John 11:47-12:11

[0:00] enjoyed yourself over this long weekend. I trust it's been a long weekend for most everybody here. And I trust you enjoyed yourselves on Thursday. Anybody travel? I know you all went to Arizona.

[0:19] Anybody else take off and leave LA? Because millions of people seem to be doing it on Wednesday. It was quite a mess around our place over there where the 405 and the 5 connect.

[0:31] The helicopters are just hovering above filming the traffic every holiday. All right, so we're in John 11 and so far we've gotten to the place where Christ resurrected Lazarus from the dead. And we pointed out that phrase, from the dead, because it's not a resurrection of the dead yet, but it was a resurrection from the dead.

[1:01] I remember, let's see, I want to point something out here, kind of backtrack just a little, little bit here. Look at verse 33. It says, when Jesus therefore saw her weeping and the Jews also weeping, which came with her, he groaned in the spirit and was troubled. Now, I'm kind of just, I went through this last time, but we did some study on a Wednesday night recently about the spirit and specifically how it relates to man and that the word spirit is used in a multitude of ways in your Bible.

[1:34] It's the same six letters, but it doesn't always mean or refer to the same thing. And here Jesus Christ groaned in the spirit. And you may think, should that be capitalized because it's Jesus and the spirit and you think it's the Holy Spirit? I don't know, maybe even some of you have it capitalized.

[1:50] You shouldn't. But as you read your Bible, you're going to see the spirit capitalized and you're going to see it not capitalized. And it's an interesting, and it's a tough thing to get down because I want to say, I think it's like 35 or 40 years ago, a lot of Bible publishers went back through the text and made alterations to the S's on the word spirit. They capitalized certain places, that they believed, oh, this is a reference to the Holy Spirit, so it should be capitalized.

[2:25] And the modern versions have done that a lot where they've gone through and capitalized pronouns, he and him, a reference to Christ. And they've done that in this attempt to, you know, to show his deity. And in doing so, there's been some debate over, I mean, this is going some decades now, but it's been debate over should that S be capitalized or not. And if it is, and if it isn't, but should be, then you have a problem in your Bible or, you know, vice versa. And so it's been a little fuss if you really get down to those nitty-gritty jot and tittles of the text. And we're people that believe every word of God is pure, and we believe we have a pure Bible. And it's tricky when you come down to some of these things, because you'll see King James Bibles that have a capital S, some don't.

[3:13] And the reason they typically do is because the publisher or the translators believed it to be a reference to Jesus Christ or to the Holy Spirit of God, the person of the Trinity. Now, when it's a reference, when it's a small s like it is here and should be, it's because it's his spirit, as in, like we might say, his human spirit. And I know that sounds awkward to you to say that about the Lord Jesus Christ, but it's true. When he passed, when he expired on the cross, he said, into thy hands, I commend my spirit. And he gave up the ghost. And I wasn't the Holy Ghost, like you may kind of expect. He was a human. He was all man. And so that's why it's a small s there. And you're going to find in other places it be capitalized. And then you're going to find in some places amongst your own copies or amongst each other, you're going to find where they don't agree. And the reason being is likely that the publisher of that Bible, whoever it would be, Thomas Nelson, Zondervan, somebody, they decided that we believe this is a reference to the Holy Spirit. In some cases, they may erroneously presume that the Spirit of Jesus Christ as a man is the same thing as the Holy Spirit of God, the person. And that's not always the case. And you'll see it here. I'll give you one more quick before we move on. Look back at Mark chapter 2.

[4:51] And you'll see it in verse number 8. I don't know, some of you may or may not have it capitalized. You should not, or it likely should not be. In verse number 8, Mark 2, 8, immediately when Jesus perceived in His Spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, He said unto them, and He goes on from there. And that's another case where it's a small s, and some of the publishers will nowadays be altering that to a capital S.

[5:19] If they presume or they think, oh, this is the Holy Spirit. Any reference to Jesus in Spirit is holy. And so you may find that discrepancy through your Bibles. I'm just giving you a heads up on that.

