All right, please turn with me to John chapter 12, and we're reading from verses 1 to 11.
Six days before the Passover, Jesus therefore came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus
had raised from the dead.
So they gave a dinner for him there.
Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at the table.
Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard and anointed the feet of
Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair.
The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.
But Judas Iscariot, one of the disciples, he who was about to betray him, said,
Why was this ointment not sold for 300 denarii and given to the poor?
He said this not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having
charge of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.
Jesus said, Leave her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of my burial.
For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me.
When the large crowd of Jews learned that Jesus was there, they came, not only on account of
him, but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead.
So the chief priests made plans to put Lazarus to death as well, because on account of him,
many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus.
Good morning, everyone.
My name's Matt, if I haven't met you before.
I am the start of a short series of talks on John that Dave talked a little bit about before,
where a couple of us are going through John chapters 12 and 13.
So I'm doing the first one.
I think next week is Marty Thompson.
Yep, that sounds right to me.
Then Gareth Jenkins and Dave Bott are doing talks following that.
There's also a couple of people who are doing the same series of talks, but in youth groups.
So Liz Cameron, actually on Friday, did the same passage that I'm doing today.
And so I said to her, if she hears anything in this talk that was in hers, it's a pure coincidence.
Then Brie Thompson, Ben McMurray and Beck Matthias are also going to be doing those.
So yeah, pray for me, pray for them.
Yeah, just that we'd be able to communicate the gospel effectively.
But throughout these few weeks, we really should be seeing the same kind of question coming through.
And that is the question of, what do you make of Jesus and who he is?
You see, John asks this question over and over again through his gospel.
And he does it by setting out this huge claim at the start.
Dave read a little bit for us.
He sets out this huge claim and then throughout the rest of the book, proceeds to show us how people respond to Jesus.
And challenges us to show us how we should be responding based on how other people react.
And John, really handily for me, also tells us why he wrote the book of John.
And it follows this kind of claim and then reaction model that we see.
So if you look in John chapter 20, verse 30 to 31, he flips it around here.
So he says how he wants us to react and then says what the claim is that we're reacting to.
But that's the same type of thing.
So verse 30.
Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book.
But these are written.
Okay, here's the reaction he wants.
So that you may believe.
That's the reaction.
And then this is the claim.
That Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.
And that by believing, you may have life in his name.
Can you see that?
He goes, here's the claim.
Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.
Do you believe that?
And so for us, when we're reading through John, we should be thinking through this as well.
What do I think about this claim?
When he says that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.
Well, what do I believe?
But it's also something that we should probably just think a little bit about as well.
What does that claim mean?
Especially the bit that says the Christ.
If you have been a Christian for any period of time, you would have heard the Christ a thousand times.
But we can sometimes forget what it means.
So the Christ essentially means God's chosen one.
So throughout the Old Testament, it's prophesied that a chosen one would come and that he would save Israel from their sins.
And that's what the Christ means is the chosen one.
Messiah as well is another similar name.
But it's basically John saying this is that guy that throughout the whole Old Testament has been prophesied.
This is the Messiah.
This is the Christ, the Son of God.
And then John says to us, what do you think about that?
And that's what we're going to be talking about today.
So let's pray and then we'll crack on with the rest of it.
Dear God, thank you that we can come here today, that we can open up your word and hear from John and hear about Jesus that you sent to save us.
Please pray that we would be open to what you want to tell us today.
Yeah, and just give me the words to speak as well.
Amen.
So passage that we're doing today is John 12, 1 to 11.
Gareth read it before.
Something that's really cool about this passage is it really is a bit of a microcosm of the rest of the book of John.
And it has these amazing contrasts in the way that people respond to Jesus and his claim of being the Christ, the Son of God.
So there's three that we're going to look at.
There's actually four in the passage, but we're going to look at three.
The first one is, how does Mary respond to this, that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God?
The second is, how does Judas and the disciples respond?
The third is, how do the chief priests respond to this?
