John | Chapter 11 – Scripture Supply

3. 11:25 Giver of life

John 11:1-16

“What love is this?”

I. Intro.

II. Vs. 1-6 The fear of the delay

III. Vs. 7-16 The fear of the journey

Intro.

Jesus had raised others from the dead during His ministry: There was the Jairus’ daughter (Matthew 9:18-26, Mark 5:21-43 and Luke 8:40-56). And there was the widow at Nain’s son who was being carried out for burial in Luke 7:11-17. But this miracle perhaps more than any of the others was the most miraculous.

Paul wrote those familiar words in the “Love” chapter in 1 Cor 13 “now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” Ah but what happens when we find that we are no longer abiding in those three blessings of our relationship with Jesus, when situations or circumstances have arisen that seem to contradict what we believe to be true about our Lord? I suggest to you that it was a greater miracle to breathe His life back into the death of faith, hope and love then it was Lazarus’ lungs. Friends Jesus can deal with death and He can breathe life back into our faithlessness if we will but allow Him. The story of the raising of Lazarus from the dead serves as a catalyst to what this chapter centers upon and that is faith. I find there are two great obstacles on the road of faith:

Vs. 1-6 The fear of delay: Have you ever noticed that our faith never seems to wavier as long the answers are on time? It is the “wait and the delay” that seems to seems usher in our discouragement. But as we shall see the antidote to delay is to remind ourselves that no amount of delay dampens the fervency of His love.
Vs. 7-16 The fear of the journey: The “what if’s” are another thing that always seems to cause us to falter in our faith. But as we will see Jesus will use the “truth” as the antidote to fear.

The most challenging situation we face as a Christian is when God does not do what we think He was going to when we thought He was going to do it. Some call these crises of faith but no matter what you call it we will all have to go through it more than once. The story before us will go down next to His own resurrection as the greatest of all of Jesus miracles yet He didn’t do it the way most thought He would or when they thought He would.

Vs. 1-6 The fear of the delay

Vs. 1-2 In Luke 10:38 we are told “that Martha welcomed Jesus into her house” and here we are told that it Mary’s town. It may have been the Mary’s town (11:1) but it was Martha’s house. What this tells us is that Mary was more social she was more active in the community but Martha felt more at home serving behind the scenes. These two were different Mary was no doubt more expressive in her devotion towards Jesus where as Martha tended to demonstrate it with her service. But notice in verse 5 it says that Jesus loved them all, regardless of how they expressed their devotion towards Him. What is interesting is that in this moment of crises these two gals who express their devotion differently sent a message to Jesus based upon His devotion not theirs. Lazarus illness and death was not because of some failure on his or their part it was rather something that God was going to use to glorify the Son.

Jesus’ relationship with this family was quite close they opened up their home as well as their hearts to this radical rabbi and He often stayed with them. Yet with that said this close nit relationship did not make them immune from life’s difficulties and challenges. I say this because we are often prone to think that our relationship with our Jesus ought to cause a few of the storms of life to pass us by and when they don’t we start to think, “Hey wait a minute here this can’t be happening to me I’m Jesus’ close friend, He lies in the home of my heart.” What we shall look at here is how this family handles this and how Jesus shows His love towards them. Folks Jesus doesn’t always shelter us from the storm but He will always be a shelter through the storm.

Vs. 3 On a positive note look at how Martha and Mary send word to Jesus concerning Lazarus’ sickness.

“He who You love is sick” not “he who loves You is sick” though it was true that Lazarus loved Jesus that is not the way they approached Jesus no they approached Him based upon His love for them not their love for Him. To be quite honest my love for Jesus is quite fickle but His love for me never waivers.
The word here for love in verse 3 is not agape it is the word that describes full affection towards Lazarus that is all the visible signs of His love and they reminded Him of it. Yet when John commented on Jesus love for them in verse 5 he said that he had “devotion” towards them not mere emotion. He was devoted to them so He delayed His coming emotion did not drive Him devotion did!
Finally notice that no where do Martha and Mary instruct the Lord on what they want Him to do. Instead they start out reminding themselves of Jesus love then simply inform Him on the need. There was no commanding Jesus to do something there was only communing with Him.

Vs. 4-6 We are given two things about the timing that seem to contradict each other. First, has to do with when Lazarus died and to see this we need to construct a timeline of the events as given us.

The time line: First we need to realize that it took a whole day to travel 20 miles from Bethany to Bethabara where Jesus was with the disciples and this took place on day 1. Then the messenger traveled back the next day with Jesus’ encouraging words on day 2. Next we are told in verse 6 that Jesus stayed yet another day which took place on day 3. That makes the day of travel of Jesus to Bethany on day 4. Follow me on this now, based upon verse 17 where we are told that “When Jesus came, He found that he (Lazarus) had already been in the tomb four days”, that means that Lazarus was already dead on day 1 when the messenger first arrived. Now we place into this timeline Jesus words to the messenger in verse 4 “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” I can only imagine what those words meant to the messenger as he walked home through the day only to arrive upon the seen hearing that Lazarus was already dead. It appears he delivered the message based upon Martha’s words in verse 24 where she says, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” But she didn’t see that Jesus was not speaking with regards to the resurrection but that Lazarus would come back to life now.
The lapse of time: The messenger was sent with the words, “He whom You love is sick” which is further confirmed by John’s commentary in verse 5 “Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister (Mary) and Lazarus”. The problem comes when we place John’s commentary in verse 6 where he reveals “So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was.” Even when we factor in the fact that when Jesus heard the words from the messenger of Lazarus’ sickness he was already dead it still is hard to reconcile the truth of Jesus Love for this man and his sisters with His actions.

How could the words that proceeded Jesus arrival be a comfort to those grieving over the loss of their brother? Yet, clearly Jesus in verse 14 knew that Lazarus was dead when He sent the messenger back to the two grieving sisters. Listen carefully my friends as Jesus was exhorting them to trust Him irrespectively of how contrary the circumstances appeared, else why send back a message? Under the service of this story lie our own circumstances and if I place myself in this story I would be questioning three things with regards to Jesus:

1. Why did you allow this?

2. Why did you wait?

3. Why didn’t you do something for me when you have done so for others?

Compounding these three questions was the confidence these had in Jesus love for them, they knew of His ability: He calmed the storms, healed the sick and raise the dead of those He didn’t know as well. If Jesus loved Lazarus so much why did He permit him to get sick in the first place? Why did He delay His coming seeing that He loved the sisters who were by now grieving for the loss of their brother? He didn’t even have to come He could have healed for a distance as he had with others. By my simple observation there seems to be a contradiction between Jesus stated love for this family and His actions towards them. Here is what we know, His love for us is no guarantee that we won’t suffer only that through such suffering He won’t leave us or forsake us, further more He saw that through such problems God would be glorified. It appears that the two sisters knew this as well when they sent the messenger they asked nothing from Jesus only told Him of the need and reminded Him of His love for Him. And in Jesus reply He promised that death would not be the ultimate result for Lazarus but rather He was destined for the glory of God.

