THE ANOINTING                                   JOHN 11:45-12:11

As the time grew near for Jesus’ death, factions began to develop:

Those who believed Jesus

Those who denied Him

Lazarus’ resurrection seemed to galvanize the two camps

Ironically, both camps were part of His anointing

THE DILEMMA. The resurrection of Lazarus produced two reactions.

Faith     Frustration

FOUR ANOINTINGS Miracle, Misconception, Misapplication,

MIRACLE (45) Reaction: Faith This was undeniably an impressive work of God, and  helped many them put their trust in Jesus by seeing what He did. 

Application: Sometimes, it takes a miracle for us to get our eyes open to the call of Christ on our heart.

MISCONCEPTION (46-48) Reaction: Frustration                                                                   1. Everyone will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and nation: Their fears revealed a complete misconception of the motives of Jesus, who had no political ambition, whatsoever.                                                                                                2.: Ironically, this rejection of Jesus resulted in the ruin and destruction of Israel.

Application: The world has a misconception about Christ. He was more than a good man; excellent teacher, wonderful role model.

He is God.

MISAPPLICATION Reaction: Frustration(49-57)

It is expedient for us that one man should die for the people, and not that the whole nation should perish:                                                             Caiaphas gives a right prophecy, but for the wrong reason.                                            He wanted Jesus to die to spare Israel from Rome’s wrath.                                                 Jesus would die for Israel and the world to spare them from the wrath of God.

Caiaphas had swerved into the truth and not recognized it!

He unknowingly affirmed God’s plan for Jesus as the Sacrifice.

NOTE: The prophecy is attributed to the office, not the man

Then from that day on they plotted to put Him to death: Before, it was mostly lesser religious officials who wanted Jesus dead. But now, the men with real political power plot to murder Jesus.

However, Jesus stayed out of sight because it was not His time to die.

The time was drawing near for the Passover to be held. Mandatory presence.

Ironically, the men who stood by the temple watching for Jesus could only do so by first ritually purifying themselves. They were ready to pour innocent blood on their self-righteous hands.

Application: God sometimes allows the ungodly to do things that will ultimately bring about His will, even to the point of allowing them to accuse and convict His Son of trumped up charges.

MINISTERING (1-11) Reaction: Faith  Six days before His sacrifice, Jesus, Lazarus, Mary, and Martha. attend a dinner in His honor at the home of Simon the Leper (Matthew 26:6 and Mark 14:3).

Mary and Martha are perfect examples of people needed in churches today.

Martha was a facilitator.  Mary was a front person.      It takes both types.

Example: Movie Crews: grip, greensman, foley artist, gaffer, best-boy, wrangler

Both women loved the Lord with all their hearts.

Martha showed her love by serving and providing.

Mary showed her love by her gift of anointing Jesus' feet during supper.

It was unusual to use very costly oil of spikenard, and to wipe feet with hair.

When a guest entered the home, usually the guest’s feet were washed with water and the guest’s head was anointed with a dab of oil or perfume. Here, Mary used this precious ointment and anointed the feet of Jesus. She considered her precious ointment only good enough for His feet.

Mary’s gift was remarkably unselfconscious. Not only did she give the gift of the expensive oil, she also wiped His feet with her hair. This means that she let down her hair in public, something a Jewish woman would rarely (if ever) do.

Spices and ointments were often used as an investment because they occupied a small space, were portable, and were easily negotiable in the open market.

300 denarii: a year’s wages for a working man.

Judas betrayal is so much darker when contrasted with Mary’s devotion to Jesus.

 Judas teaches us that outward appearances can be deceptive.

 Many people have a religious facade that hides secret sin.

Judas had a sharp sense of financial values, but no appreciation of what God valued. He thought this was too much love and devotion to show to Jesus.

Mary knew something that the disciples didn’t understand.

She knew that Jesus was going to die, and so she was compelled to offer this extravagant gift of devotion to Jesus.

The chief priests plotted to put Lazarus to death also: The chief priests were mostly Sadducees, and the Sadducees didn’t believe in the resurrection. Lazarus was a living example of life after death, and having him around was an embarrassment to their theological system.

On account of him many of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus: This made the problem of the chief priests worse. Lazarus was drawing people to Jesus and in the opinion of these religious leaders he had to be stopped.

WHAT IS YOUR REACTION?

FAITH:   Letting Go Here, and Gaining Heaven

FRUSTRATION: Letting Go of God, and Losing Heaven

F.A.I.T.H.          Forsaking All, I Trust Him