faith

it's

slightly

odd

it is

literally

faith

nard

it's the

same word

as

belief

that's there

in verse

11

exactly

the same

word

in other

words

what Mary

is doing

comes out

of her

faith

Mary

values

Jesus

above

everything

else

above

even

her

financial

security

whereas

Judas

is a man

of unbelief

what motivates

Judas

is money

and greed

he values

what the

culture

values

I was on

an excruciating

long journey

on a train

last year

for four

hours

and there

were two

young men

who were

opposite me

sitting at a

table

who were

with me

the whole

journey

and they

talked for

the whole

time about

one thing

quite loudly

about money

it was

amazing to

me

they talked

about how

they were

going to

make it

they talked

about what

they were

going to

do with

it

and they

talked

about how

much

they liked

it

it was

remarkable

I took

notes

no I

didn't

I should

have

taken

notes

the

absolute

unquestioned

assumption

of their

conversation

is that

money was

the ultimate

good

the primary

good

that's

the way

unbelief

works

it looks

as if

this world

is a

place

of

permanence

and meaning

and I

think if

you take

Jesus out

of the

equation

Judas'

arguments

make sense

it's very

straightforward

what he

says

you can

hear what

he says

surely

he says

if we'd

have sold

this ointment

it would

have benefited

far more

people

it's a

waste

if Jesus

is about

to die

I mean

how can

you

justify

taking

something

that's

worth

a whole

year's

wages

and

wasting

it

on

Jesus

do you

know what

we could

have done

with that

money

we could

have set

up a

community

loan

scheme

we could

have

funded

the food

bank

for over

a year

we could

have

given it

to an

orphanage

we could

have

funded

the

night

shelter

and paid

for a

worker

amongst

the

homeless

for over

a year

and Judas

could say

well

devotion to

Jesus

is all

well and

good

I'm all

for

devotion

but this

is unqualified

extravagance

it is socially

awkward

it is

inappropriate

and Judas

looks at

Mary

and what

she does

is utterly

bewildering

to him

he can't

get his

head around

it

it is

utterly

bewildering

what a

waste

and that's

always

the way

belief

looks

to those

who don't

believe

if you

are

a believer

if you

are a

follower

of the

Lord

Jesus

Christ

that will

always

be

bewildering

to those

who are

unbelievers

and then

in verse

6

John

reaches

out

and he

flicks

off

Judas

mask

see

verse

6

you find

out

this

grubby

grasping

dried up

deceptive

little

heart

is because

he's a

thief

he keeps

the money

bags

for himself

so he

can help

himself

he doesn't

care about

the poor

it's a

devastating

picture of

Judas

but what

Judas has

done

is he

has learned

to describe

disguise

his greed

as compassion

isn't that

devastating

he's learned

to disguise

his grubby

grasping

materialistic

heart

in terms

of

social

justice

and it's

because his

eyes are

closed

to the

glory of

Jesus

and he

clings to

his own

self

indulgence

and his

own

emptiness

because of

unbelief

and that

is the

contrast

here between

belief

and unbelief

that is the

value system

the second

contrast

is a

contrast

of

audience

a

contrast

of

audience

I think

we get

an indication

of how

inappropriate

and awkward

and appalling

a thing it is

that Mary's

just done

in the very

next chapter

I preached

on this

passage

on this

incident

a number

of times

but I've

not really

made this

connection

before

that in

chapter 13

do you

remember

you've got

the really

famous

incident

where

Jesus

washes

the

disciples

feet

and

they're

completely

stupefied

that anyone

would do

something

so menial

I don't

know why

we think

Jesus'