If you're wondering, because I'd be going, what's the fourth one?
The Jews also respond, but we're not going to talk about that too much.
So let's start with the reaction of Mary.
So if you've got your Bibles open, John 12, verse 1.
Six days before the Passover, Jesus therefore came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.
So they gave a dinner for him there.
Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at table.
I wasn't going to say this.
It's just really weird that they write at table.
Like, why not at the table?
Anyway, I don't know.
Bible.
Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair.
The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.
So if you can imagine this scene, it's Jesus sitting with his friends.
So he's got Mary, he's got Martha there, Lazarus, he's got the disciples, possibly a couple of others.
And they're in this place called Bethany, which is, if you look at the geography of Israel, it's only a couple of kilometres outside of Jerusalem.
So they're really close to Jerusalem.
And we read through, in the previous chapter, chapter 11, that Lazarus has just been raised from the dead, which is crazy.
So if you look in John 11, 33, we can see that Mary in particular, of course, because it's her brother, is really upset by the fact that he's died, of course.
So when Jesus saw her, being Mary, weeping, et cetera, et cetera, so we can see she's just really upset.
And Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead.
And so Mary is overwhelmed by gratitude, as you would be.
Now, she's so excited and so thankful to Jesus that he did this.
And it's possible that this meal is a kind of thank you dinner.
As weird as that is, it's kind of like, how do you say thank you to someone for raising your brother from the dead?
I'll give them a meal, I guess, I don't know.
But that's what they're doing.
They're having a meal.
And this is about a week before Jesus dies on the cross.
And they're sitting there around the table.
Mary goes away.
And she comes back with about half a kilo of this really expensive perfume and pours it all over Jesus' feet.
And then starts wiping it with her hair.
Now, if there's ever a part of the Bible that needs a cultural translation, it is this one.
Because if this was me and you came up and did this to me, I'd probably be annoyed.
Like, I know that my feet aren't great.
But, like, I do wash sometimes.
I don't need this perfume.
And, like, it's oily.
Like, now you've just got it all over the floor.
Oh, it's going to, you know, like I need detergent to wash this up.
And it's kind of like when someone offers you a mint or a piece of gum.
And you're like, thanks.
Are you trying to say something about my breath?
It's kind of got that kind of vibe.
And, you know, the smell's so strong.
It's like, man, it's going to be in my house.
I'm going to be walking down the street.
And people will be like, oh, what's that?
What's going on?
It's like, now, just use a towel.
Like, why your hair?
Like, we have towels in the bathroom.
Just this is real weird.
And so for us today, that's kind of how I think about it.
I'm like, man, this is a bit of a weird act.
But for them in the day, it is extremely symbolic.
In fact, Rob last week mentioned a bit about this in his talk.
And so what they would do is if you had a guest that you wanted to honour,
you would get some oil and you'd dab it on their head.
And being the Middle East and quite dry,
they can rub it on their face and in their hair.
But it's a way of being able to honour your guests.
And so you don't do this when your dad comes home.
It's not like every time he comes home,
you're like dabbing with a bit of oil.
It's only for people that you really want to honour.
And so it's just a bit weird.
Like, Mary doesn't even do that.
She doesn't even give them a little bit of a dab on their head.
She goes to town.
Like, if you...
When I started using cologne when I was about, like,
in year 10 or something like that,
the thing was less is more with cologne.
And Mary just does not get this at all.
She just pours the whole half a kilo on Jesus' feet.
And it's not like your Taylor Swift or David Beckham from Priceline.
It's pure nard oil.
So if you don't know much about this,
basically it's a perfume that comes from the Himalayan region.
So think India, China, Nepal.
And what they do is you can only get this at about 3,000 metres and above,
and you can only harvest the plant for about two weeks of the year.
So already we're getting to quite a specific period
of when you can do this type of thing.
They then crush it down.
They process it.
And then from there,
that has to get all the way to where Mary is in Bethany.
