Week 2..."Faith...and You", James 1.17-27

If you remember, last week we considered the rule of faith and temptation...the one, unfortunately going hand-in-hand with the other. True faith results in trials and temptation. But the news is good, because as we read in James 1.2-4, our trials work patience, which works maturity, which works abundant life, which works joy...the real fruit of our faith.
This week, we're going to consider the effect of our faith...on us!
You recall the last verse that we looked at last week...vs. 16 (read...). Well as the saying goes...“To err is human...to forgive, divine”. And that saying perfectly describes the work and the will of God for our sinful selves. We are tempted...and more often that not, we sin...and God forgives us, and that cycle is repeated over and over again in the life of every Christian. But God's greatest wish for His church, is that we not be misled about this, which is a better interpretation of vs. 16, because as we read in vs. 17... ”Every good and perfect gift is from above...”. It's not at all about our problem with Satan...it's all about the solution provided by our great God...and don't ever forget that! Change your focus from you, to Him! So let's read vss. 17-27...
Now then, what is the effect of our faith...on us (See John 1.12-13.. ”to them gave He power...”)? Does faith really result in us becoming new persons, or in being born again, as Jesus put it to Nicodemus in John ch. 3? And if it truly does, what is the evidence of that new birth? Well as James says in vs. 17, if there is to be any change, it must “come from God, the Father of all light”, both literally and spiritually. There is, after all, no greater gift than our salvation...a Father-son relationship with God, is there?! But back to the effect of our faith, on us...
Read Romans 12.1-3, Colossians 2.6-7, 3.1-4...
So here we have the expected result of our new lives in Jesus. The fact of the matter is, although His purpose in coming to us was to save us from the damning effect of sin, He didn't live His life in a vacuum...the example He set during His life here has never been equaled before or since. But the command that God gives us through Paul in these vss. from Romans and Collossians, go much broader and deeper than merely observing and living our lives as Jesus lived His. The effect of our believing and receiving should not only result in our “walking in Him...”, but also in our “being rooted and built up in Him”, and in our becoming “established in the faith” (vss. 6-7). Or maybe, more to the point, having the depth and breadth of faith that roots us firmly in Jesus!
Paul puts it another way in Colossians 3.5-17...put off the old man and put on the new man! Put to death your old ways! Note that the first part of vs. 5 deals with sins of the flesh...the second part of vs. 5 and vss. 8,9 deal with sins of the mind...while vss. 10-17 deal with our spiritual selves. And as you can well imagine, the effect that this new birth, or of wearing our faith has on our lives would be so very obvious to those who come to know us. As my friend in the Salvation Army puts it, referring to his uniform...”I wear my baptism every day!”
Let's go back to James 1.17-27.
So what effect has your faith had on you? Keep in mind now, as James says in vs. 18, we have been re-born...born again, begotten into the family of God by the “Word of Truth”, which in fact identifies two of the most obvious and most powerful and most descriptive Names used of the Savior in all the New Testament...”Word” and “Truth”. And so it is by Him, and by His Name alone, that we become the “begotten son(s) of God”! Now keeping Jesus in view, consider what a “begotten son of God” looks like. He is...
- vss. 19(a,b)...a thoughtful listener and a careful speaker;
- vss. 19(c)-20...he is not easily offended;
- vs. 21(a)...he has forsaken wickedness;
- vs. 21(b)...he humbly receives and plants the soul-saving word of God in his heart;
- vss. 22-24...he is an obedient doer of that word which he has received into his heart, rather than a forgetful hearer;
- vs. 25...he is faithful and obedient to the law of liberty, resulting in blessing on his being and doing (see Romans 14 to contrast the “law of liberty” and the “law of love”);
- vs. 26...he keeps a bridle on his tongue, demonstrating the true worth of his faith;
- vs. 27...he practices pure and honest worship before his God, demonstrated by his care of the orphans and widows of the church, as well as by his resistance to the temptations of this world system.

In fact, true faith results in faithfulness and fruitfulness in the life of the believer. As we have read in Colossians 3.1,2...”If you are raised with Christ into a new life, aim to follow those things which are from above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. And set your mind on, and keep it on those higher things rather than on the things of this life.” When you focus your attention on the glorified Jesus, your faith will take you to where He wants you to be!

Let's take a short break from John...My notes on an 8 week Bible Study at our home in Centreville, CSI

“Eight Rules of Faith”...A Study of the Book of James”
(Sept. 17- Nov. 19, 2013) 
Week 1...”The Rule of...Faith and Temptation”, Ja. 1.1-16