[5:29] So let's come back to John 11. And let's move back to where we ended around, verse 44, I think.

[5:47] So let's just go back there. So Lazarus is alive now. Now, verse 44, He that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with grave clothes, and his face was bound about with a napkin.

[6:00] Jesus saith unto them, Loose him and let him go. So he's got grave clothes, and then he's got a napkin. It says that his face was bound about.

[6:12] The word about means that it was around on all sides. So it completely covered his face. You're familiar, look at chapter 20. This is something that when the disciples came to the tomb.

[6:24] This is something that John puts in. Interestingly, a reference to this napkin. John chapter 20.

[6:35] Peter goes into the tomb. And verse 6 says, Then cometh Simon Peter, following him, went into the sepulcher, and seeth the linen clothes lie, and the napkin that was about his head.

[6:54] Not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself. That's a very interesting comment John makes there, and we'll not really get into that quite yet. But there's another reference to the napkin, which is not something you put with your dinnerware, obviously, but something that was a part of their burial process, and specifically separately for the head.

[7:16] So verse 45, back in John 11, let's pick it up and continue in this passage. Verse 45, Then many of the Jews which came to Mary, and had seen the things which Jesus did, believed on him.

[7:29] They believed on him. There's John's calling card right there. That's the thing John always inserts into the text. We pointed this out so many times, probably the last time we saw it was the last verse in chapter 10.

[7:41] Many believed on him there. And John gets to that point, and he's got to make it every time. That's the purpose of this gospel. And it keeps showing up, so I keep repeating it, because John repeats it.

[7:52] And they had seen the things that Jesus did, they believed on him. Verse 46, So do you suppose that these are going to the Pharisees because they want to get them to believe on him?

[8:08] It's hard to say. I mean, I would not expect that, because it's common knowledge that the Pharisees want him dead. This is already out there. We've seen this multiple times in this gospel alone. So why would they go to the Pharisees?

[8:21] Is it because this raising a man from the dead is just, it's such a big thing that surely they'll believe? Or I feel like, more likely, they're ratting him out, because they know the attitude the Pharisees have toward Jesus Christ, and the only reason to go tell them about the next thing that he did, and the people are believing on him, is to say, you need to do something.

[8:46] And the idea is that not everybody's believing on him when they're seeing the things that he did. Some of them have hard hearts, and some of them have ulterior motives for not believing on him, as we'll see right now.

[8:57] Verse 47, So something very, very telling about these priests and Pharisees, and they, with their own mouth, say, what are we going to do?

[9:24] This guy just keeps on doing this stuff, and it just gets bigger and bigger, more and more monumental, these deeds and wonders that he's doing, more people believing on him.

[9:36] We need to do something. It's very telling about them. They're afraid of losing their influence. It says that, This man doeth many miracles. If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him.

[9:48] And the people that are believing on Jesus Christ are not following or submitting to the Pharisees and bowing down and cowering beneath their influence anymore.

[9:59] So we're going to lose our influence if we leave Jesus Christ continue. We're also going to lose our position. It says in verse 48, The Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation.

[10:13] Notice how they put their place above their own nation. It's very telling of their hearts. It's this place and position of authority that they have over their own people. And the Romans are allowing it for now.

[10:27] But if we let this Jesus thing keep going and the people follow him in masses, we're going to lose our position. We're not going to have it anymore. I'm not even sure if that's a rational thought.

[10:38] But I'm not sure that if people continue to believe on Jesus and follow him, he's never taught any kind of insurrection, never taught anything that could even hint of that.

[10:50] So for them to presume that if he continues and people follow him, the Romans are going to show up and what? And eliminate us? Now, the only thing that I guess I shouldn't say the only thing, but what follows in my mind along why this would be rational is that they were in cahoots somehow with the Roman authorities in keeping the Jews in their place.