Now, today, if you made that journey straight,
without stopping, you took a direct route,
you walked 12 hours a day,
this would take you four months.
Now, even today, this is a dangerous journey.
You're going through Pakistan, Afghanistan, Syria.
I mean, yeah, probably more dangerous even than back then.
But it's a long way.
And so this stuff is really, really expensive.
In fact, if you even bought this today,
you'd be looking at about $6,500 for the amount that Mary puts on Jesus' feet.
And that's with, like, current processing in cars and planes, etc.
But back then, this is worth about a year's worth of wages.
So imagine everything you are going to earn this year,
everything that you're going to spend,
put it into that bottle,
and then it's gone when Mary pours this on Jesus' feet.
And so when we read this,
we actually should be a bit shocked.
Like, when Judas and the disciples react with shock,
well, it's because it's a crazy act.
You know, that could have bought so many things.
That could have done so many great things.
But the question that we're asking is,
well, why?
Why did Mary do this?
And the answer is,
it's because Mary recognises who Jesus is.
You see, Jesus brought her brother back from the dead,
and that's amazing.
But Mary also recognises
that Jesus is about to die for her.
Mary knows,
because Jesus has been telling them consistently up until this point
that he's going to die,
that he's come to save the world from their sin.
And there's actually multiple references of this,
of Jesus telling them throughout the Gospels.
So there's not particularly that many in John,
but through the other three,
there's multiple references.
And a good example is in Matthew 20.
And he actually tells them this as they're going to Jerusalem,
where they are now.
So he says this just before they get to where they are now,
sitting at the table.
So Matthew 20.
And as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem,
he took the 12 disciples aside.
And on the way he said to them,
see, we are going up to Jerusalem.
And the Son of Man, which is Jesus,
will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes,
and they will condemn him to death,
and deliver him over to the Gentiles
to be mocked and flogged and crucified.
And he will be raised on the third day.
You see, Mary recognises what this means.
She recognises that Jesus is going to suffer a horrific death
so that she can be saved.
You see, this act of Mary,
she does it because she is so thankful
because of what Jesus is giving her.
And so she anoints his feet and prepares him for death,
the death that he suffers for us.
Mary looks at Jesus and just sees the most amazing,
beautiful Son of God
who is giving everything he has for her.
And so Mary has reacted to the claim of John's book,
that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.
Mary recognises that this Jesus
is the one that they have been looking for,
who has been prophesied throughout history,
to save the world from its rebellion.
Mary believes that,
and so she gives everything she has
to show her thankfulness.
And I think I see that same reaction in our church.
I think I look around,
and I can see so many of you
who have accepted this news,
who believe that Jesus is the Christ,
who see the amazing gift that God has given us.
I can see how you guys do so many things,
not because you want to gain his favour,
not because you're trying to earn his love,
but as a right reaction to who Jesus is.
The way that you serve one another,
look out for one another,
give what you have,
even teaching your kids about Jesus,
even when they're throwing tantrums
and you're kind of like,
man, this is really hard.
It's two hours past their bedtime,
and you're teaching them anyway.
How awesome is it that we can come here
and join together to worship God?
That is just so amazing.
It is so amazing to be around people
who know how much they owe God,
but because of what Jesus did for us,
we don't owe him anything.
We have our AGM next week.
Isn't it amazing that we could bring DaveBot on full time
and no one had to be guilted or manipulated
into giving more money?
All because you, like Mary,
recognise Jesus and who he is.
It is so encouraging to come to a church
that responds to this message.
We 100% take it for granted.
It is so encouraging.
The first time I actually practised this,
I was like crying throughout the whole thing
and I'm like, far out.
This is just a dang practice.
I was just so hit by how amazing it is
to have an amazing church.
And look, I have been at this church for a while.
I know there are things that are difficult.
I know that sometimes, you know,
it can be hard to turn up on a Sunday morning.
I know there's people that, you know,
relationships are hard.
