John Chapter 12

John Chapter 12

Six days before Passover JC wandered over to Bethany (you’ll recall the place where old Laz had been raised from the dead).

Mary and Martha cooked a fine supper for him, which Martha served and Laz joined them at the table. Mary took a pound of their very costly spikenard oil and anointed JC’s feet with her hair and the house filled with the scent of the spikenard.

Let’s pause right here for just a second… John clearly referred to this girl in Chapter 11 as the one who had previously anointed JC and all that. I was too lazy to go back and read because this is a story that is in all the gospels… but come on! Was there no editing at all back in the day??? I guess it’s like blogging today, you can just write whatever you want and publish it, amazing that over thousands of years no one would correct these little inconsistencies.

So, that’s one thing. Second, and you may have read my comment on Luke (which my sister is translating)… anointed with her hair??? So gross! Okay, the menial and low subservience absolutely makes my stomach churn, but it’s also just disgustingly unhygienic putting oil in your hair and rubbing someone’s dirty feet with it. JC must have a gross fetish of some kind. Ick! I'm completely offended that someone, who comes down to supposedly save humanity, would allows someone to debase themselves in that way.

Alright, I’m done, although I could say a lot more, but back to the story…

So, they’re all at dinner and she anoints his gross feet and Judas Iscariot (that dude who betrays JC in the future, in case you forgot) asks why the ointment wasn’t sold for three hundred pence and given to the poor. John tells us that this devil Judas didn’t really care about the poor because he was a thief and needed some money.

Jesus tells him to leave her alone because she’s anointing him for the day of his burial. Also the poor will always have Judas, but the world will not always have our friend JC.

A whole bunch of people heard that Jesus was in town so they came to see him and the man that he raised from the dead. The chief priests had been consulting with each other and were thinking that they might put Lazarus to death (I imagine they were thinking that it was the natural order of things and God’s plans shouldn’t be disturbed). Because the priests were talking about that and a lot of folks liked Lazarus and wanted to keep him around, they turned their beliefs to Jesus.

The next day a lot of people were coming to the feast and they heard that Jesus was going to come to Jerusalem. These people took branches of palm trees and went to meet him hailing him and making a big deal about his arrival. Jesus came in on a donkey that he had found as it had been prophesized that he would.

Jesus yells, “Fear not, daughter of Sion: behold, they King cometh, sitting on an ass’ colt.” As we learned from the other gospels, it’s important that JC comes on this donkey/colt because it fulfilled a prophesy that I can only assume comes from the old testament.

At first his disciples were confused but when they saw how excited everyone was they remembered that special prophesy. The people who were so excited came out to meet him because they’d heard all about his awesome miracles.

The Pharisees were super pissed and couldn’t believe that everyone was chasing after him like teenage girls at a Bieber concert.

There were even a few Greeks who had shown up to worship at the big feast. These guys came to Philip and asked to see JC. Phil was a little intimidated to mention it to Jesus so he grabbed his buddy Andy and they told him together.

Jesus said that it was finally his hour and he should certainly be glorified. (His humility rocks!) he says that when a corn of wheat falls to the ground it dies, but he will bring forth a whole mess of fruit when he dies! Anyone who loves life is going to lose it, anyone that hates life will get eternal life (uh, that sounds like you get to keep a miserable existence for all eternity… is that a prize?)

If anyone wants to serve JC he has to follow him and wherever he goes his servant should go… but don’t worry if you serve him then his daddy will honor you!

Suddenly, JC’s soul is troubled and asks what he should say? Dad, save me from this hour? But the problem is that the whole reason that he’s slumming it on earth is for this very moment, he thinks. Jesus looks to his dad again and this time he has him to glorify his name. A big old voice from heaven announces that he has glorified it already and will do so again.

Jesus looks at the crowd and tells them that the voice came not because of him but for their benefit. (Yeah right, you just asked him to say that). Now is the time of the judgment of the world and now the prince of the world will be cast out. (I guess JC is the prince). If he’s lifted up, he promises to draw all men to him. He said this, “signifying what death he should die”.

The gathered crowd is confused because they heard that Christ’s law was eternal so why does he have to be lifted up. Also, who is the son of man? (Sheesh, I can’t believe they haven’t figured that out yet!)

JC’s like, you only have a little light in you so you better walk in it while you have it because darkness is coming and if you walk in the darkness you won’t know where the heck you’re going. While you have this light you better believe in it so you can be children of the light (hopefully not as scary as Children of the Corn).

After that speech he left and hid himself from them. Even though he had performed so many miracles, they still wouldn’t believe him (more flies with honey than vinegar JC, I think an attitude adjustment would increase your followership). They folks just couldn’t bring themselves to believe the saying of Esaias was fulfilled. For some reason someone asks who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? I don’t know if JC is saying that or Esaias, or someone else.

But the people just couldn’t believe. Esaias had said that their eyes were blinded and their hearts hardened so they could not see or understand with their hearts and thereby be converted. Esaias had wanted to heal them when he saw JC’s awesome glory and spoke of him.

Nevertheless even among the chief rulers some believed in Jesus, but they were afraid of the Pharisees and did not confess for fear of being kicked out of the synagogue. They loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.

Jesus yelled and told everyone (I thought he was hiding right now…) that anyone who believes in him doesn’t believe in him, but rather believes in god. Anyone who sees him actually sees god. He comes as a light into the world so all his believers don’t have to dwell in darkness. If anyone hears his words but does not believe, don’t worry, JC’s not going to judge (I would feel comforted but he seems to flip flop on this issue quite often). He tells everyone (even though we have no idea who he’s talking to) that he didn’t come to judge, he came to save. Anyone that rejects him and doesn’t listen to him has one judge and he’ll judge them all on the last day (hasn’t he told us that he and god are the same, so isn’t he just saying that he’ll judge them later, even though he just said he wasn’t going to judge????). He has never spoken for himself but only for his father who commanded him. He also knows that god’s commandment is life everlasting. Again, as a reminder, anything JC says is what his dad told him to.