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Tag: John

  • For you will always have the poor – 2

    For you will always have the poor – 2

    “For the poor you have with you always, but Me you do not have always.” – John 12:1 NKJV

    This remark of Jesus cuts right to the quick, does it not? A sense of urgency here: the Son of Man is about to depart from the company of those the Lord came to save.

    An earlier story (in the home of Lazarus)

    Once again, I ask us to examine the 5 W’s of the gospel accounts.

    In the first part of this series we examined the gospel of Mark.

    We established some facts:

    1. It took place on Tuesday, two days prior to the Passover.
    2. It took place in Bethany, in the home of Simon the Leper.
    3. An unnamed woman came in and broke an alabaster flask, anointing Jesus’ head.
    4. There were some who said to themselves indignantly, “Why was the ointment wasted like that?” [Once more, ‘to themselves.’]
    5. Jesus praises the unnamed woman.

    Read carefully a similar, earlier incident from the gospel of John:

    John 12:

    Six days before the Passover, Jesus therefore came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.

    Again, earlier – six days before the Passover, not two. And as we mentioned the Passover that year was a Thursday; therefore, most likely on the evening of the Sabbath, Friday, not the following Tuesday after Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem.

    Jesus therefore came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, for a final Sabbath meal with his dear friends.

    2 So they gave a dinner for him there. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at table.

    Once again, we are in Bethany, but with all certainty Lazarus is hosting the meal with Jesus as honored guest in his own home (not one of another resident of Bethany who will host them all just four days later). Martha, Mary, Lazarus and Judas Iscariot are all named in addition to Jesus.

    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.

    Some new detail

    In addition to naming Lazarus, Mary and Martha, we now learn that Mary anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. It is the act of a servant, an act of humility. Furthermore, we learn from the Apostle John, who wrote this account and knew the disciples well, that Judas complains about the value of the pure nard. It is Judas who suggests to all the value that could be uses for the poor; yet John reveals Judas’ motive in mentioning the poor, that Judas steals cash from this treasury of the disciples.

    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.”

    Jesus, of course, ignores the false suggestion that Judas and the disciples can sell Mary’s expensive ointment for a profit to ‘help the poor.’ Jesus defends Mary’s generous and kind act of worship.

    I ask us, though: aren’t you and I just like Judas in that way?

    Don’t we so often accuse the generous act of another in a way to imply that we could be better stewards of their gift to the Lord?

    Jesus’ last Sabbath before the Sacrifice

    Exodus 16:26  שֵׁשֶׁת יָמִים תִּלְקְטֻהוּ וּבַיֹּום הַשְּׁבִיעִי שַׁבָּת לֹא יִֽהְיֶה־בֹּֽו׃

    It is now Saturday, the Sabbath.

    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!”

    Jesus, the Twelve and some followers had traveled one final journey from Galilee to Jerusalem, via Bethany. In preparation for the time at hand, they rest in the home of their risen friend, Lazarus.

    Do you remember what Jesus had assured Mary after Lazarus had been in the grave four days?

    (This was not the first resurrection Jesus caused, but it was the most recent.)

    John 11:

    25 Jesus said to her, [ctt title=”“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.” tweet=”Do you believe this? – John 11:25-26 ESV” coverup=”Q4g8Y”]

    Do you believe this?”

    27 She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.”

    No words speak more of the life of one who believes than these:

    To be continued…

     

     

  • For you will always have the poor

    For you will always have the poor

    Why mention the poor?

    Once again, Jesus makes what appears to be an offhand remark about the poor. Jesus often criticized the leaders of Temple and Pharisees for their treatment of the poor; doesn’t this remark catch you off guard?

    It would be easy enough to lose the context of Jesus’ apparent ambivalence toward the poor in the rush of events surrounding Passover week. Jesus’ final entry into Jerusalem has many seemingly more important things going on than what to us would first appear to be a slip of the tongue (sort of like cursing the fig tree).  Yet like in our previous series you may find some subtleties worthy of note that impact more than just the poor.

    The Gospel Quotes:

    Prior to examining Jesus’ point of the comment, which we will do later in this series, let’s begin quotes from the view points of three different gospel writers.