What is Faith? Read He. 11.1...faith is substantial...that is, having considerable value, or worth; it's considerable, solid and essential. So how much is faith worth...how essential is it, and how firm is it? Well, as an illustration, take that chair for example (the brown pleather one in the corner). When I came into this room tonight I thought...I like to sit in this chair (my Lazyboy rocker-recliner!), because I know this chair. I know it's value, and it's solid...it's stood the test of time and use. But that other chair...I wouldn't sit in that because I don't have faith in it's ability to hold me up. When we bought it, it was on sale because of a crack in one of the legs, but we liked the look of it, so we went ahead and bought it anyway, thinking...well, it doesn't really matter because neither of us plan to be using it! But I figured that chair would some day let someone down! I don't have much faith in its ability to stand the test of time...it's not of very good quality...it's not worth a whole lot, it's not solid, and it certainly isn't essential to either Mary or me. It may look substantial at first glance, but it's not (I have since made a seamless repair by the by).
Well that's the way with faith. Faith reflects trust, and it reflects value and it reflects substance. The Divine Author of Hebrews says that...”Faith is the substance (or the confirmation) of all that we hope for, the proof of things we cannot see but believe to be there, resulting in the conviction that they are real.” So the letter of James to the church is about that kind of experience...the act of trusting in things that we only read and hear about, resulting in our belief that they are in fact, true; in other words...faith. So having said that, let's read James 1.1-16...
Now James starts his letter with a very curious saying...”Be joyful when you fall into temptation”! Now I don't know about you, but I don't find much joy in being tempted! In fact, I hate it when I'm tempted, because when I'm tempted I don't want to make a decision. I have that little imp on one shoulder whispering in my ear, and a little angel on my other shoulder whispering in my other ear. Paul explains it perfectly in Ro. 7.14 where he says...”I am just a creature of the flesh, sold into slavery to sin”. Let's turn there...
Read vss. 14-24...
So when you give in to your temptations...shame on you! No, not at all. The fact is, even we believers are still creatures of the flesh, as Paul says in vs. 25...
But He doesn't hang us out to dry, or does He?
Read 8.1-6, 11-18, 24-25...
That describes the end of our faith, our hope in what we cannot see, which brings us right back to James 1...the matter of our patient faith.  
Read Ja. 1.3-8,12...
So here we have the order...the trial of our faith-->patience--> maturity-->abundant life--> joy.
Note “...the trial of your faith”...1 Pe. 1.5-9, 4.12,13
So, just for the record, since we've had a glimpse of the end of our faith (the salvation of our souls), what about the potential end of our temptation, without that endurance of our faith that we read of in vs. 12?
Read vss. 13-16...
So here is the “anti-thesis” of the formula given in the previous paragraph...
But first, note where temptation does not come from, although many are heard to complain...”why does God...?!”.
...temptation-->lust-->sin-->death.
Compare vs. 12...the crown of life, offered to the enduring believer. In fact, there are various crowns for the Christian...
-  "Crown for eternity"...1 Cor. 9.25
-  "of the soul-winner"...Phil. 4.1, 1 Thess. 2.19
-  "of righteousness"...2 Ti 4.8
-  "of life"....Ja. 1.12, Rev. 2.10
-  "of glory"...1 Pe. 5.4
It's important to note that these crowns can't be earned by trying...for eg., the crown of life can't be earned, any more than eternal life can be earned. Christ paid the price for us, and I believe that there is nothing worthwhile we can add to that, other than to believe and receive! So the Crown of life is our reward for enduring the trial of our faith, in its many forms and on its many occasions, and coming through even stronger on the other side. As I read it, if you fail, or fall into sin during the time of your trial you will not lose your salvation, but you may certainly suffer some consequence, as a result of the lapse in that most important aspect of life...your enduring faith.

But there's one other crown that we cannot overlook...the crown of thorns...John 19.5-16. The very reason for faith in the first place...a considerable faith, a substantial faith and an essential faith!

55. Lesson 27..."The Master, in a Servant Role!"

Chapter 13 of the Gospel of John, particularly the first 20 verses or so, without question constitute one of the greatest and most important of all passages in New Testament scripture. If you have never thought of Jesus as a Servant of grace, then you have not yet come to realize the extent of the importance of His work on the cross, for you! A true servant will not only face death for you, but He will wash your feet! He will not only bear your sin-burden, but He will bear your life-burdens as well. In fact, what He's done for others, He'll do for you! (sounds like a hymn lyric, don'tcha think?)

I've pointed out before, that Jesus, by now has pretty much concluded His public ministry, and in these last details of some of the most intimate moments of His life, we see Him preparing His disciples for some of the most important lessons they would ever learn that side of Pentecost (Acts 2). He had told them, as recorded over in Matthew 20.28..."the Son of Man came not to be ministered-to, but to minister", and believe it or not, He still makes that His business, over on the other side. And that's the message that He tries to impress on John and Peter and the others, from here to His ascension to His eternal throne. And as we read there in verse 1..."He loved them to the end...and not just His disciples either, but all of mankind, to the end of time as we know it, and every one of His sheep, on into eternity. So here we can see the very clear shift in focus, from the Jews in the last section of Chapter 12, to the Father here in verse 1, and to His own spiritual children.
Read verses 1-12...

Now we need to understand the context here. Passover is a spring feast, instituted by God as recorded for us in Exodus 12, as a memorial to His "passing-over" of the children of Israel in the last and most decisive act of God upon the Egyptians before their release of Israel from slavery. The "Passover supper" itself is celebrated on the 14th day of the Jewish month of Nisan, which on our calendar is a period somewhere between March and April, depending on the phase of the moon (roughly coinciding with our Easter, which always falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon following the spring equinox...the 21st of March). Anyway, the feast started with the Passover supper and continued for seven days, so that is why Jesus and His disciples find themselves there in Jerusalem, in an upper room (as recorded elsewhere in the gospel record), having their last meal together. Of course, little did they know that the sacrificed lamb which had been prepared for their supper, represented the very Lamb of God, prepared from eternity past both for their sins and ours!

"When Jesus knew that His hour had come...". Do you realize that Jesus was the only One to come to this earth, who was never surprised by anything that happened during His lifetime? He knew every event He was to experience, before He ever arrived in Mary's womb...His birth, life, death and resurrection! And notice, again in verse 1, Jesus' focus on His future; He was not just returning to Heaven, but to His Father! How different our focus is, from His. We talk about heaven this, and heaven that...I wonder what Heaven will really be like? How beautiful Heaven will be! I wonder if I'll recognize my loved ones gone before me? Well let me tell you, none of those questions are relevant. Our God is the only One Who will be relevant when that time arrives. If you have any selfish intent whatsoever in your heart, then you're in for a beautiful awakening...and believe me, you won't be disappointed! The world is, and has been a place of woe; you know that and Jesus knew that, and His desire should be our desire...to be with the Father. The cross before Him was a place of horror, but to be with the Father would be joy unspeakable and full of glory! But in the meantime...verses 2-3...

