John 12 From Perfume to Pack-mule
John 12
From Perfume to Pack-mule…
Learning from the Journey to Jerusalem
Secular:
Biblical:
NAU John 12:1 Jesus, therefore, six days before the Passover, came to Bethany where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2 So they made Him a supper there, and Martha was serving; but Lazarus was one of those reclining at the table with Him. 3 Mary then took a pound of very costly perfume of pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4 But Judas Iscariot, one of His disciples, who was intending to betray Him, said, 5 "Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and given to poor people?" 6 Now he said this, not because he was concerned about the poor, but because he was a thief, and as he had the money box, he used to pilfer what was put into it. 7 Therefore Jesus said, "Let her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of My burial. 8 "For you always have the poor with you, but you do not always have Me." 9 The large crowd of the Jews then learned that He was there; and they came, not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He raised from the dead. 10 But the chief priests planned to put Lazarus to death also; 11 because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and were believing in Jesus. 12 On the next day the large crowd who had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, 13 took the branches of the palm trees and went out to meet Him, and began to shout, "Hosanna! BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD, even the King of Israel." 14 Jesus, finding a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written, 15 "FEAR NOT, DAUGHTER OF ZION; BEHOLD, YOUR KING IS COMING, SEATED ON A DONKEY'S COLT." 16 These things His disciples did not understand at the first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written of Him, and that they had done these things to Him. 17 So the people, who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead, continued to testify about Him. 18 For this reason also the people went and met Him, because they heard that He had performed this sign. 19 So the Pharisees said to one another, "You see that you are not doing any good; look, the world has gone after Him." 20 Now there were some Greeks among those who were going up to worship at the feast; 21 these then came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and began to ask him, saying, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus." 22 Philip came and told Andrew; Andrew and Philip came and told Jesus. 23 And Jesus answered them, saying, "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 "He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal. 26 "If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honour him. 27 "Now My soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, 'Father, save Me from this hour '? But for this purpose I came to this hour. 28 "Father, glorify Your name." Then a voice came out of heaven: "I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again." 29 So the crowd of people who stood by and heard it were saying that it had thundered; others were saying, "An angel has spoken to Him." 30 Jesus answered and said, "This voice has not come for My sake, but for your sakes. 31 "Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. 32 "And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself." 33 But He was saying this to indicate the kind of death by which He was to die. 34 The crowd then answered Him, "We have heard out of the Law that the Christ is to remain forever; and how can You say, 'The Son of Man must be lifted up'? Who is this Son of Man?" 35 So Jesus said to them, "For a little while longer the Light is among you. Walk while you have the Light, so that darkness will not overtake you; he who walks in the darkness does not know where he goes. 36 "While you have the Light, believe in the Light, so that you may become sons of Light." These things Jesus spoke, and He went away and hid Himself from them. 37 But though He had performed so many signs before them, yet they were not believing in Him. 38 This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet which he spoke: "LORD, WHO HAS BELIEVED OUR REPORT? AND TO WHOM HAS THE ARM OF THE LORD BEEN REVEALED?" 39 For this reason they could not believe, for Isaiah said again, 40 "HE HAS BLINDED THEIR EYES AND HE HARDENED THEIR HEART, SO THAT THEY WOULD NOT SEE WITH THEIR EYES AND PERCEIVE WITH THEIR HEART, AND BE CONVERTED AND I HEAL THEM." 41 These things Isaiah said because he saw His glory, and he spoke of Him. 42 Nevertheless many even of the rulers believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they were not confessing Him, for fear that they would be put out of the synagogue; 43 for they loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God. 44 And Jesus cried out and said, "He who believes in Me, does not believe in Me but in Him who sent Me. 45 "He who sees Me sees the One who sent Me. 46 "I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness. 47 "If anyone hears My sayings 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 "He who rejects Me and does not receive My sayings, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day. 49 "For I did not speak on My own initiative, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me a commandment as to what to say and what to speak. 50 "I know that His commandment is eternal life; therefore the things I speak, I speak just as the Father has told Me."
Personal:
Giving leftovers…
- Boss comes for dinner
- Maybe in-laws
- Last night’s meatloaf…
The Best, with Love… despite the Resistance!!
Bridge:
The text of John 12 talks so much about Worship… and allegiance… who is worthy of your praise and whom do you follow… we are called to give…
The Best, with Love… despite the Resistance!!
