Dial In with Jonny Ardavanis - Dial In - John 11:45-12:8 (Ep. 32)

Episode Date: May 13, 2020

Dial In is a devotional series with the intention of helping followers of Christ understand God’s word and love Him more. Jonny seeks to communicate the profound depth of scripture in a digestible and condensed format each weekday. The goal of the podcast is that our “minds would be renewed” as we behold who God is in His word. In this series, Jonny is walking sequentially through the Gospel of John.In this episode, Jonny covers John 11:45- John 12:8 where we see that Caiaphas unknowingly prophecies about the substitutionary work of Jesus Christ on the cross. We also see the extravagant love of Mary in this passage as she anoints the feet of Jesus. Watch VideosVisit the Website Follow on InstagramFollow on Twitter

Hey guys, my name is Johnny Artavanis, and this is Dial In. In this episode, we cover John chapter 11, verse 45, through John chapter 12, verse 8. These are the words of God. Let's view them as such in Dial In. John chapter 11, verses 45, through John chapter 12, verse 8. Many of the Jews, therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what he did believed in him, but some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the council and said,

what are we to do? For this man performs many signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation. But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, You know nothing at all, nor do you understand that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish. He did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but also to gather into one the children of God who are

scattered abroad. So from that day on, they made plans to put him to death. Jesus therefore no longer walked openly among the Jews, but went from there to the region near the wilderness, to a town called Ephraim, and there he stayed with the disciples. Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and many went up from the country to Jerusalem before the Passover to purify themselves. They were looking for Jesus and saying to one another as they stood in the temple, what do you think, that he will not come to the feast at all? Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where he was, he should let them know so that they might arrest him. 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 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. Jesus said, leave her alone

so that she may keep it for the day of my burial. For the poor you will always have with you, but you do not always have me. In chapter 11, we see that Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead. He cries out with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. And the heart of a man who had been dead for four days begins to beat, and he walks out of the tomb. The scene ended in our previous episode in verse 44, and that's exactly where we pick it up in verse 45. And at this point, everyone knew what had happened. The news of the resurrection of Lazarus had swept through the city of Jerusalem.

And in chapter 12, verse 9, large crowds are flocking to Bethany to see Lazarus, the guy who had been dead, who had now been brought back to life. The Pharisees catch wind of what Jesus had done. And what's interesting is that there's no plan to refute the miracle or to deny what had occurred. Rather, in verse 47, they are scratching their heads saying, What on earth are we to do? Jesus has done it again. This man performs many signs. They saw the signs.

They affirmed the signs. And instead of believing in the one who was God, Caiaphas, the high priest, says, If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him as the Messiah. And then the Romans will come and they will take away both our place and our nation. It is better that this one man, Jesus, should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish. What is he referring to? What does Caiaphas mean by this? Well, he's alluding to the reality that if more and more people start to believe in Jesus as the Messiah, they will come to him by force like they tried to do in John chapter 6

and crown him their long-awaited king of Israel. And when the Romans see this, they will come with their massive army and crush the Jews. So what's the solution that Caiaphas offers? Kill Jesus. We need to kill Jesus. It is better for this man, Jesus, to die than for the entire nation to be killed by the Romans. But unknowingly to Caiaphas, this is God's plan. And it is unknowingly prophesied by the one who is trying to kill Jesus. In the mind of Caiaphas, the substitution was this. If we kill Jesus, the Romans won't kill us. But in the mind of God, the substitution was this. My son will die so that you may have life.

Caiaphas here refers to the very heart of the Christian faith. Jesus is our substitute. He says it is better for one man to die than for the entire nation to perish. And consequently, it is better for Jesus to die than for all of the world to perish. I'm reminded of Genesis chapter 22, where Abraham is told by God to take his one and only son, Isaac, and sacrifice him because sin must be paid for. And as Abraham lifted up his knife to slay his one and only son, God told him to stop the knife and a substitute was found. A substitute was provided. But 2,000 years later on that same mountain, Jesus, God's own son,

would be the final substitute. There would not be another and there would never again be a need for a sacrifice because Jesus was the final and perfect sacrifice that we needed to make peace with God. 2 Corinthians 5.21 says, He became sin who knew no sin so that we might become the righteousness of God in Christ. God substituted Jesus for us. And the gospel writer John continues in verses 51 and 52 saying, He, Caiaphas, prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation and not for the nation only, but also to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad. The meaning here is that Jesus Christ died to gather Gentiles scattered around the world

whom God had chosen to be his children. Jesus did not come only to die for the Jews. He did not only come to save the Jews. He came to die and to save the world. We see that in John 3, for God so loved the world. And we see this in John 10, Jesus says, I have other sheep that are not of this fold. That is the Jewish fold. I must bring them also. And they will listen to my voice so that there will be one flock, all nations, one people. And we'll see this again in Revelation 5, where John says again, by your blood, Jesus, you have ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them into a kingdom. Jesus was the substitute, not only for the nation of Israel, but for the entire world. And they begin to further extend their plot to kill Jesus. Now,

as we transition to chapter 12, a celebration is being thrown for Jesus who just raised Lazarus from the dead. This is a thank you Jesus dinner. And from this point on in John's gospel, the remainder of this book covers the last week of Jesus's life. So the first half of John's gospel covers three years and the last half of his gospel covers one week. Verse one of chapter 12 says that this event that they're having, this dinner, is six days before the Passover, which means that this is six days before Jesus would be the final Passover lamb to satisfy God. Six days before Jesus is whipped and beaten and nailed to a cross. And there Jesus is having dinner with Lazarus, who was days before dead in a tomb. Now Mary walks into this dinner and she breaks open an expensive ointment and anoints the feet of Jesus and wipes the perfume with her hair. Imagine this. A dinner

party is going on. She breaks open this expensive ointment, pours it on the feet of Jesus, and begins to wipe it with her hair. Much could be said here, but what does this mean? What does this symbolize? In brief, this is a sign of the love and gratitude that Mary has for Jesus. This is lavish affection. There is not a doctrinal point that is being driven home in these verses. This account is just detailing someone who loves Jesus Christ. And in verse 3, it says that the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. Her worship of Jesus affected others around her.

This is always the way it is. But Judas was fuming. He says in verse five, this ointment could have been sold for 300 denarii and given to the poor. He explodes because he says this ointment is a year's wages. It could have been given to help those people. But the text says that his heart was not in blessing others. It was in blessing his own pockets. He wanted the money for himself because he was the treasurer of the disciples' money. He disguised his greed and his love for money and his love for power by ministerial strategy, financial stewardship, and a heart for the poor. Jesus tells him, leave her alone, Judas. She loves me. You will not always have me here. Jesus is worth far more than precious perfume. He is worthy of our entire life because he alone is the resurrection and the life. Like Mary, our response to Jesus should be nothing less than lavish affection and worship.

Stay down then.