"The poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me." Interesting statement. It sort of cuts both ways, doesn't it? On the one hand it affirms the importance of caring for the poor, but on the other it reminds us of the central importance of Jesus.

I suggested last time that John 11 is the hinge upon which John's gospel turns. It brings to a conclusion Jesus public teaching, and it foreshadows his own resurrection. In the raising of Lazarus, Jesus demonstrates that the promise to Ezekiel of the raising of the dry bones has come at last. God is going to do all that he promised to do at the end of history, now, in the middle of history. The raising of Lazarus, then, reveals the glory of Christ, in the same way that the transfiguration reveals his glory in the synoptic gospels.

And we saw that the "prophet" who explained the meaning of this was none other than Caiaphas-the unbelieving high priest. (11:49-52)

Caiaphas was right. Indeed it was better that Jesus should die for the nation! But not only for the Jews! John points out that Jesus will die so that he might "gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad."

Jesus left Judea for a time, and stayed in Ephraim, but now the Passover is at hand. His time is drawing nigh. And the Jews were looking for him. They wondered whether he would dare to come this year!

Six days before Passover Jesus came to Bethany (12:1-10) We are not finished yet with the story of Lazarus and his sisters. Jesus returns to Bethany before the Passover to see his friends. Back in 11:2 we heard that Mary was the one who anointed Jesus' feet. Now we hear the story. There was a dinner held in Jesus' honor. (Matthew tells us that it was in the house of Simon the leper) (But John is not interested in that detail-simply that "they" gave a dinner for him.) Martha served. In Luke 10 she was chided for her busyness, and urged to listen like Mary. But now she delights to honor her Lord- the one who raises the dead and gives them life. Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at the table. A short time before he was wrapped in linen, cold as stone. Now he is sitting beside the one who raised him from the dead. But Mary? What does she do? She took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. Mary understood exactly what Jesus had done. Jesus' final sign had become clear to at least one person. When Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, he doomed himself to death- not just because the Pharisees were plotting to kill him- but because that was the only way that Jesus' words to her sister could come true. "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die." Lazarus, her brother, was alive-but he was going to die again. Mary had indeed seen the glory of God revealed in Jesus on that day, and what she saw grieved her. Because she knew that the only way for Jesus' words to come true, was if Jesus himself died. How did she figure it out? We don't know. But she came to Jesus that night with an ointment used to anoint the dead for burial, and she poured it on his feet, and wiped his feet with her hair.

In the midst of the beauty of that moment, with the sweet perfume filling the air, we hear a noisy braying coming from the other side of the room: "Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?" Judas. He would have to spoil the moment. And John adds that Judas' concern was not really for the poor, but that as keeper of the moneybag he wanted to help himself to the cash!

Jesus replied: "Leave her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of my burial. The poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me."

Mary has understood the point of the raising of Lazarus. It points forward to Jesus' own death. And she wants to be ready. The Pharisees also understand the point of the raising of Lazarus- in their own way. And as the crowds gather to see Jesus, the Pharisees notice that the crowds are also gathering to see Lazarus, and so they determine to put him to death as well.

This reminds us-yet again-of the centrality of the raising of Lazarus in John's gospel. It is so important that Lazarus even gets second billing (ahead of all the disciples) on "Jerusalem's Most Wanted." Lazarus is a marked man. Because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus.

The next day (and this day covers the rest of chapter 12) is the Triumphal Entry. And we're not finished with Lazarus yet. The crowd that had been there at Lazarus' tomb is testifying to Jesus (17) Having revealed his glory in the raising of Lazarus, Jesus now ascends to Jerusalem in Messianic glory, with the crowds proclaiming that he is indeed the Anointed Son of David! This is what is supposed to happen at the end of history! The Messiah is to be brought in glory to the City of David, ascending with majesty to Zion. They sing Psalm 118 to him. We use this in our worship regularly. "Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter through them and give thanks to the LORD. This is the gate of the LORD; the righteous shall enter through it...." (19-20) "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD! We bless you from the house of the LORD. The LORD is God, and he has made his light to shine upon us...." (26-27) They even call him "the King of Israel!" And Jesus comes to his own city sitting on a donkey, as it is written in Zechariah 9, "Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold your king is coming, sitting on a donkey's colt!" (9:9) As we heard in Zechariah, the King comes to Jerusalem to bring peace through the blood of the covenant. The tradition of the Son of David riding on a donkey goes back to Solomon. When he was crowned king in 1 Kings 1:33, he came to Jerusalem riding on King David's own mule. While it is a sign of humility, it is also a sign of royalty. Jesus comes as the anointed Son of David to reign over his own city. He came to his own, but his own did not receive him.