John 12
From Perfume to Pack-mule…the Journey to Jerusalem
Body:
Worship…
1) The Perfume and Mary…
· the best
i. What we give to God
1. 300 denarii of perfume
2. dumping $30,000
3. O/T unblemished lamb, heifer, goat…
ii. Not leftovers
1. Uneatable
2. Unusable
3. Unwanted
4. Leftover
iii. Nothing held back
1. Wasn’t just a drop…
2. Wasn’t divided up between things that are important
3. Worship… unrestrained… impassioned… whole-hearted
4. Romans 12:1 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.
5.
· in love
i. It is not quantity… it is the heart
1. Wasn’t about how much… it was about sacrifice…
2. It was about the love demonstrated
3. It was about living a God first existence… right to the moment
ii. Genuine… not ceremonial
1. It was a private gathering… not for show… (some people want big recognition for big gifts)
2. It wasn’t scripted… it wasn’t about “have to” it was about “want to”
3. Child… go give uncle Doug a hug goodnight (waaaaaaa)… you go do it… right now!! (How does that feel?)
4. Genuine… is a response out of love….
5. Love demands a response… but not ceremony… it doesn’t always seem to operate with the same logic… (world frowns on sacrifice) but it is always genuine
· despite opposition
i. Despite peer group
1. What are you doing…
2. Give away (versus Give to)
3. Sacrifice versus pleasure
ii. Despite societies plan
1. do it our way
2. poor for ignoble reasons… versus God for the right ones
iii. Despite cost
1. Big sacrifice…
2. Tithing or sacrificial giving is about believing in what God has established
3. Giving of our time costs us… overtime… leisure time… sometimes family time…
The Best, with Love… despite the Resistance!!
2) The Pack-Mule and the Palms…
· According to the promise
i. Recognizing the faithfulness of God
1. Seeing God work
2. Knowing God Word
ii. Reacting to the faithfulness of God
1. Worship and Praise
2. Acknowledge!
· Knew with there head…
i. Matthew 7:21 "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.
The Best, with Love… despite the Resistance!!
3) Participaction… The call to action…
27 "Now My soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, 'Father, save Me from this hour '? But for this purpose I came to this hour. 28 "Father, glorify Your name."
· Laying down life
· Jesus… incredible mission
· Will of the Father… (Matthew 7:21 revisited)
· Matthew 7:21 "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.
·
The Best, with Love… despite the Resistance!!
Conclusion:
1) Perfume and Mary
a. The Best
b. With Love
c. Despite Resistance
The Best, with Love… despite the Resistance!!
2) Pack-Mule and Palms
There was great significance to Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a donkey…
a. According to the Promise
Zech 9:9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, Humble, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey…
The Messiah had come…
i. Recognizing the Faithfulness of God
1. Psalm 36:5 Your lovingkindness, O LORD, extends to the heavens, Your faithfulness reaches to the skies.
2. Psalm 40:10 I have not hidden Your righteousness within my heart; I have spoken of Your faithfulness and Your salvation; I have not concealed Your lovingkindness and Your truth from the great congregation.
3. Lamentations 3:22 The LORD'S lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail. 23 They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.
4. Job 42:1 Then Job answered the LORD and said, 2 "I know that You can do all things, And that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted.
5. God is awesome… He delivers on his promises… He has the power, and the capability to deliver on everything he promises…
6. From the Virgin birth, to the promise of salvation, to our adoption by the Father… through the sacrifice of Christ… all based on the faithfulness of God…
ii. Reacting to the Faithfulness of God
1. How did the people react…
2. Hosanna… worship
3. Expectation
4. Celebration
5. Honour…
iii. Wrong expectations…. Of God
1. Health and Wealth Gospel
2. Me centred… me benefiting
3. They expected a King to Overthrow the Romans… Not a King that would overthrow the power of sin and death…
4. Not just about now… but about forvever…
b. According to simple knowledge
i. They didn’t go the distance… they couldn’t withstand the resistance
ii. They fell away…
iii. Matt 26: 31 Then Jesus said to them, "You will all fall away because of Me this night, for it is written, 'I WILL STRIKE DOWN THE SHEPHERD, AND THE SHEEP OF THE FLOCK SHALL BE SCATTERED.'
iv. We need to be anchored in the Who God is… and who we are in him… not what have you done for me lately… Matt 7:21"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.
They failed to give The Best, with Love… despite the Resistance!!
3) Participaction
a. Laying down your life
i. "For a little while longer the Light is among you
ii. Romans 5:6 For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.
iii. Mark 14:36 And He was saying, "Abba! Father! All things are possible for You; remove this cup from Me; yet not what I will, but what You will."
iv. Costly grace…
v. No cheap grace in scripture
vi. Acts 20:24 "But I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God.
b. Living the Father’s Will
The Best, with Love… despite the Resistance!!