Vs. 5-6 We are so used to critical situations demanding immediate action that even when we factor in the fact that Jesus already knows that Lazarus is dead still for the sake of the family one would think He would take immediate leave to travel to their home. Where was the flashing red lights and screaming sirens’, the running through stop lights in His hurry to met human heart ache and extreme sadness? Instead so uncharacteristic we see Jesus staying two more days, have you ever felt Martha in verse 21, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died?” Oh it may have been too late for Lazarus but it would have been so comforting for the two sisters, but He stayed two more days. What could have been so important that He delayed two days? He sent a messenger with a message that didn’t seem to be a comfort now, yes in the future but now their brother was dead. Yet still our own hearts want to know WHY? The answer is given us in verse 5 Jesus delayed His departure in the midst of their greatest hour because He “loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.” What? We often misinterpret God’s delays as His denials don’t we? We tend to think that His delays signify a lack of love towards us on His part especially when we look over the landscape of those He has seemingly rushed to aide. What we learn here is that His delay is not a sign of the absence of His love but rather it is a sign of His love as His delay is designed to help us not harm us, to cause us to grow in our trust of His love. I’ve watched with interest our little Hannah as she so likes to be held and when you put her down she cries but mom and dad are learning to let her cry a while before they run to pick her up so she will understand that they love her just as much when they aren’t holding her close to their hearts.

Think of those two sisters grieving over the loss of their brother when the messenger returns alone with a message that would cause you to question not only the words but the heart and actions of the one you believed was the Messiah. Those sisters must have keep one eye one the bed where Lazarus lay and one eye on the road where Jesus would be coming but as the hours passed away so to did there hope with Lazarus’ passing. But two days later He comes and acts in much bigger way then you ever imagined. They were wanting to prevent death and Jesus came showing that He is greater than merely preventing it He has come to conquer it!

Vs. 7-16 The fear of the journey

Vs. 7-10 Now we move to the second part of the story with two great truths as it relates to the disciples and their fear of the journey. Still fresh in the mind of these disciples were the raised arms and stones in the hands of the religious leaders only a week earlier and now Jesus wants to go back there where they still have no idea how they managed to escape alive. They were staying a day away and by a peaceful river with no worries, life had just got back to normal or as close to it when you were a follower of a radical rabbi. Folks there are many times that we don’t much like the way Jesus is driving the bus of our lives do we? “Uh pardon me Jesus but did you say we are heading back into danger and uncertainty? Um I’d think you need to consult the passengers before you take us on this journey because we really don’t want to see those sights again.” Usually when this happens we want to get off the bus or change the driver don’t we? The Bible in Hebrews 9:27 “it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment”, I don’t know if you have thought about it much but we have an appointment with death and tell that appointment date has come we are going to be here. Now the challenge is according to Eccles. 9:12 “no man knows when his hour will come” that is why we are told in Psalm 90:12 to “Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”

This return reveal quite a lot about the departure a week earlier doesn’t it? It reveals that His leaving was not based upon fear but rather timing, you see had it been fear He would not have gone back. To this Jesus explains the principals of timing (verse 9-10) stay on His course and you have no fear on the journey but do your own thing and you will stumble.

Vs. 11-16 “Lazarus is dead” Jesus said, then in the next breath He says, “And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe. Nevertheless let us go to him.” The finality of death must have caught the disciples by surprise as Thomas now thinks he is on a suicide mission. But what Jesus was saying wasn’t upon their mission but rather about the opportunity for them to grow in their trust of Him. The event that was surround by grief would become an opportunity for belief.

Part of the problem of any journey is the uncertainty of what we will find at the destination. And in this case they didn’t much care for the journey because the destination was death. To this Jesus explains to His followers that death is not the destination but rather rest is! That is the word He employs here is different then the one uses in verse 14 which means slain here the word means to put to sleep. There was no fear, no uncertainty when you put your head on that pillow last night, you dosed off until the alarm brought you back and if your like most folks you would have preferred to remain under those covers. Jesus delayed His coming for two reasons the first was Love for the family and the second was faith for the disciples (verse 15). Isaiah the prophet spoke of a great truth in 55:8 about the Lord saying, “My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord.” Friends, there are possibilities and opportunities in every situation that we cannot conceive of. So we must wait and quietly trust, knowing that he is working out something. Imagine what was going through their minds, “He said Lazarus’ illness was not unto death but now He just said that He was dead, how can these both be true?” Thomas devoted to the end said then we will go with you, we will go down with the ship. Oh I think I’m Thomas’ twin sometimes just going to grin and bear it determined to press forward but not believing that Jesus is going to do something wonderful, something glorious. That is the finally lesson you will have no fear of the journey or the destination of you will simply trust His word!

3. 11:25 Giver of life

John 11:17-37

“Lord, if You had been here”

I. Intro.

II. Vs. 17-28 It’s too good to be true

III. Vs. 29-37 Tears at the tomb

Intro.

Though medical science has made great strides in combating many illness that plague the world the death rates have not changed sense to fall of man they are still at 100%. You can watch your diet, watch your cholesterol and exercise and in the end you will become the healthiest dead person anyone has seen. Yet here we are told of a story where our Lord defeated deaths hold.

Hope is a difficult thing to grasp isn’t it? It reminds me of a story I heard about a Wisconsin couple celebrating a December anniversary in Florida at the same hotel where they had spent their honeymoon 20 years earlier. Because of the husbands job he flew to Florida on Thursday, while his wife waited at home to fly down to Florida and join him the next day. When the husband checked into the hotel, he discovered a computer with wireless internet service was now available in their room and he sent an email to his wife. Unfortunately he accidently left out one letter in her email address and his email ended in the box of a recently widowed gal who had just returned home from her husband’s funeral. After reading the email message, she screamed and fainted. The widow’s son rushed into the room found his mother fainted on the floor, and saw the computer screen which read:

To: My Loving Wife

From: Your Loving Husband

Subject: I’ve Arrived

Sweetheart, I know you’re surprised to hear from me. They have computers here now and you are allowed to send emails from your room. I’ve just arrived and have been checked in. I see that everything has been prepared for your arrival tomorrow. I’m looking forward to seeing you then! P.S. – Sure is hot down here!