He ascended to Jerusalem with glory, but only a temporary and fleeting glory. This was only a picture of the real ascension. This was only a foretaste of the praise that Jesus would receive when he sat down on the throne of his father David at the right hand of God! John also was a witness to that in Revelation 5: John beholds in a vision the ascension of Christ, and he hears the hosts of heaven singing not Psalm 118, but a new victory song: "Worthy are you to take the scrolls and to open its seals, For you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God From every tribe and language and people and nation; And you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God And they shall reign on the earth." (5:9-10)

But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. His disciples at first did not understand the Triumphal Entry. They saw the glory and praise that was given to Jesus, and no doubt they thought that this was the beginning of the end of history! They were right. But boy were they wrong! The glory that Jesus received at the Triumphal Entry was not true glory. It was only after Jesus was glorified that they remembered that these things had been written about him and had been done to him. What does it mean "when Jesus was glorified"? Hold that thought.

Because before John answers that, he has to draw our attention to two things. First he reminds us of Lazarus. The crowd that had been with Jesus when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to bear witness. And the reason for the crowds at the Triumphal Entry was because they had heard of this sign. The Pharisees grumble about this, and unwittingly prophesy again: "Look, the world has gone after him" And once again their prophecy has world-wide implications. Because after Jesus comes into the city, the first people who come to him are some Greeks. The nations are coming to Jesus already! They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee. They would have wanted to talk to someone in Greek, so they would have gone to someone with a Galilean accent. And they say, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus." Caiaphas's prophecy-and that of the Pharisees-is coming true. The world (the kosmos) is going after Jesus. Andrew and Philip then come to Jesus and tell him that some Greeks want to see him.

It might appear that Jesus blows them off. After all, he doesn't say anything about them, does he?

But John says that Jesus answers them. How does he do it? It is now-and only now-that Jesus says,

"The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified."

All through John's gospel, Jesus has been protesting that his hour has not yet come. In John 2 he tells his mother, "my hour has not yet come." In John 4 he tells the Samaritan woman that the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship in Spirit and truth. In John 5 he says that "the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live." In John 7, and again in John 8, plots to arrest Jesus fail, because his hour had not yet come. And in John 7, Jesus tells his brothers that his time has not yet come. Now, finally, Jesus says that his hour has come.

We will look more next week at what it means that Jesus' hour has come, but for our purposes today, we must simply see two things: 1) Jesus' hour is bound up with the raising of Lazarus 2) Jesus' hour is bound up with the coming of the Greeks.

The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. What does it mean for the Son of Man to be glorified? He revealed his glory through the raising of Lazarus. How will he now be glorified? Keep following Jesus. Listen to what he says: "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone. But if it dies, it bears much fruit."

The Son of Man is glorified in his death. Because it is only through death that he can bear fruit. It is only through death that he can give life to his people. He must be lifted up on the cross, an ascension of a different sort than anyone was expecting. That's what Mary saw in the raising of her brother. Everyone else thinks that the raising of Lazarus signifies the coming of the Son of David to rule in Jerusalem, overthrowing the Gentiles in his wrath. But Mary sees that it signifies his own death. These Greeks are drawn to this Jesus, because they hear in him the voice of the Good Shepherd.

The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. But in that hour Jesus turns to his disciples and says to them: "Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him." (25-26)

Jesus is about to be glorified through death. You know, by now, that there is no path to glory except the one that Jesus trod. If you would cling to your life in this age, then you will lose it in the age to come. But if you despise the life of this age, then you will live eternally.

Children, I want you to hear this. Because Christmas is coming. Your grandparents, and maybe even your parents (!) will be giving you presents. Life is good, right about now, eh?! Are you looking forward to that? Jesus says that if you love your life now, then you won't live forever. You may be thinking, "I'm only 8 years old, I love life!" Jesus says you have to follow him, and the only way to follow Jesus is to put to death that tendency to say "ooh! I'm going to get a lot of stuff for X-mas!" But that was the attitude that Judas had. He wanted lots of stuff-so he even stole from Jesus and the other disciples. Many years ago there was a man named Augustine of Hippo, who said that we should use and enjoy things, but only love God. And the only way to enjoy things is to use them in the way that God says. Sharing your things with others. Thinking of what they want. And above all, loving Jesus Christ our Lord. Because the one who serves Jesus, will be with Jesus forever. The one who serves him will be honored by the Father.

Copyright © 2003 Peter J. Wallace