Well, let's go to John chapter
12 for our study this evening. We'll be looking in John the
12th chapter. I direct your attention first
of all to the first verse of John chapter 12, then Jesus six
days before the Passover He came to Bethany. Bethany, of course,
is where Mary and Martha and Lazarus lived. It was only a
couple of miles from Jerusalem. Back in the previous chapter,
we saw the Lord Jesus in the city or the village of Bethany.
And there He raised Lazarus from the dead. But then He left Bethany. He knew that the Jews had convened
and agreed that he should be killed, he should be put to death.
The leaders of the Jewish religion all gathered together and they
decided something had to be done about Jesus of Nazareth. And
so they sent the word out if anybody knew where he was. They
were to give that report to the Jewish leaders. and he would
be put to death. Therefore, we read, if you look
back in chapter 11, in verse 54, Jesus therefore walked no
more openly among the Jews. Now it wasn't that he feared
them, and it wasn't that he was avoiding death. After all, He
came into this world to die. He came to give His life a ransom
for many. This is not a case of our Lord
realizing that here's all this opposition against Him, and so
He's going to leave village of Bethany lest they take him and
put him to death and he doesn't want to die and so he's escaping
from them. That's not the case at all. He
knew when he came into this world he was on a mission of mercy,
a mission that would take him all the way to the cross of Calvary.
It's the reason he entered into the world to save his people
from their own sinfulness. He had told his disciples that
he had to be betrayed. He had to suffer many things.
He had to be crucified. He had to be raised again. These
things were necessary. And He's not trying to escape
death here in John 11, 54, when it says, He walked no more openly
among the Jews. Not at all. It was for this reason
He came into the world to give His life. A ransom for many. His death was prophesied throughout
the Old Testament. You read Isaiah chapter 53. I
was re-reading that passage of Scripture again today. It reads
as though His death had already taken place. He was wounded for
our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace
was on Him with His stripes. We are healed. All we like sheep
have gone astray. We've turned every one to his
own way. But the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
It reads as though it's already happened. Isaiah chapter 53. It pleased the Lord to bruise
Him. God put him to grief. That's
what it says in Isaiah 53. When thou shalt make his soul
an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong
his days, the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. It reads as if it's already happened.
It reads that way because of the certainty of it happening. He came to die. He came to lay
down His life. There's no other way for poor
sinners like you and me to be reconciled to God except by the
death of Christ Jesus. The Father gave to the Son of
God a multitude which no man can number. Before the world
was made, it's called the elect of God. This election of grace
was a wonderful thing. God chose this multitude. A multitude
no man can number. He set these apart and said,
these are my people. And the Lord Jesus came and redeemed
these people. He put away all the iniquities
of these people. He brought in for these everlasting
righteousness. In fact, we read he's the lamb
slain before the foundation of the world. No, he's not endeavoring
here in John 11, 54. He's not endeavoring to escape
death, but rather he will make certain that things happen on
his timetable and not theirs. The Lord Jesus is going to die,
but He's not going to die until it was the will of God. Earlier, in John chapter 10,
He said, I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd giveth His
life for the sheep. He said, I have the power to
lay down my life, and I have the power to take it again. He
said, no man takes my life from me. Why, nobody could have arrested
the Lord Jesus Christ unless it was the will of God. We know
that. No man could take the Lord of
glory. No band of soldiers could arrest
Him and ever hold Him unless it was His will to be taken.
And when they beat Him, when they crowned Him with a crown
of thorns and all the mockery and all the rest and all the
crucifixion, it could never have happened unless it was the will
of God. He died by divine appointment. He's not trying to escape death
just before his crucifixion, first of all just for the trial,
and the crucifixion when they came to arrest him in the garden. You remember Simon Peter pulled
out his sword and he cut off the ear, the right ear of Malchus,
who was a servant of the high priest. And then the Lord Jesus
bent over. Peter's sword must have been
really sharp because he severed that ear right off. And the Lord
Jesus bent over and picked up that ear and reattached it to
Malchus' head. That's a miracle. And then He told Simon Peter,
He said, put up your sword. Put up your sword. which my Father
has given me, shall I not drink it?" That's the cup of wrath. That's the vial of the judgment
of God that was due for His people because of all the sins that
we were charged with. Now, the Lord Jesus would never
seek to shirk that which was ordained for Him from eternity.
the death of the cross. He left because he's not going
to die until the appointed hour arrives. As somebody said, man
proposes, but God disposes. In other words, man makes his
plans, has his purposes, just like the Sanhedrin, That's the
most influential religious body of judges in all the land of
Israel. And they all said, thumbs down
on Jesus of Nazareth. We're going to destroy Him and
we're going to take Him. And if you know where He's at,
you better give us a report or you'll be in trouble. But they can't take Him. Even
though they wanted to. No matter what their devices
were, nevertheless the counsel of the Lord, that shall stand. That's what it says in Proverbs
19.21. And so, our Lord Jesus leaves
the area. He goes into Ephraim. He stays
there teaching His disciples. And now He reappears in Bethany. Bethany. The word has two meanings. First of all, Bethany means the
house of dates. Date trees there. Here's the second meaning though.
