11: 54Therefore Jesus no longer continued to walk publicly among the Jews, but went away from there to the country near the wilderness, into a city called Ephraim; and there He stayed with the disciples. 55Now the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went up to Jerusalem out of the country before the Passover to purify themselves. 56So 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?” 57Now 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.
12: 1Jesus, therefore, six days before the Passover, came to Bethany where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2So they made Him a supper there, and Martha was serving; but Lazarus was one of those reclining at the table with Him. 3Mary 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. 4But 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?” 6Now 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. 7Therefore 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.” 9The 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. 10But the chief priests planned to put Lazarus to death also; 11because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and were believing in Jesus.
12: 12On the next day the large crowd who had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, 13took 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.” 14Jesus, 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.” 16These 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. 17So 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.18For this reason also the people went and met Him, because they heard that He had performed this sign. 19So the Pharisees said to one another, “You see that you are not doing any good; look, the world has gone after Him.”
Interesting Words
seize
(πιάζω – Greek) – piazó ► lay hold of, catch, arrest, apprehend in order to imprison Him – John 7:30, 8:20, 10:39;
thief
(κλέπτης – Greek) – kleptés ► a thief who steals by stealth (in secret), rather than in the open with violence – Matt 6:19-20; John 10:10;
going away
(ὑπάγω – Greek) – hupagó ► to lead or bring under, to lead on slowly, to depart, (from hypó, “under” and ágō, “lead away”) – properly, to lead away under someone’s authority – Matt 16:23; John 6:67;
Hosanna
(ὡσαννά – Greek) – hósanna ► save, we pray, (Aramaic and Hebrew, originally a cry for help), hosanna! a cry of happiness, from yasha (to deliver) and na (a Hebrew suffix expressing pray now! ) – Ps 118:25-26; Mark 11:9-10;
Cross References
▪︎ Matt 21:8, 9, 10-11 – the coming King.
▪︎ Zech 9:9 – Just, humble, mounted on a donkey.
Discussion Questions
1. Describe the progress of Jesus’ ministry from John 11: 53-54, 55, 56, 57, comparing it to Chapter 12.
▪︎ He had everything now set for His last Passover; it was just a matter of timing.
▪︎ He would stay at Ephraim until He returned to Bethany for a dinner engagement (John 12:1, 2).
▪︎ Jesus planned for the final touches in preparation for the cross, coming to Mary 6 days before the passover to be anointed (John 12:1).
▪︎ Mary would anoint Him with oil (John 12:3), just before His triumphal entry into Jerusalem, (John 12:9)
▪︎ The Jews would also target Lazarus in their murderous plot (John 12:10-11)
▪︎ Many planned for a celebration and triumphant entry of their new King (John 12:12, 13).
▪︎ Jesus’ time had finally come but it would not end the way crowd wanted. The Jews had a plan to seize Him, but it was to late (John 11:57)
▪︎ God’s plan fulfilled prophesy (John 12:14-15).
2. What do you make of the whole discussion Judas brought up about the cost of the perfume (John 12:5-6)?
▪︎ Judas was a thief and probably thought he could get least some percentage of what came into the box.
▪︎ He was probably also waiting to cash in as the treasurer of Jesus’ new government once the Kingdom was established here shortly.
▪︎ I am sure he thought of Jesus as less than a divine king, probably just a man with a good set of crowd-control skills.
▪︎ I don’t believe there is a record of Jesus confronting Judas about his attitude or any specific sin, so Judas probably thought he was getting away with it and pulling the wool over Jesus eyes.
▪︎ Jesus does confront him later when He says “What you must do, do quickly”. This must have come as a shockingly, terrifying realization that motivated rash actions.
3. How do you think the disciples reacted to Jesus’ statement in John 12:8?
▪︎ I think they all would be shocked and terrified at a possibility they all thought completely remote.
▪︎ As the crowd thought previously, “Where is He going that we can’t follow?”
▪︎ if He is to die, what shall become of us. Was Thomas right? Will we also die?
▪︎ As everyone does at times, they may have had doubts. What does the future hold ?
4. How does John 12:9 help explain the next two verses (John 12:10-11)?
▪︎ Information about the miraculous raising of Lazarus was spreading and with it the crowds reaction that Jesus was the Messiah (v.9)
▪︎ So, one solution would be to erase all evidence of the event. Kill both the perpetrator and the “victim”. This should stop the exit, the apostasy.
▪︎ Since the chief priest did not believe the movement was real, crushing the leadership would stop it.
▪︎ However, he did not know that it was real and the he could not damage it without having his own leadership (Satan) totally crushed (Gen 3:15).
5. What do the various cross references tell you about the character of Jesus the King?
▪︎ His lovingkindness is great toward us – Ps 117:2;
▪︎ He comes in the Name of the Lord to save us – Ps 118:25-26;
▪︎ He is Worthy of all our praise.
▪︎ He is our salvation (Matt 21:8-11).
▪︎ He is truly worthy of our awe and amazement.
▪︎ He is humble riding on the foal of a donkey (Zech 9:9).
6. How would you evaluate the response of the crowd in John 12: 17-18?
▪︎ The people that witnessed Jesus raising Lazarus were now the ones who testified of the event.
▪︎ Lazarus himself was a dramatic witness testifying that he was now alive.
▪︎ Naturally this is a dramatic event, witnessed by many form Jerusalem.
▪︎ It captured the attention of the whole country.
▪︎ People would come from far and wide to confirm the facts.
▪︎
7. How did it effect the agenda of the leadership?
▪︎ They had two choices:
► Believe and endorse Jesus as the Messiah to all of Israel.
► Or crush it, if they could.
▪︎ As Peter later described it, it was the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God (Acts 2:23), and it could not be stopped.
▪︎ It was in the sovereign plan of God and could not be altered, nor could God allow His chosen one to remain in the grave, (Acts 2:24).
▪︎ The leadership was Stiff-necked and thus doomed to be on the wrong side of history.