feet

must have

just been

wonderfully

clean

in chapter

12

there is

tremendous

self-forgetfulness

in what

Mary does

she doesn't

stop and

calculate

what the

public is

going to

think

with what

she does

and she's

not doing

this for the

benefit of

an audience

except one

alone

Jesus Christ

and that's

what faith

does

she wipes

his dirty

stinking

feet

with her

hair

and it

doesn't

matter

how

socially

awkward

that is

what matters

to her

is that

she is

personally

involved

with the

Lord Jesus

Christ

and her

humility

is genuine

because it

arises out

of a

devotion

to the

Lord Jesus

she doesn't

think about

the financial

cost

she doesn't

think about

how other

people are

going to

look at

her

but she

realises

if he

has come

from God

and if he

has come

to bring

us to

God

then there

is no

gift

too great

no action

too extravagant

for him

that if he

is the

Lord of

life

who is

able to

conquer

death

as she's

seen in

the chapter

before

nothing

that she

can do

is too

much

and Mary

does what

is beautiful

and right

and that

is the

way of

true faith

of believing

in Jesus

to love

Jesus

more than

all things

and it

will make

you do

things that

look rash

and extravagant

and wasteful

to our

culture

and so

why on

earth would

you give

10% of

your income

to the

church

are you

kidding

in a

city like

London

that's so

expensive

why would

you give

generously

to the

work of

Christchurch

when you

haven't even

paid off

your mortgage

or your

loans

why would

you volunteer

your precious

precious

holidays

to serve

a holiday

bible club

or a young

people's

camp

that's

crazy

why would

you not

play sport

on a

Sunday

because it's

the Lord's

day

how ridiculous

but if you

see the

Lord Jesus

Christ as

the one

who is

most

important

who is

ultimately

important

you'll

see that

that's

no

sacrifice

at all

will you

you see

real faith

will show

itself

in a way

that is

dangerously

out of

step

with our

culture

in a way

that is

dangerously

out of

step

with what

normal

people

think

because real

faith looks

at Jesus

and sees

in Jesus

someone who

is more

important

than

more

important

than the

world's

poor

who's

more

important

than

the

world's

rich

who's

more

important

than

anything

that's

the second

contrast

contrast in

values

contrast in

audience

and then a

third

contrast

is a

contrast in

deaths

deaths

plural

I want to

do a little

bit more

work on

this but

a contrast

in deaths

again look at

the key

verse

verse

24

unless

a grain

of wheat

falls into

the earth

and dies

it remains

alone

but if it

dies

it bears

much

fruit

and then it

says

whoever

loves

his life

loses

it

and whoever

hates

his life

in this

world

will keep

it for

eternal

life

as you read

through chapter 12

there's a

contrast of

deaths

there are

little

deaths

if I can put it

like that

and there are

big deaths

in this passage

I think it's

why Lazarus

is so heavily

relied on in this

first section

Lazarus death

was a little

death

it was little

because Jesus

brought him

back

but Jesus

death is

the big

death

because he is

the resurrection

and the life

it is a big

thing

for the resurrection

and the life

to go to death

in surrendering

to death

wonderfully

he will

destroy it

and real

believing

real faith

in Jesus

is a little

death

death

it is dying

to this

world

it is dying

to my

life

it is dying

to everything

that I hold

precious

and that is

why in verse

11

when the dudes

describe those

who believe

in Jesus

it says

can you see

what it says

it says

they are

going away

and believing

in Jesus

literally

they are

going over

they are

betraying us

they're going

over

they are betraying

us

and they're

believing in

Jesus

so here's

the shocking

thing

believing in

Jesus

is fundamentally

an act of

betrayal

here's the

great choice

in life

listen to this

the choice

is to

betray Christ

as Judas

did

or to

betray my

own life

as Mary

did

that's the

choice

the great

choice in

life

betray

Christ

like Judas

or betray

my own

life

like Mary

and so

believing in

Jesus

means

putting an

end

to loving

this life

it's a

little death

and Mary's

faith shows

a reckless

disregard

for everything

that was

expected

it's a

little death

when I was

a young

Christian

and I

suspect

I'm not

alone

in this

when I

was a

young

Christian

I used

to think

that God

might require

me someday

to offer

my body

as a

martyr

I often

used to

think

if a

gunman

came into

this church

I'd jump

in front

of the

take the

bullet

and if I

was called

to stand

for Christ

and give

my life

as a

martyr

I would

nobody

go

that's

what being

a

Christian

and I

think

many of

us

go

through

the

Christian

life

thinking

a bit

like that

we think

that if

there's

ever going

to be

a call

upon me

to make

a great

sacrifice

one day

I'm going

to make

it

but I've

come to

realise

like I hope

you have

that the

Christian

life is

actually

made up

of a

thousand

little

deaths

daily

and that's

what this

passage does

in a really

lovely

disconcerting

way

it

connects

our

little

deaths

with

his

big

death

it

makes

sense

of

our

little

deaths

it

says

that

through

his

big

death

the

death

of

the

Lord

Jesus

and

our

little

deaths

we

live

and

have

eternal

life

in

1672

just

before he

was

released

from

prison

John

Bunyan

who wrote

Pilgrim's

Progress

he'd

been in

prison

for

12

years

he'd

been

in

prison

for

12

years

for

preaching

without

a

license

and

just

before

he

was

released

he

was

very

conscious

as

a

pastor

of

a

congregation

how

he

suffered

was

important

he wrote

this

he quoted

from

2

Corinthians

1

which

says

we

felt

that

we

had

received

the

sentence

of

death

but

that

was

to

make

us

rely

not

on

ourselves

but

on

God

who

raises

the

dead

cast

the

sentence

of

death

upon

everything

that

can

properly

be

called

the

things

of

life

even

to

reckon

myself

my

wife

my

children

my

health

my

enjoyment

and

all

as

dead

to me

and

myself

as

dead

to

them

and

secondly

he said

to

live

upon

God

who

is

invisible

that's

it

that's

real

faith

it

sees

in

Jesus

it

sees

in

God

more

than

we

deserve

and

all

that

we

desire

and

in

his

death

the

great

death

our

salvation

and

his

glory

and

true

faith

looks

at

that

and

says

what

Christ

has

given

is

everything

and

what

Christ

deserves

from

us

is

everything

love

so

amazing

so

divine

demands

my soul

my life

my all

let's

pray