John 12

John 12 & The Parable of the Soils

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John 12:1-50

Phillip Wright / General Adult

In Matthew 13 Jesus tells His disciples the parable of the sower in which he

describes a farmer who throws his seed on four different types of soils.

Matthew 13:4–8 ESV

And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and

devoured them. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have

much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil,

but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root,

they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up

and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some

a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

Jesus tells us the meaning of this parable.

The seed sewn on the path is people who hear the words of God but before

they can take root satan snatches away what was sewn in their heart. These

are people who outright reject the good news of Jesus.

The seed sewn on rocky soil are people who have an immediate response

to the teaching of God but it does not take root and it only lasts a moment.

It is a flash in the pan response.

The seed sewn on thorns were people who responded to the teaching of

God but the worries of this life and their love of sin causes what was sewn

to be choked out and killed.

The final seed that was sewn was sewn on the good soil that produced a

hundred fold.

Today in John we are looking at the final days of Jesus before His arrest.

This idea of the four soils is important for us today because we are going to

see four different responses to the person of Jesus here in chapter 12.

What type of soil are you?

The Good Soil

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The type of soil we see in this chapter is with Mary the sister of Martha and

Lazarus.

John 12:1–2 ESV

Six days before the Passover, Jesus therefore came to Bethany, where

Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. So they gave a dinner

for him there. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with

him at table.

It is the week before Jesus’ arrest and He is sitting and eating dinner with

Lazarus and his family in Bethany. If you had forgotten what Jesus did in the

chapter prior he reminds us here. Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. This

miracle was the straw that broke the camels back for the Pharisees. They

were now actively looking for a way to put Jesus to death. But Jesus is here

in Jerusalem now enjoying time with His dear friends awaiting the Passover

festival that would be in a few days.

John 12:3 ESV

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.

Mary takes this time to present Jesus with a beautiful offering. She takes

this expensive ointment and anoints Jesus’ feet. When they say this

perfume was expensive they aren’t kidding. It was probably worth around a

year’s salary. It was easily the most expensive thing Mary owned and was to

be reserved for a specific purpose. After a person dies their body is

anointed with special oils to prepare their bodies for death. This was a

costly display of faith to Jesus. In anointing Jesus she was declaring Him to

be her king. Jesus was worth more to her than any worldly possession.

Jesus is the greatest treasure we could ever have. And so she takes this

ointment and pours it over the feet of Jesus. He is worthy of this great

honor. In doing this Mary is the only person to anoint Jesus for death. He

would die later on Friday and because the Sabbath was beginning they

were unable to prepare Jesus’ body for death and because He rose again

on Sunday while the women were going to the tomb with their spices He

had no need for the preparation. But here in the living room of her house

Mary receives this great honor of being the only one to anoint Jesus‘ body

for death.

She wipes His feet with her hair. What a vulnerable position Mary has put

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herself into. This wasn’t a private moment between her and Jesus. It says

the whole room was filled with the fragrance. Everyone who was there was

witness to her sacrifice.

John 12:4–6 ESV

But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was about to betray him),

said, “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given

to the poor?” 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.

Judas’ response reveals to us the reader the intentions of his heart. This was

a selfish man who scoffs at a woman displaying authentic worship to her

savior. Yet she is not swayed by Judas’ biting words but continues in her

worship.

John 12:7–8 ESV

Jesus said, “Leave her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of my

burial. For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have

me.”

Jesus defends Mary and warns His followers of what would soon happen to

Him.

What makes a soil good?

That it receives the good news and is transformed by it. Mary being good

soil is not a badge of honor that she has earned by her merit or through

works of the law. She is good soil because she has believed in faith the

good news of Jesus Christ and has surrendered to the Lordship of Christ in

her life. The words of Christ have not fallen on deaf ears with Mary, she was

not responding in an emotional or short lived way, and she was not swayed

by the scoffs of the men around her. The word of God has transformed her

life and moved her to authentic faith and repentance. Mary’s sacrifice was a

public confession of what she believed.

The Hard Path

Obviously Judas is an excellent example of a hard path soil. He didn’t care

about the good news of Jesus but was solely focused on his own profit, but

he isn’t the example of hard path soil John gives us. The Pharisees also

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serve as an excellent example.

John 12:9–11 ESV

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. So the chief priests made plans to put Lazarus to death as

well, because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and

believing in Jesus.

These priests hated Jesus so much they were ready and willing to take the

life of Lazarus to prevent others from hearing and believing the Gospel. It is

truly and evil and wicked thing when a person actively seeks to hinder the

spread of the Gospel. Especially when the people are calling themselves

men of God and are in a position of authority.

What makes a hard path?

There are lots of things that can make a heart resistant to the Gospel.