Vs. 17-28 It’s too good to be true

Vs. 17-20 There is a little known Jewish superstition that said a soul stayed near the grave for three days, hoping to return to the body and one wonders if Jesus stayed four days to dispel that superstition. But as soon as Martha heard that Jesus was a short distance away she broke tradition as she left the house after the death of a family member as you were suppose to stay at the home 7 days.

Vs. 21-22 Martha’s words are based upon remorse and not upon rebuke she is able to see Jesus working but only with in the confines of her understanding. Her first words to Jesus in verse 21 were words of regret that she must have said and thought continually through those four days. “If” is such a big word to overcome in the hearts of people as it is a word of imagination and speculation yet in this case it also carried with it a hope of what might have been “if” Jesus would only have been present. Do you realize that there is not one recorded time that a person dies while Jesus was present? It seems as though Martha was quick to affirm her trust in Jesus even though she interpreted His promise in the future not in the present. Apparently Martha was wrestling with her hope as she says in verse 22 “But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You”. Then in the next breath she slips back to hope in the future instead of the present. Man does this ever seem familiar doesn’t it.

The question many want to know is just what did Martha mean by her words to Jesus in verse 22, “But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give you.” It is apparent by the context that she didn’t certainly believe what she had said as she would have responded very differently to Jesus reply in verse 23 “Your brother will rise again”. You see if she believed Jesus words at that moment she would have screamed, “Halleluiah lets go get my brother now!” Some think that what she meant by these words were for her and Mary not for Lazarus as they need hope and comfort, “Oh Lord I know you can help Mary and I through the next days, weeks months and years of loneliness and heartache”. The problem with Martha’s hope was that it was stuck in what she thought could happen instead of the person she was speaking too. Oh I do not fault her and resemble her far to much, as our hope is stuck upon our comprehension of the circumstances instead of the very why who is according to Ephes. 3:20 “able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us”. Jesus speaks words of hope to her as He gets her mind off the limitation of the situation and onto the power of the Savior. Martha is stuck in the theology of the “last days” but the problem is when we can only see the Lord working after we are gone or only towards others and not towards ourselves our “last days” become “lost days”. Ah friends in Jesus the only one that is going to die is the grim reaper. The only qualification is that what Jesus said to Martha, “He who believes in Me!”

Hey folks listen up that is a reason our hope is disappointed it’s because it lies outside of the scope of how we can see it accomplished. Paul wrote of this dilemma in Romans 8:24-25 (NLT) “For if you already have something, you don’t need to hope for it. But if we look forward to something we don’t have yet, we must wait patiently and confidently.” “Lord if you would have been here, you could have kept him from dyeing and now that he is dead I know that eventually we will see each other”, she was saying. Paul wrote in 1 Cor. 15:19 “if we have hope in Christ only for this life, we are the most miserable people in the world.”

Vs. 23-24 “Your brother will rise again”, Jesus said in response to the flicker of hope Martha had. But instead of rejoicing and celebrating because the creator has just said that Lazarus is going to be given back to them, she puts the promise in a theological box where it will stay a theory. Though what Martha was saying is a true statement it was said to protect against any disappointment of hope.

Do you ever do that? Read the word and the Lord speaks to you about a situation or someone comes in with a word from the Lord about a particular situation you are facing and you immediately place it into some futuristic context. Recently a brother came to me with a word from the Lord, first he said that in praying for me and this fellowship that we need to right now “celebrate the victory” then he said that I was called to keep my hands on the plow. Though I heard what he was saying I immediately interpreted those words of encouragement from the Lord in the context of general words of encouragement instead of specific words for now. While preparing for this study I reread what this fellow brought me and found the scripture in 1 Cor. 9:10 where Paul says, “he who plows should plow in hope, and he who threshes in hope should be partaker of his hope.” Oh so hard for me to simply believe, why? Because His words are too good to be true and in so believing I rip myself off of the hope that He has given me!

Vs. 25-27 Jesus didn’t deny her understanding as to the future resurrection instead He responds with the faith of His “I am” statements. The Pharisees believed in the resurrection and so did most of the Jews but what Jesus said took Martha from trusting in the cold doctrine and transformed her trust into a living person. Jesus not only declared to her that there was life after death but that He was that life.

Friends we are not saved by a text book, theory or theology we are saved by a person and by saying this Jesus moved Martha away from obscure into the visible. Jesus was telling her, “When you know Me, your hope need not be academic it can be personal!” Folks, when you’re sick you want a doctor not a medical book, I’m afraid that far too often we lack hope because our hope is resting upon the intellect instead of our relationship. Paul wrote in 1 Cor. 1:30 “you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God–and righteousness and sanctification and redemption”. He became wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption; this is what He became not what He taught these things were written upon His life. Martha first looked to the past saying “If You had been here” then she looked into the future saying “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day” but what she couldn’t see was the present that was standing right before her, Jesus said, “I am” not “I was” or “I will be”. “I was and I will be because I am” Martha.

Now notice that Martha is not questioning Jesus’ His ability only His willingness as she affirms who He is in the midst of the most difficult of circumstances. The words “I believe” in the Greek are literally “I have believed and I will continue to believe!” “You are Lord, Messiah and God the Son”, she said I have believed that and I will continue to believe that no matter what happens. But Jesus is urging her “If you believe that what can’t you trust me in the present?” “You’re limiting me Martha, I’m not just the guy that will make everything alright in the end I’m what you need right now.”

Martha wanted to believe but when it came for Jesus to have the stone rolled away she said in verse 39, “Lord, by this time there is a stench”. I wonder how many times we have ripped ourselves off from the joy that could be our now if only we realized that He was wanting to bless us. “Lord I believe you’re all powerful, I believe that you’re my only hope, you’re God, no doubt about it.” “But Lord I don’t believe that you would do something for me!” You see Martha’s problem was that she didn’t recognize that Jesus was there and wanted to be there for her if only she would let Him. Both of Jesus’ previous raising of the dead happen on the within hours of their death but Lazarus’ body was already in a state of decay. I mention this to say that I believe that we are a lot like these two sisters and that the further the state of decay in our lives the less hope we have in the present that He can change anything. If what our heart is broken over is still warm to the touch, still smells as though there is life in it then we have hope in the present. Jesus tells her that where ever He is there is resurrection and life and His words were speaking to her not just of a future resurrection but a present life. How can we be sure that this is what Jesus meant? Well when Jesus had the stone rolled away and Martha warned that there would be a stink Jesus didn’t speak to Lazarus as a dead man but as one who could hear, “Lazarus come forth!” In this life there is nothing more hopeless than death, and yet to this hopelessness Jesus proclaimed life!

