 Alright, good morning. We will begin with a word of prayer. Jefina, could you pray for us? If you can open with prayer, we'll get started. Jefina, thank you for this prayer for the last couple of years as well. Right now I just pray that human leaders and guide us as we are in this picture and God as we are focusing on the Lord. I just pray that you will help us open our mind to God and assist the Word and accept it in our heart, be fully convinced in your truth so that we can walk in your ways, Jesus. So that we can walk in the way of the righteous man as you said. Be with us, guide us. Let your good spirit be with us. We pray for a good wife and connection throughout the stretchin and God I pray for all the classmates who are here to join. I hope that you will help them to join as soon as possible for this class will be a blessing to all of us. We keep it in our hands. Be blessed in Jesus' name. Amen. Thank you. Alright, we'll begin. So last week we looked at John chapter 10 and 11. We looked at Jesus the shepherd, the true shepherd and we also looked at the story of Lazarus and how he was raised from the dead and the impact that it had. People were so amazed at the miracle that many of them now began to truly believe in Jesus as the promised Messiah. So we looked at those details. So even as we begin John chapter 12 we see a continuation of this in the sense everyone has now heard about the amazing description of Lazarus and so now everyone wants to see Jesus. They want to hear him speaking and so here right in the beginning of chapter 12 we have a dinner that has been arranged specifically in Jesus' honour and we see in these first few verses that somebody named okay here the person who has hosted the dinner is not mentioned but then we see him mentioned in the other gospels. So let's actually begin by reading some of the verses. Maybe we could read out the first six verses that would help. So if we could have someone read out for us John chapter 12 verses 1 to 6 please. John 12, 1 to 6. Then six days before they passed over Jesus came to Bethany where Lazarus was who had been dead whom he had raised from the dead. There they met him as supper and water served but Lazarus was one of those who said as a devil within. Then Mary took a picture of him as one of those who said as a devil within. Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spiky nuts. Anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair and the house was filled with the fragments of the oil but one of his disciples, Judas X. Simon's son who would betray him said Lazarus was this pregnant almost so for 300 denari and given to the poor. This is said, know 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. Yes, thank you. Thanks for reading out. So we see here that dinner has been hosted in honor of Jesus and Martha, Mary and Lazarus present. It is not taking place in their home because in Matthew chapter 26 and Mark chapter 14 we learn that the host is actually Simon the leper. So he's the host. He seems to have some kind of skin disease so he's called Simon the leper. However, he's wealthy enough, rich enough to be recognized in society in spite of this skin disease. So leprosy was just a common term that was used. It did not mean that leprosy which was infectious and which would spread. It could just mean any skin disease. So this man probably had some kind of skin disease and he was wealthy and he's hosting a dinner here in honor of Jesus and many of the guests who have come over here they have come over here to see Lazarus who has been raised from the dead. And so on this occasion and everyone is gathered in public. Mary comes forward to worship Jesus in her own way. So she has brought with her a pint of pure spikenard is what it says. That's a very expensive spice, a perfume made with that expensive spice and she takes it and she pours out the entire bottle onto the feet of Jesus and begins to wipe his feet with her hair. I mean not just with a cloth or a towel but actually with her hair. And it says here the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. Now it was customary that if you went to the dinner of a wealthy person he would have servants available who would honor the guests by washing their feet and in some cases they would in fact use some perfumed ointments which they would dab on the forehead or on the head or on the hair of the guests. This is just to honor them. So on this occasion it's not water which is being used for the feet but here we see Mary actually using a very expensive perfume to wipe Jesus feet and it says the perfume fills the fragrance of the perfume fills the entire house and Jesus goes on to say in the next few verses that this is kind of anticipating the sacrifice that he is going to be making and so this is in honor of his death and his burial. Now of course Mary was not aware of this but even as God kind of stirred her heart to make this sacrifice she becomes willing to do that. She did not know why she is feeling this urge in her heart to make this sacrifice but when that divine urge comes into her heart she responds and in fact I'm sure that she didn't take this decision on her own because this is a very expensive perfume we get to know a little later in one of the following verses that to just purchase this one small bottle of perfume you would need an entire year's wages so which means if a person has worked an entire year and earned a salary all of that every penny of it would go into just buying this perfume so this was probably some kind of an investment which this family of three has made in those days they didn't really invest in gold and platinum the way they invest now