|
The raising of Lazarus brought our Lord's ministry to its climax.
There is now a transition from Jesus' public revelation to the world to a period of personal
and individual considerations of the claims of Jesus. In each of our lives a point of decision is inevitable. Tentative belief must become true commitment just as unbelief must also commit. The key phrase in this chapter is "the hour has come." Mary anoints Jesus for His burial, now He retreats to prepare His disciples for the coming days. It is six days before Passover. The resurrection of Lazarus had caused people to come to Jesus. Mary had seen more deeply than most the full extent of His love in the raising of her brother. Mary shows her devotion to Jesus in an extravagant expression of love and honor. She did not count the cost of money or embarrassment as she anointed Him with perfume. The human heart of Jesus was deeply touched by her act of kindness. Judas' response was quite the opposite. He tried to crush Mary's spirit of love and sacrifice with his rebuke. He also demonstrated his own feelings that Jesus was unworthy of such an extravagant gift. His greed and selfish ambition would soon be revealed. He knew that under such a master He would never get rich or have the position of authority he expected. Never had Jesus been so popular. Crowds claimed Him king. The outside world was seeking Him (the Greeks). Only He and His Father knew that it was in His death that He would accomplish His purpose: payment for our sins, resurrection to His proper place of authority at the right hand of God, and the giving of the Holy Spirit to all who would believe. It is not God's will that any should perish. (see 1 Timothy 2:4, 2 Peter 3:9.) However, only two choices are open to us. Either you see yourself and your sins judged and forgiven by the cross, or refuse to believe in your need for a savior. Those who reject Jesus either see themselves without sin, do not care that they sin, or believe they can justify their sin. They do not seem to understand that to refuse the words of Jesus as found in the New Testament is to side in judgment against Him with all the unbelievers of every age. The prince of this world is a title given by Jesus to the devil. The battle lines were drawn. Jesus was prepared and ready to follow the will of His Father which would lead to the cross. Satan egotistically thought that he would be able to defeat Jesus. When Jesus died upon the cross, our sins were laid upon Him. Satan lost his power over people who come to put their faith in Jesus because of the work that was accomplished at the cross. Each of us will face our hour of decision. Unfortunately many people today allow complacency to be their decision. They end up rejecting Jesus by choosing not to chose. To have salvation we must be fully identified with Christ's sacrifice at the cross. The fact that He died cleanses me of my sin. To fully surrender is to identify with Christ's way of life, that is, God's will not mine. It is a form of death in that you die to your will and live for Christ. To many this is a very scary concept for we imagine that we will lose our individuality and our personality will no longer be ours. In truth our death to self does not result in losing who we are. Actually we are completed in Jesus to be the fully developed person God created! The most powerful thing in our life is opportunity. It is also the most irretrievable. It is a wonderful gift from God to be able to recognize one's " hour" when it comes. Pray to Jesus that He will give you a clearness of vision and a heart willing to seek and serve the Lord. Our ultimate goal in life is to work not for the things of this world, but the things of God. We must deliberately choose to appropriate, by faith, the life and death of Jesus. Unfortunately many choose not to do so. The reason for their choice is spelled out clearly in John 12:43 "for they loved the praise from men more than the praise from God." |