[11:18] And if you guys just be good and be quiet and don't do anything and we keep on top of you, then they're going to let us stay in our position and that they had one hand with the Gentile Roman authorities and worshiping them in a sense, not the Lord.

[11:35] And so that makes sense to me to say that the reason why they may fear losing their place. But otherwise, why would the Romans show up and remove the Pharisees or priests out of their religious positions under the law of Moses?

[11:49] Why would they come and even care about how these Jews govern themselves or if they believe this guy? Unless he's teaching something that goes against Roman authority, which he didn't.

[11:59] He taught them to pay their taxes, didn't he? He taught them to submit. So the Jews, they're off on their heads or there's something that's a little bit deeper than what they're, I think they're telling on themselves a little bit here.

[12:13] And then he says both our place and nation. The Romans aren't going to necessarily take away their nation by the people believing on Jesus Christ.

[12:25] It's a little bit exaggerated, I suppose, unless they've made threats already. So they're telling on themselves and showing what they're really interested in.

[12:36] Now notice in verse 47, this is worth pointing out, then gathered the chief priests and the Pharisees a council. And you're going to find in your Bible that the word council is always associated with something bad, something, or I should say, against God.

[12:52] It may seem on your, you know, like, hey, yeah, let's get together and let's talk it out, let's figure it out. There's such a thing as having, you know, meetings, leadership meetings or discussing what's right, but that's not the case here.

[13:04] What they're discussing is what can we do for ourselves, not what can we do for the Lord. What can we do for our church or for God's people? No, what can we do for ourselves? How can we maintain our power? Let me show you a few references on this, a little chain here, and I'll be brief with it.

[13:20] I won't give you every one, but let me show you what the Holy Spirit thinks about councils. Look at Matthew chapter 12. Now this is not to be confused with the word council, as in receiving counsel from a counselor, and the Word of God is called council.

[13:42] With a S-E-L. Matthew chapter 12. And let's see verse number 14.

[13:55] Then the Pharisees went out and held a council against him. Who are they against? The Lord Jesus Christ. The council is how they might destroy him.

[14:09] There's what the Holy Spirit starts to show us about a council. Let's look ahead to Mark chapter 13. So that's earlier in his ministry.

[14:20] Now Mark 13 later. About two years later. Mark 13. And here's Christ teaching about the end times.

[14:35] It would coincide with Matthew 24. Look at verse number 8. This is not a good thing.

[15:03] They're being captured, like apprehended by soldiers by force, and brought up before a council. Men that are going to decide their fate, because they're going again.

[15:16] They're preaching, in this case, the gospel of the kingdom in verse 10. It's being published amongst all nations, but there's a council being held to destroy it back in Christ's day and in the future, when this tribulation time is going on.

[15:31] Let's look at another one. Mark 15, in verse 1. And straightway in the morning, the chief priest held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council, and bound Jesus, and carried him away, and delivered him to Pilate.

[15:55] And the beginning of the end here is marked by a council against Jesus Christ, coming together to figure out how we can destroy him, coming together to figure out how they can, in this case, accuse him and find him at fault, so that not they, but Pilate would put him to death, crucify him, they cried.

[16:16] So come back to John 11. This word goes and goes and goes through your ministry of Christ into the early church in the book of Acts. You'll see these Jews continuing to hold councils against the apostles, bringing the apostles before that council.

[16:30] And let's see, it's in chapter 4, that they bring them before a council, and they declare to them that you're not allowed to speak in the name of Jesus anymore.

[16:42] That's what the council determined, to just throw cold water on any kind of fire that's burning in Jerusalem for the Lord Jesus Christ. So this is just something to point out as you see it in your Bible.

[16:55] You may always think of it as a positive thing, as if there's wisdom and good advice coming out of it, but in this case here in the Bible, when men put together a council, it's against God, and it's against his Savior, his Son, Jesus Christ.

[17:10] Alright, so coming back to verse 49. John 11, 49. And one of them, named Caiaphas, being the high priest that same year, said unto them, now this is after they made this statement, this man doeth many miracles, if we leave him alone, then it's just going to be, we're dead meat, we're goners, we're going to lose it all.