    Mark 14:7

    For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you want, you can do good for them.

    Matthew 26:7

    For you always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me.

    John 12:8

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

    The 5 W’s

    Now to discover the context we must examine all three stories asking:

    Who, what, where, when and why?

    You will find some variation in the three Gospel stories and some similarities. We begin today with Mark’s gospel.

    Mark 14:

    It was now two days before the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to arrest him by stealth and kill him, 2 for they said, “Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar from the people.”

    We have the ‘when:’ two days before the Passover, which in this particular year with the Passover on a Thursday, was Tuesday.

    3 And while he was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he was reclining at table, a woman came with an alabaster flask of ointment of pure nard, very costly, and she broke the flask and poured it over his head.

    4 There were some who said to themselves indignantly, “Why was the ointment wasted like that? 5 For this ointment could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor.” And they scolded her. 6 But Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. 7 For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you want, you can do good for them. But you will not always have me. 8 She has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand for burial. 9 And truly, I say to you, wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her.”

    Where? In the house of Simon the Leper, in Bethany, near Jerusalem.

    Bethany is today el ‘Azareyeh (“the place of Lazarus”- the L being displaced to form the article).

    Who is present? Jesus, of course; Simon, host of the meal (who Jesus had likely healed from leprosy; ‘some,’ likely the Twelve and others; and an unidentified woman who enters Simon’s home.

    What happens? She pours out some very expensive oil on Jesus, an act of great humility and worship.

    (More about her and her gracious act later.)

    To be continued…

     

  • for it was not the season for figs – 5

    for it was not the season for figs – 5

    The Lord vs. Kings

    We began this series examining an incident of the Lord Jesus cursing a fig tree. 

It seemed so unlike the Son of Man who would a few days later sacrifice His own blood as perfect Passover sacrifice for the sins of man.

    In the Beginning:

    It is in Eden where we first hear of the leaves of the fig tree made to cover sin.

    Genesis 3:7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.

    Recall that in the beginning, after the Lord created the heavens and the earth, He walked with man {adam} and the woman {Eve} He had created. He walked with them personally.

    The Lord then gave the Law to Moses and appeared to Moses and the Elders of Israel personally

    THEY FEARED His awesome Presence!

    The Law was then administered by judges, not Kings.

    Later the Lord would relent and grant a king to Israel in Saul.

    Yet prior to Saul’s anointing we hear a parable preached against the people who wanted to replace their seventy judges with a king.

    In the previous episode we briefly looked at the story of the hero Gideon, after which this story is told.

    Judges 9:

    Parable of the Trees
    The Olive Tree
    the olive tree is the national tree of Israel

    8 The trees once went out to anoint a king over them,

    and they said to the olive tree, ‘Reign over us.’

    9 But the olive tree said to them,

    ‘Shall I leave my abundance, by which gods and men are honored, and go hold sway over the trees?’

    Olive oil was used for lamps, grain offerings and anointing Kings of Israel.

    The Fig Tree

    10 And the trees said to the fig tree, ‘You come and reign over us.’

    11 But the fig tree said to them, ‘Shall I leave my sweetness and my good fruit and go hold sway over the trees?’

    The fig tree was a common metaphor for Israel as a nation. It often symbolized the health of the nation both spiritually and physically.

    The Grape Vine

    12 And the trees said to the vine, ‘You come and reign over us.’

    13 But the vine said to them, ‘Shall I leave my wine that cheers God and men and go hold sway over the trees?’

    “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”

    1 Corinthians 11:25
     Brambles [Thornbush]

    14 Then all the trees said to the bramble, ‘You come and reign over us.’

    15 And the bramble said to the trees, ‘If in good faith you are anointing me king over you, then come and take refuge in my shade, 

    of course, a bramble bush cannot offer shade

    … but if not, let fire come out of the bramble and devour the cedars of Lebanon.’

    For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God. – Deuteronomy 4:24

    And you have asked for a King?

    Christ Crowned with Thorns

    So Pilate entered his headquarters again and called Jesus and said to him,

    “Are you the King of the Jews?”

    John 18:33

    To be continued…