Vs. 28 It is interesting to note what Martha does with her struggle with believing that Jesus would do something just for her as it says that, “she went her way and secretly called her sister, saying, The Teacher has come and is calling for you.” Did you notice that there is no mention of Jesus saying this? “I want to bless you Martha, I want to reveal to you how important you are to me.” “Yeh I know you love me let me go get my sister.” Oh the struggle we have of just receiving Jesus love especially when we think someone is more deserving or better than we are, “It’s Mary’s town Lord it’s only my house!”

Vs. 29-37 Tears at the tomb

Vs. 29-32 Having tried to comfort Martha Jesus now ministers to Mary and sends word through Martha to met him away from the crowd’s of professional mourners. Mary seems to always be happiest at Jesus’ feet when things are going well or going bad you will always see her rising quickly to come and fall at His feet. There are a great many who love Jesus who find it easy to do so when things are going well but it’s a whole other thing to do so when things are going bad as we tend to pull away. Ah we ought to be more like Mary who no matter what her personal circumstances you could always find her at the feet of Jesus. Friends you will never grow in your relationship with Jesus until you consistently practice spending time at His feet regardless of your situation.

Mary’s response to Jesus is the same as Martha’s “If you had been here my brother wouldn’t have died.” Here we have two radically different gals and they come up with the same exact words. Now I wonder if Martha’s words became Mary’s? I think we have all at times felt something then verbalized it and our words begin to effect those around us. Folks we need to watch what we say as our words of complaints, murmuring about things can bring others down as well. Paul wrote to the Romans in 14:19 saying that we need to “pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another.” Then in 1 Thess. 5:11 he exhorted them saying, “Therefore comfort each other and edify one another”. We need to be a people who seek to lift folks up not tear folks down because if we hang out with those who are always questioning and doubting it won’t be long until their language becomes ours.

Vs. 33-35 The weeping of Jesus is not the same as the weeping of Mary or the mourners theirs was wailing where as the word for Jesus’ weeping is that tears ran down His face. The word of God made flesh in sympathy of human suffering, sensitive, compassionate there is something extremely comforting in those two words “Jesus wept”. There are two amazing things in these verses, His question as to where Lazarus had been entombed and the fact that He wept. He never used heavenly powers when earthly ones would suffice and His weeping was not loud like the other mourners but rather tears were flowing His weeping wasn’t over Lazarus death as He knew that He would soon breath life back in him, instead His tears indicated His identification with human suffering and hopelessness. Isaiah 53:3 Reminds us that He is the “Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief”. I also wonder if those tears were for Lazarus not because he was dead but rather because he was going to be brought back into this world. Paul wrote of this truth in Philip. 1:23 when he said, “For I am hard pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better.”

With everyone crying by Jesus it effected Him as He asked where they laid Lazarus body and He went to see and wept as well. But the question remains was what caused Him to weep knowing that He was going to breath life back into Lazarus? There are four possibilities and one or all of them might be true:

Perhaps He wept because He was reminded that sin kills and breaks people’s hearts. Death is a constant reminder of what sin does as it separates fellowship, decays relationships and generally sinks up everything it comes in contact with. Hasn’t your heart wept because of what sin has done?
Perhaps Jesus wept because of all the doubt that surrounded Him even after He promised that Lazarus’ death wouldn’t be permanent? Jesus’ words said, “It’s going to be alright” but the cries of the mourners said “no its not!”
Perhaps Jesus wept because He knew He was going to bring Lazarus out of the presence of God and back into this world.
Perhaps Jesus wept because even though He knew everything was going to turn out alright those around Him were hurting and folks that hurt always moved Jesus.

Vs. 36-37 Jesus anger was at the horrible slavery that death has placed mankind under, oh to be sure it is our own fault but it angers our Lord. He is angry at the terrible results of evil it is the same sort of anger you feel when you read of a little boy who is beaten to death by his own father, or molested and sexually destroyed by some adult whom he trusts. Is it not great to realize that our Maker is sympathetic? Oh what a comfort it is to have a Lord that “Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.” (Romans 12:15)

“Oh see how He loved them couldn’t He have done something”? Some of them said. Oh yes He had the power and yes He had a plan but it wasn’t the right time until a few moments later. Do you have a hopeless situation where you don’t doubt the Lord’s power but you question His willingness may make a simple requests don’t just believe His in His power believe also in His love for you and wait for His time and you will here those wonderful words in verse 44, “Loose, him and let him go!” Our biggest enemy is death friends but Jesus has defeated death and because of this we shall be its champions as well. Jesus words in verse 25 ought to forever change our perspective on life and death. Ruth Graham saw a highway sign years ago and told her family she wanted its words on her tomb stone, so today if we would go to Charlotte you would read these words over her grave, “End of construction. Thank you for your patience”.

John 11: 38-54

“Loose him, and let him go”

I. Intro.

II. Vs. 38-44 Two things Jesus didn’t do

III. Vs. 45-54 Two responses to His work

Intro.

It is interesting to note that those that followed Mary interpreted Jesus tears as being shed because of the loss of a friend, tears that proved He loved him but was unable to help him. They questioned not His power but His purpose, “Could not this Man, who opened the eyes of the blind, also, have kept this man from dying?” But He corrected this by saying, “Take away the stone” and “Did I not say to you that if you believe you would see the glory of God”. God’s power is always exercised within His purpose and the delay of His power was so that His purpose of glorifying God would be accomplished.

Now in this section we have two separate movements:

Vs. 38-44 The first centers around the miracle it’s self and what is fascinating is not so much what Jesus did (raising Lazarus) but the two things that He didn’t do and what they has to say to His followers today.
Vs. 45-54 The second, part of this section concludes in verse 54 as verse 55-57 should be part of chapter 12 and not part of chapter 11. But at any rate this section concludes with two reactions to Jesus sign within those who observed as well as those who had heard about it.

Vs. 38-44 Two things Jesus didn’t do

Vs. 38-39 As we look at this section it is easy for us to focus on what Jesus did do (raise Lazarus) and miss completely two things He didn’t do instead he asked others to do.

