02/12/2022 – Gospel of John – Chapter 12 commentary – “Jesus Annointed at Bethany”
Another amonst of the multitude of fullfilled prophecies concerning Yeshua (Jesus): Zechariah 9:9: “Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” (See our reading 12: 14 – 16) Even with less than a full investigation, I don’t have nearly enough faith to be an atheist !
One of my 24 memory verses in the Bible is Mark 8:35, presented here in John 12:25: “The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” (Also in the other two synoptic gospels as well : See Luke 9:24 / Matthew 16:25) I continue on with verses 26 through 28: “Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be . My Father will honor the one who serves me. Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No , it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!”
Why does God let people suffer? Why so with his beloved Son? For He loved us unfathomably.
I mentioned this too awhile back : In his book: “Jesus the King”, a commentary on the Gospel of Mark, Tim Keller points out that we should take note that Jesus did not tell prospective followers: “Don’t worry about this really tough part here, that is just for my ‘fanatically followers’.
And another fullfillment of prophecy, this time from Isaiah:
- Verse 38 is from Isiah 53:1 , but please read all of Isaiah Chapter 53.
- Verse 40 is from Isaiah 6:10 – directly through the voice of the Lord.
I oftentimes reflect on not only Isaiah the prophet , but Jeremiah and Ezekiel as well. They too battled in an evil world just a breath away from total collapse. No one was listening but they stood fast and obeyed the Lord their God.
And finally, we conclude with the last two verses in the chapter, verses 49 & 50:
“For I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it. I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say.”
I want to share the commentary from Matthew Henry on these verses, at least in part:
“1) … Our Lord Jesus learned obediance himself, before he taught it to us, though he was a Son. The Lord God commanded the first Adam, and he by his disobediance ruined us; he commanded the second Adam, and by his obediance saved us.”
2) .. The command given him was life everlasting. This Christ says he knew: ‘I know it is so.’ Those who disoby Christ despise everlasting life, and renounce it.
3) … This is a great encouragement to faith; the sayings of Christ, rightly understood, are what we may venture our souls upon. It is an example of obediance. Christ said as he was hidden. This is the honour he values himself upon, that what the Father had said to him that he spoke. By an unfeigned belief of every word of Christ and an entire subjection of soul to it, we must give him the glory due to his name.”
Soli Deo Gloria!
Love,
Your brother in Christ,
Jimmy