Prelude to the Last Passover

Part I

(John 11:55-12:19)

By Dr. Hal Harless

Foundation Fellowship of Greenville, TX

January 17, 2010

 

I.  Introduction

A.  Please turn to John 11:55. 

While you are turning.... 

            A small boy was taken to a church worship service for his first time.  Seeing a board on the wall with names, he asked his mother about it.  She said, "That's the plaque with names of people who died in the service."  Surprised, he asked her. "Was it the 9:30 or 11:00 service?"[1]

 

I hope that we will not lose anyone during today's service.  However, true worship does cost us our lives.  As we will see, Lazarus' sister Mary understood the extravagance of worship.

II.  Exposition

A.  Background

1.  Jesus' public ministry is coming to an end (John 2:1-12:36a).

2.  We are back in Judea just outside of Jerusalem.

3.  We are studying leading up to the last Passover and the cross.

4.  John covers five main events:

a.  The plot against Jesus (John 11:55-57)

b.  Mary's anointing of Jesus for burial (John 12:1-8)

c.  The conspiracy to kill Lazarus (John 12:9-11)

d.  The triumphal entry (John 12:12-19)

e.  Jesus' eighth discourse (John 12:20-36) next week ...

B.  Exposition: The prelude to the last Passover (John 11:1-12:36a)

1.  The Passover plot (John 11:55-57)

                ⁵⁵ Now the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went up to Jerusalem out of the country before the Passover to purify themselves.  ⁵⁶ So they were seeking for Jesus, and were saying to one another as they stood in the temple, "What do you think; that He will not come to the feast at all?"  ⁵⁷ Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where He was, he was to report it, so that they might seize Him (John 11:55-57).

 

a.  Passover was nearing and many pilgrims were arriving early to ensure that they would be ritually pure for the festival.[2]  Wuest translates, "ceremonially purify themselves" (NTET).

b.  People were looking for Jesus, and He was a topic of conversation in the temple. 

1)  In view of the religious authorities' hostility, there was doubt that Jesus would come to the feast. 

2)  The Gk. words translated "not" are a double negative and express strong doubt.[3] 

3)  Wuest translates, "He certainly will not come to the feast, will he?" (NTET). 

4)  Barclay translates, "Surely he is not likely to come to the festival?" (Barclay).

c.  The Jewish religious authorities had given orders that Jesus' location was to be reported so that He could be arrested.

2.  Six days before Passover (John 12:1-11)

a.  The anointed One is anointed for burial (John 12:1-8)

1)  Supper at Simon's (John 12:1-2)

                ^12:1 Jesus, therefore, six days before the Passover, came to Bethany where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.  ² So they made Him a supper there, and Martha was serving; but Lazarus was one of those reclining at the table with Him (John 12:1-2).

 

a)  Six days before the Passover (Saturday, March 28, AD 33), Jesus arrived in Bethany, and stayed with Lazarus, the same that Jesus had raised from the dead.[4] 

i)  Jesus was either very close by or arrived after sundown.

ii)  Sabbath travel was limited to 3,000 feet.[5] 

iii)  The Law required four days of examination of the Passover lamb before its sacrifice (Exod 12:3, 6). 

iv)  Therefore, there was more than enough time to examine the true Passover lamb, Jesus Christ.[6]

b)  They held a formal supper for Jesus in Simon the leper's house (Matt 26:6; Mark 14:3). 

i)  Apparently, Jesus had healed Simon the Leper. 

ii)  True to form, Martha was serving while Lazarus was reclining at the table with Jesus (Luke 10:40). 

iii)  In this culture, meals were not eaten sitting up at a table. 

(a)  Instead, men lay on cushions around a very low table. 

(b)  They lay on their left, which left the right hand free for eating. 

(c)  Women and slaves would eat standing. 

(d)  When eating Passover it was important to recline to show that the Israelis were freemen not slaves.[7] 

c)  Martha is an example of work, and Lazarus is an example of witness.  However, Mary is an example of worship.[8]

2)  Mary anoints Jesus (John 12:3)

³ Mary then took a pound of very costly perfume of pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume (John 12:3).

 

a)  Mary, in an act of devotion, anointed Jesus' feet with costly perfume. 

i)  John noted with an eyewitness' memory that the fragrance of the perfume filled the entire house. 

ii)  This is not the same as the anointing of Jesus in the house of Simon the Pharisee in Capernaum (Luke 7:36-50), not Simon the leper in Bethany (John 12:2). 

iii)  Nor is this Mary the same as Mary Magdalene mentioned in Luke 8:2.[9] 

iv)  The Gk. word translated "pound" (litra) is 12 Roman oz. or about 325-340 g.[10] 

v)  Nard was a perfume made from the root of a plant found in northern India.  Since it was an import, it was very costly (see John 12:5).[11] 

vi)  Mary's was an extravagant worship.

vii)  According to Matthew and Mark, Mary also anointed Jesus' head and the perfume was in an alabaster vial (Matthew 26:7; Mark 14:3). 

