You will always have the poor…

John 12

JOHN 12:01-50

1Jesus, therefore, six days before the Passover, came to Bethany where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2So they made Him a supper there, and Martha was serving; but Lazarus was one of those reclining at the table with Him. 3Mary then took a pound of very costly perfume of pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4But Judas Iscariot, one of His disciples, who was intending to betray Him, *said, 5“Why was this perfume not sold for *three hundred denarii and given to poor people? ” 6Now he said this, not because he was concerned about the poor, but because he was a thief, and as he had the money box, he used to pilfer what was put into it. 7Therefore Jesus said, “Let her alone, so that she may keep *it for the day of My burial. 8“For you always have the poor with you, but you do not always have Me.”

9The large crowd of the Jews then learned that He was there; and they came, not for Jesus’ sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He raised from the dead. 10But the chief priests planned to put Lazarus to death also; 11because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and were believing in Jesus.

12On the next day the large crowd who had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, 13took the branches of the palm trees and went out to meet Him, and began to shout, “Hosanna! BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD, even the King of Israel.” 14Jesus, finding a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written, 15“FEAR NOT, DAUGHTER OF ZION; BEHOLD, YOUR KING IS COMING, SEATED ON A DONKEY's COLT.” 16These things His disciples did not understand at the first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written of Him, and that they had done these things to Him. 17So the people, who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead, continued to testify about Him. 18For this reason also the people went and met Him, because they heard that He had performed this sign. 19So the Pharisees said to one another, “You see that you are not doing any good; look, the world has gone after Him.”

20Now there were some Greeks among those who were going up to worship at the feast; 21these then came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and began to ask him, saying, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” 22Philip *came and *told Andrew; Andrew and Philip *came and *told Jesus. 23And Jesus *answered them, saying, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. 25“He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal.26“If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.

27“Now My soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour. 28“Father, glorify Your name.” Then a voice came out of heaven: “I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.” 29So the crowd of people who stood by and heard it were saying that it had thundered; others were saying, “An angel has spoken to Him.” 30Jesus answered and said, “This voice has not come for My sake, but for your sakes. 31“Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. 32“And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself.” 33But He was saying this to indicate the kind of death by which He was to die. 34The crowd then answered Him, “We have heard out of the Law that the Christ is to remain forever; and how can You say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this Son of Man?” 35So Jesus said to them, “For a little while longer the Light is among you. Walk while you have the Light, so that darkness will not overtake you; he who walks in the darkness does not know where he goes. 36“While you have the Light, believe in the Light, so that you may become sons of Light.”

These things Jesus spoke, and He went away and hid Himself from them. 37But though He had performed so many signs before them, yet they were not believing in Him. 38This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet which he spoke: “LORD, WHO HAS BELIEVED OUR REPORT? AND TO WHOM HAS THE ARM OF THE LORD BEEN REVEALED?” 39For this reason they could not believe, for Isaiah said again, 40“HE HAS BLINDED THEIR EYES AND HE HARDENED THEIR HEART, SO THAT THEY WOULD NOT SEE WITH THEIR EYES AND PERCEIVE WITH THEIR HEART, AND BE CONVERTED AND I HEAL THEM.” 41These things Isaiah said because he saw His glory, and he spoke of Him. 42Nevertheless many even of the rulers believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they were not confessing Him, for fear that they would be put out of the synagogue; 43for they loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God.

44And Jesus cried out and said, “He who believes in Me, does not believe in Me but in Him who sent Me. 45“He who sees Me sees the One who sent Me. 46“I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness. 47“If anyone hears My sayings and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. 48“He who rejects Me and does not receive My sayings, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day. 49“For I did not speak on My own initiative, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me a commandment as to what to say and what to speak. 50“I know that His commandment is eternal life; therefore the things I speak, I speak just as the Father has told Me.”

JOHN 12:01-09

Now he said this, not because he was concerned about the poor, but because he was a thief, and as he had the money box, he used to pilfer what was put into it

The issue for Judas was not that he needed money—he apparently had free access to the disciple’s sizable purse—Judas liked to control the money and he didn’t like to see it going to others. A pound of pure nard would be worth about a year’s worth of a laborer’s wages in Jesus’ day. That could have been a sizable donation to the purse that Judas controlled. Instead, Mary uses the funds to buy oil to anoint Jesus’ feet, a symbolic gesture that Judas saw as wasted.