1. Didn’t remove the stone: First we have the stone in front of a cave, in which Jesus says “Take away the stone”. Embalming is more of a Christian practice as even in the present day, the Jews bury the body the day the person dies as they don’t use the same kind of procedures to embalm the body so that it can wait a few days before it is buried. Lazarus had been dead four days in a hot climate and was now sealed up in a closed tomb. Think about that a moment and you can understand why Martha thought that her brother would be pretty ripe by that time. With Jesus’ command to “take away the stone” people must have been thinking as Martha that “by this time there is a stench”. Perhaps people thought that Jesus wanted to get one last look His friend Lazarus. Ah but He didn’t need help to remove the stone did He? I mean if He could bring back folks from the dead and remove His own stone from His tomb He certainly didn’t need to have someone else do it for Him yet plainly we are told that He asked others to do what He Himself could have done. That is what makes Jesus words all the more amazing in verse 39 when He said, “Take away the stone”. There is at once a protest from Martha concerning doing so but He does not rebuke her He instead just brings her back to what He already said that through her belief she would see the glory of God (verse 40).

I think there is a practical spiritual picture in this as well. There are things in our lives that are starting to decay, things that we have closed up and are letting off a foul odor but before Jesus can breathe His life into that area we have to take away the stone and expose the problem. We have to let Him in before He can lead us out, if you know what I mean? Now you would think that we would be all too happy to do so but the truth is we are a lot more like Martha in our attitude, “Lord, by this time there is a stench”! “Lord, I’m embarrassed about this rotten part of my life I know it stinks, can’t we just keep it shut up out of sight?” That is where the text gets very interesting, don’t you think? Jesus had given Martha and Mary a promise that part of their life that they loved though it was dead and decaying was going to live again but they needed to believe the promise by letting Jesus in. Hey, even though what’s on the inside stinks, we’ve got to let Him in to deal with it. You know what we do don’t you when we are aware of an area that stinks in our life? Well we tell the Lord He can’t come into that area because it’s a mess and kid ourselves that we will let Him in as soon as we get it all cleaned up ourselves. I’m afraid to say there are far too many Christian’s that are emitting foul odors in their lives because what sinketh remains closed to Jesus.

Vs.40-42 The fact is that the possibility of Lazarus was in a state of decay provided the evidence that Lazarus had indeed died. Now notice that in verse 40 Jesus told them “if they would believe they would see the glory of God”. What is interesting is that their faith wasn’t necessary for their brother to come back to life but their faith was necessary for them to see the glory of God in it. The failure in faith of Martha didn’t hinder Jesus ability to work it only delayed Martha’s blessing of seeing God glorified ahead of time. Friends Jesus doesn’t need our faith to work miracles He can do so with out it. Oft times we think He is the engine and our faith is the battery but that is not the case the miraculous work of our Lord does not hinge upon our faith. Our faith is beneficial to us to that we would see the glory of God in the work of God. The prayer of affirmation is unusual as Jesus didn’t pray out loud very often most of His prayer life was private. But here He openly thanks the Father for always hearing and in saying this He is doing so that others would hear and believe. His prayer is so unlike our prayers as there is no hint of a request, no spelling out to God what needs to be done, instead just words of gratitude for God the Father’s continual relation with Him and the reason why He is praying publically instead of privately.

Vs. 43-44 Jesus working of miracles were never designed as some sort of slight of hand, some magic trick, no they were always out front in the open. By the way the loud voice was not for Lazarus it was for those gathered around so they could hear that it was Him who was doing the calling. Back in John 5:25 Jesus had said that “the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live.” One day Jesus will call again only this time He won’t just mention one name but the name of all who have trusted in Him. The word’s of Jesus to that which was past hope dead and decaying is “come forth”. No elaborate ceremony, no fancy formula just His two words. In Romans 4:17 Paul wrote of God saying that He “gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did”. Someone has well said that Jesus mentions Lazarus by name least the whole cemetery came forward. Now if I had been there at that moment I would have thought, “What on earth is He doing?” If Lazarus doesn’t come forth then all those things that He had said about Himself would have been easily dismissed and Jesus couldn’t have said, “How bout two out of three?” What a sight that must have been, how startled the people must have been at Jesus words some may have been tempted to chuckle if it wasn’t a funeral. Then there would have been the sound of someone scuffling their feet and perhaps the muffled sound of someone trying to speak. To some this must have looked like Lazarus had been cast for the movie “Return of the mummy”. So out comes Lazarus bound at his hands and feet wrapped up staggering, just imagine what would have happened if this was a night the place would have scattered.

2. Didn’t remove the grave clothes: Jesus’ other words that He could have done are found in His words “Loose him, and let him go”. Perhaps there are a few folks that are thinking of those very words right near the end of every Sunday service “Loose us and let us go”. Hey did you notice that Jesus brought to life a dead person but it was to His followers He gave the privilege of loosing him and letting him go? Jesus told His followers to untie his hands and feet so that he could move as he was designed to do so, to unwrap the grave clothes. Isn’t cool to realize that Jesus knew that man needs more than just life, man need liberty and freedom as well and all those are a part of what He offers. He grants life than He uses His followers to grant liberty and freedom. We can’t redeem anyone but through the power of Jesus we can help folks live free from the hang ups of the past once they have been redeemed. That is what Jesus does for us as He calls us to focus our faith on Him, not on the solution to the problem or the eventual working out of it, but on what he can do right now. That is what we are called to do, Jesus saves them and He calls us to “Loose them, and let them go”. How do we do that? Well we have to be near folks to do so you can’t “Loose them, and let them go” from a distance. Then you have to:

Talk with them
Pray for them
Stand by them
Love on them

And if we do that they will learn to walk in Christ right beside us! Hey folks, Jesus is still calling folks from the tomb of sin, wrapped up in the deception of this world with the fragrance of death upon them to come forth out of the hole they have placed themselves in.

Now notice that Lazarus coming forth was incomplete as he came forth still bound hand and foot with grave clothes as he would one day need them again. You see Lazarus was not resurrected he was resuscitated. Now remember when we get to John 20:5 that John will say that he outran Peter to Jesus tomb and when he looked into the tomb he saw the “linen cloths lying there” and here we see that Lazarus came out wearing his. So what’s the difference? Well Lazarus was going to need his again one day but Jesus was resurrected into His glorified body as will be the case with us. Kind of makes you wonder why all the fuss of making sure we have a nice suit or pretty dress to burry us in doesn’t it? I see in these two things as the privilege our Lord gives His followers to do we are to be apart of encouraging folks to let Jesus in and then we are to be a part of loosing them and letting them go!