What a change in tone from verse 1 to verse 2...from the Father to the devil; from Jesus to Judas; from love to betrayal. But notice that Satan only knew what the plan was...Jesus knows the thoughts and intents of the heart. And He knew that the very best way to disarm the enemy, was to "blindside" him, so that's what He did (verses 4-5)...He washed his feet! Now we need to keep three things in view here...first, Jesus' hour had come; second, He loved His own; third, all things had been given into His hand. God in the flesh, preparing for the role of a servant!

What a cleansing that was for those disciples. But Jesus didn't cleanse, so much as He convicted; we must get convicted before we can get cleansed, from the spiritual view of things. And believe me, the air in that room was ripe with, not only smelly feet, but the overpowering stench of unresolved conviction! You and I might have been cleansed, but our spiritual feet need to be washed every single day. Our walk in this world takes us into all kinds of situations and conditions, and no matter how careful we are, we still end up with dirty feet. But, you see, Jesus was not so concerned with dirty feet as He was with clean hearts. He loved those disciples, and He intended to give Himself up for them...a work that was only His to do.

But..."Lord, dost Thou was my feet?" (verse 6). You know, Peter really is a very good example of the immature Christian. Was he in complete subjection to his Lord? If he wouldn't allow Jesus to wash his feet, what assurance does Jesus have that, when the cock crows, Peter won't already have denied Him...not once, but three times? How strong was his faith? How strong is our faith? When the Lord reached out to him as a servant, Peter took a step back..."Lord, dost Thou wash my feet?" Neither faith, or love in action here! We really can see just how great a need we have, when we look at Peter...too much pride, too much power and too many plans, while Judas only had a purse! It seems that sometimes, we tend to overlook the obvious. Judas would soon reveal himself for who he really was; but Peter might have lived out his life without ever soaking his feet in Jesus' wash basin. And he thought he was the humble one! Sometimes it can be very surprising to see where our pride can take us. You see, it's when we think we know something that we often show our ignorance. Peter had no idea what Jesus had in mind for this motley crew of disciples. And just like many of us...impetuous, egotistical and world-minded; not a very good profile, is it? But that was Peter...ready to cut off someone's ear if need-be.

"Dost Thou wash my feet?" "Thou shalt never was my feet!" You know, we need to be oh-so-careful of what we may become guilty of; not only questioning the Lord's desire to wash us, but denying Him from washing us! How one sin often does lead to another. Oh, we may not actually use the same words Peter did, but we certainly often do act them out. So what's the difference between us and him? Well if you don't know, take careful note of the Lord's response...verse 8(b). And how scary is that?

You know something? When our feet are dirty from our walking where we've been, we had better let the Lord do for us what only He can do. That's what humility is all about...yielding. Don't take a Peter-attitude toward Jesus! To think that our pride and our stubbornness can actually keep us from Him. It's no wonder we have no power in the church today; or that we feel Jesus is a world away. In fact, He is...when we won't allow Him to do for us what only He can do! We may profess that..."My life is in His hands", but the real proof of our commitment to Him is in allowing a very simple, but a very effective foot washing. And do you realize how often our spiritual "feet" need to be washed? Every day! (See Psalm 139.23-24)

So how did Peter, and how should we respond to the Lord's offer to wash our feet (verse 9)? All Jesus really wanted was for Peter to be given a lesson in humility, and foot-washing served the purpose. He really didn't have to take over the entire exercise...he very nearly took the focus off Jesus completely, so the rest of the disciples would have been talking about Peter's antics long after Jesus' death and resurrection. But..."Just let Me teach you, Peter..." (verse 10). What Jesus wants us to learn is that, when you present your spiritual "feet" to Him, you'll get washed from the inside out...a cleansing that will prepare you for eternity; a cleansing that will fit you for salvation, for sacrifice and for service. But you know what...and it's horrible to have to say it...but there are some who won't "come clean", not even for Jesus (verses 10-11)! In fact, we all have a little bit of the "Judas attitude" in us, just as we all have a little bit of the "Peter attitude". Both are shameful, but the one leads to eternal destruction, while the other still leaves the possibility for confession, repentance and joy in the Lord and in His work.

Can you imagine the callous that must have been on Judas' heart...that not even the humbling, if not humiliating process of foot-washing could break down the barrier? So was Judas a true Believer? Not likely. Is it possible to refuse and even deny Jesus, but then confess and repent, as Peter had done? By all means, yes! And that's the purpose that Jesus had in conducting this exercise...to show the difference between the one and the other...to "separate the sheep from the goats", as it were. And to prove to those closest to Him, and to the world, that He is the Suffering Servant of His Father, God. Can you imagine the implications that has for me and You! God bless you as you have your "soles" washed by our Lord!

54. Lesson 26...Pt. 2

3. Thirdly, we need to consider..."The Christ, "Jn. 12.23-50

Notice three things here. First of all...

(a) the fact of His death, 12.23-31..."that the Son of Man should be glorified".

That is, given His spiritual body, and given back His former spiritual place...His throne, at the right hand of The Father, where worship beyond our imagination takes place! He, like a corn of wheat, would rise and bring forth fruit fit for eternity. That's why He's referred-to in Paul's letters as..."the first fruits of them that slept." His resurrection was the first, unto eternal life future; this was His time; His "hour had come". He would never be in the place of a servant again; He was to be "highly exalted", and given a Name "that is above every name" (Philippians 2)! That's a truth, and there's another truth here...if you love yourself more that you love Jesus, then your life is lost! That's the crux of His statement there in vs. 25(a), and a pretty sobering thought it is. And vss. 25(b)-26 give us pretty clear instruction..."If any man serve Me...". Just one more of the many promises from the word of God...serve Him, follow Him, receive honour from Him. What a heritage the believer has!

