Good morning my “Walking with Jesus” friends,
How do you prepare for a very important event on your personal calendar? Are you a procrastinator who gives little thought to approaching significant events or are you a planner making preparations well in advance? Easter is 10 days from now, Palm Sunday only 3 days away. What do you suppose was going on in the mind and heart of Jesus Christ on the Thursday before Palm Sunday?
The annual Passover celebration was the most significant event on the calendar for every Jewish person in and around Israel in the days of Jesus. Months before, people would make their travel and especially lodging plans, for thousands of Jews came to Jerusalem from every part of the Middle East for Passover week. John gives us this glimpse of what it was like in the days leading up to that famous Passover/Easter week: “When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, many went up from the country to Jerusalem for their ceremonial cleansing before the Passover. The people kept looking for Jesus, and they asked one another, ‘What do you think? Isn’t He coming to the festival at all?’ But the chief priests and Pharisees had given orders that anyone who found out where Jesus was should report it so that they might arrest Him.” (John 11:55-57)
In recent days we’ve been traveling with Jesus from His time in the desert village of Ephraim, to Jericho, and on toward Jerusalem for Passover. But these words of John tell me Jesus did not arrive in Jerusalem well in advance of this Passover. He was keeping a very low public profile for Jesus, being God the Son, knew well in advance exactly what would happen to Him during this Passover week.
His entire earthly mission would come into clear focus and the eternal destiny of the human race would be determined by the events of this Passover week and ultimately the death and resurrection of Jesus. Of course Jesus was the only One who understood the enormous consequences of these next days of that Passover week.
It appears Jesus did not go into Jerusalem until Palm Sunday, and we know Jesus and His disciples attended a dinner at the Bethany home of Mary, Martha and Lazarus, that Saturday evening, Palm Sunday eve. (John 12:1-12) We don’t know exactly where or when it happened but some Greeks, who had come to the Passover, sought an audience with Jesus. Today, let’s look at that very special encounter, for it gives us a glimpse into how Jesus was very alert to the strategicness of each hour as His Passover approached, even though the disciples seemed oblivious.
Think about that my friends. Is Jesus watching closely TODAY at the events of your life and mine and could it be God has some very special things planned for YOU and me this Easter? John is the only one of the four Gospel writers who gives us this story found in John 12:20-36. Most Greeks were intellectual people who also held to a strong mythology religion which had permeated much of the Roman Empire. About 20 years later the apostle Paul and Barnabas encountered the stronghold of Greek mythology as Paul was nearly stoned to death in Lystra! Remember? (Acts 14:8-20)
Evidently these Greeks, however, had heard about Jesus and His miracles and His teaching about God and the kingdom of heaven. Fascinated, they had come to Jerusalem not only for Passover but also to seek an audience with Jesus. They found Philip, one of Jesus’ disciples and said to him “Sir, we would like to see Jesus”. (John 12:21) Philip told Andrew about it and together they told Jesus about these Greeks. Now John doesn’t make it clear if these Greeks were with Philip and Andrew when Jesus responded but what Jesus said shows us He was in deep thought, perhaps even agonizing reflection, about the significance of the hours ahead, His Passover
Jesus said “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.” Jesus knew every action, every word from this moment, for the next 10 days until His resurrection, would be very, very important and He must be constantly aware of everything, both seen and unseen, which was happening around Him. Oh yes, my friends, we must be aware that a war, unseen to human eyes, was happening between Satan and Jesus. Satan was determined to prevent Jesus from achieving His God given Redemption mission. And Jesus was determined to accomplish it, as planned by God the Father and guided by the Holy Spirit. So let’s watch very carefully what happens in this encounter.
Jesus said: “I tell you the truth, 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.” (John 12:24) Do you see Jesus explaining that His death and resurrection would be essential for His Gospel to have the powerful effect of defeating Satan and bringing rescue from sin bondage and spiritual freedom for a huge number of people in the future? Jesus continued: “Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say, ‘Father save me from this hour? No, it was for this very reason that I came to this hour. Father, glorify Your name.” (John 12:27)
Do you hear Jesus clarifying that His entire earthly life and ministry was purposefully pointing to this Passover week and His atonement death and resurrection? Do you see Jesus is determined to accomplish His mission for the glory of God the Father? That’s a challenge for you and me. Are we determined that every aspect of our lives is yielded to God’s purpose at work in us for HIS glory?
As those standing around Jesus that day pondered His words suddenly they heard a booming voice coming from heaven. John writes: “Then a voice came from heaven, ‘I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.’ The people that were there and heard it said it had thundered, others said an angel had spoken. But Jesus said, ‘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. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to Myself.” (John 12:28-32) John later wrote “Jesus said this to show the kind of death He was going to die.”
My “Walking with Jesus” friends, this is now the third time the Gospels record for us that God the Father spoke from heaven, audibly for people to hear, confirming that Jesus Christ is God the Son sent to earth to accomplish God’s Redemption mission for God’s glory. The other two times are Jesus’ baptism (Matt. 3:16,17) and Jesus’ transfiguration (Matt. 17:5). When Jesus said ‘now the prince of this world will be driven out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to Myself’ He was declaring that in His atonement death and resurrection Jesus would defeat the stronghold of Satan in sin & death, and Jesus would draw all people to see Jesus as the ultimate King of kings and LORD of Lords and Judge of all humanity. (Rev. 19:11-20:15) Jesus was both looking forward to the events of those next 10 days, but also, through all time future, to the final judgment of Satan and all humanity.
Jesus then pressed the urgency of the moment with these words: “You are going to have the light only a little while longer… Believe in the light while you have the light, so that you may become children of the light.” (John 12:35,36) Jesus knew He had only a few days before Passover weekend and His crucifixion. Those listening to Him had no idea. Do you hear Jesus urging His disciples, the Greeks and all those present to prioritize maximizing the opportunity they had for Jesus, God the Son, to be with them, giving them the light of God’s truth and then believe God’s truth? Do you and I have the same sense of urgency today my friends? Could it be this Passover/Easter will be the last one before the promised return of the Lord Jesus? (Acts 1:11; 1 Thess. 4:13-18) How does God want us to maximize the potential of these days? Here’s a song to help us consider that…
Today’s Scripture: John 12:20-36.
Choose below to read or listen.
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Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
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Pastor Doug Anderson
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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