[17:32] And his response is, you don't know what you're talking about. This is quite an interesting statement here in verse 50. Nor consider that it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not.

[17:46] Now, where in the world does any high priest get up and think and speak that it's expedient that somebody die for the nation of Israel, that a man die for the nation of Israel?

[18:01] Where does that come from? It comes from the Scriptures. I mean, it's truth. Isaiah 53, this has been prophesied. The prophets have told us that the Messiah would be cut off and that he would make, it would be for, let me get the wording.

[18:19] You don't need to go, but I'm just going to catch Isaiah 53 quickly. There's a specific wording. For the transgression of my people, was he stricken? And the passage describes him being bruised for our iniquities, etc.

[18:34] And so, for him, he's agreeing with the prophets. I don't know that he's purposely doing that by telling these men, you don't know what you're talking about, because that would mean that he believes Christ, Jesus Christ, is that Messiah.

[18:49] That he's believing on that person as if he was the Lamb of God. And we don't see, he wants to destroy him and get rid of his ministry and not have people believe on him. So I don't believe that Caiaphas is actually believing this as some fulfillment of Scripture when he says, you know nothing at all, nor consider that it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people and that the whole nation perish not.

[19:13] Verse 51, and this spake he not of himself. Now, it doesn't mean he's not speaking about himself being the one that dies, but he speaks, he's not the person, he's not speaking this of his own wisdom nor understanding.

[19:31] Remember that Christ said, oh man, he said this a couple times. Look at chapter 16. Look at 16.

[19:42] When he says the Holy Spirit's going to come, he's not going to speak of himself, meaning he's not going to be speaking words of his own volition.

[19:52] It's going to be the words of God that he's speaking. Verse 13, how be it when he, the spirit of truth has come, he will guide you in all truth for he shall not speak of himself, but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak.

[20:04] So what the father instructs, he speaks, but he's not coming and just speaking whatever he feels like speaking. And that's the statement, not speaking of himself, that is of Caiaphas there.

[20:16] He spake not, or this spake he not by himself or of his own wisdom or knowledge. And we saw that with Christ. I don't have it marked here, but we saw that earlier with Christ talking about bearing witness of himself and that he doesn't do that.

[20:34] So verse 51, this spake he not of himself, but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus should die for that nation and not for that nation only.

[20:49] And now look at this, but that he should gather together, that also he should gather together in one, the children of God that were scattered abroad. So what's interesting here in this prophecy of the high priest is that he brings both advents into this statement.

[21:06] The one that he should die for the people, we know this to be the first advent. And that also he would gather together in one the children of God that are dispersed or scattered abroad.

[21:17] That is not the first advent. That's the second advent. I'm not going to run you through the references on this. They're all over the Old Testament, but those are two separate things. Now the prophets a lot of time just kind of put them together and just what the Messiah is going to do.

[21:32] He's going to A, B, C, and D. And some of that's divided by 2,000 years. Now this guy's prophesying of both of these advents in one, both to be fulfilled that Jesus, of Jesus.

[21:47] John writing after the fact, after the death, burial, resurrection, says that he prophesied that Jesus should die for that nation. And not for that nation only, but that he should gather together in one, the children of God scattered abroad.

[22:02] Verse 53, Then from that day forth, they took counsel together to put him to death. When you read your Bible, if you read it for the first time and have never seen these words in your life and you just know Jesus, I know the name Jesus, you start reading, you read that, you get that feeling really strong.

[22:25] It keeps coming through that these people hate him. They want to murder him. And all he's ever done was good. That's all you've ever seen up through chapter 11 is him helping and healing and speaking the words of God and they want to murder him.

[22:40] And inside it doesn't add up. You don't see why, what is their deal? Well, they don't want to lose their place, huh? They don't want to lose their influence. So they'll throw him under the bus to keep themselves alive.