The house of affliction. That's what Bethany means. The
house of affliction. I wonder if I might be speaking
to a child of God this evening under heavy affliction, distress,
adversity, anguish, tribulation, trouble and trial. The Lord Jesus visits those houses
of affliction. There's an interesting reference,
would you look with me in Isaiah chapter 63? Let me show you the great compassion
and the loving kindness of our God, His mercy. It's seen here
in Isaiah chapter 63. He's speaking of the children
of Israel. And we know that the children
of Israel in the Old Testament, they pictured in some ways the
bride of our Lord Jesus Christ. And in Isaiah chapter 63, it
says in verse 8, for He said, He said, Surely they are My people,
children that will not lie. So He was their Savior. Now remember,
they were a type of the church. Not in every way, but in many
ways. It's like He's our Savior. Look
at verse 9. In all their afflictions, He was afflicted. What does Bethany mean? A house
of affliction. And here, in all their affliction,
He was afflicted, and the angel of His presence. Who is that? of Christ Jesus. The angel of
His presence rescued them. He saved them. He delivered them
in His love and in His pity. He redeemed them. And He bared
them. And He carried them all the days
of old. Now obviously, the Lord Jesus
doesn't of having the affliction Himself. What this means is when
it says, in all their affliction, He was afflicted, it means that
He is a sympathetic Savior. He comes to His people just when
we need Him. How many of you have ever sung
the song, and I don't think it's in our song, but, Just when I
need Him most. Just when I need Him most. Jesus
is near to comfort and cheer just when I need Him most. You know that, I'm sure. Just
when I need Him most. The Lord knows exactly when to
visit the house of affliction. He is indeed a sympathetic Savior. This shows His tender compassion
toward His people, and He sends the angel of His presence, that
is, the angel of the covenant, His own dear Son. And so here
in John chapter 12, our Lord Jesus goes to the house of distress,
He goes to the house of affliction, that is, He goes to Bethany.
He goes to Bethany. I think of another song, who
can cheer the heart like Jesus? By His presence, all divine. The hymn writer said, true and
tender, oh, pure and precious, oh, how blessed to call Him mine. How many times has He visited
your house of affliction and cheered your heart? Well, I'll
tell you, He's visited this house many times. And just His very
presence, as He uses His Word, He can speak the most soothing,
comforting words in order to calm the troubled soul. I remember when my dad died,
and I was an assistant pastor that time. I'd been to several
funerals, but I'd never had a funeral before, and my brother and I
agreed that we would conduct the service, and he would give
a eulogy for dad, and I would bring the message. And I felt
so needy and so helpless, And yet the Lord was with me, and
He sustained me, and I know for a fact the Lord gives sustaining
grace. His grace is fully sufficient
for every need. And you know, He knows just when
to visit us in our house of affliction. And I'm sure several of you know
by experience, the visits, the sweet visits of the Savior that
He's made to you, in your heart. And maybe all around was troubles,
trials, maybe other people were greatly dismayed. And yet, even
in the midst of a storm, you could be calm. That's due to the presence and
the grace of our Lord. So, the Lord Jesus goes to Bethany. One last visit. In fact, this
is the title of the message. Last visit to Bethany. I don't
know how many times He had visited Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, during
his public ministry. But this is the last one. And
it's a sweet visit. One last visit to Bethany. There are several things. I'll
give them to you briefly. Number one, I see in the first
verse that this is the time of celebrating the Passover. Then Jesus, six days before Passover,
He came to Bethany with the Jews, the observance of the Passover.
Hey, that was a big deal, right? I mean, they had to attend. Every
male had to attend the Passover. Our Lord Jesus, this is His fourth,
Passover during His public ministry. But this is the end of the Passover.
