John 12:11

Because that by reason of him many of the Jews went away, and believed on Jesus. BECAUSE THAT BY REASON OF HIM MANY OF THE JEWS WENT AWAY, AND BELIEVED ON JESUS. Crowds of the Jews of Jerusalem hastened, it seems, to Bethany (scarcely two miles distant), not so much to see Jesus, whom they knew to be there, as to see the dead Lazarus who had been raised to life. This, as was to be expected, issued in immense accessions to Christ (); and, as the necessary means of arresting these triumphs of the hated One, a plot is laid against the Life of Lazarus also: to such a pitch had these ecclesiastics come of diabolical determination not only to shut out the light from their own minds, but to extinguish it from the earth! For Remarks on these three verses, see those on John 11:1...

1-11 Christ had formerly blamed Martha for being troubled with much serving. But she did not leave off serving, as some, who when found fault with for going too far in one way, peevishly run too far another way; she still served, but within hearing of Christ's gracious words. Mary gave a token of love to Christ, who had given real tokens of his love to her and her family. God's Anointed should be our Anointed. Has God poured on him the oil of gladness above his fellows, let us pour on him the ointment of our best affections. In Judas a foul sin is gilded over with a plausible pretence. We must not think that those do no acceptable service, who do it not in our way. The reigning love of money is heart-theft. The grace of Christ puts kind comments on pious words and actions, makes the best of what is amiss, and the most of what is good. Opportunities are to be improved; and those first an...

EXPOSITION The twelfth chapter neither belongs intrinsically to that which precedes nor to that which follows. It is a paragraph of high significance, as bearing on the construction of the Gospel. It is the transition between the public and the private ministry, the great pause between the two classes of manifestation forming the climax of the public ministry. III. CONSUMMATION OF THE PUBLIC MINISTRY. JOHN 12:1 1. _The feast of love and gratitude_. JOHN 12:1 JESUS THEREFORE, SIX DAYS BEFORE THE PASSOVER. Every preliminary of that solemn feast is memorable to our evangelist. The coincidence of the

BECAUSE THAT BY REASON OF HIM,.... Of the miracle which was wrought upon him, in raising him from the dead, of which he was a living and an abiding witness: MANY OF THE JEWS WENT AWAY; not from Jerusalem only, but from the chief priests and Pharisees, and the rest of the Jews, that combined against Christ; they withdrew themselves from their party, and deserted them: AND BELIEVED ON JESUS; as the Messiah; so that they found their interest was decreasing and weakening every day, and that those on the side of Christ were increasing; and this they could not bear, and therefore consulted to take away the life of Lazarus, as well as Jesus; who they imagined, as long as he lived, would be a means of inducing persons to believe in Jesus as the Messiah: whereas if he was dead, the fact would be forgotten, or be more easily denied....

John 12:1. _Then Jesus six days before the Passover came to Bethany, where Lazarus was which had been dead, whom he raised from the dead._ The days Christ was to spend upon the earth were getting to be very few so he paid another visit to that Bethany home where he was always so welcome, and more so than ever since he had raised Lazarus from the dead. John 12:2. _There they made him a supper; and Martha served: but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with him. Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment._ All the members of the re-united family were present, Martha busy as usual with the domestic duties which fell to her share, La

CHAPTER 12 1. The Feast at Bethany. (John 12:1 .) 2. The Entrance into Jerusalem. (John 12:9 .) 3. The Inquiring Greeks and His Answer. (John 12:20 .) 4. His Final Words. (John 12:34 .) From the close of the previous chapter we learn that the Lord had gone with His disciples to a city called Ephraim. Six days before the Passover He came to Bethany again. They made Him a feast. Lazarus is especially mentioned as well as Martha, who served; Mary also was present with others who were of His disciples. It is a beautiful type of the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, when He will have His own with Him. Lazarus represents the Saint

THE TRIUMPHAL ENTRY. If the story of Lazarus is historical it is quite probable that people in Jerusalem should come out to Bethany, to satisfy themselves as to what would happen at the Feast, and that the ruling classes determined to deal with Lazarus as well as with Jesus. The Synoptic and Johannine accounts of the entry differ in details, but the account in our gospel is not in itself improbable. The Feast pilgrims, Galileans and possibly Judæ ans, but not Jerusalemites, learning from those who had been out to Bethany that Jesus intends to come up to the Feast, take palm branches (contrast Mark 11:8) and go out to meet Him. They greet Him with what was perhaps the ordinary greeting to strangers coming up to the Feast (Psalms 118:26), to which is added the King of Israel. The title refused in Gaiilee is press

THE CHIEF PRIESTS CONSULTED..... PUT LAZARUS TO DEATH. Lazarus was. living testimonial to the divine power of Christ and they desired to get him out of the way....

LOVE'S EXTRAVAGANCE (John 12:1-8)...

BY REASON OF. on account of. Greek. _dia,_ as in John 12:8. WENT AWAY. withdrew: i.e. from the chief priests' faction. BELIEVED ON. See App-150....