these are all portable items easy to store and so people invest in these things in our current day people like to invest in gold they are not going to wear all the gold which they have bought on themselves that would be rather awkward but the reason they keep investing in this gold is that when they wish to buy a large piece of land or they want to invest in something in some business venture or there is a time of need and scarcity at such times this gold becomes something that's readily available in their hands to sell and use the proceeds for whatever purpose they have so in the same way in those days it was not gold that people invested in because gold was a precious metal that was hard to come by rather people invested in things like this spices, perfumes these were all expensive things so it looks like maybe Martha and Lazarus have invested in this kept it with them for a real day and so some day if the need arises they would be able to sell this and with the money they would be able to invest in whatever they have in mind now this family has decided that they would like to honour the lord by giving their most precious investment pouring it out upon him on his feet and so when Judas sees this amazing act of worship he is not at all moved he only thinks about the amount of money that has gone on somebody's feet so he thinks oh my what a waste you know so in that sense he speaks up and he says why wasn't this perfume sold and the money given to the world and the explanation that is given is that he didn't really care about the world if it had been given to if it had been sold and given if the money for it had been given to them then he could have helped himself to some of the proceeds because that is usually what he did it explains over here that he was a thief and he sometimes used to take money out of the money bag which had been entrusted to him so with that intention he says that but look at the contrast which is drawn over here between Mary, Martha and Lazarus on the one side and Judas on the other side for them pouring out this expensive investment upon the feet of Jesus was not waste it was worship on the other hand looking at it from Judas perspective all he thinks about is the amount of money that could have been obtained from that and so he sees it as a huge waste and he thinks oh if only that could have been converted into money and given to them at least he could have helped himself to some of it so what looks to one person as a worthy investment can look like a complete and total waste to another it all depends on our perspective so someone with a kingdom perspective would value doing something for the Lord they would regard it a privilege to even suffer beatings for the Lord that also is considered an honour because we see later in the book of Acts whenever the disciples were persecuted or they had to undergo some hardship it brought them joy to know that they are doing this for their saviour, for their master so what can appear to in the eyes of the world as a waste as something that is so unnecessary can seem very valuable in the eyes of someone who has a kingdom perspective and so how do we look at the things of life that can really be like a test, a litmus test for us do we look at kingdom things the way the world looks at them and think of them as something that is just to be done on the side something that you do in your spare time how do we see it as something as a driving fashion that drives us to do things make sacrifices to go the extra mile just so that we can honour the Lord because even the people in the secular world they too practice religious activities but many of them just do it as something on the side something that you just do in your spare time and then for the true believer for the person who is a true follower of Jesus for them Jesus becomes the top most highest priority he becomes the passion and so nothing done for him is a waste how much ever is invested how much ever is poured out upon him it is something valuable not at all considered a waste so the question that we can ask ourselves is in my heart and mind, in my deepest heart and mind do I think the way Judas thinks do I see anything that is done for the kingdom as oh a waste of time or something that is taking up all my effort or something that I have to do because it is my duty and obligation to do it do we see kingdom matters from this perspective or do we see it the way maybe saw it and the way Lazarus and Martha saw it even as they were supporting her in this act did they see it as the most wonderful precious thing that you could possibly do for your Lord and Saviour how were they seeing it and how do we see it so that can help us to assess how valuable the Lord is to us if a sacrifice feels too painful and unnecessary then maybe we still do not love him enough on the other hand if no sacrifice is really too much for him then it shows that we are beginning to love him the way he should be loved and appreciated so that just kind of helps us to ask ourselves from time to time do I have the attitude of these two sisters and the brother or do I have the attitude of Judas just another one thing that we could maybe touch upon even as you know before we move on to the next passage there is a lot of confusion regarding this particular event and another event which is mentioned in Luke chapter 7 verses 36 to 50 now you see in Luke 7, 36 to 50 there it talks about a woman who brings an alabaster jar of perfume and she pours it out upon Jesus and it says over there that she was a prostitute now that event is different and it is not to be mixed up with this event which takes place here in Bethany because this story what