But even having said all that He said, Jesus' heart is troubled (vs. 27). You may think you've seen your share of troubles in life...in fact, enough to last a lifetime; as the song says..."Nobody knows the trouble I've seen!" But let me fill you in...Jesus' trouble was His own impending death! All the time we've been reading that, "His hour had not yet come", but by this time Jesus could smell the stink of His own grave! His life was now numbered in hours, and at this point His soul was troubled...not only with His own impending death, but also with the burden of the sins of those seated with Him at the table! And those who strewed palm branches along the way, and of those gathered in the temple, planning His murder, and of us here in the uncomfortable pew. When Jesus spoke of the burden of His troubled heart, He wasn't simply sharing His pain with anyone who would listen, He was pouring out His pain to the only One Who would listen! This is, in fact, a prayer to His Father in heaven, for deliverance. But notice how He puts it in vss. 27, 28(a)..."Father, save Me...but I know My purpose, and I know Your will...be glorified!" That's a prayer that few of us have ever prayed.

Jesus knew that the predestined plan of God was in process; everything was right with the world, because it was, and is in God's hands. Jesus had, at Lazarus' tomb, looked death squarely in the eye, and He didn't blink once! And He's looking at death, and the author of sin and death, in the eye again, and what is His comment? "No comment...Father, glorify Thy Name!" And then, a voice came from heaven..."I have already been glorified by Your life, My Son, and I will be glorified in Your death, as well"...the Father and the Son, having perfect faith in One another! But our faith, and the faith of the people standing by...vs. 29 (and 8.43). The natural man really is incapable, of not only understanding, but even of hearing God's word! "What was that sound?! Did it really come from heaven, or was that some angelic language?" Do you know? Because of our spiritual blindness and deafness, Jesus had no choice but to go to that cross. That's what sin had done to us! And yet, Jesus told those present (vs. 30)...to strengthen their little faith on the one hand, and to prove their lostness, on the other. As God had been His witness, His suitability was established, and the world was put on notice.

You know, there were three things that were accomplished by the crucifiction of our Lord. First, as we read in vss. 31, 32, the world was judged (and found wanting). Second the "prince of the power of the air", that "old serpent", the Devil, would be put on notice. Thirdly, the sheep of God would be irresistibly drawn to their own Shepard..."I will draw all men unto Me", vs. 32(b).

Remember John 6.44? See vs. 45..."And they all shall be taught of God...and come unto Me"; and vs. 37..."All that the Father giveth Me shall come to Me...". Jesus knew that His death would result in countless people coming to Him, from all nations and kindreds and tongues, to believe and receive. That's the legacy that He left for the children of men, that we should become, "the children of God"!

Secondly, concerning Jesus, the Christ, we have described for us here...

(b) the form of His death, 12.32-36..."if I be lifted up from the earth...signifying what death He should die".

He knew! He knew what the manner of His death would be. You know what? I'm glad I don't know the details of my death, and I'll bet you all feel the same way! The crucified Jesus, Whose death was exactly after the manner of scriptural prophecy, came down from heaven anyway! I can't imagine any more painful, horrible way to die. It was, in fact, a form of torture, and I'm not going into the details now. It's enough to point to the cross, and let your imagination run amok, and then be thankful you weren't there and then, in Jesus' day!

But our patient Jesus...vs. 35, "...walk while you have light". Those Jews probably thought that they had completely befuddled the carpenter from Nazareth, but He was trying to teach them while, just like many of us, they were unteachable. In their minds, they had already learned more than they needed to know, when in reality, they were only..."looking through a glass darkly".

Look back to John 1.1-5. The darkness is well nigh impenetrable now...just think what it was like for those Jews! Look at John 8.12 and 9.5...these Jews were really at risk, and no one knew it better that Jesus.

There's one more thing that I want to say about the form of His death, and it's described-by some pretty big King James, Holy Bible words!

1. The cross was substitutional...that is, His death was in the place of us all;

2. it was redemptive...that is, He paid the purchase price for all;

3. it was propitiatory...that is, He cancelled the sins of all; and

4. it was just...that is, just right, just in time, and just perfect in its result; it satisfied all the prerequisites of God, for a sacrifice for sin!

(c) the focus of His death, 12.35-36

Read vss. 35, 36.

It sounds as though Jesus' public ministry had come to an end. In fact, from here on, to the end of the Gospels, He will be found alone with His disciples, and then before His accusers, for judgement and crucifiction.

So, in the last verses of chapter 12, Holy Spirit gives us a summary of the many teachings of our Lord; and we can sum it up very nicely. First of all, we will see in vss. 44, 45 His concern for souls; in vs. 46, His teaching that He is the "Light of the world"; in vss. 47, 48, the danger of continued unbelief; and in vs. 50 the great promise of everlasting life! But first, let's look at prophecy ("proof texts") quoted by John, here in vss. 37-41. In chapter 53 of Isaiah the prophet had stated that the promised One was to be "despised and rejected of men". As we've seen, the miracles of Jesus were well documented in the gospels, ranging from healing, to walking on the sea, to raising the dead back to life; but "they", that is, the nation of Israel at large, "believed not on Him", vs. 37.

You know, I've said a few times that we only really half believe the heart's real condition, when all we have to do is to look around us in the world today, and see the very witness of those who, even having heard, refuse to believe! Now, that's no excuse for us to slack back on our evangelistic efforts, but neither should we be beating ourselves up when the unsaved don't respond to the gospel call; remember, "...they believed not on Hm". But back to Isaiah. Chapter 53 tells of the treatment that Jesus was to experience during His first visit to this earth, and the Jews still refuse Him. In fact, they won't even acknowledge Is. 53, or discuss the possibility that it could in any way describe the life and death of Jesus..."Who hath believed our report?" But then we read in John 12.39, 40, another quote from Isaiah, "...they could not believe...". As a consequence of their continued rejection of Jesus, they were already judged! That's a pretty solemn statement, isn't it?!