Thomas already said that if Jesus was going to Jerusalem, they might as well go there and die with him [John 11:16]. It seems apparent that those close to Jesus knew this was going to be his final trip to the temple and that the Religious Leaders were going to have him killed. Mary is simply giving Jesus his anointing in life rather than waiting until after he dies.

It wasn’t that Judas was guilty for being practical with the funds, he wanted to control them. Judas eventually sells out Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. That isn’t a fortune; it would be worth about 120 days wages for a farm worker.

As a historical footnote, that is also the amount Mosaic Law set for the price of a gored slave.

EXODUS 21:32

32“If the ox gores a male or female slave, the owner shall give his or her master thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned.

What becomes clear is that money itself was not the primary motivator for Judas. He didn’t steal it or sell out Jesus to become wealthy, he did it for control. If we examine the motive behind many dubious actions such as Judas’ we often find an obsessive need for control behind them as the true drive. Judas didn’t want the funds, he wanted to control them.

Behind the need for control is a fear of chaos or even simpler, just the fear of looking foolish. That is exactly why many adults have such a hard time learning a new language; the fear of looking foolish. But we can’t learn if we don’t make foolish mistakes. The attempt to insulate ourselves from looking foolish is a terrible motive for many people. Unless we embrace a childlike approach to being reasonably “out of control” we cannot grow.

Unfortunately, I see many institutions hire lawyers to design bureaucratic policies to prevent losing face. In a litigious society risk mitigation is a billion-dollar industry. But at what point does risk mitigation become oppression of the poor?

Having worked in the institutions of religion, education, social services and corrections, I’m used to seeing ways institutions protect themselves from risk by burdening the least of these—those who can’t afford representation or advocacy—with layers of hoops that keep them either poor or vulnerable. In the process, we’ve really just institutionalized Judas’ role.

We would do well to have advocates in our legal and HR Departments who review policy solely from the perspective of how it might inhibit the vulnerable. “What will the effect of this policy be on those who are underrepresented? Will it make it hard for them to defend themselves or move out of poverty? Will it add impediments or reduce them?”

A second question, we must also ask is, “Why would Jesus put Judas in charge of the cookie jar?” Certainly, Jesus was an expert on human behavior and cognition, did he not also bear some responsibility for Judas’ situation? Judas could not have received his responsibility and position without approval from Jesus.

It makes a lot of people uncomfortable to think about leadership responsibility and that, as leaders, we have a responsibility—to the best of our ability—to make sure we don’t put people where we know they will fail. Didn’t Jesus also have this responsibility? If John and the other disciples knew that Judas was “pilfering the money box,” Jesus must have known as well. From the way that John describes it, this wasn’t a situational issue for Judas, this was a character fault. What John seemingly points to is a long-term compulsive relationship with money. This is the type of relationship that Paul discusses with his young mentee, Timothy.

1 TIMOTHY 6:9-10

9But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. 10For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

There is a lot of condemnation placed upon Judas’ shoulders, but what responsibility does Jesus bear as his intimate leader? If we know someone is struggling with a compulsion, it is our responsibility as mentors, parents, teachers or leaders to make sure that person isn’t put into a position where they cannot resist a temptation, while helping them develop the tools to deal with the issue.

It is a temptation to seek a theory of a perfect Jesus and perhaps create justifications for Jesus’ oversight of Judas. But is my faith also strong enough to say that Jesus might have erred in this relationship and make sure I learn from it?

“For you always have the poor with you, but you do not always have Me.”

Throughout history, misinformed amateurs and theologians have used this statement to justify the presence of the poor around us. But clearly, to say that Jesus is justifying poverty and ignoring it would be a gross misinterpretation of the essence of the Gospel. Clearly, what Jesus is saying is, “You won’t always have me, but you will always have the poor to remind you of me.”

Those who are impoverished and/or vulnerable are the prophets of our time. They are the measurements of how well our society is doing in comparison to the standards set by the Old Testament and New against the proliferation of poverty. The vulnerable (least of these) remind us of how far we must go to reach a truly Gospel-Based Society.

Prophets are supposed to remind us of God’s presence in our lives and when we are not aligned with God’s precepts, their reminders have been quite unpleasant. Our experiences with poverty and injustice should always make us uncomfortable. Prophets seek to make us so uncomfortable that we actually take action.