viii)  Mary uncovering her head and letting down her hair would have been somewhat scandalous in Jewish circles.[12] 

ix)  Washing feet was a slave's job, so Mary is also an example of humility as well as devotion.[13]

b)  John may have intended a little more than merely to show Mary's devotion. 

i)  The rabbis said, "A GOOD NAME IS BETTER THAN GOOD OIL....  [The scent of] good oil is diffused from the bed-chamber to the dining-hall while a good name is diffused from one end of the world to the other."[14] 

ii)  Jesus did say, "Truly I say to you, wherever the gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be spoken of in memory of her" (Mark 14:9; see also Matt 26:13). 

iii)  Mary's devotion has been known worldwide for two thousand years.[15]

3)  Judas' reaction (John 12:4-6)

  ⁴ But Judas Iscariot, one of His disciples, who was intending to betray Him, said, ⁵ "Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and given to poor people?"  ⁶ Now he said this, not because he was concerned about the poor, but because he was a thief, and as he had the money box, he used to pilfer what was put into it (John 12:4-6).

 

a)   John foreshadows Judas Iscariot's betrayal of Jesus. 

i)  John mentioned Judas Iscariot here for only the second time in this gospel. 

ii)  John calls Judas, "one of His disciples, who was intending to betray Him." 

iii)  In nearly identical language, John has said, "Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was going to betray Him" (John 6:71).

b)  Judas objected that the perfume could have been sold and the proceeds used to help the poor. 

i)  Judas indicated that the perfume was worth 300 denarii. 

ii)  A denarius was the wage of a common man for a day's work. 

iii)  Therefore, accounting for Sabbaths and holidays, this was about what a common laborer could earn in a year.[16] 

iv)  Barclay translates, "Perfume like this would cost a year's wages for a working man" (Barclay). 

v)  Mark indicates that others joined in the criticism of Mary since Mark 14:4-5 employs plurals.

vi)  The Gk. verb translated "had" in verse 6 is a present participle, which might suggest that he was holding the moneybag as he said this.[17]

c)  John revealed that Judas was dishonest both in his concern for the poor and in that he used to steal from the common purse. 

i)  John showed us that Judas was of poor moral character even before betraying Christ. 

ii)  This is, of course, hindsight since Judas must have been trusted at the time.[18] 

iii)  The Gk. word translated "thief" (kleptēs) refers to one who "uses stealth" to steal.[19] 

4)  Jesus' answer (John 12:7-8)

⁷ Therefore Jesus said, "Let her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of My burial.  ⁸ For you always have the poor with you, but you do not always have Me" (John 12:7-8).

 

a)  Jesus, in rebuking Judas, referred to His burial.  Mary's act of devotion had prophetic import.[20]

b)  Jesus also subtly indicated that His time was short. 

i)  Jesus was quoting Deuteronomy, "For the poor will never cease to be in the land" (Deut 15:11). 

ii)  Jesus was not downplaying the need for charity, but was indicating, as Moses did in context, that opportunities for charity will always exist.  However, Jesus would not be with them much longer.[21] 

iii)  There are rabbinical indications that care for the dead takes precedence over charity.[22]

b.  The Lazarus conspiracy (John 12:9-11)

                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 (John 12:9-11).

 

1)  The crowd came not just to see Jesus, but also the resurrected Lazarus.

2)  However, this led to the authorities desiring to kill Lazarus, also. 

a)  Robertson commented, "Perhaps they argued that, if they should kill both Jesus and Lazarus, then Lazarus would remain dead."[23] 

b)  John is employing heavy irony.

3)  The reason that the religious authorities wanted to silence Lazarus was that he was an effective testimony to Jesus, and many believed. 

4)  Those who will not accept the evidence must try to get rid of it.[24]

3.  Five days before Passover (John 12:12-36)

a.  The triumphal entry (John 12:12-19)

1)  The event (John 12:12-16)

                ¹² On the next day the large crowd who had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, ¹³ took the branches of the palm trees and went out to meet Him, and began to shout, "Hosanna! BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD, even the King of Israel."  ¹⁴ Jesus, finding a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written, ¹⁵ "FEAR NOT, DAUGHTER OF ZION; BEHOLD, YOUR KING IS COMING, SEATED ON A DONKEY'S COLT."  ¹⁶ These things His disciples did not understand at the first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written of Him, and that they had done these things to Him (John 12:12-16).

 

a)  Five days before the Passover (Sunday, March 29, AD 33), a crowd gathered when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem.[25] 

b)  Estimates of Jerusalem's population during Passover range as high as one million, or ten times the norm.[26]

c)  Jesus was greeted with palm branches and hosannas. 

i)  Palm branches

(a)  The palm branch is called a lulab, and is used in Jewish feasts and victory celebrations.[27] 

(b)  When the Jews recaptured Jerusalem from the Greeks, "the Jews entered it with praise and palm branches, and with harps and cymbals and stringed instruments, and with hymns and songs, because a great enemy had been crushed and removed from Israel" (1 Macc 13:51 RSV). 

ii)  Hosanna

(a)  "Hosanna" is a transliteration of the Heb. hôša'-nā' meaning "save now!"[28] 

(b)  Wuest translates it as "Save now" (NTET), and Barclay as "Send your salvation!" (Barclay). 