I know that music isn't always what I want it to be
and that's usually when I'm on music.
So I know I'm part of the problem.
There's so many things that I can see
and look at this church and say,
man, I wish this was better.
But how amazing is it that we have a church
that has responded to this message,
who believes that Jesus is the Christ,
the Son of God.
But Mary is just one of the reactions in this story
because we also learn about how Judas reacts
in this situation.
So if you open up to,
well, you already have it open,
John 12, verse 4.
But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples,
he who was about to betray him,
said,
why was this ointment not sold
for 300 denarii and given to the poor?
He said this,
not because he cared about the poor,
but because he was a thief.
And having charge of the money bag,
he used to help himself
to what was put into it.
We actually have this same story recorded in Matthew 26.
It says,
and when the disciples saw it,
they were indignant,
saying,
why this waste?
For this could have been sold
for a large sum and given to the poor.
So here we're talking about Judas,
we may be talking about the disciples as well,
but they take a great offence
to what Mary has done.
They see what Mary does for Jesus
and they just don't understand.
Like,
we could have done a lot with this money.
This could have fed a lot of people.
And we have the benefit of hindsight here
and the benefit of a narrator
because they tell us
what Judas is thinking in this passage.
We can see that,
you know,
Judas is out for himself,
that he doesn't,
he's not really thinking of the poor,
he just wants to steal the money.
But you know what,
if you were sitting at that table,
there's a good chance
this would have looked entirely godly.
Like,
Judas is saying,
we could have fed so many people for this
and you've just poured it onto the floor.
Like,
now it's annoying,
we're just going to have to wipe this up.
Like,
Jesus' feet smell good,
but that'll last for,
what,
a couple of days maybe?
Like,
you know,
think about $70,000.
Well,
if we put that into a term investment,
5%,
30 years,
we're talking $300,000 here
and you've just thrown that down the drain.
You know,
at least you could have just used the dab.
Like,
you know,
still honour him,
just dab like we normally would.
Everyone accepts that
and then keep the rest.
Like,
it's ridiculous.
Why did you do that?
And Jesus sees through Judas.
He sees his selfish motivations
and loves what Mary has done.
So,
verse 7,
Jesus said,
leave her alone
so that she may keep it
for the day of my burial.
For the poor you always have with you,
but you do not always have me.
You see,
Jesus doesn't say,
oh,
Mary,
just chill out.
It's fine.
Like,
don't make a fuss.
Like,
you know,
I'm the son of God,
but just chill.
You can keep that for yourself.
Save it for retirement
or something like that.
Jesus doesn't say that at all.
He says,
I have given everything to you.
Follow me
and give me your life.
And Mary does this.
She reacts
and recognises
who Jesus is.
That he's about to die.
He's about to give
this huge sacrifice
for her
and she's so thankful.
But Judas and the disciples,
they do not get it.
You see,
they don't understand.
They don't get the claim
of Jesus' book
that Jesus is the Christ,
the son of God.
They don't see that
and so they react
really strongly
against Mary
and what she does
for Jesus.
I have a friend
who I grew up with
in school.
I've known him
since about year six.
And when we met
in year six,
he was not a Christian.
He hated Christians.
He hated the fact
that I was a Christian.
He believed in Jesus,
which is a bit weird
in our society today,
but didn't believe the claim
and he thought
it was just totally stupid.
Like,
why are you,
this is just wacky.
Anyway,
he became a Christian
in year 10.
He's like Paul,
really.
He became a Christian
in year 10.
And ever since then,
he is one of these people
who you would just say
is on fire for God.
It is crazy.
He goes around,
he spends his days
evangelizing.
He tells everyone
he meets about Jesus.
All he wants to do
when he catches up
is talk about
what he's thinking about,
what he's been reading,
what he's been praying about.
He's translated books
of the Bible
into other languages
so that people
can read them.
Like,
we're talking next level.
But the thing
that is so cool
about him
is his passion.