JOHN 12:09-11

But the chief priests planned to put Lazarus to death also

Once the religious leaders could justify the death of one innocent, it was much easier to justify the death of another. The ball was rolling. What was Lazarus’ crime? He was distracting attention from the religious leaders, even more so, he was attracting attention to their incompetence. Jesus had power to heal the sick and raise the dead, the religious leaders only had the authority to enforce their laws—and that only with Roman support.

The process of legitimizing criminality towards others is usually similar:

· Dehumanize

Make the person (or people) less than human

· Categorize

Cast the person (or people) into one large category (they, them or those)

· Generalize

Make broad judgments based upon the worst aspects of their character and compare it to the best aspects of OUR character

· Legitimize

Legitimize actions against “those” people.

It’s worth asking, “At what point does the very act of living become a threat to religious and political authorities?”

Do I live in such a way that my life is a threat to those who are incompetent and in authority?

JOHN 12:12-19

“Hosanna! BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD, even the King of Israel.”

It is worth taking some time to examine these beautiful ancient words for the depth of their meaning and what Christ’s followers were saying and doing that first Palm Sunday. First of all, let’s examine that thousands of palm branches must have been used that day. Palm branches are huge, but they aren’t easy to get to. They are also heavy. In Palm Sunday services, only a few leaflets from palm branches are used so it’s easy to get the wrong impression of what was involved in lining the streets with palm branches. Which is actually a good analogy for most of what passes for Christianity today. It is like the palm leaflets we bring home from church compared to the real experience of laying an entire palm frond on top of a road crowded with shouting people and surrounded by nervous guards from both Rome and Jerusalem.

This WAS church. The term “ecclesia” meant a riot in the streets and Roman law designated a gathering of three people in conversation could be classified as a riot. This “church service” was what church is supposed to look like.

The words the crowds were chanting could be translated as, “We rejoice because the perfect Word of God that we have been expecting to come in the authority of the Lord of Lords and only true King has arrived.”

If that didn’t worry the Jewish Religious leaders and Roman political leaders, nothing would. It is amazing that Rome didn’t unleash its soldiers on the crowd immediately. This was a spontaneous act of deep defiance by those present and laying down their palms to welcome Jesus to Jerusalem. Perhaps they were carried away by the moment with joy over Lazarus’ resurrection or Jesus’ entry into the city. But it would not escape the crowd that what they were doing was highly illegal and punishable by death.

This was not some hyped-up joy that comes with the mood of the day’s music, this was an overwhelming joy—in the face of oppression—overcoming the senses and sensibilities of the gathered people.

· Hosanna! Hosanna, [G5614] save, we pray

· Blessed, eulogeō, [G2127], to praise, to speak well of, to bless

· Who comes, erchomai, [G2064], to come, go, arrive, to enter, expected

· In the name, onoma, [G3686] name, authority, cause

· Of the lord, kurios, [G2962], lord of lords, master, authority

· King, basileus, [G935], King of Kings,

· Israel, Israēl, [G2474], the name of the Jewish people and their land

“FEAR NOT, DAUGHTER OF ZION; BEHOLD, YOUR KING IS COMING, SEATED ON A DONKEY's COLT.”

Perhaps realizing what a risk his followers were placing themselves in, Jesus responds by speaking to their fears. He calls them Daughters of Zion, a reference to the prophecies of his arrival from the Old Testament.

ZECHARIAH 9:9

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!

Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem!

Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, Humble, and mounted on a donkey, even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

If a King rode into a city on a horse, it was a sign of war, if he came in on a donkey, it was a sign of peace. Jesus rides in on a Donkey’s colt. Many believe that the reason he rode a colt is to symbolize the New Testament in contrast to the Old. The Old Testament was clarified by its laws, the New would be built upon relationships. What is my religion built upon? Rule-following or relationship-building?

Fear, Phobeō, [5299], to be awestruck, to flee in terror,

He who comes, Erchomai, [2064], to arrive, to enter, to be expected

JOHN 12:20-26

Philip came and told Andrew; Andrew and Philip came and told Jesus

Philip has a Greek name and may have spoken Greek. Non-canonical books tell us that Philip went on to preach in Greece, Libya and Phyrgia. These are substantial distances and depending how far north he went in Phyrgia (east of Greece and North of Cyprus), he would have been one of the most-traveled of Jesus’ initial 12 apostles.