Vs. 45-54 Two responses to His work

Vs. 45-54 The next part of this deals with the effects of the sign upon those who witnessed it. We can sum up the effects in one word, “division” many believed on Him but some went away to the Pharisees. People live under a mistaken notion that if they could only see a miracle then they would believe but this just proves that is not always the case. It is not the evidence that leads a person to trust Jesus it is the Holy Spirit and their reception of Him. We can see the difference between those who examine the evidence and those who refuse to do so knowing that such honesty would lead to a change in their life. In Luke 16:19-31 Jesus spoke of the parable of Lazarus the poor beggar and the rich man who died wishing that God would send Lazarus back to warn the rich mans relatives. But Jesus said, “If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.” This is the last miracle John records before Jesus crucifixion and here we are given two responses to it. What I find interesting is that these two groups saw the same event but had to opposite responses.

1. Vs. 45 Notice how John words this in verse 45, “Then many of the Jews who had come Mary, and had seen the things Jesus did, believed in Him.” They came to Mary, watched Mary’s devotion to Jesus even when she was disappointed and discouraged, then saw what Jesus did they believed. So many in the world are watching us and will continue to do so before they will ever see what Jesus did for them. It seems to me personally that the Lord best reveals His beauty through the darkness of my difficult circumstances. Sometimes I wonder if the greater witness happens when folks observe not a miracle but watch those who profess to believe go through situations still clinging to the love of Jesus.

2. Vs. 46-54 There were those present who saw Lazarus come forth and instead of running to the Jesus they ran to the Pharisees to report Him that He was doing something that took away their importance. The first response by the religious leaders was to call an emergency meeting to discuss the situation of the miracle and what ramifications it would have on their position. The polls were now in and Jesus was winning in a landslide and they were going to lose their power base. The Pharisees looked this and asked what are we going to do? “The numbers are slipping and we are in danger of falling out of power and He is gaining in popularity.” Then based upon the polls they predicted the future and it showed that they were going to lose. And because of this not only Jesus had a price on His head so too did Lazarus according to chapter 12. These religious folks were concerned neither for truth nor for the glory of God they only cared for their positions amongst the multitudes. They were in control over the people and they were profiting from it they realized that with Jesus popularity the folks would need them as they would have Jesus instead. In Acts 19:24-27 Paul ran into this same attitude in Ephesus as Demetrius the silversmith got guild and the crowd in an uproar as so many folks were getting saved that it threatened the idol business as no buddy wanted the little idols of Diana. “If we don’t do something then the Romans will come and take away our position, and we got to stop that from happening.”

According to Acts 23: 6-10 the high priest, Caiaphas, was a Sadducee, not a Pharisee and as such didn’t believe in a resurrection as the Pharisees did but on what Caiaphas suggested the death of Jesus they could all lay aside their theology for their self importance. Caiaphas was placed into the position as high priest because the Romans who had the finale authority sold it to him and apparently he was very wealthy as he held onto the position for 18 years. And the high priest says, “You don’t know anything, it’s expedient for us”, oh the things that people have done for personal expedience! Lazarus is bad theology for the religious leaders and so they will have a plot to kill Lazarus. Caiaphas needed to apply his words to himself “You know nothing at all” seeing that he had no idea what he was saying. Webster’s dictionary defines the word “expedient” as “characterized by concern with what is opportune; especially governed by self-interest”. Caiaphas answer to the concerns is that it is better to sacrifice one for the many national interests are more important that any one individual. There is no discussion if He is who He claimed to be no discussion of right it all boiled down to politics. But the interesting thing is that prophetically he was right as Jesus would die not just for the nation but for all mankind. So the official decision that day was that Jesus was given the death sentence as they wanted to be in control but they fail to realize that their action was proving that God is in control not man. They wanted to do this now but Jesus removed Himself from their grasp and they absolutely didn’t want to put Him to death on the Passover on a Sabbath but they did. All their meetings from here on, in the words of one commentator, were simply “meetings for Messianic murder.”

Notice the elegant way he suggests murder of the Messiah to the multitudes, “It is expedient to us” Politian’s can with their words make chaos sound like a concerto can’t they. And with these words piety will be sacrificed on the alter of policy; such is the way of man. And for any other that would be the end but John adds that “this he did not say on his own authority; but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation”. The irony is that the very thing they feared would happen did because of their failure to believe. And from the very words of the high priest Caiaphas comes the prophecy concerning Jesus that He would for all of mankind. God takes these damning words and overrides them causing them to become great words, words of faith, hope and love. There conclusion was to get rid of Jesus, destroy Him and they could remain victorious but looking back we can clearly see that in destroying Jesus they ended their reign and ushered in His. The best we can tell that it was around February when Jesus took leave and went into a city called Ephraim (increasing fruitfulness) and in only two months he would come back here to fulfill Caiaphas’ prophecy. Jesus was clearly waiting for God’s timing away from what man wanted, but clearly intone to what the Father had for Him.

Now we know that Caiaphas wasn’t right in the heart yet the God used him to say something that was right in the Word, my point? Well because the greatness of God He can use anyone to speak His heart. Ah but just because God can and does use a person to speak His heart doesn’t necessarily mean that they are right in the heart! What we need is not to get out of the situation but rather to get everything out of the situation. The reality is that often it is in the fiery furnace that we see Jesus. It was a sad realty that the religious leaders were not concerned about God being in the right place they were concerned about maintaining their place.

John 11: 55 – 12:11

“Flies at the table of fellowship”

I. Intro.

II. Vs. 55-57 Waiting for Jesus

III. Vs. 1-3 Three aspects of worship

IV. 4-11 Let her alone

Intro.

Last week we left of with Jesus leaving and taking residence with His disciples in a city called Ephraim which was around 15 miles away from Jerusalem. The psalmist spoke of what must have been going on in the mind of Christ in Psalm 69:20 saying “Reproach has broken my heart, And I am full of heaviness; I looked for someone to take pity, but there was none; And for comforters, but I found none.” From 11:55 to the end of chapter 13 we are in the time of the count down to the cross. From this last week of Jesus’ ministry, before the final fatal week in Jerusalem, John chooses three incidents to record:

Vs. 55-11 Jesus dinner party in Bethany
Vs. 12-19 The triumphal entry
Vs. 20-36 Jesus’ words to a group of Greeks

Jesus probably was in Ephraim some 40 days with His disciples just hanging out with them until He would head towards the cross. At the same time Jesus was Ephraim people were preparing for His arrival.