Read vss. 37-43...in vs. 37, "...they did not believe", in vs. 39, "...they could not believe", and in vs. 40, "...they should not believe", because their hearts were hardened and their eyes blinded! Over in 2 Thessalonians 2 we read that, "...the mystery of iniquity doth already work...and the deceivableness of unrighteousness has already begun its work in them that perish, because they received not the love of the Truth, that they might be saved". And there we have it, in John 12.40...the Lord's response to the horrible treatment of wicked men, toward the Creator and Sustainer of life. They had refused light, so their end would be darkness; they had rejected Truth, so deceivableness would be their lot in life. Lord, preserve us!

The cry must be, as we read in Isaiah 55..."Seek ye the Lord while He may be found, and call upon Him while He is still near!" "These things saith Isaiah...", John 12.41. We needn't go back to Isaiah 6 (where he describes his vision) to get the context; suffice it to say that we need to have our own vision of "the glory of the Lord", and realize that we are a people "of unclean lips", or He will never be able to do in our hearts, what He longs to do.

Read vs. 42..."Nevertheless...".

You know, a faith that does not profess Jesus cannot be a saving faith. Let's look at some verses...Luke 12.8, 9; Romans 10.9; and John 9.22. These people were not willing to forsake all, and follow Him. And John 12.43, "...for they loved the praise of men...".

Now as I've mentioned, in vss. 44-50 we have in essence, a summary passage of Jesus' teachings. "And Jesus cried (out)", to nobody in particular, perhaps as a prayer...perhaps to the disciples...perhaps to the four winds! He's appealing to God; He's speaking of His light in this world; He's speaking of the risk of not believing; and He's speaking of everlasting life. And He says that..."If you believe (these things), and you believe Me, then you believe the Father, Who told Me, and sent Me to tell you!" But particularly notice vs. 48..."the last day".

There will be a "last day"; the last day will be a day of judgement, and the very word of Jesus will judge sin, and sinners in "that day", Romans 2.16. So, as Hebrews 12.25 says..."See that you refuse not Him that speaks, for if they escaped not, who refused Him Who spoke on earth (Jesus), how much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him that speaks from heaven?!"

Heaven indeed!

53. Lesson 26..."Behold, the World Is Gone After Him"! John 12.12-23

Do you know what the performance of a miracle will do for a person? Why, place him in a position of social, spiritual, and even political prominence, is what! And so it was for Jesus. What better candidate for King of the Jews than the King of Creation?! Just think of all the great things that could happen, with Jesus as your King! Healing miracles, and resurrection miracles would just be the beginning. Israel had waited long enough, so...Hosanna! Save us now!

This is one passage that all four Gospels record pretty much as is. And a pretty unusual portrayal of Jesus it is, too, when compared to anything else we read in the New Testament. Of course, this account is recorded by Holy Spirit in fulfillment of prophecy, just as many other scriptures are. And the prophecies go all the way back to Genesis 49, and the record of the blessing of the children of Jacob, including Judah, who is named as being the son from whom the line of Christ was to come. And the prophecies continue all the way through the Old Testament, right up through the Psalms, as far as Zechariah. But I don't have much discernment when it comes to prophecy, so that should be enough to get you started on a study of your own.

Well, as I've already said, this is a very unique picture of our Lord as He made His way to Jerusalem to fulfill His eternal purpose, and the time seemed like it would never come (see chapt. 6.15 and 7.6, eg.). And then, there are other events not recorded for us in John's account, of course. For example, there is no mention of Jesus weeping, or of the possibility of the stones crying-out their praises; but what an event! So let's consider the first point in our passage...

1. The crowd, Jn. 12.12-18

Now I'm not too much on Bible symbolism, either; the literal account is difficult enough for me to percolate, but sometimes it's pretty obvious. The fact of the matter is, Israel wanted a King, and to them, Jesus had all the qualifications; and there was enough of a crowd gathered in Jerusalem for the Passover to elevate Him to their throne, if He was to allow it. At the very least, cause an uproar that Rome wouldn't forget for awhile...or the Chief Priest or the Pharisees either. It was pretty clear that their concern was not for the spiritual significance of Jesus' arrival, or for the eternal significance, either one. This crowd had their own purposes in mind...selfish purposes...political purposes. They had been suppressed and repressed, and they were getting de-pressed, but now, to them it seemed, their time had come.

You know, very little has changed in all this time. We still have people today, being elevated into the political arena with some agenda or another in mind. I know...I've been there! It's a pretty appealing prospect for most people...except Jesus! He knew the cries of, "Hosanna...blessed is He that cometh in the Name of the Lord", would soon turn to, "Crucify Him", and "Give us Barabbas!" But, the Lord's will be done, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.

Now as I've mentioned, this crowd was gathering at Jerusalem, the capital of Israel, the center of Jewish worship, and the location of the temple, and many of them, as we see from vss. 12 and 18, had been anticipating Jesus' arrival, at least since the spread of the news of Lazarus' resurrection. And there was already a holiday atmosphere there, just like at your Municipal exhibition or at the church picnic. And the things that were taking place were not out of place, either, because back in Leviticus, where the account of the Feast of Tabernacles was instituted, being the week prior-to Pentecost, God had commanded that a family holiday should be observed, which included the use of palm branches to build brush tents to stay in, so there would have been lots of palms available to use in their worship of Him!

Now we've already established that prophecy was being fulfilled in these verses, as John points out there in vss. 13-15. But notice that neither John, nor the other disciples, understood that at the time. It was not till after Jesus appeared to them in His glorified body that their spiritual eyes were opened. See how like those original disciples we are? And like those later, Spirit-filled disciples we could be?! Just think of the potential there is, just in one tiny church fellowship! My oh my...the things we could do for Jesus! And the key to eternity is in the door! Jesus drew attention to Himself by entering Jerusalem in the way, and at the time that he did. And He was later to draw sinners to Himself, in the way that, and at the time that He did. And He is the Door, and He is the Key, and He is, and was, Salvation itself, for Israel, and for us! In fact, although the key was right in the door..."these things understood not, His disciples." So let's consider for a minute...