He's just so passionate
to talk about Jesus.
He's always telling me
how he's trying
to convince this person
and that person
and what this person
said about Jesus
and how he thought,
you know,
how he could respond
to that next time.
And if you're like Mary,
you're looking at my friend
and just praising God.
Like,
he is just
so encouraging.
He's so awesome
that God uses him.
And I often find myself
thinking that.
Like,
I'm just blown away
by his passion.
But I often find myself
thinking like Judas as well.
Because there are too many times
for me to be comfortable with
when I have
been uncomfortable
at the idea of seeing him.
Because people like Mary
expose people like Judas.
I mean,
that's what makes this story
so powerful
is you have the example
of Mary
who's doing this amazing act
and then you have Judas
who's just being horrifically
insensitive.
But Mary exposes Judas
by confronting him
with what he's holding
back from God.
How selfish he is.
She exposes Judas
and the disciples
and shows that they don't
really understand
the claim of John's book.
They don't understand
that he's the Christ,
the Son of God.
At least in the case
of the disciples,
not yet.
And see,
Mary does this huge
act of sacrifice
for Jesus
and we're challenged
to do the same thing.
We're challenged
to respond to Jesus
in this way.
But I see Mary
and I just go,
the sacrifice
is so big.
Like,
giving up a tire
year's wages,
that's insane.
See,
what my friend
has done out of
love and devotion
for God,
it should challenge me
and excite me
and make me really
excited for what
God is doing
in this world.
But the Judas heart
in me just becomes
dismissive.
Like,
when I see how much
Jesus has given us
and what Mary does,
it's like,
yes,
like,
but my friend,
you know,
he's the extreme.
I mean,
good for him.
I can be like that too
if I want to be.
Like,
I can do that,
you know,
be like that
and,
but in the long term,
like,
I don't know,
if you've been in
ministry for a while,
it's pretty hard to get
a job after you're done.
You know,
if you've been there
for 20 years,
well,
you're pretty unemployable.
He's going to have to
come back at some point.
What if he has kids?
Is he going to want them
to be,
you know,
taught there?
I don't know.
Like,
maybe he should
think about his retirement.
Like,
is he going to have to
rely on family?
Is he going to have to
rely on friends?
I don't know.
Like,
he's not going to have super.
It's going to be
a bit of a burden.
So really,
maybe he should
become a bit more like me.
Like,
just think about it at least.
And you know,
I have a lot of other things
like commitments.
I've got a family.
So really,
what I'm doing
is understandable.
In fact,
I'm probably the
responsible one here
and not him.
And the Mary in him
makes the Judas in me
scoff.
And I know here,
at this point,
I am not talking
to the whole congregation.
Like,
my wife Alyssa
is an absolute Mary
and I find I do
the same thing with her.
She'll challenge me
on something.
She'll shine the light
on something
that I'm holding back
from God.
And how do I respond?
I'm so thankful
that you brought this
to my attention,
Alyssa.
I will take this away.
I'll think about it.
I'll pray about it.
You've just really
convicted me
and I'm going to make sure
that I do something
about this.
In fact,
maybe in a week's time,
can you follow me up
and just make sure
that I have thought
about this properly
and I'm committed
to change?
Of course not.
I go,
how dare you?
You know nothing.
I am the one
looking after the poor here
and you just want
to throw it away.
If only you understood
long-term returns
and interest gains.
I am just keeping this
now so that later on
I can use this
and I'll have more
to give.
So really,
I am the one
who is doing
the right thing here
and you can just
learn from me.
That is what I'm like.
But if I'm completely
honest
and I can push away
that dismissiveness,
I know that the real
reason is because
I want to keep it
for myself.
I just don't want
to give it to Jesus.
I want to be able
to use it
and I want to be able
to do with it
what I want to do
because I don't yet
properly understand
in that moment
who Jesus is,
that he is the Christ,
the Son of God.
