John 12:9

Much people of the Jews therefore knew that he was there: and they came not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might see Lazarus also, whom he had raised from the dead. MUCH PEOPLE OF THE JEWS THEREFORE KNEW THAT HE WAS THERE: AND THEY CAME NOT FOR JESUS' SAKE ONLY, BUT THAT THEY MIGHT SEE LAZARUS ALSO, WHOM HE HAD RAISED FROM THE DEAD....

9._Then a great multitude of the Jews knew that he was there. _The more nearly the time of the death of Christ approached, it became the more necessary that his name should be universally celebrated, in order that it might be a preparation for stronger faith after his death. More especially, the Evangelist relates that the recent miracle of the resurrection of Lazarus had acquired great celebrity: and as Christ showed in it a remarkable proof of his Divinity, God intended that it should have many witnesses. When he says that _they came not on account of Jesus only, _but also for the sake of Lazarus, he does not mean that they came out of regard to Lazarus, as if they bestowed this mark of honor on him in particular, but that they might behold the astonishing display of the power of Christ in Lazarus....

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...

Verse John 12:9. _MUCH PEOPLE OF THE JEWS_] John, who was a _Galilean_, often gives the title of _Jews_ to those who were inhabitants of Jerusalem....

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

MUCH OF THE PEOPLE OF THE JEWS THEREFORE KNEW THAT HE WAS THERE,.... That is, many of the Jews that dwelt at Jerusalem, knew that Jesus was at Bethany; for it being but two miles from Jerusalem, the report of his being come soon reached thither: AND THEY CAME from Jerusalem to Bethany, NOT FOR JESUS' SAKE ONLY; to see him, and hear him, and observe what he said and did: BUT THAT THEY MIGHT SEE LAZARUS ALSO, WHOM HE HAD RAISED FROM THE DEAD; that is, whom Jesus had raised from the dead, as the Alexandrian copy, and the Ethiopic version express it; for it equally excited their curiosity, to see the person that had been dead, and was raised from the dead, as to see him who raised him: and it is very likely before they had no opportunity of seeing him; it may be he did not appear publicly before, but kept himself retired; but now Jesus being come, he showed himself openly; which the Jerus...

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

JOHN 12:9 :Egnw ou=n @o`# o;cloj polu.j evk tw/n VIoudai,wn {C} It is natural to regard o;cloj polu,j (î66*, 75 A B3 K X D Q P Y ¦1 33 _Byz_) and o` o;cloj o` polu,j (î66c W 0250 1010) as scribal ameliorations of the difficult reading e;gnw ou=n o` o;cloj polu,j (a B* L 28 892 _al_). But the expression o` o;cloj polu,j serving as the subject of a verb is such unusual Greek (with polu,j in the predicate position)...

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