Anger, bitterness, pride, selfishness. These men have allowed their hearts to

become so hard to the truth that even the idea of Jesus moves them to

violence. There are so many people in our world with hearts outright

opposed to the Gospel. They have heard the very words of Jesus that could

lead them to forgiveness but before the truth is ever allowed to take root

their master satan has thrown it away. They are haters of truth and demand

to be named kings or queens in their life. When we think of Judas or the

Pharisees or people that openly hate God and revile His truth it is easy to

say, “they will never believe and so what is the point?” but I must remind

you both int he parable of the soils and in this chapter, Jesus does not stop

sewing seed. He knew the hearts of the people but that didn’t stop Him

from speaking the truth in love. God can take even the hardest and coldest

heart of stone and make it alive again. Saul actively hunted and murdered

Christians when he was a Pharisee, and on the road to Damascus Jesus

changed his heart forever. There is no person who is out of the reach of

God. These men had the opportunity to surrender to Jesus and find

forgiveness of their sins but they chose to reject Him.

The Rocky Soil

The third type of soil we see is the rocky soil. This is the soil that has a quick

emotional response but does not lead to a lasting and authentic faith.

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John 12:12–19 ESV

The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus

was coming to Jerusalem. 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!” And Jesus found a young

donkey and sat on it, just as it is written,

“Fear not, daughter of Zion;

behold, your king is coming,

sitting on a donkey’s colt!”

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. 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. The reason why the crowd went to meet him was that they

heard he had done this sign. So the Pharisees said to one another, “You see

that you are gaining nothing. Look, the world has gone after him.”

This passage is part of what we know as Palm Sunday. Jesus rides into

Jerusalem on the back of a donkey and is welcomed by the cheers of the

people. We also know that these people who cheered hosanna on Sunday

would would do nothing to stop the call for Jesus to be crucified on Friday.

Even though they welcomed Jesus in as the Messiah the legitimacy of their

faith had no lasting presence. Of all the people who welcomed Him into the

city that day only 120 would stand with Him at His ascension 40 days after

His resurrection. After He had appeared to over 500 people.

What makes soil rocky?

The people that day were ready for the Messiah to be crowned. They were

caught up in the excitement that comes with encountering the creator of

the universe but it did not take root into lasting transformation. They heard

the words of God and enjoyed their sweetness but did not allow them to

become rooted. For a Christian the Good News of Jesus Christ is the very

thing our lives are established on. Without a firm foundation our hearts are

torn apart by the waves of this world, burned under the heat of the son.

The people recieved Jesus teaching as supplementary to their lives. It wasn’t

a truth that affected their day to day lives and as a result when the storms

of life came the truth of the Gospel was thrown overboard. The very people

who called for Jesus to be crowned also desecrated the temple with their

bartering. Responding to the Gospel isn’t a flippant emotional feeling. It is a

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life transformation. A new identity. Emotions change. Feelings change. But

salvation and the sewn word of the Lord stand the test of time.

1 Peter 1:22–25 ESV

Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere

brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, since you have

been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the

living and abiding word of God; for “All flesh is like grass and all its glory

like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word

of the Lord remains forever.” And this word is the good news that was

preached to you.

Our lives should be rooted in and built on Jesus. He is everything to us. He

isn’t a trend to be swept up in but is life itself.

The Seed is Sewn

After these things Jesus is approached by some Greeks. They ask Jesus a

question, and as the great farmer, Jesus casts the seeds of the Gospel so

that all might hear the Word of God and believe.

John 12:20–26 ESV

Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks.

So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him,

“Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” Philip went and told Andrew; Andrew and Philip

went and told Jesus. And Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the

Son of Man to be glorified. 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. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world

will keep it for eternal life. 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.

Jesus compares us to seeds. Unless we die to ourselves and follow Him we

cannot have life. This is the Gospel. Jesus died for our sins paying the

penalty of our sins and He rose again on the third day in victory. If we

believe in Him for salvation we die to our old self and a raised into new life

with Him.

Romans 6:4–6 ESV

We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just

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as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might

walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like

his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know

that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might

be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.

If you love your sin and love your life separated from God you will die guilty

in your sin. Whoever loves his life will lose it. But if you hate your sin and

hate your life separated from God and long for God’s mercy and

forgiveness the good news is that Jesus offers His grace freely. Whoever

hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Believing in Jesus

means dying to your old self so that you might be born again into new life

through Jesus. He forgives us our sins and calls us to follow Him. Wherever

He goes we go. Whatever He calls us to do we do. Obedience is the natural

response of a person who has been born again and follows Jesus.

Jesus gives even more evidence to support this good news.