Mary of Bethany has done for Jesus this is mentioned in Matthew 26, Mark 14 and John 12 so this is something that takes place in Bethany in Judea and this Mary is the sister of Lazarus and Martha and this event takes place at the end of Jesus' ministry so that is why Jesus says you know what she has done she has done it in honour of my upcoming death and burial on the other hand this other event Luke chapter 7, 36 to 50 that event is somebody else and over there in that event it says that that particular woman was a prostitute so she probably repented of her sins and the Lord showed her mercy rather than condemning her so he forgives her of her sins and out of that gratitude she comes and she anoints him with the perfume from the alabaster jar so that event takes place in Galilee Galilee is a completely separate place Bethany and Judea is a totally different place so these are two separate events and so it is wrong to say that Mary of Bethany so that other lady was someone else who was living in Galilee but this event is dealing with the time just before Jesus' crucifixion just maybe a few weeks before Jesus' crucifixion so there is a large crowd which has come for the Feast of the Passover and they have all heard about the miracle that has happened regarding Lazarus so it says in verse 9 meanwhile a large crowd of Jews found out that Jesus was there and came not only because of him but also to see Lazarus and then in verse 11 it says on account of him many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and believing in him and then it goes on to say the next day the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem and then they all wait at the gates of Jerusalem to greet him even as he comes so maybe we could have someone read out for us verses 13 to 16 if someone could read out please verses 13 to 16 took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him and cried out for Sana visiting his youth comes in the name of the Lord the king of Israel then Jesus when he had found a young donkey sat on it as it is written fear not daughter of Zion behold your king is coming sitting on a donkey's horse his disciples did not understand these things at first but when Jesus was glorified then they remembered that these things were written about him and that they had done these things to him yeah so the wording which they used to greet Jesus that's basically from Psalm 118 at the time of the Passover it was customary for the people who have come to the temple to sing Psalm 113 all the way up to Psalm 118 the entire chunk Psalm 113 up to 118 was called the Halel the praise it was called the Halel the praise and so that was usually sung during the Passover so these people are actually picking up some wording from Psalm 118 verses 25 to 26 so that's the wording which they choose to greet him with so if you were to look in Psalm 118 25 to 26 this is the wording over there Lord save us Lord grant us success blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord from the house of the Lord we bless you so they are acknowledging the fact that this Messiah is coming to save them to grant them success and so they are blessing him in the name of the Lord and they are declaring that from the house of the Lord we bless you okay so when they are crying out Hoshiana or rather in Hebrew that would be Hoshiana okay that basically that wording basically means save us now okay so Hoshiana literally the word Hoshiana literally means save us now and so it was a cry for help it was also a proclamation of praise in the sense the people would say the word Hoshiana as though it's not a cry of help but a cry of victory in the sense God will answer the prayer he will save them so somewhere down the ages that word which was supposed to actually be a cry for help turned into a cry of victory so even as they say the words save us now in fact they are saying we are going to be saved now okay so the word Hoshiana is actually a cry for help but it began to be used as a proclamation of victory so they are crying out this word now the word Hoshiana as a word of praise and they are so glad that this person who can raise someone from the dead has come to them as their Messiah and the sad thing is that they are all assuming that he is going to go and fight with the Romans and give them political salvation so they are all greeting him with such joy because they think that political liberation is very soon going to come to them they are not so much interested in a spiritual salvation which is why this entire crowd turns against Jesus and cries out for crucifixion later on so it's rather sad you know sometimes it happens even with us who have chosen to become followers of Jesus we want him to be our saviour in a particular way and when he chooses to be our saviour in a different way you know there is a chance that we could get bitter so we need to be careful and guard against that tendency when he doesn't become our saviour in the way we want to be saved when he doesn't answer our prayers in the way we want them answered it could lead to anger it could lead to frustration and that was the wrong response he is a saviour who really knows how to save he knows what is best for us he is the good shepherd so we need to have an attitude of trust and an attitude of praise and worship and grumble or be bitter or be angry against him so like this crowd which is now opening its mouth and praising him and then turns into a rebellious crowd that is crying out for his crucifixion we his true followers should not have that attitude so however he chooses to save us in the way that he chooses to save us he is willing to submit and accept his dealings with us