It's the last one. And the reason it is the last
one is because our Lord Jesus is the Passover Lamb. We know
what the Passover pictured, and it reminded all of the Israelites
of back in those days when they were in bondage in Egypt. And
the Lord brought them out of their bondage. He liberated them
by His own power. They didn't have any ability
to do that. They didn't have the wherewithal
to defeat the Egyptian army, but the Lord did. And He brought
them out. Not a hoof was left behind. He
redeemed them all by the blood of the Passover lamb. Our Lord Jesus, now He goes to
Bethany. He's on His way to Jerusalem
to observe the fourth Passover during His public ministry. And
He's anxious to do it. In fact, there's a verse of Scripture,
you don't have to turn to it, but it's in Luke 22 and 15. He told His disciples, Desire,
I have desired to eat the Passover with you before I suffer. I desire to do this. I tell you,
it's very hard to describe the fullness of the meaning of that
word desire because the way he expresses it with desire, I have
desired. And that first word desire means
with great craving. I've desired to eat this Passover
with you. And actually, that word desire,
with desire, other places in the New Testament, that word
is translated lust. Now that's the negative aspect
of the word, but what it means is a tremendous internal craving
that can't be kept down. Now the negative side of that,
of course, there's a sinful lust that you and I commit and all
men and women commit. But what that word means is intense
desire and craving that can't be kept down. And this is the
word our Lord uses. I have an intense desire. I just absolutely crave. I long to eat this Passover with
you, because it's the last Passover, and then He's going to give His
life a ransom for His people. After all, with the celebration
of this Passover, the ordinance of the Passover will cease forever.
Why is that? Because Christ, our Passover,
has been sacrificed for us. He's given His life. in order
that we would live. So here is, first of all, a celebration
of the Passover. Here's the second thing I see
here. Communion with Jesus. Verses
2 and 3, they made Him a supper. They made Him a supper. Martha,
she served. Lazarus was one of them that
sat at the table with Him. And then Mary, well, she took
a hound the ointment of spikenard very costly, and she anointed
the feet of Jesus, wiped His feet with her hair, and the house
was filled with the odor, the fragrance of the ointment." Here's
communion with Jesus. He sits at the table with them.
Oh, what sweet communion. And you know, in a sense, in
a very real sense, as we gather together tonight, We're having
communion with the Lord Jesus Christ. We're having fellowship
with the Savior. This is like a supper. A spiritual
supper. That's what this is. It's a spiritual
supper. And the guest that we've invited
to be with us is the Lord of glory. And we say, oh Lord Jesus,
meet with us. Be our guest that we might commune
with you, that we might fellowship with you. Listen, our first and
foremost reason for being here tonight is to fellowship with
and honor and glorify the Lord Jesus Christ. That's why we're
here. You know, at your house, As at
our house, when we eat together, that's a joyful time, because
I like to eat. I like to sit at the table and
eat. But I'll tell you what's special
when you have a guest. It's kind of nice to have a guest,
to have a visitor, to have somebody come for dinner. You invite somebody
for dinner. Hint, hint, I'm available. And it makes it even more special. And that which makes our meeting
together more special and beneficial to all of us is our guest of
honor, Christ the Lord. Christ the Lord. We invite the Savior to be with
us. We long for fellowship with Him.
We long for communion with Him. And the Lord Jesus even says
to His church in Revelation 3.20, Behold, I stand at the door and
knock. If any man hear My voice and
open the door, I will come in to him. I'll sup with him. That's what He says. I'll sup
with him. We'll have a meal together. Oh,
not a literal meal. A spiritual meal. And we say
to the Lord of glory, Oh Lord, be with us and You feed us. You feed us. You minister to
us. Here's the third thing I see
here. A costly anointing. She takes this very expensive
ointment, which they say is it would cost the equivalent of
a year's wages for the amount of the ointment that she bought. She anointed the feet of Jesus.
Now we know this. It was traditional back in those
days if a guest came to your house for the feet of the guest
to be washed. But you didn't do the washing.
That's too lowly a job. That was what the servant did.
Right? That's what the servant did.
But Mary, she washes the Savior's feet. But more than that, More
than that, after anointing his feet with this expensive ointment,
so fragrant, so special, she did what a respected woman back
in those days would never do in public. A respected woman
would never do this in public. She let her hair down. Why, that
was considered to be indecent in the first century in the Mideast
culture. In fact, likened to immoral,
because loose women did that. Prostitutes did that. The only
time a decent woman, a real lady, would ever let down her hair
was in the presence of her husband. That was the custom back in those
days. But Mary, she's not worried about
shame. She's not thinking about anything
other than this. I want to honor the Savior. And she lets down her hair. And
she wipes His feet with her hair. And oh, the fragrance just filled
the house. Everybody was blessed. I tell
you what, when the Lord Jesus is honored and magnified like
in our preaching service, it's like a wonderful fragrance fills
the house. It's a perfume. And all of God's
people are blessed. Oh, what a costly anointing this
was. Her love and her gratitude to
the Lord Jesus It just kind of bubbles over now. She's so thankful. What is she thankful for? He
raised her brother from the dead. And now He has come to their
house. He's the guest of honor. She's
beside herself. She wants to honor Christ Jesus
so much that she doesn't even worry about her reputation. She's not concerned about what
are people going to think of me. No, none of that at all. All she wants to do is honor
the Savior. Isn't that a wonderful thing?