2. The commotion, vss. 19-22

Luke's account in Luke 19.37-40 has this to say...(read).

We humans have a very human nature, don't we? Jesus had power to rebuke His disciples, and had done just that, on previous occasions. He had power to rebuke the wind and the waves, along with the rest of His creation, if He had a mind-to. But rebuke those who worship Him?! Never! The Pharisees were concerned at the conduct of Christ, as well as His cause. They had their own cause, and their own politics and their own reputation to be concerned-with, and Jesus proved to be more than a match for them. And they were at a loss as to how, and why. So there was a commotion in the temple, and in the power houses of the day. But there was also a commotion from the come-from-aways. The Greeks, who were in town for the Feast, got wind of Jesus. And this is also, right in line with what we know from Scripture, that..."Jesus came to the Jews first, and then to the Greeks" (Acts 1.8). This was all within the will of God. And notice vs. 21; they desired Him..."Sir, we would see Jesus"! Do you desire Jesus? Do you wish to see Jesus? Well look no further; you can see Him right here in the Book, and, I pray, in your church, and in the lives of the saints. All you need to do, is open your spiritual eyes!

Remember that we read back in chapt. 1.11-12...(read).

God's purposes and timing are right on track. You and I are right where we need to be, in order to see Jesus, just like those Greeks.! The veil of the temple would soon be torn in two, which would allow those Greeks, and us too, to have direct access to Him; we don't have to go looking for permission anymore, thank-you Jesus! He tells the whole story, as recorded there in vs. 23..."The hour has come...". Those Greeks had the green light; The "Sir, we would see...", had turned to the ..."Come unto Me..."!

All the miracles, all the teaching and all the truth is summed-up right here..."The hour is come..."; and it had come for all, and when Jesus was glorified, it was in order for us and for those Greeks to be glorified, if they chose to believe and receive. And so, men and women and children still come to Jesus, not because "seeing is believing", but because "believing is seeing"!

King, indeed!

52. Lesson 25..."For the Poor You Always Have With You...", John 12.1-11

Have you ever tried to determine from your study of the Word of God, a simple definition of worship? Well let me save you the trouble...there is none! As important as the matter of worship is, you would think that there would be a neat little definition for it, somewhere in scripture. I guess the fact is, it is simply too broad a concept to put in a box. For example, we have in John 12, the first 11 verses, a very good picture of worship in its various forms, as the story of Lazarus and Mary and Martha continues.

The resurrection of Lazarus has taken place and life in their home goes on as it had for years, except for one thing...Jesus had come for supper, and it's from this point on that we see the transition taking place in Jesus' life...from a humble carpenter's son from the Galilee to "the glorified Son of Man" (vs. 23); the Saviour, as it turns out, for all mankind! In this passage we see Him seated there in Bethany, along with His most intimate friends, and by the time we arrive at vs. 12, we see the "much people" who had come to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover, hailing Him as the King of the Jews. And finally, in verses 19-21, the interests of the people of the world, represented by those "certain Greeks", in this miracle-making Man called Jesus. "The whole world", as the Pharisees testified (vs. 19) were talking about Him. But before any of that happens, we have this short passage at the beginning of the chapter, that gives us a very clear picture of worship, as God intended it to be, and really, as we still perform it (if you would call it a performance!) in the church, today. So let's consider, first of all...

1. The reality of worship (vss. 1-3)

You know, Lazarus is very nearly a perfect picture of what happens to every believer in, and after, his own personal resurrection moment. There was Lazarus sitting at the supper table, in the very presence of the Lord! Just to be where Jesus is! To celebrate with Jesus what He has done for us; to fellowship, to serve, and most important of all, to worship the Master. Even to learn from Him in the course of His last few days on earth...truth concerning His coming death, the giving of Holy Spirit, the importance of personal peace, the matter of abiding faithfulness, facts about eternal things and about His eventual return for His church. All pretty heady stuff! It's no wonder that Lazarus sat at the table with Him, hanging on His every word! And also, as always, Martha serving. Talk abut worship! Sitting and learning at the table of the Lord is one thing...but serving the table of the Lord is quite another! And I don't mean "the fellowship of the Lord's supper", either. In another passage, Jesus had spoken of her as being..."cumbered with much serving", but believe me, to Martha, service was no burden. Just as Lazarus was worshiping by sitting and learning, Martha was, for her, undertaking a very simple, practical and important function...one in fact, that we today probably see as "priority #1". And I don't believe it came from any fleshly, carnal purpose, either. Rather, out of a moving of her spirit, by Holy Spirit. Her pleasure was in bringing pleasure to others, in the Name of Jesus! And that, my friends, is worship! But then, there was Mary, sacrificing the family's most precious commodity as an act of worship to Jesus. And I think we could all agree, that if sitting and learning is an important aspect of worship, and if service is an important part of worship, then sacrifice must be the greatest form of worship of them all!

Let's just think like Mary for a minute. She had often listened to the Words of Life that Jesus had spoken; she had sat with Him at their supper table on other occasions; she had shed tears along with him at the grave of her brother and had rejoiced at his resurrection from that hillside grave; in fact, I'm sure she had experienced some of the closest times of fellowship with the Lord that anyone other than His disciples had ever had. And now, what was there left but a one pound box of very costly ointment, much too precious for her own use, even to embalm the body of her brother Lazarus, but not too costly for Jesus! So she went and found that box of spikenard (as we read in the Gospel of Mark), broke it open and used it to anoint His feet. One hundred pence worth...a whole lot of wages in that day, I'm sure. Worship is right! Not only sitting, or serving, but sacrificing beyond your means. And then, wiping His feet with her hair! We speak of extremes in worship, today; well I think Mary was the inventor of it! She worshipped in excess; maybe even wasteful extravagance. But you see what sacrifice involves...surrender; and that's it's #1 component, when you think of it...surrender to the way and the will of the Lord! And that, I guess, includes your wealth; at least it did for Mary.