whatever they may be incomplete trust because he is a saviour who genuinely can be trusted so over here if we were to look at the verses which came earlier verse 14 it says Jesus found the young donkey and sat on it now of course in the other gospels we have details about how exactly that young donkey was found Jesus specifically tells them such a place and then you will find the cult tied over there and that is the cult that I want you to bring so why was Jesus so particular about finding that particular young cult the word cult over here basically means a young donkey a donkey that is not yet fully an adult so which means no one would have actually tamed it yet no one would have actually taught it how to carry people you know the untrained animal tends to be a little wild because it is not used to having people sit on it but here this young cult when Jesus sits on it there is no fuss of any kind it just submits to him as well as one very very experienced you know carrier of people and it just carries him in a noble way so it is I mean we see that detail here Jesus could have just chosen a donkey which is used to having people riding on its back but he chooses to use a donkey that has never been ridden upon in a way that is an honour no one has ever ridden on it but there is also the other aspect that is an untrained cult but still it submits to him it carries him because he is the creator God and the creator king who is riding on it and so the reason that Jesus chooses the cult is because of Zechariah chapter 9 verses 9 to 10 very difficult to remember what was covered in which class have we talked about why Jesus chose a young cult in our problem may not it is just that very recently I have spoken about this in some class somewhere so if we were to turn quickly to Zechariah 9 to 10 this is the assurance that Yahweh gives to daughter Zion he tells daughter Zion maybe we could actually read out that if someone could please read out Zechariah 9, 9 and 10 Zechariah 9, 9 and 10 if someone could read out Zechariah 9, 9 and 10 Zechariah chapter 9 verses 9 and 10 Rejoice great old daughter Zion shout her love of daughter Zion behold your king is coming to you he is righteous and riding on the donkey upon the foot of the foot of the donkey and cut off the chariot from the pride and the house from Jerusalem and above all will be cut off and he will speak peace to the nations and his dominion shall be from sea to sea and from the river to the ends of the earth thank you and if you could have one of the other students I know that we will not have the echo effect because Jefina is here with me right so it kind of creates an echo effect it's not too much to ask I just need you to keep your Bible in front of you and read out a few verses now and then please if you could just do that and participate in the class and those of you who read out regularly thank you so much for that I am very grateful for that so here we see that Zion that when her king comes to her he will come on a on the pole of a donkey not even a full-fledged donkey but a young old rather than on a war horse because you see those who want to bring judgment they ride into the city on war horses and they wreak violence they bring judgment but here Zion is being assured and told don't worry when your king comes to you he will come to bring peace he will not come to make war against you but rather he will come to declare peace not just to you Jerusalem but also to all the nations so here Jesus is coming into Jerusalem as its saviour not as its judge so it's in fact very very significant he does not choose a war horse to ride into the city rather he comes into that city on a pole on a young pole to assure Jerusalem and the nations that he is not coming as a judge but rather as saviour and he is also coming with righteousness and victory you see that's what it says in verse 9 it says see your king comes to you righteous and victorious nobly you know humble and riding on a donkey so these are the virtues characteristics with which Jesus makes his entry and then it goes on to say in verse 17 now the crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead continue to spread the word and then in verse 18 we are told many people because they had heard that he had performed this sign went out to meet him and the Pharisees are very upset they say the whole world is gone after him and they are very very upset about this and then if someone could read out for us verses 22 23 John 12 20 to 23 on the screen I have someone named Anita, Anita could you please read out for us John chapter 12 was 20 to 23 go ahead maybe Anita is not logged in so anyone on the screen who can read out for us John chapter 12 verses 20 to 23 now there was Greeks among those who came up to worship the feast then they came to Philip who was from Bethsaida of Galilee and ask him we wish to see Jesus Philip came and told Andrew and it turned Andrew and Philip told Jesus 23 also answered them saying the hour has come that the son of man should be glorified so here it says that some Greeks wanted to meet Jesus and it looks like these Greeks are from Bethsaida because they say they came to Philip who was from Bethsaida in Galilee so Bethsaida was a trading town so you would have a lot of foreigners coming over there for mercantile purposes so we have these people coming to Philip because they probably are familiar with the fact that Philip was a disciple of Jesus so they come and they request and they say we would like to meet with Jesus and then when Jesus gets to know about this he speaks out and he says the hour has come for the son of man to be glorified why does he say now the hour has come for