All I want to do is honor the Savior. May we feel that way. All I want
to do is honor Christ. It's a costly anointing. But
here's the fourth thing. Criticism from Judas. Oh boy. Verse 4, Then one of his disciples,
Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, which should betray him, here's
what he said, Why wasn't this ointment sold for 300 pence?
and given to the poor. Oh, that sounds so pious. Sounds
like he's so concerned about those who don't have very much. Could have sold this for 300
pence. That's a year's labor. Given
it to the poor. But he didn't care about the
poor. Look at verse 6. This he said, and the Spirit
of God fills in the blanks here for us. This he said, not that
he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief. He had the bag. He's the treasurer of the group.
He was a very covetous man. That's evident in that he sold
the Savior for 30 pieces of silver. And He bare what was put therein. That is, He freely took from
the bag to satisfy His own covetous needs. Criticism from Judas. Let me
just say this and I'll move on. If you seek to honor Christ Jesus
only, not the flesh, not the will of man, Not the deeds of
man. You seek to honor Christ Jesus
and His substitutionary work alone? If you do that, get ready,
because those who honor Christ, the world has no use for them. The ungodly, they don't like
that. They say, well, you've gone overboard
in religion. You're a fanatic. How many times
do you go to church a week? Three or four times a week? What
are you, crazy or something? That's a bunch of fanatics over
there at 13th Street Baptist Church. That's the way the world
looks at it. And they say, all they talk about
is Jesus Christ. All they talk about is the blood.
All they talk about is redemption. All they talk about is His righteousness
freely imputed. That's all they ever talk about.
If you seek to honor Jesus Christ, be ready. The world The world
will have you for a feast of its own. That's right. They'll be so critical of you.
Just like Judas. But here's the fifth thing. Here's
a commendation from the Savior. Hey, she has a mighty defender. Somebody's listening to this.
The Lord Jesus. Verse 7, then said Jesus, leave
her alone. He's a wonderful defender. Leave
her alone. This is not sweet little Jesus
boy here. Here's the Lord of glory giving
a command. Here's a woman who's honoring
Him, who's worshiping Him, who's magnifying Him, and here's a
man who's a thief. And He's rebuking this woman,
and in essence, He's rebuking the Savior for allowing this
to go on. And Jesus said, I said, leave
her alone. I bet He did too. Against the day of my burying,
she hath kept this. She sees I'm going to die. She
knows I'm going to offer myself the sacrifice for the sins of
my people and I'm going to be buried. She's anointing me ahead
of time. Leave her alone. He says in verse 8, For the poor
always you have with you, but you don't have me with you always. Oh, what a commendation. How wonderful to have the Lord
Jesus Christ as your mighty defender. No wonder the psalmist said in
Psalm 35, plead my cause, O Lord, with them that strive against
me. And with the prophet Isaiah 38 verse 14, he said, O Lord,
I am oppressed. Undertake for me. Undertake for
me. And Job said, I would seek unto
God, and unto God would I commit my cause. And again, the psalmist
said in Psalm 119 and verse 54, plead my cause and deliver me,
quicken me according to Thy Word. Thank God for our mighty Defender. Here's the sixth thing, and I'll
be brief as I bring this to an end. Here's a curious crowd. Look at verse 9. Much of the
people, therefore, knew that He was there. And they came not
for Jesus' sake only, but that they might see Lazarus also,
whom He raised from the dead. You see, they should have come
to see Jesus only. That's why they should have been
there to see, to meet, to listen to, to learn from Jesus only. But the Scripture says they came
not for Jesus' sake only. They came to see Lazarus. They
came to see Lazarus. They're more interested in seeing
the One who was raised from the dead than they are in seeing
the One who raised the dead. Because you see, the natural
man wants to see a miracle. But they're not really interested
in the miracle worker who must do a miracle within us to save
us by His grace. And then here's the last thing. Here's a consultation to murder
Lazarus. Verses 10 and 11. The chief priests,
they consulted that they might put Lazarus also to death. Now
they've already consulted back in the previous chapter. that
they might put Jesus of Nazareth to death, but now they consulted
that they might also put Lazarus to death because by reason of
him, many of the Jews went away and believed on Jesus. They said, why in the world would
we want to kill Lazarus? What did he ever do? Well, I'll
tell you what. He's a living, breathing, walking
witness and testimony. to the sovereign power and authority
of King Jesus. So they said, we're going to
get rid of the evidence. We'll kill Him too. We'll just
kill them all. What they realize is their influence
and power over the people is becoming less and less as more
people flocked around Jesus and Lazarus. So they said, let's get rid of
Him too. But I'll tell you, there were
some people greatly blessed because the Lord visited the house of
affliction. May He visit your house. my house too. Let's sing a closing
song shall we?