(c)  This is a quote from Ps 118:25. 

(i)  Psalms 113-118, called the Hallel, were sung during Passover season. 

(ii)  When the choir reached the "Hosanna!" everyone would wave their lulab.[29] 

d)  Other Messianic clues

i)  The phrase, "BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD," is also from Ps 118:26 (bārûk habā' bĕšēm 'ădônai). 

ii)  In Ps 118:14, 21, God is said to have become the Psalmist's "salvation" (Heb. yĕšû'āh), which is only one letter different from Jesus' name and sounds the same (Heb. Yĕšû'ā).  Surely, the pun was not lost on the crowd. 

iii)  This Psalm also contains the well known Messianic prophecy, "The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief corner stone" (Ps 118:22; see also Matt 21:42; Mark 12:10; Luke 20:17; Acts 4:11; 1 Pet 2:7). 

iv)  Even the rabbis took this as a Messianic Psalm.[30] 

v)  The crowd affirmed their Messianic understanding by adding, "even the King of Israel."

e)  Daniel's stopwatch

i)  Jesus had stopped the crowd from proclaiming Him king one year ago in Galilee (John 6:14 ff); now He encourages it. 

ii)  Jesus will soon say, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified" (John 12:23). 

iii)  Daniel had predicted that

                ²⁴ Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy place.  ²⁵ So you are to know and discern that from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; it will be built again, with plaza and moat, even in times of distress.  ²⁶ Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary.  And its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined (Dan 9:24-26).

 

iv)  The Heb. word translated "weeks" (šābu'îm) is literally "sevens." 

(a)  Therefore, it will be literally sixty-nine times seven years, or 483 years, from the decree to rebuild Jerusalem to the Messiah, "seven sevens and sixty-two sevens" (Dan 9:25). 

(b)  Daniel's prophecy was like a giant stopwatch. 

(i)  The stopwatch began to tick with the decree of Artaxerxes on Nisan 1, 444 BC (March 5, 444 BC) (Neh. 2:1-8). 

(ii)  Jewish years are lunar years of 360 days. 

(iii)  483 years times 360 days is 173,880 days. 

(iv)  444 BC to AD 33 is 476 solar years. 

(v)  476 years times 365.24219879 days in a solar year is 173,855 days plus the 25 days between March 5 and March 29 inclusive is 173,880 days.

(vi)  The stopwatch stopped ticking on March 29, AD 33, the day of the triumphal entry. 

v)  The hour had come![31]

f)  Jesus rode on a donkey. 

i)  This fulfilled the prophecy of Zech 9:9. 

ii)  The rabbis considered this passage to be Messianic.[32] 

iii)  Donkeys were ridden in time of peace; horses in time of war.[33] 

(a)  Therefore, the King riding on a donkey was bringing peace, not war. 

(b)  Wuest translates, "Stop fearing" (NTET). 

iv)  The phrase, "DAUGHTER OF ZION" refers to Jerusalem and the inhabitants thereof, since cities were personified as mothers.[34] 

v)  When Jesus comes again, it will be riding on a white horse with the armies of heaven to establish His kingdom (Rev 19:11 ff.).[35]

g)  Although the disciples did not grasp all of the significance at first, they remembered these events and understood them after Christ's glorification. 

h)  Jesus' glorification came by going back to the Father, a path that went through the cross.  There are also no crowns for us without a cross.

2)  The reactions (John 12:17-19)

¹⁷ So the people, who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead, continued to testify about Him.  ¹⁸ For this reason also the people went and met Him, because they heard that He had performed this sign.  ¹⁹ So the Pharisees said to one another, "You see that you are not doing any good; look, the world has gone after Him" (John 12:17-19).

 

a)  Those who had witnessed Lazarus' resurrection testified about Jesus thus building the excitement.

b)  The crowd responded with great interest in Jesus Christ.

c)  The Pharisees response was fear that so many were responding to Jesus. 

d)  Robertson remarks that "the Sanhedrin had advertised to 'find' Jesus!  They can find Him now!"[36]

b.  The eighth discourse: Jesus speaks to Greeks (John 12:20-36) 

(continued next week ...)

III.  Applications

A.  What this says about Jesus Christ ...

1.  Jesus is the true Passover lamb.

2.  Jesus is the prophesied Messiah.

3.  Jesus' first coming was humble, riding on a donkey; His second coming will be glorious, riding on a white horse as King of kings and Lord of lords.

4.  Nevertheless, Jesus' path to glorification had to go through the cross; there was no crown without a cross.

B.  What this says to us ...

1.  Let us follow Martha's example in working for the Lord.

2.  Let us follow Lazarus' example in witnessing to the Lord.

3.  However, above all, let us follow Mary's example in worshipping our Lord.

a.  Extravagantly

b.  Humbly

4.  Remember, there are also no crowns for us without crosses.