John 12:27–36 ESV

“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. Father, glorify your

name.” Then a voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify

it again.” The crowd that stood there and heard it said that it had

thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.” Jesus answered,

“This voice has come for your sake, not mine. Now is the judgment of this

world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. And I, when I am lifted up

from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” He said this to show by what

kind of death he was going to die. 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?” 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. While you have the light,

believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.”

The whole reason Jesus came to the earth is so that He might glorify God

the Father by laying down His life on the cross for our sins. The Father

speaks from heaven to affirm Jesus’ ministry and the death by which Jesus

would die. Jesus the ruler of the world will be cast out by the world.

Rejected by His own creation. He will be lifted up on the cross as an

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offering, not just for the Jews, but for all people and the testimony of the

cross is drawing us in to fall on our faces before God and find salvation in

His name. The people didn’t understand how this could be, but Jesus

responds with with clarity. Walk in the light. In the light we see and

understand. Jesus has come to shine a light in our darkness. He is calling us

to turn from our sin and trust in Him and when we do He brings us into His

marvelous light.

How do you receive this seed that has been sewn?

The Thorny Soil

The final type of soil is the thorny soil. This is the soil that receives the word

of God but it is choked out by the worries and temptations of this world.

John 12:36–43 ESV

When Jesus had said these things, he departed and hid himself from them.

Though he had done so many signs before them, they still did not believe

in him, 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?” Therefore they could not believe. For again

Isaiah said, “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.” Isaiah said these things because he saw his glory and spoke of

him. 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; for they loved the glory that comes from man more than

the glory that comes from God.

Many refused to believe in Him still. After all the miracles, after all the

teaching, after even the voice of God spoke from heaven they did not

believe. Jesus understood that this would happen and it was even predicted

through Isaiah 600 years earlier that it would be this way. It was necessary

for Jesus to be rejected so that He might be put to death for our sin. This is

why Jesus spoke in parables. In fact guess where else this passage from

Isaiah is used in the New Testament...In Matthew 13 with the parable of the

soils. It was not only necessary for Jesus to be rejected but it was natural.

Mankind rejects Jesus naturally because of the sin nature we are born with.

We are all born in slavery to our sin, this is why we must be born again.

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While many rejected Jesus, some believed Him that day, but their belief did

not last. Why? look at verse 42-43.

John 12:42–43 ESV

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; for they loved the glory that comes from man more than

the glory that comes from God.

Their belief was choked out by their fear of the Pharisees and their love for

man’s glory over the glory that comes from God.

What makes a soil thorny?

When belief is done in reluctant obligation, when we are forced to believe,

sin will be beautiful to us. If Jesus is not the sole object of our affection and

trust sin and the worries of this world will keep us from fully surrendering

our lives to Jesus. If Christ is not king in every aspect of our life He is king of

none of it. When we surrender to Jesus as Lord and Savior we do not only

give Him what is convenient. We give Him all of ourselves. These men who

claimed to believe did not fully trust in Jesus out of fear of the Pharisees.

They had weeds growing in their soil and if they were not taken care of the

weeds would kill their faith. How do you kill a weed? You pull it up from its

roots. You have to kill it completely or else it will grow back again and

again. Do you love your sin more than Jesus? Are you willing to live without

the things that pull you away from Jesus? Take a look at your life. Are there

weeds growing in your soil that you entertain and enjoy? Are there beliefs

and habits that are killing your faith and relationship to God?

Like the good farmer He is Jesus tells us that for those who are abiding in

Him, like a tree branch, He prunes and trims us until we are producing fruit

that glorifies Him. We will talk more about that in the next few weeks.

Following Jesus means surrendering our lives to Him and allowing Him to

cut things out of our lives that don’t belong there.

Think back one more time to the good soil. Mary loved Jesus and was ready

to receive and respond to the good words of the Gospel sewn by Jesus

unlike the Pharisees and Judas. She trusted Jesus even to death by

surrendering this ointment reserved for her burial. She trusted Jesus with

her life unlike those who shouted Hosanna and changed their minds later

on. She gave all that was precious to her, the very thing that was most

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expensive and could have made her wealthy and comfortable and she

poured it out on Jesus’ feet. She cut the weeds that might keep her from

following Jesus completely and trusted Him with her desires and worries.

What needs to change in your life for you to live with good soil?

How have you responded to the good news of the Gospel?

The Farmer’s Plea

John 12:44–50 ESV

And Jesus cried out and said, “Whoever believes in me, believes not in me

but in him who sent me. And whoever sees me sees him who sent me. I

have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not

remain in darkness. 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.

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. 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. And I know that his

commandment is eternal life. What I say, therefore, I say as the Father has

told me.”

How will you respond to the words of Jesus tonight? He is offering

forgiveness for your sins and eternal life with Him in heaven. He has died

on the cross and has been raised from the dead so that you might believe

and find life in His name. Will you receive Him tonight?