Vs. 55-57 Waiting for Jesus

Vs. 55-57 In these verses John records for us the overall atmosphere in Jerusalem:

Vs. 55 They were preparing themselves for the Passover by purifying themselves. The area was filling up with more than 21/2 million coming into a city and no Holiday Inn’s as we have to day people were camping out all over the hillsides and readying themselves for the feast. It was necessary to go through the rites of purification in order to be able to participate in the temple precincts on the feast days. So they would go early so that they could go through the purification rites.
Vs. 56 They were looking for Jesus with great anticipation. Jesus was a sensation for the nation and the curiosity seekers were hoping to get a peek, like the paparazzi do celebrates today.
Vs. 57 Finally there was a sinister group of religious leaders who hoped to arrest and hold Him over for trial and execution as there was a price on His head.

Josephus tells us that they were going to sacrifice 250,000 sheep which doing the math of one sheep per household would mean that there was 2.5 million folks that would fill up Jerusalem. No wonder they would be asking around if any one should see Jesus they should report it. You see in the midst of the 2.5 million people was the Son of Man, in the midst of the 250,000 lambs was THE Lamb of God. Ah my friend far too often that is the case with you and me as it is hard for us to find Jesus in the midst of the chaos. They are all anticipating His arrival but with 2 ½ million folks in town they have spies out to see if they can spot Him and how does Jesus respond to this well we shall see next week he come in to town riding a donkey making a public proclamation.

Chapter 12

Vs. 1-3 Three aspects of worship

Vs. 1-3 So the week before the cross we find Jesus with this same family in Bethany (house of dates) two miles from Jerusalem spending time with those He loved. We find out in the other accounts that the supper was not being prepared in the home of Martha but rather is a former leper’s house that Jesus healed named Simeon. This is not Simone the Pharisees house to where Mary Magdalene who was a repentive prostitute came and wept over His feet and wiped them with her hair as that was done in Galilee. If we link together the other accounts that have just precede this then we wonder if Zachaeus and blind Bartimaeus might have been some of the dinner guests as well, what was that conversation like? So despite the fact that Jesus was wanted man Simeon wanted to throw a party for Jesus and invite folks over as a way of saying thank you.

Now it is interesting to note that we can see two elements of what a church is:

First in verse 1 we are told that Jesus came to where Lazarus, Martha and Mary were at which suggests to me that the first aspect of what a Church is centers around fellowshipping, hanging out with Jesus. What’s cool about this picture to me is that it is Jesus who comes to them, Jesus who initiates. In Matt. 18:20 Jesus said “where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”
Second we are told that they made supper for Him. Now I like that when people gather they do so around eating, there is a reason we call this place calorie chapel. But I also think spiritually this speaks of gathering to gather around feeding upon the Word of God, partaking of Him as we break apart the Word.

Then in the three siblings we get a three full picture of what worship is. The key to worshipful service is to be found in the phrase “as unto the Lord”! As long as what motivates our service is unto the Lord then it will be worshipful.

Next it says that “Martha served” we seem to always find Martha serving; she expressed her devotion by serving. Back in Luke 10 when we are first introduced to her she is busy serving. There she became stressed in her service so much so that she told Jesus to tell her sister Mary to get up and help her in the kitchen. Jesus had to remind her not to allow her service to keep her from her worship. Martha was serving In another’s house with at least 17 attending, when we see her upset there were only four of them. Her service is now an act of worship instead of distracting her from devotion. We too can become so busy that we stop being blessed, where I get too becomes I got too! Jesus told her in Luke 10:42 “one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part”. Ah but something has changed Martha’s perspective on her service now as we read, “they made Him supper and Martha served”. The first thing we see is that “they made Him supper” there were those who learned that serving didn’t hinder worship and then there was Martha who learned that worship was the only way to serve. Folks in every Church the numbers suggest that it always the 14 Martha’s who serve while the rest enjoy the meal but may I make a suggestion that perhaps it’s time that the rest of us get up and get involved along with the 14 Martha’s and if you do then you will find the meal will taste better than you ever imagined. The second thing I note that changed was Martha began to see the miracle and blessing in serving. What caused this change? Well I suggest it was the death of her brother and his sitting at the table with Jesus now. What was at one time seen perhaps as a burden was now seen as a blessing because it was lost to her and then brought back.
Next we are told that “Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with Him.” This speaks of yet another aspect of church life and that has to do with our witness. “Our witness, why all Lazarus did was sit at the table with Jesus what kind of witness is that?” Lazarus seems to be quite content to be known as the man who sat at the table with Jesus rather than the man who spent 4 days dead and was now alive. The importance of Lazarus’ testimony was not about him it was about Jesus. To Lazarus worship centered around his companionship and friendship with Jesus and is always a centerpiece of worship. Listen up saints as this is a great truth of how you and I are to be witness.
1. Notice that a witness isn’t what we do it is who we sit next too. Lazarus presence at the supper table was proof positive that everything Jesus was saying was true. That is all we are called to bear witness of that we who were once dead are now alive. Friends, we can all get caught up in the things we are doing for the Lord and simply forget that our witness is most visible not by what we do but rather who we are hanging around the table with. It does no good to talk to others about Jesus if we haven’t spent any time talking to Him.
1. The second thing to notice here is something we have to assume and that is Lazarus didn’t come to the table still bound up in the trappings of death. The point I’m trying to make is the greatest evidence of the resurrection is the fact that you and I aren’t still walking around like we just came out of a tomb. We are free from the things of the old life, liberated from the things that stink.
1. Finally may I say that I’ve found that what attracts folks to Jesus is when they see us at the table with Him, hanging out with the Lord laughing. I wonder if Jesus spoke of that day when he came out of the tomb and looks on people’s faces, I can’t be sure but if He did I bet they all joked about it. Simply put the best way to share your faith is to show them your life and how you now out live your former life.
Finally we see the fifth aspect to church life in verse 3 where we are told that “Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.” Now what might not be immediately apparent is that this was an act of worship. That pound of costly oil in the alabaster box was her dowry and as she willing sacrificed it at the feet of Jesus and it mixed with her tears she was worshiping. Isn’t it interesting that we don’t see her singing instead we see her sacrificing that which was precious and her weeping and wiping at His feet? She hadn’t used that costly oil to anoint her brothers body at his burial and she didn’t wait to use for Jesus’ either. Mary was showing her devotion to Jesus before it was to late while the other two Mary’s did so afterward. She was giving the roses of her love while Jesus was still alive instead of placing them over His coffin after He was dead. To which Jesus both commended her and defended her. There are three Mary’s that were close to Jesus, Mary His mother, Mary Magdalene and this Mary of Bethany. And of those three the only one that wasn’t at the cross or the tomb the next day was Mary of Bethany. Isn’t that interesting as we always see her at the feet of Jesus but not at those two times? Could it be that all her time at the feet of Jesus worshipping Him she understood something that the other Mary’s didn’t and that was that He wasn’t going to stay on that cross and His body didn’t need to be prepared for burial because it wasn’t going to stay in the tomb. Folks, when you and I stay at His feet worshipping we will have greater insight in this life than others. Is life confusing? Do you find that you’re running after Jesus only to find things not what you thought they would be? Why not try worshipping at His feet and giving what is precious to Him your heart. Mary carried this alabaster jar of extremely expensive fragrant oil with her, which speaks of premeditation. Maybe during those four days of Lazarus death she took inventory of what she wished she should have said and done towards her brother and now she is not going to waste another moment to say I love you. So she pours at the very best of what she had for Jesus.