[22:53] Oh boy. So moving forward, verse 54, Jesus therefore walked no more openly among the Jews, but went thence unto a country near to the wilderness into a city called Ephraim and there continued with his disciples.

[23:09] And the Jews' Passover was nigh at hand. This is going to be the last one for him. He's going to be the Passover. It's nigh at hand and many went out of the country up to Jerusalem before the Passover to purify themselves.

[23:24] So they're to bring an offering and this is all recorded in the law. It's in Numbers and Ezra and Nehemiah where he records this happening. They bring an offering. They're all males are to appear before the Lord.

[23:35] And so there's a very large population flocking to Jerusalem at this time, at Passover time specifically. It's a very big holiday, a holy day, a feast.

[23:50] And so they're coming to bring their sacrifices and offer before the Lord. And there's descriptions of what happens if they're far away and they can't make it. There's all these provisions made back in the Old Testament, but nothing we're going to cover this morning.

[24:04] Verse 56, Then sought they for Jesus. They're looking for him. Why? Oh, they decided they want to kill him. So they sought, then sought they for Jesus. This is the wrong kind of seeking for Jesus Christ.

[24:17] And spake among themselves as they stood in the temple. And I can just picture these big shots standing there, elbows together, just standing there looking and looking at the crowds, looking at the masses coming by and different males and young men and coming before the Lord.

[24:34] And they're saying to each other, they look at each other, what do you think? What think he? That he would not come to the feast? What do you think? Think he's going to show up? Ah, I think he'll show up.

[24:47] He has to show up. He has to show up. Everybody has to show up. He'll be here. And they're looking. They sought for him. They knew that this is the place to get him because he has to come to Jerusalem.

[25:02] If he doesn't come to Jerusalem, he is not who he says he is. If he doesn't come to this Passover feast, well, he's violating the law of Moses. And we've got him.

[25:14] He has to come. They set a trap in a sense. They just had to sit there and wait. Now, both the chief priest and the Pharisees had given the commandment that if any man knew where he was, any man, if you're a citizen of this country and you care about the nation and you care about our nation, remember, that's what they're saying is going to happen.

[25:36] The Romans are going to come. So they put out a proclamation to any man from sea to shining sea, if you know this man, Jesus Christ, you better tell us because we need to come and take him, that they might take him.

[25:52] And so there's a government against Jesus Christ and it's popular knowledge, common knowledge, that they want him to put to death. And now the timing is right.

[26:05] It's set. It's got to be that he's got to come. We've got the place set. And little do they know that the prophecies have already declared this is the place, this is the time, and it's going to come to pass and it's going to be your hands that have his blood on you.

[26:21] And you didn't see that when you read those prophecies and those other prophets. So moving into chapter 12. Then Jesus, six days before the Passover, came to Bethany, where Lazarus, which was, which had been dead, whom he raised from the dead.

[26:41] So he's still up there and he makes a little turn back through Bethany. There they made him a supper. Side note, not a dinner.

[26:53] Bible says supper, just can't help it. You guys have taken away supper from me. Be it coming out here, everybody says dinner all the time. There they made him a supper and Martha served.

[27:04] But Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with him. Amen. I mean, he was just resurrected a few days ago from the dead.

[27:15] Four days in the grave. Now he's seated beside the Lord Jesus Christ. Verse 3. There's a type there, but we'll move on now.

[27:26] Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard. Spikenard's mentioned in the Song of Solomon. It's a fragrant thing.

[27:36] It's very costly in John. And anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the odor of the ointment.

[27:49] Now, this is a beautiful picture here and a beautiful thing that Mary is doing. And maybe she doesn't have full knowledge or maybe she's getting a little inkling because the tensions are building.

[28:02] The word is out. It's, I mean, they've loved and followed this man and believed on him and had him. I mean, it says that he loved them. They were close. And it's no secret.

[28:15] The word is out even stronger than ever before that these Pharisees and chief priests, the biggest, most powerful men, want you dead. Like, you've done it now.