You see,
Mary loves Jesus.
She has given
everything for the
chosen one,
the Son of God
and in doing so
exposes Judas
and the disciples
and how much
they want to keep
for themselves.
And of course here,
I'm not talking
about money.
I'm not talking
about the amount
of time
that you give up.
I'm not talking
about the sacrifices
that you've made.
I'm talking
about your heart
because everything
else is just
an outworking
of that.
What is your
heart like?
Is it committed
to Jesus?
Is it wanting
to serve him
with your whole
life?
Dave pointed out
in that song,
I give my whole
life to honour
this love
because Jesus
doesn't care
about how much
of my paycheck
I give away.
He doesn't care
that I am here
every Friday
at youth group.
He doesn't care
that I'm
on the music
team.
Jesus cares
about my heart
because the only
right reaction
we can have
when we see
Jesus,
this son of God
who has been
sent to die
for us,
face a horrific
death,
take the wrath
of God,
is to look at
him and just
want to give
our whole life
to him.
Does Mary
make the Judas
in you scoff?
It's not a
question I can
answer for you.
If you can try
and push away
the dismissiveness
that I get
when I am
confronted with
something like
this and allow
it to confront
your heart.
I'm not asking
you to give up
all of your
possessions and
make sure that
you go to
another country
and evangelise
people and
live like someone
on locusts and
honey.
I'm not asking
for that.
I'm asking you
to give your
heart to Jesus.
Now for the
third reaction,
that of the
chief priests.
So if you look
at verse 9,
when the large
crowd of the
Jews learned
that Jesus
was there,
they came,
not only on
account of
him,
but also to
see Lazarus,
whom he had
raised from
the dead.
So the
chief priests
made plans to
put Lazarus
to death as
well,
because on
account of
him,
many of the
Jews were
going away
and believing
in Jesus.
We see here
the large crowd
have come and
they've come to
see Jesus,
but they've also
come to see
Lazarus.
And it's kind
of like,
fair enough,
this guy was
dead and now
he's alive.
That's amazing.
Even in today's
society,
if someone
raised from
the dead,
you'd want to
see them.
It's a pretty
cool thing.
And the Jews
are going away,
they're seeing
this,
they're seeing
Jesus,
seeing that he's
raised Lazarus,
and they're
believing in
Jesus.
And so,
we then see
what the
chief priests
do.
Something that's
important to
point out here
is it's likely
that a lot of
these chief
priests were
from a sect
of Judaism
called the
Sadducees.
And basically
the main
difference between
them and the
other Jews is
that they didn't
believe in the
resurrection.
So they didn't
believe in people
coming back from
the dead.
And so you have
this belief that
well,
death doesn't
exist.
People don't
raise from the
dead.
And then you've
got Lazarus,
who has literally
been raised from
the dead.
And they're
looking at him
and they're
like, and you'd
think at this
point they should
go, wow, we
were wrong.
You know what?
We didn't believe
in it, but here's
the evidence.
He's literally
raised from the
dead.
Therefore, our
belief must be
wrong.
But of course
they don't.
They say, okay,
Lazarus has been
raised from the
dead.
There is no
resurrection from
the dead.
So we'll kill
Lazarus.
So that he's then
dead and there's no
resurrection from the
dead.
Isn't that amazing?
In the face of
this overwhelming
evidence, this isn't
the first sign that
they've seen.
They've seen other
signs from Jesus.
This is just one in
an escalating series
of signs.
In the face of
that, they just
say, no, I don't
believe that, and
they stick their
heads in the sand.
It's like this
story of a Japanese
soldier, and you
might have heard
this story before,
and I'm going to
butcher his name.
So if you have
Japanese heritage or
you speak Japanese,
I'm sorry in
advance.
I think it's
Hiro Onada.
I've said it
wrong, but
whatever.
He basically was a
Japanese soldier who
fought in World War
II, and he was
fighting in the
Philippines.