"And the house was filled withe the odour of worship". What is worship, to us? Well just think of the things that Mary did not come to do...she did not come to hear a sermon, although the original teacher was there; she did not come to ask Him for anything, although there had been a time she had asked Him for her brother's life; she did not come to fellowship with the saints, as great a comfort as that may be; she did not come to clear her head of the problems of the world, or of her family's own personal headaches. What she did do was come to offer to Jesus the thing that was most valuable to her; for Lazarus, it was his loving, listening, learning presence with the Lord; for Martha, her never-ending service of love; and for Mary, the one thing she had been hoarding-up for some occasion that may never come, if not for Jesus' presence at her supper table that day. That's the reality of worship!

2. The reaction to worship (vss. 4-6)

That's it; short and sour! "Why wasn't this ointment sold for 300 pence and given to the poor?! As if! Mary's worship was not for sale! Love is never wasteful! Generosity is never wasteful! It's perfectly clear, from what we know of Judas, that he had no love for Christ, or for the things of Christ. And no appreciation for the things that were done for Christ. You know, there are many professing Christians today who have a Judas-like spirit, rather than a Christ-like spirit. They don't seem to have a Mary heart, or a Martha heart, or a Lazarus heart for the Lord. Many people seem to emphasize some "nobler cause" in the name of Jesus, whether it be a pretended love for the poor, like Judas, or maybe even, as the old saw states..."charity begins at home", with our own needs first. There's no need to be fanatical about your worship, many would say, even today! I guess we need to realize that, the more real the worship, the harsher the reaction. That is, by Satan, of course, and his ilk. In this case, as we'll soon see all the more clearly, Judas was just an agent of Satan, after all. You have to wonder how, during those three years spent together, none of the other eleven disciples ever clicked-in to his true identity! It just goes to show, even more certainly, how Jesus is truly the only One to truly discern the heart of a man. And Judas' heart was subject to "like passions"...the lust of the flesh, and of the eyes, and of the pride of life, just as we are.

Do you realize that these are the first recorded words of Judas in Scripture? He had nothing whatever to hide behind, anymore. And it would be only too soon, that he would speak his last recorded words..."I have betrayed the innocent blood!" (Matthew 27.4) But he was appointed by God for that very occasion.

Read vs. 7...Even Mary was appointed for that occasion, anointing the head of the Master..."against the day of (His) burial". Others would come on a future day, expecting to find Him dead and in the tomb, but Mary was a messenger, even without knowing it, to the crowd that had gathered at her table for supper that night; a true prophet of things yet to come.

You know, the whole mind of God was focusing on the events of that day, including the worship of Lazarus and his two sisters. And this was no time for ridicule, or for covetousness or for sinful thoughts and attitudes of any kind! Jesus knows, and He will address those attitudes and intents, either sooner, or later.

Read vs. 8...Jesus wanted those disciples to know, and He wants us to know, that there is a time and a place for everything. If we don't sincerely seek to know, and to be known by God in and through our worship, then neither can there be no sincerity in our good works. If we can't identify with Him in our quiet time, He will not be identified with us in our words, and our works, and our worship. We are even called to identify with Him in His suffering in order to share with Him in His glory! And one would have to wonder just how much longer the opportunity will be there!

There is a time to give and a time to receive; a time to sit and a time to sacrifice, and as the Prayer says..."God grant us the wisdom to know the difference"! Even such a high purpose as relieving poverty cannot take priority over worship, unless it is undertaken as a form of worship; not just dropping our twonie to relieve our guilt, or out of convenience, or to get rid of a nuisance telephone call. As Jesus says back in vs. 8, poverty isn't going away, until He returns.

3. There is a result from worship (vss. 9-11)

The first result is curiosity..."what the...?" "why the...?" "who the ...?" "Lazarus? Dead? Alive? Sitting? Show me more!" This, sadly for some people, is the only result that worship brings...an idle curiosity. The sight of a once-dead man, sitting and supping with the Saviour. And just so, when a person is made spiritually alive, there is a natural curiosity on the part of his family and friends to get a good, long look..."is she or isn't she?" "does he or doesn't he?" "will she or won't she?" And more often than not there will be a commotion and a consultation, just as we see here in these verses. In Lazarus' case, consultation to put him to death; to be put on the "hit list", along with Jesus.

You know, we read in John 4.23,24..."But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship Him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship him in spirit and in truth." Who Jesus is and what Jesus does, is what and who the true worshippers of God become. For Lazarus, his second chance at life resulted in hatred by the enemies of Jesus, but also, a widespread belief in Jesus, on the part of many of the Jews. But faith and worship are not a mixed blessing...it's the only blessing there is to be had, for a lost people on the way to a lost eternity!

51. Lesson 24..."One Man Should Die For the People...", John 11.45-57

The resurrection miracle that Jesus had performed there in Bethany, was pretty awe-inspiring, and the effect of it has been pretty well portrayed up to this point. But now, when we should be hearing from Lazarus, the scriptures are silent! Just think of all we could have learned from him, about life after death! About the light at the end of the tunnel, that we hear about! Of how it felt to be tucked away in the bosom of Abraham! Lazarus resurrected, only to have to face the pains of life and of death, all over again! Well, God has His purposes, and as I have said many times before, they're way beyond our understanding. In any case, it didn't suit the purposes of God for us to know the details of eternity; it simply goes to prove the truth of Holy Spirit's account. Because if it had been simply John the man recording this event, you can be sure that he would have told us "the rest of the story".

Read 11.45...