[28:26] You've gone too far. They are not going to back down until they get their way. And so maybe she senses that is just coming to a head. At any rate, she has an opportunity to get down on her face at the feet of Jesus Christ and do something that is just almost unheard of.

[28:50] It's unheard of. It's not seen in the scriptures much. It's mentioned in Luke where a woman, it's debatable whether it's the same woman or same time, but that this is happening.

[29:02] You don't see people falling at his feet everywhere he goes. You rarely even see him washing. The one in Luke that I referenced, I think it's chapter 7, he's at Simon's house and he says to Simon, like the woman's washing his feet and they're complaining and he's like, Simon, you didn't even offer me water for my feet.

[29:24] So, this is a very rare thing. In this case, for this woman to have this opportunity and to put something very costly upon her Lord and her Messiah and to wipe, like his literal feet, had her hands and her hair right there, her face there.

[29:45] In another place, she kisses his feet. But it incites a reaction. It's an impressive scene of worship going on, but this worship is cut off by a spirit in the room.

[30:00] In verse 4, then saith one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, which should betray him, why was not this ointment sold for 300 pence and given to the poor?

[30:13] This he said, not that he cared for the poor, because he didn't care for the poor at all. He could care less about the poor, but because he was a thief and had the bag and bear what was put therein.

[30:28] Now, there's something that needs to be pointed out here. There's a man that has the bag. I doubt it's because he just happened to draw the small straw and he has to be the one that pays for everything wherever they go and take care of the finances and take up the offerings.

[30:47] No, I think he's probably got a mind for money. I'm going to assume that he just is good with numbers, good with math, and it just makes sense. Some people aren't. Some people would blow through the bag in two weeks.

[30:59] Some people know how to handle it and take care of it. He's a good Jew. Forgive me. Okay. He took care of the bag, but he was a thief. He was a thief and he had the bag.

[31:12] And what's this thief see when this woman's worshiping the Lord Jesus Christ at his feet with her hair, with this ointment filling the room? What's he see? He sees money.

[31:23] He sees that. I could get 300 pence. You know what 300 pence is? According to our Bible, a pence is a day's labor, a daily rate for labor in a field.

[31:34] That's 300 days. That's 10 months of income. Put that into your income and figure out what 10 months is and realize that that's what we're looking at. That's what he's looking at.

[31:46] Look at this waste. Look at all that money you just dumped out on the floor. That's all. Why? Because he carries the bag. He's got the numbers running through his head.

[31:58] It's a curse. He can't see anything without seeing money. Without seeing, I wonder how much that would cost. I wonder how much he makes. I wonder what he spent on that.

[32:09] I wonder what I could get for that. I wonder how much I could buy that for and how much I could sell it for. That's all he's thinking. It's computing. It's money, getting money, money, and that's inside of his mind and in his heart is keeping a hold of money and if you got that inside of you, you might have a brain for money or for numbers and just have that, the Midas touch.

[32:31] You might have some brilliance in that. It could be a gift of God but it can also be a curse if you don't know how to handle it and give it to Jesus Christ. And God will prove you, by the way.

[32:41] He'll prove and test you to see if you love money and if you want money and what you'll do for money or if you'll put God first like he deserves. Now, he didn't care about the poor so why did he say that?

[32:55] Because it sounds good. That's justifiable. It's not what he means. It's not what he cares about at all but he'll say something that would sound okay and acceptable to other people because the truth is he's a thief and he wants money and he's going to do something in the next few chapters that you might say is unthinkable and unimaginable for money and he's going to betray the very man that could offer life to the world.

[33:23] He's going to say, nope, I want a few, 30, I want some silver, 30 pieces for a matter of fact. So he interrupts this worship scene with this unclean spirit of lust and he's a thief, he had the bag, he buried what was therein and Jesus Christ doesn't allow him.

[33:46] In verse 7, then said Jesus, let her alone. Against the day of my burying hath she kept this. Now, what do they know about the day of his burying? They're not believing him to be put to death at all.

