John Chapter 12

What Happens:

A few days after Jesus has raised Lazarus from the dead, the sisters Martha and Mary are serving a dinner in Jesus’ honor. Martha is serving the food, while Jesus, Lazarus, and the other guests recline at the table. Suddenly, Mary takes about a pint of pure nard, a very expensive perfume, and pours it on Jesus’ feet. She wipes his feet with her hair. (Matthew 26, Mark 14, Luke 7) One of Jesus’ disciples, Judas Iscariot, objects, saying that instead of wasting the perfume they could have sold it and given the money to the poor. Judas had been put in charge of the Apostles’ budget and was the holder of the money; however, he secretly stole from the money bag and thought no one knew.

Jesus tells them to leave her alone, saying that this perfume was intended for his burial. “You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me,” Jesus tells them. While all this is happening, a large group finds out where Jesus is staying. They want to see both Jesus, as well as Lazarus. Because of the miracle of Lazarus being raised from the dead many people are putting their faith in Jesus and joining him; the chief priests and Pharisees already had plans to try and kill Jesus, and now they add Lazarus to their hit list.

The next day Jesus heads to Jerusalem for Passover. He rides on a young donkey, in fulfillment of the old testament prophecy that said the Messiah would enter Jerusalem on a donkey’s colt. A large crowd waits for him along the way, and they take palm branches and shout psalms to him, saying that he is the king of Israel and that he comes in the name of the Lord. (Matthew 21, Mark 11, Luke 19) The disciples don’t really understand what’s going on, but after Jesus is crucified and resurrected later, they realize that all these events were foretold. The onlookers who had witnessed Jesus raise Lazarus from the dead go through the crowd spreading the word of what Jesus had done, further bolstering the people’s faith in Jesus. The Pharisees get quite disheartened at seeing how beloved Jesus is amongst the people.

Meanwhile there are some Greeks in Jerusalem, who are not Jewish but honor Passover anyway. They approach the apostle Philip and ask him if they can see Jesus. Philip relays the request to Peter’s brother Andrew, and together they tell Jesus. Jesus answers them mysteriously: he says that a wheat kernel cannot blossom into a wheat plant unless the seed part dies first. Then the plant can bloom and produce many seeds. A person who loves their life will lose it, but a person who hates their life in this world will keep it, and get eternal life. Whoever serves Jesus must follow him, and will be honored by God. Jesus says that the time for himself to be glorified has arrived, and is troubled by this, but at the same time says that he will not ask the Father for a reprieve, but instead wishes only for the Father to be glorified. As soon as Jesus says this, a voice speaks down from heaven saying, “I have glorified [my name], and will glorify it again.” The crowd surrounding Jesus hears this voice, and wonders if it’s an angel.

Jesus tells them, “This voice was for your benefit, not mine. Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.” The crowd questions this, saying that in the Law it says that the Messiah will remain forever, so how can Jesus say that he will be  “lifted up”? What’s the whole “Son of Man” thing about, too? Jesus tells them that they will have the light only a little while longer. The person who walks in darkness doesn’t know where he’s going, but the person who puts their trust in the light can become a son of the light.

Despite seeing all of Jesus’ miracles with their own eyes, some Jews still do not believe in him. This fulfills the prophecy that says, “He has blinded their eyes and deadened their hearts, so they can neither see with their eyes, nor understand with their hearts, nor turn – and I would heal them.” (Matthew 13, Mark 4, Luke 8) However, many Jews do believe in him; they are just afraid to say so because they fear if they confess their faith in Jesus that the Pharisees will retaliate, so they keep it to themselves. Jesus tells them, “When a man believes in me, he does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me. When he looks at me, he sees the one who sent me. I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.”

Jesus continues that if a person believes his word but doesn’t follow it, he doesn’t judge them. “For I did not come to judge the world, but to save it. There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day.” Jesus says that the words he speaks are the words the Father tells him to speak, and that God’s commands lead to eternal life.

Commentary:

This is the first time we find out that Judas was the bookkeeper for the apostles. And then we also find out that Judas was stealing from the group’s money. I know none of us had very high expectations of Judas to start with, but I feel a little exasperated with him anyway.

Re: Jesus being “lifted up”. It’s obvious in retrospect that he was referring to being raised up on the cross. However, the crowd thinks he’s talking about being raised up to heaven, and since the OT says the Messiah will remain forever, they wonder how he can be both on earth and in heaven at the same time.

Re: people walking in the dark getting lost and people walking in the light becoming sons of light. The light is Jesus. Jesus will be with them only a few days longer, so they’d better get cracking while they can, is what Jesus is saying. Whoever tries to find their way without Jesus is like somebody stumbling in the dark. Whoever walks in Jesus’ light will become a child of Jesus. (Full disclosure: I kind of had pictures of Whitecloaks in my head when reading the whole “sons of light” thing. However, I’m pretty sure Jesus wouldn’t have endorsed mass murder and torture like the Whitecloaks did.)

Mostly this chapter (and the next few chapters) are just a bridge leading up to the story of Jesus’ actual arrest.