| Passage To
Study:
John 12:9-19 [9] Now a great many of the Jews knew that He was there; and
they came, not for Jesus’ sake only, but that they might also see
Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead. [10] But the chief priests
plotted to put Lazarus to death also, [11] because on account of him many
of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus. [12] The next day a great multitude that had come to the
feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, [13] took
branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried out: “Hosanna! [14] Then Jesus, when He had found a young donkey, sat on
it; as it is written: [15] “Fear not, daughter of Zion; [16] His disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written about Him and that they had done these things to Him. [17] Therefore the people, who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of his tomb and raised him from the dead, bore witness. [18] For this reason the people also met Him, because they heard that He had done this sign. [19] The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, “You see that you are accomplishing nothing. Look, the world has gone after Him!” What are the facts of the passage?:
What do those facts mean?: (Verse
9-11) - It is
dangerous to be a follower of Jesus. Especially if you do it right! Anyone
who truly bears witness to the resurrecting power of the Lord Jesus and to
that power alone is making themselves a target for those who hate the
Lord. The sole reason that the Jewish leaders decided to kill Lazarus was
because of the testimony he raised to Jesus. What
higher honor could there be than to be counted worthy of suffering for the
Lord. Lazarus knew the cost of being a disciple of Jesus. He, like most
others, knew that the Jews were seeking Jesus' left. He knew the nature of
the Leaders and what they were capable of. He knew that they would not
hesitate to kill him if they were bold enough to kill a popular figure
like Jesus. But for him, the risk was worth it! The
reason for this was not so much that they believe in Jesus, but, as verse
11 tells us, they went away from the Leaders. The testimony of Lazarus was
clear enough that people saw a difference between the Jewish Leaders and
Jesus. Somehow they saw that they needed to choose between the two. We are
not sure what it was that communicated this them, but we do know that it
was a part of Lazarus' general testimony because more than one person
(many actually) reacted in this way. The analogy to salvation is too clear to miss. A man, dead and gone and beyond any hope, is raised from the dead by the power of God, through the instrumentality of Jesus Christ. That raised man then has fellowship with Christ and gives testimony to the power of God and to Christ as the true instrument of God's truth. That testimony calls men to forsake their previous religious system and embrace Christ alone. If we are believers then this is our story. We were dead to righteousness and without any hope in the world. We were raised to newness of life by the power of God by means of the work of Christ. Our testimony ought to be of the same type as the testimony of Lazarus. It ought to witness clearly of the need to forsake our previous religious beliefs and traditions and cling only to Christ and His righteousness alone. God can use that testimony to bring other men to trust in the work of Christ alone. How do those facts apply to my life?: Is my testimony of the character of Lazarus' testimony? Does it speak peace to men who are not at peace with God, or does it call them to forsake their human religion and embrace Christ's righteousness alone? What should I do in response?: |
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