[33:59] As a matter of fact, shortly when he tells them that you're going to deny him, and Peter's like, no, this isn't going to happen. They're all going to say, we're going to stick with you all the way to the end.

[34:10] You're not going to get buried at all. But here he is prophesying. He's the Passover lamb and she knows something or just has this opportunity.

[34:22] The Lord moves her to do something and she's fulfilling it and the testimony of it goes forward. Verse 8, For the poor always ye have with you, but me ye have not always.

[34:37] And if you were there and had him in front of you and had the opportunity to say something to him, to show him something, to give him something, that had been the time when he was there.

[34:50] And this is a side thought. It's not about Jesus Christ or spiritual, spiritual, but when it comes to your loved ones and the people that you adore and care about while you have them with you, then say something and take care of them and love them.

[35:06] Just like that. Don't wait till they're gone because then they're gone. The poor you have always with you. There's always somebody that needs your attention and their affection. But in this case, their very master was with them and they had opportunity, as Mary was taking advantage of, of showing her love and getting down on her face and showing her worship and allegiance to him.

[35:30] In verse 9, many 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.

[35:41] But the chief priest consulted that they might put Lazarus also to death. He's got to go too. I mean, what a thing. How bad, how deep are they going to dig themselves to keep their place and position?

[35:55] Verse 11, here's the reasoning, because that by reason of him, many of the Jews went away and believed on Jesus, as we already saw, as they should. What is the problem with these chief priests and these Pharisees?

[36:10] What do they have to see or hear? What does God have to show them for them to humble themselves? So the people are trickling away or flocking away from them and they're going to Jesus.

[36:23] They're even showing up. It's getting to be public knowledge where he's at. He's in Bethany. Crowds are forming. It's getting a little bit scarier. And now they want to put Lazarus to death.

[36:34] He's got a mark on him now. And that's a cost for Lazarus. He's, verse number two, he was one of them that sat at the table with him.

[36:44] He's sitting to eat with a marked man, with a man that they want to be put to death. But Lazarus is right there fellowshipping with him. So now he's got a mark on him. And so understand that.

[36:57] If you're going to stand with Jesus Christ and if you're going to stand with his word and not bow down when the music plays, if you're going to take a stand, then you'll get a mark on you too.

[37:10] If you don't stand and if you keep your mouth shut and nobody sees or knows or hears anything about you, you'll get along with everybody and you'll be fine. But, you take a stand with Jesus Christ and you get public knowledge that you're with him and he's with you, well then somebody's going to be against you too.

[37:29] You can count on it. You don't have to go looking for it. It'll just happen. It'll definitely happen. So what a blessing that many are believing on Jesus more and more because of what Christ did.

[37:39] Remember, just flip back to chapter 11. Let's see. Verse number 4. Remember I pointed out through this whole thing where there was mourners and they were crying and if you were here you could have did something about it if you would have been here and Christ just kept telling them just this is, I did this on purpose.

[38:03] Verse 4 says, when Jesus heard that that he was sick, he said, this sickness is not unto death but for the glory of God that the Son of God might be glorified thereby. And here we are a chapter later, days later, who knows how long exactly but more are coming to see Lazarus.

[38:19] Not just the ones that were there that were rejoicing and believed on him but now people are coming to the place because the word is spreading. The Lord Jesus Christ is getting more fame out of this.

[38:30] More believing on him. And there's the Son of God being glorified by the life and death and resurrection of Lazarus whereas they were mourning and crying and Christ was grieved in his spirit because of their lack of belief from chapter 11.

[38:48] Now I'm just pointing out that that wasn't just in the moment. It's been expounded upon a little bit further the glory that he's getting out of what took place to Lazarus.

[39:00] The pain was real in the moment but weeping and may endure for a night but joy cometh in the morning. And there it is. So we'll stop right here. It's a great place to stop in chapter 12 at verse 12.

[39:14] And come back, Lord willing, next Sunday and pick it up right there.