Philip could be known as the Liaison Apostle. He was present in Bethsaida when Jesus originally called Andrew and Peter (John 1:43), he then rushed off to find Nathanael (John 1:45).

It is Philip whom Jesus asks about what to do with the bread brought to the apostles in the desert. This could only mean that Philip was at the front of the crowd gathering bread from the people.

At the forefront and to the frontier, always seeking new friends for Jesus. Could that describe my faith? Am I a Liaison Apostle, always seeking to create new relationships for the Christ?

“He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal.”

Here is a glimpse into Christ’s mind regarding eternal life and heaven. Heaven is eternal fullness of life. Hell is not a place of fire and brimstone; it is a place of empty, selfish living. What is it that makes life full? Christ tells us here it is living for others.

Loving our own life and choosing selfishness is the opposite of the life of eternal fullness Christ offers his followers. It is incapsulated in the prayer of the Roman Centurion for his servant (Matthew 8:5-13).

The Roman Catholic tradition of the communion prayer uses this petition incorrectly when followers say, “Lord I am not worthy to receive you, but only say the word and I shall be healed.”

The Centurion actually says… “and my servant shall be healed.” The only “I” in the supplication is, “I am not worthy…” In fact, “I” is the furthest thing from the Centurion’s mind. It is his servant whose healing he seeks. Our perfect prayer should always be to hold the least acceptable in our hearts and ask, “Lord, how can I serve this person today?”

MATTHEW 8:05-13

5And when Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, imploring Him, 6and saying, “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, fearfully tormented.” 7Jesus *said to him, “I will come and heal him.” 8But the centurion said, “Lord, I am not worthy for You to come under my roof, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9“For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.” 10Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled and said to those who were following, “Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel. 11“I say to you that many will come from east and west, and *recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven; 12but the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” 13And Jesus said to the centurion, “Go; it shall be done for you as you have believed.” And the servant was healed that very moment.

Who, near me, is largely hidden from others but needs to be served today? How can I be gracious to that person?

Life, Zōē, [2222], to be fully alive

Eternal, Aiōnios, [166], forever

JOHN 12:27-36

But for this purpose I came to this hour. “Father, glorify Your name.”

What is the purpose for which you came to this world? Jesus says that his purpose was to glorify God’s name. The term for name also means cause and authority. It has also been used for the term, character. Someone’s name was their character. Jesus came to bring praise—to magnify and honor—God’s name. God’s cause, authority and character.

If we are followers of Christ, then our cause can be no different. We are here to glorify God and the way we can do that is to live in his character.

This purpose I came [2064] Erchomai; arrived, entered, expected, give, grown, lighting, turned, went

· Glorify, Doxazō [1392], glory, magnify, praise, honor

· Name, Onoma [3686], name, authority, cause

“While you have the Light, believe in the Light, so that you may become sons of Light.”

What does it mean to be children of the light? In a healthy family, children do not earn their approval or belonging, it is a gift of birth. Though there may be discipline, they need not fear abandonment or needless suffering, all correction is aimed at growth. Love is an unconditional gift offered by a parent that seeks only the dignity of the child—even when that child does not seek their own dignity.

At times the loving parent will be affectionate and at times stern, but never fickle. The loving parent is constantly seeking the best for their child. Thus, the first name God reveals to humanity is “YHWH; I AM WHO AM.” Richly meaning, “I am who I need to be in order to reach you.”

To be a child of the light is to offer this love to others in order that God might reach them.

· Light, Phos [5457], from Phainō, [5316], bring to light, appear, shine

JOHN 12:36B-43

“HE HAS BLINDED THEIR EYES AND HE HARDENED THEIR HEART, SO THAT THEY WOULD NOT SEE WITH THEIR EYES AND PERCEIVE WITH THEIR HEART, AND BE CONVERTED AND I HEAL THEM.”

These words by Isaiah come from his chapter on the Suffering Savior [Is. 53:1]. The specific verse above is from Isaiah 6:9-10.

This is a case of people who moved from “would not” to “could not.” They moved from a Mindset, to a Set Mind. A mindset includes my beliefs and they are stable, but not concrete. I might change my mindset with evidence that it is incorrect. Isaiah and Jesus are talking about people with set minds that would not change—no matter what evidence to the contrary fell before them. Because they refused to see the miraculous when it was right in front of them (the raising of Lazarus), they soon were locked in their own biases and understanding would no longer be available to them.