There are three things about Mary’s act alone that speak to the aspect of worship:

Mary’s gift was humble: 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. Then she used her hair to spread it upon Him. Her precious ointment was only good enough for His feet.
Mary’s gift was costly: She used a pound of oil of spikenard and based upon Judas’ estimation it was valued at a years wage. At that time spices and oils were used as an investment and such was the case as it appears this may have been her dowry. Spikenard comes from a plant found in India and she poured a whole pound of it upon His feet instead of dapping a part of it upon His head according to the other accounts she poured it upon His head and ran over His body unto it dripped upon His feet which then used her hair to wipe His feet. Mary reveal the same attitude as did David in 2 Samuel 24:24 when He purchased the threshing floor which was to be the future sight of the temple saying to Araunah, “I will surely buy it from you for a price; nor will I offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God with that which costs me nothing.”
Mary’s gift was personal: Jewish women never let their hair down in public they always kept their hair up and covered. Notice the longevity of Mary’s devotion as it is still being remembered to day. Folks this type of worship never grows out of style. The only time they would do so would be for their husband in an act of adoration and devotion (hence the phrase to let your hair down).

All three of those aspects reveal to us what true worship really is doing them?

4-11 Let her alone

Vs. 4-11 These are the first recorded words of Judas and we can see that he was the quintessential businessman, “Why was this fragrant oil not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” His behavior and subsequent betrayal look all the darker when lay next to Mary’s devotion. Interesting that on the outside it might appear that Judas’ actions seem nobler than Mary but the truth is that it was all a façade. Judas’ comments serve as a contrast to true worship with regards extravagant devotion which he considered a waste of time. He does so by false pretenses of suggesting that the best way to worship Jesus is to give to man but we are told that this was only said because the man he had in mind was himself. One of the most amazing things to realize is that Jesus placed Judas in charge of the money knowing what kind of man he was. There are those that suggest that Judas was embezzling in order to purchase land to build himself a mansion so that when Jesus became the leader of the world He would live in luxury and at the time of Jesus death he was only 30 pieces of silver away from the transaction. At any rate what Jesus saw as worship in Mary’s gift Judas saw as waste and it was because he had other ideas about how to spend the money. I’m afraid that there will always be folks who tend to view giving as an act of investment instead of an act of worship.

Friends we got to be careful here don’t we? For it is easy for us to be more concerned with commerce then we are with Christ! John’s commentary for the business like attitude is that, “This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the money box; and he used to take what was put in it.” Folks it easy for us to see in Judas this thieving attitude but the truth is the Lord has entrusted us with a box full of time, talent and treasure and we can begin like Judas to think that’s what inside of it is ours and not His. Judas was entrusted with the care of what had been given and over time he saw what was in that box as his instead of belonging to Jesus and to be perfectly honest at times I think we all begin to act that way at times. How can we tell if this is happening to us? Well just like Judas when what the Lord has been given is spent channeled in a different direction then you we can gauge our reaction to that. Folks what we offer the Lord is suppose to be an act of worship not an investment and in given of our time talent and treasure we are saying that, “This is yours Lord not mine!” Paul said it this way in 1 Cor. 4:7 “What do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?” Hear what Jesus tells Judas, “Let her alone; she has kept this for the day of My burial. For the poor you have with you always, but Me you do not have always.” Jesus isn’t saying that meeting the needs of the needy with what the Lord has provided is wrong just that making it a priority over the worship putts it in the wrong place. We are always going to have the opportunity for activity but such activity should never be at the cost of intimacy.

Jesus said to Judas, “Let her alone”, in the KJV and I think that carries the tone of His words best. There wills always someone that will criticize your devotion isn’t there? There are those who may even profess their relationship with Jesus that will put you down for your devotion saying that you are a part of a cult. The waste made of Judas was his life! Hebrews 12:15 reminds us that we can “fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled”. James reminds us the tongue that can cause such division comes in it’s own cage so all we have to do is shut our moths and keep it locked up. If there is no compromise in your life then the enemy will come at you through the tongues of others as he is the accuser of the brethren. Mary came to realize that what was in that bottle that was so precious meant nothing when compared to her devotion towards Jesus. When she let down her hair she took on the role of a salve and in her devotion she was ridiculed by Judas someone in the company of Jesus. How often this has been plaid out over the century’s within the wall of His church that those who so worship are put down for their devotion. There are those who want to give their best to Jesus as an act of worship and there are those like Judas who are there to get what they can from Jesus and at times it is difficult to distinguish. Mary’s devotion filled the house with the fragrance of her love Judas words filled the house with the stench of the flesh. He could have had a years wage in the box and he would betray Jesus for just 30 pieces of silver.

Hey saints the Christian life ought to be a beautiful balance of worship, work, and witness. Did Jesus still smell this sent on the cross the sent of devotion? In Ephes. 5:2 we are told that “To walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.” There were two scents that filled the room Mary’s devotion and Judas’ devotion to himself. Judas was a critic, the story is told of a young pastor at his first church and of a wealthy parishioner who made it her job to critic him after every service during which she would pick lint off his suit and pull off lose threads this went on for several month and it really began to grind of the young pastor so the day before the next Sunday he took a pool of thread an a needle and ran the thread through his coat while placing the spool in his pocket. So after the service she did what she had done each and every Sunday pick on the pastor, only this time when she went to pull the lose thread it just kept coming until she had a good size ball in her hand. Judas is picking at the thread of Mary’s devotion and will end up making a nose for himself, so it is good to heed the words of Jesus, “Let her alone”. Now that would make a good sign wouldn’t it, “Let em alone” signed Jesus! What Judas is suggesting is that this was too much love and devotion to show to Jesus. Folks Jesus will never criticize you if you if your love for Him is extravagant. Mary knew that He was soon going to lay down His life for her and the whole world and this was the only way she knew to say thank you.