Notice how Holy Spirit focuses our attention on Jesus. That is, after all, the intent of the word of God. All throughout this Gospel, we have seen the growing hatred of the Jewish establishment toward the Saviour, and although it would soon lead to His physical death, there would still be those who would believe on, and receive Him. The scripture says that..."many would believe on Him". Now that's a function of grace and of faith you just can't analyze.

Read vs. 46...

..."but some..."; and aren't there always! The word "but" is a pretty ominous word..."but Lord...but I...but you...but some." These were probably some of the other Judases that the aristocracy had hired to keep an eye on Jesus' comings and goings, and beings and doings. The fires of Hell were already licking at their heels! Could those ever be saved? As horrible as their deeds were, we can never discount the grace of God; Jesus even died for them!

Read vs. 47(a)...

Here we have identified for us, the two most powerful factions in the Jewish faith...the Sadducees, who according to Acts 5.12, were of the priesthood, and did not believe in the resurrection of the body (remember Lazarus?), and their arch rivals, the Pharisees. Really, you could put them all into a bag, and shake them up; what one didn't think of, the other did. And they were bitter rivals; but do you know what? Their hatred for Jesus was the common denominator; they buried the hatchet in order to hatch a plan to try and defeat the very purposes of God! Oh, don't tell me that there are those, even today, who would try and defeat the eternal purposes of God?! A pox on them, I say! But do you know? even this was just another fulfillment of the many prophecies of God. We read back in Psalm 2.2 that..."the kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and His Christ". And that would include Pilate and Herod, when their turn comes, as well.

You know something else? the evidence in favour of Jesus' being the very Son of God, was overwhelming. In fact, the council that met that day to plan His murder, should have been planning His inauguration ceremony! Instead, they beat themselves up for allowing Him to live this long! Well, let's look into their deliberations. Holy Spirit makes a point of spelling-out this conversation, because you can be sure that John wasn't there in person.

Read vss. 47-54...

Notice something astounding in vs. 47? They accepted the fact of His miracles! Just as the scripture has told us..."Though one rise from the dead, still we wouldn't believe!" (Luke 16.31) How can we not believe in the total depravity, that is, the total lostness of man, before Jesus? Souls are not won, even by the greatest demonstrations of power, but rather, by the demonstration of weakness, powerlessness, humility and disability. You see, strength is fleeting, power is fleeting, wealth is fleeting, this world is fleeting...but our humble Jesus...we should melt in His presence, stand in awe of His love for us, and worship Him because of His all-embracing grace! We know that He is the Miracle-Maker, because we are His miracles! Just like Lazarus, we have passed from death into life. We don't have any need to argue the truth of scripture, because He is Truth, and we are the evidence of it.

But notice vs. 48. Here we have the revelation of the real concern of this temple council...the Romans. We have come to a pretty hard place, when we look for favour from Caesar, rather than peace from God! Any sign of trouble in that tiny puppet state of Israel, particularly as the crowds started to gather for Passover, could result in BIG trouble. And yes, they had good reason to fear, but even so, their fear wasn't so much for God's promised land, or the Covenant People, as it was for their own position, influence and power. In their minds, they owned the things that really belonged to God... the wealth and the name and the ritual were all their being and doing, in their own eyes!

Israel, at that time, was under Roman authority, and it hasn't been the nation God had intended it to be, since then, perhaps the treaty of 1948, excepted. In fact, over in chapter 18.36, Jesus will teach a lesson that all of us should take a page from, when He said..."My Kingdom is not of this world...". So regardless of what that council, or even you, believe, please take into account, "the whole counsel of God". His Kingdom in still "under construction", of which Psalm 2 is a sober reminder...(read).

Back to Jn. 11.49-53, we see how Holy Spirit can even use the enemies of God to identify His purposes. Here we have the chief of the priests, squashing their statement..."You know nothing at all". In fact, he was the last on earth to prophesy the death of Jesus "for that nation"; and not for "that nation" only, but for all "the children of God, scattered abroad". What was meant for evil, was to result in good. To the council, it was a brilliant suggestion, but for the rest of the world, and for the rest of time, it was to be the only solution for the wages of sin...the only way to God.

You know, this subject is very, very deep, and human beings have stumbled over it in every age. But the scriptures are very clear...all things are of God, and nowhere is that more clearly seen, than in the treatment of our Lord Jesus..."at the hands of wicked men" (see Acts 4.26-28). All these things had been decreed by God, before the beginning of time. Just as Joseph's brothers had hoped to defeat the eternal purposes of God by selling him into Egypt, it came to pass, in Joseph's own words, that..."God meant it for good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive"! A large portion of the human race die unsaved, just as though Jesus had never died for them. But He died anyway, that those who would be saved, would be saved! His precious spilled blood was, and is, enough for all. He frees, and will free, every captive who wants freedom. Zechariah 9.11 says..."As for thee, also, by the blood of thy covenant, I have sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit wherein there is no water". And this is just a sampling from the word of God! Jesus was not a victim, nor was He just another lamb to the slaughter...He was a Reason, and a Ransom, paid for the eternal redemption of sinners who would believe and receive! Remember, God had an express purpose in sending Jesus to earth to die; and Jesus died with that purpose in His heart and mind and will; and that purpose was fulfilled, in that Israel should be redeemed, and that..."the children of God scattered abroad should be brought together in one family" (vs. 52). And so, as we read in vss. 53-54...(read). Every jot and every tittle of the word of God is filled with meaning!

We know, of course, that Jesus' "hour had not yet come". And we don't know when our own "hour" will come. One thing is certain however, that all of us who have met God by His grace, will one day meet Him in all His glory! The temple elite had received testimony of His resurrection power, but it had only served to add fuel to their hatred and fear. And so, what is life and spiritual health to us, was death and spiritual corruption for them, as it is for all who reject Him.

What a blessing it is to know that the very plans of Satan are overruled by the very plans of God!