It is not unusual for people in power who have “Set Minds” to set policies to protect their shallow and fragile beliefs.

All of us risk the possibility of intentional blindness when our eyes are locked by our perceptions. Closed-mindedness is a way of living, not just a way of seeing. We are closed-minded because of our fears—specifically our fear of change that could lead to a perceived loss of control. The religious leaders chose to close their minds to the works of Jesus and soon their closed-mindedness became a way of living/a way of leading, then finally a way of policing others.

Just as there are habits of closed-mindedness, there are intentional habits of open-mindedness. Open-mindedness does not mean you believe everything you hear or accept whatever people say as truth. It means you start with an open mind and then weigh the unbiased information against facts and values.

Nevertheless many even of the rulers believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they were not confessing Him, for fear that they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God.

As I write this, we are in the midst of a massive world pandemic. It would go away if people would vaccinate. While some people in the world do not yet have access to the vaccine, others in the developed nations are refusing to vaccinate. Most of those denying the vaccine are receiving false information from social media about the pandemic then passing it on in their own social media. Despite the fact, that not having a vaccine means you will inevitably get the virus; people still cling to their falsehoods.

However, in some areas of the developed nations, people are going to get their vaccine shots in secret. One hospital in Missouri has even started a privacy wing for those who want to get a vaccine without anyone else knowing. Meanwhile, some teens are sharing how they are getting their shot without their anti-vaxxing parents knowing.

One couple, from the United States tried to fake their way into Canada with false vaccination records. Not only did they turn away a vaccine, but they lacked the maturity to own up to the consequences and risked infecting others.

I see this as similar to the rulers who believed in Christ but kept silent because of the Pharisees. The Pharisees were a very powerful faction in Jewish society at Jesus’ time, but like all leadership—they only had the power they were given by others, and in this case, other leaders.

This is like the GOP leaders who follow Trump while he purports his big lie that he won the 2020 election. Doing so undermines the constitution of the United States and is empowering anarchy. Some people even made a golden statue of Trump to take to a Republican National gathering (CPAC—Conservative Political Action Conference).

Many Republican leaders—and conservative pundits—have been like Trump, undermining the efforts to combat this worldwide virus. In the meantime, many of those same leaders have secretly been vaccinated and follow CDC guidelines themselves. This is like the leaders above who, “loved the approval of man rather than the approval of God.”

The word, Approval could also be substituted for praise, glory or honor. I was once told that children are approval-seeking machines, but my experience with hard-to-reach teens tells me that approval is less important than attention. As children, we will do whatever-it-takes to get attention and some adults never grow out of that trait. For some adults, attention-seeking becomes an obsession, it becomes compulsive, meaning that receiving attention is so important that they will even do harmful behaviors to receive it.

Though we might overcome the compulsion towards approval, we are all never really beyond the need for approval. The fine line is what we will do and how far we will go to get it. Are we willing to sacrifice our own values or cause damage to others/ourselves for the sake of attention?

· Approval, Doxa [1391], glory, honor, approval, praise

John 12:44-50

I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world

If Christ did not come to judge the world, why are so many of his followers determined to do so? John also makes this statement in John 3:17 and in John 8:15-16. People become judgmental when their faith is hollow and their confidence is empty. This is true especially about religion but could apply to any belief system. Judgementalism is a sure sign of poor self-awareness and low self-confidence. The more judgmental a person is the more you can be sure they don’t have confidence in what they’re peddling.

We are most like Jesus when we are confident and supportive of others and least like him when we are angry and judgmental. Research indicates that we are loudest when we are least confident (Wall Street Journal, Why Do We Shout When We Argue, Dr. Vanessa Bohns, August 21, 2021). The same research also indicates that the more assertive we become, the less persuasive we are. I’m convinced a person is unsure of their beliefs when they display the following qualities.

1. They are loud

2. They are belligerent

3. They are judgmental

4. They are positional

5. They focus on feelings rather than facts

6. The angrier they become, the less control they have of their emotions

7. Discussions become diatribes filled with overgeneralizations, anecdotes and absolutes

8. Friends or peers are used as “proof” of validity rather than actual research

· Judge, Krinō [2919], root of the word, Krisis, to judge, sue, determine, decide

· Save, Sōzō [4902], cure, safely, ensure salvation, preserve, made well