the son of man to be glorified if you remember up to now we have many places where John the writer writes and says the hour had not yet come and so on different occasions when the people are trying to attack Jesus it says his hour had not yet come and so he was able to leave that place and go away but now Jesus finally says the hour has come for the son of man to be glorified the reason that he says that is that all the things which are supposed to lead up to the crucifixion are now being fulfilled you see we read in the earlier verse that many of them are now beginning to believe in him that was in verse 11 for an account of Nazareth many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and believing in him and then it says here in 18 many people because they had heard that he had performed the sign went out to meet him and now you even have foreigners coming now that there were some Greeks it says in verse 20 and they too wanted to meet him so all the true sheep who are willing to hear his voice are now being gathered into the fold the sheep are all getting ready to meet their shepherd so now it is time for the shepherd to lay down his life for them so the hour has now indeed come for the son of man to be glorified and so the interesting thing is that he is glorifying himself not by establishing himself on a throne he is glorifying himself by dying for the people for his sheep so if we could dwell on those verses if we could have someone read out verses 23 to 26 someone could read out for us John 12 verses 23 to 26 please Jesus answered them but Jesus answered them saying but Jesus answered them saying the hour has come that the son of man should be glorified most assuredly I say to you unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies it remains alone but if it dies it produces much grain he who loves his life will lose it and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life if anyone serves me let him follow me and where I am there my servant will be also if anyone serves me him my father will honor amen so in verse 23 we see that the son of man is going to be glorifying himself and how is he going to be glorifying himself he says unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies it remains only a single seed but if it dies it produces many seeds and so this son of man is going to glorify himself by dying so that through him many seeds will be brought alive you know many lives will be saved and he says his followers also should be following the same principle so he goes on to say in verse 25 anyone who loves their life will lose it while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life there is a contrast being made over here between eternal life and life in this world so we should regard life in this world as something very temporary here the word hate is not really talking about hate red here the word hate is being used in the New Testament sense in various places in the New Testament Jesus talks about how we should hate something versus loving something else in the sense he says unless a person hates their father and mother he is not my disciple or that it is not talking about us actually hating father and mother it is talking about priorities it is a metaphor that was very familiar to the Hebrew people it is a Hebrew metaphor where to express your priorities you would say I hate this when compared to that because that is more valuable that is more precious it does not mean that you actually hate the other item that is being mentioned it is a Hebrew metaphor that simply indicates that your priorities in something so high that in comparison with that thing which you value so much everything else that you love is almost like just mere hate you know so it is valuing something that much so here Jesus is saying you must hate this temporary life which you have on the earth to an extent where you know your love for eternal life is shown so your love for eternal life should be so great that in comparison to that the love that you have for the life over here it almost looks like mere hatred so he says if a person is willing to lay down their life in that manner it goes on to say in verse 26 my father will honour the one who serves me in that manner so the son of man glorifies himself by dying by serving in the same way his followers are also being urged to be willing to die and sacrifice you know themselves to the things of this world so that they may be honoured by the father so glorification honour comes through death comes through sacrifice comes through giving up something and we give up these things for our lord and saviour he in turn gives give up himself on our behalf so glorification comes through death through sacrifice that's the point which Jesus brings out over here the next few verses are very interesting if we can have someone read out for us verses 27 to 30 and thank you so much for being so willing to read out verses 27 to 30 if someone could read out now my soul is troubled and what shall I say father saved me from this hour but for this purpose I came to this hour father glorify your name then a voice came from heaven saying I have both glorified it and will glorify it again and therefore the people who stood by and heard it said that it had 100 thunder other said an angel has spoken to him Jesus answered and said this voice did not come because of me but for your sake this is an audible voice from heaven and this is the third time this takes place the first time the audible voice was heard was during his baptism when you know the father says that this is my son and I am well pleased with him the second time that an audible voice from heaven is heard is during