1945, the end of
the war comes
around, and Japan
surrender.
Now, if you know
anything about
Japanese culture,
soldiers did never
conceive of the
idea that Japan
could surrender.
It was impossible.
Japan surrendering
was just not
something that was
ever going to
happen.
1945, and Japan
surrenders.
And so Hiro and
his friends, they
decide, well, this
can't be right, so
they go into the
jungle and they're
conducting guerrilla
warfare as they've
been taught, and
lighting farms on
fire and stealing
food and stuff like
that.
And they get this
flyer that is
dropped from
planes, and
basically what it's
doing is telling
the Japanese soldiers,
just so you know,
this war is over,
there's no point in
fighting anymore, we've
surrendered, here's
what you need to do,
et cetera, et cetera.
Him and his friends
look at this and
they go, can't be
right, Japan never
surrenders.
So what do they do?
They keep on
fighting.
A year later, another
flyer is dropped, and
it's from their
commander, who's
basically saying the
same thing, you
know, we're done,
Japan's surrendered,
and they look at it
and they go, can't be
right, can't be
right, Japan doesn't
surrender.
And so they keep
fighting, keep, you
know, they shoot a
couple of people and
cause havoc here and
there.
Seven years after the
war has ended, letters
are written by their
family, with their
family photos, showing
their, you know,
families a little bit
older than what they
were.
They see these letters
written in their
family's own hand and
ignore it, because
Japan doesn't
surrender.
later, 29 years
later, after the end
of the war, a
Japanese man, by the
time this happens,
they're kind of like
folklore legends,
because everyone knows
that they're there, but
they can't find them in
the jungle.
A Japanese man finds
Hiro, all of his
friends have died long
ago by this point, so
he's by himself, says
to him, look, this war
has been over for so
long.
He shows him all the
evidence, shows him
everything, and what
does Hiro do?
Japan does not
surrender, and he
ignores him.
Eventually, the
Japanese government
has to find his old
commanding officer, fly
him to the Philippines
to convince him that
the war is over before
he finally gives up.
And you feel like it's
a bit like that with
the chief priests.
They see these
escalating signs that
Jesus is the Christ,
the Son of God.
They see Lazarus raised
from the dead, and they
just stick their heads in
the sand.
But what about us?
If you aren't a
Christian here today,
then you have an
important message to
respond to here.
Is Jesus the Christ?
Is he the Son of God?
Did he, was he sent by
God to save the world
from our rebellion
against him?
Because if so, you
need to listen to him,
and you need to take
him seriously.
The evidence for Jesus
is overwhelming.
Don't ignore him.
Don't be like the
chief priests who just
doubled down on their
rejection of Jesus.
or like the Japanese
soldier who just would
not believe after
repeated evidence,
after repeated
evidence.
Don't be like the
chief priests or
hero where eventually
you'll get to the
point where the only
way you will believe is
when you're facing God
on the last day and he
makes you bow the knee
to him.
Do you believe that
Jesus is the Son of God
and he will save the
world from our
rebellion against God?
Like Mary, do you
see who Jesus is?
Do you see the
amazing sacrifice that
Jesus made for us so
that we wouldn't be cut
off for the rest of time
from God?
Unwilling or unable
because of our stupid
selfish hearts to turn
back to him.
Respond to Jesus with
thankfulness, with love
because without his love
for us we would have
nothing.
So how do you
respond to Jesus?
How do you respond to
the message of John
that Jesus is the
Christ, the chosen
one, the Messiah, the
Son of God?
Do you believe the
claim and respond to
Jesus in the only
right way, just as
Mary?
By giving your all to
Jesus, by giving your
heart to Jesus?
Jesus is the Christ, the
Son of God.
What do you say to
that?
What do you say to
that?
what?
The outcome of God is a
God.
What do you say to
him that he is so
strong?
And that he is
that one below
you and belief
that he is the
maybe he
that he says the
Senhor pierwszy
then you
call me
you
or