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.
What the Lord is Saying: Jesus is back in Bethany at the time of the Passover and after serving a meal to Jesus (and the disciples) Mary anoints Jesus with perfume. Judas is surprised, stating it should be given to the poor, but he really wants some of the money for himself. Jesus says his burial is coming and the perfume should be used for this. He will not always be present.
Message: Plotting Against Lazarus
Time: John most likely wrote between A.D. 85 and 90. John's purpose in writing was, "that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name (John 20:31)."
What the Lord is Saying: Jesus is back in Bethany at the time of the Passover and after serving a meal to Jesus (and the disciples) Mary anoints Jesus with perfume. Judas is surprised, stating it should be given to the poor, but he really wants some of the money for himself. Jesus says his burial is coming and the perfume should be used for this. He will not always be present.
In today's passage we have a crowd that learned He was there. Not what we were hoping. But maybe not. They came to not only see Jesus, but really also to see Lazarus. The crowd included the chief priests that felt like it would be best to put Lazarus to death also, in addition to Jesus. Again, the fear is not only Jesus but those who are being impacted by Jesus - they were believing in Jesus. The message from John remains simple - believe in Jesus. John 3:16 is about belief. And throughout this Gospel this is the message that Jesus wants people to arrive at - to believe in Him. And this has been the message throughout scripture - believe in God, believe also in Me. And when we truly believe in something it changes our lives. It can't help but change our lives. There is never easy believe-ism. There is a cost of discipleship. That is apparent always.
Jews are believing. We tend to focus on those that are not believing often, but Jews are believing in Jesus. This is huge that Jews are making the change to believe in Him. And perhaps this is making the chief priests more alarmed in the process.
This is the problem we Christians run into all the time and the reason there are so many Martyrs for Jesus is we become guilty by association.
Summary: Many continue to come to see Jesus and believe but also now they see Lazarus, impacted by Jesus and others want to also put Lazarus to death.
Promise: We must be careful lest jealousy consume our hearts and lead us to be evil toward others.
Prayer: Lord, you are good. You are good. Your ways are right. They are true. Lord, help me to not harbor anger toward others. I do this all the time. I did this yesterday. Once again, in an email, I used my mistake to talk ill of another person. Inexcusable. I was mad last night and I sinned against you. I became just like these chief priests that sought to squash out that which is against them. Forgive me Lord. That was wrong. Help me Lord. I get tired and I get bothered. I don't want to be like these chief priests. Help me Lord. Help me to not get bitter. Help me to stay positive and do things in the right way.
Note: If you are interested in other studies/devotions, check out my index of Bible Study's.
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