the transfiguration on the mount you know when the disciples who have been taken up on the mount along with him they hear God's voice acknowledging that this Jesus should be obeyed and he should be worshipped so now for the third time we have the voice from heaven and the people who are hearing to some of them it sounds like a loud thunder but then the others are able to understand that actual words have been spoken and they assume that some angel has spoken and then Jesus says this voice was for your benefit not mine because all along Jesus had been saying I have another person a big testimony for me and the testimony is from the father and so literally you have the father testifying and saying yes I have glorified my name and now I will glorify it again through you so that's confirmation it's testimony from the father that this Jesus is from him so we have that testimony being given and then from there maybe we could move into verses yeah these are important verses so if we can have someone read out for us verses 31 2 33 yeah if we could have someone read out verses 31 32 33 now is the judgment of this world now the ruler of this world will be cast out and if I am lifted up from the earth will draw all peoples to myself this is a signifying by what death he would die yeah if you could also just read for us verses 34 and 35 as well yes 34 and 35 as well please the people on star team we have from the Lord that the Christ remains forever and how can you say the son of man must be lifted up who is this son of man then Jesus said to them a little while longer than so sorry I didn't mean to interrupt go ahead and a little while longer the light is with you while you have the light leaves darkness overtake you he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going yeah so here the people understand what Jesus is saying when he says and when I am lifted up from the earth I will draw all people to myself alright so they understand that he is talking about death okay and that's a verse 33 confirms he said this to show the kind of death he was going to die and the people understand that he is referring to death about being lifted up from the earth and so then they say we have been told in the Old Testament that the Messiah will remain forever so and you are talking about dying so you know what is this I mean how can the son of man die are you a different kind of a son of man are you not the Messiah who was being talked about in Daniel 7 that's the question which they ask because they are unable to understand how this Messiah would die because they expect the Messiah to live forever so if you look at these verses it looks like as if this Messiah is headed towards defeat is headed towards you know death and loss in the eyes of the world what he is about to do does not make any sense he says over here now is the time for judgment on this world now the prince of this world will be driven out but he talks about him dying so it appears as to the judgment is going to come up on him it appears as to he is the one who is going to be driven out so you see when you look at this this act of Jesus from a human perspective it looks like defeat and what looks like defeat is in fact a great act of triumph and victory so which is why you know in the epistels Paul talks about how what looked like foolishness to the world was in fact divine wisdom what even the principalities and parts could not understand God uses that method to bring about a triumphant and great victory so here even though it appears as to when Jesus was hanging on the cross judgment came upon him and he is the one who was driven out the truth is that it was actually the prince of this world who was driven out it was the judgment came upon the prince of the world and the you know his followers rather than upon Jesus and so this is what Jesus says he says you are going to have the light just a little while longer you know so while the light is there believe in what I am saying while I am still here believe in what I am saying and then in verse 36 Jesus says believe in the light while you have the lights that you may become children of light when he had finished speaking Jesus left and hid himself from them and in verse 37 it goes on to say even after Jesus had performed so many signs in their presence they still would not believe in him so there were people who having seen all the miracles that he performed they still would not believe in him in their eyes what Jesus was saying sounded foolish they could not understand how death can lead to triumph so they were looking at things through a worldly perspective they were not true sheep because the true sheep would be able to hear his voice and they would be able to catch in their spirit that he is the true living Messiah even though they may not understand the actual words and what exactly he is saying in their spirit because they are the true sheep they would sense that what is being told is the truth but these people you know who have not believed in him they are obviously not the true sheep and that is why it says when he had finished speaking Jesus left and hid himself from them he did not feel it necessary to pursue them any longer why because the words of Isaiah are being fulfilled over here that is why he says it says in John 12 verse 38 Lord who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed so this is something that Isaiah had prophesied that there are some people to whom even when the arm of the Lord is revealed they will choose not to believe and that prophecy is now being fulfilled over here so we will continue to look at this after the break so we will rejoin once again at 10 o'clock thank you