In this episode, we delve into the complexities of the 12th chapter of John’s Gospel and explore how it vividly differs from the synoptic narratives. By examining the story of Lazarus, the anointing by Mary, and the unique use of terms like ‘synoptic’, we explore how these elements highlight the distinct nature of John’s writing. Our discussion doesn’t stop at comparisons; we consider the broader implications of Jesus’ relationships with key figures like Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, through thoughtful analysis.
Today we’re going to take an in-depth look at the 12th chapter of John’s Gospel. We’re going to answer the prayer of that last two verses that we sang, More about Jesus I would know. John is unique among the four Gospels. How many of you know what is meant by the term synoptic? Several do, many don’t. The synoptic gospels, the word synoptic in the Greek means seeing with one eye. The first three gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, are called synoptic gospels because they all essentially tell the story, the same story, in very much the same way. They’re different in many ways. They’re different enough that you realize that they are independent, but that they all saw the same thing, and they tell their story much the same way. John departs from that tradition. No one really knows why. All we can do at this late date is guess, speculate, ponder why it might have been. In my own opinion, I think he probably already knew what the three of the three Gospels had said. On the other hand, I also think that John was in a very much different place, and perhaps let’s call it a different time and place. Because it appears that he was, at the end of his life, all the way up in the Isle of Patmos off of Asia Minor. And his work was primarily done post-fall in Asia Minor. And he died in that part of the world at that time. So he wasn’t in the same place. If you read his gospel, also, certain things should dawn on you, although if you haven’t thought much about it, they won’t. For example, he will say things like the Feast of Tabernacles, a feast of the Jews. You don’t see that in Matthew or Mark or Luke. And the presumption is that they were writing to an audience that knew what those feasts were and didn’t have to explain it. John apparently was writing to Gentiles, and therefore you will see all kinds of little indications as you read through John. that his audience was different from the audience for which the first three gospels were written. And I think that accounts for at least some part of it. Also, I think he had encountered a different set of questions. We know from his letters, for example, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, that he had encountered a particular set of heresies that had begun to plague the early church. And if you want to try to get a feeling for this, and it may also explain some of the things that happen in his gospel. If you read those letters trying to grasp what in the world was going on up there, because John is the only one in the entire New Testament that speaks of the Antichrist. And he tells us that the Antichrist is already here in his time. It was there. And trying to grasp exactly what he was dealing with is worth your time and your effort. Because there’s not much new under the sun. The old heresies keep recycling back through again and again and again. And you can find a lot of them if you just go up to the Internet, to Wikipedia, or to the Roman Catholic Encyclopedia, and you start tracking down some of these things, you’ll find that very nearly every sort… a belief system that you’ll find out there today in Christianity existed within the first 300 years of the church. And they were arguing about it, trying to sort these things out, trying to get it all straight so that they could maintain a constant tradition for the years to come. In any case, chapter 12 tells a part of the story in ways that I think are unique to John. He begins by saying, Then Jesus, six days before the Passover, came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, which had been dead. And you know the story of Lazarus, how that he was sick, sick unto death, as it turned out. And they sent word to him. He was up north, and he knew that Lazarus was dying, and yet he delayed. He made no effort to get there until after Lazarus was dead, and every indication is he did it deliberately. He did it deliberately so that he could raise him from the dead because it was something that needed to be done. He also waited until the fourth day, waited until three full days had passed, which probably misses a lot of people. But the fact of the matter is, in Jewish custom, a person wasn’t really, you don’t trust the fact that they were dead until a certain amount of time had passed. One fellow that everybody thought was dead actually came back. He didn’t come back to life. He never was dead in the first place, but they thought he was. And he lived on, I think, and fathered four or five children after that. So it was a part of their custom. Since they couldn’t determine for sure like we can today when a person’s life is gone. I say like we can today. Sometimes we’re not sure when a person’s life is gone. Technology keeps pushing us beyond the edges all the time. But they just waited. That was their custom. To be sure before they finally sealed the tomb and the person could then be considered dead. So he brought Lazarus back to life after that full three days had passed. Okay, he went down there to Mary and Martha. Martha served. Lazarus was sitting at the table along with him. Mary, Martha, and Lazarus were siblings, two sisters and their brother. And they were, you have to read between the lines to get this. Nobody bothers to point it out exactly, although in a way they do. But they were extremely close to Jesus and were very important to him. you just kind of sometimes wish you knew a little bit about the, not the physical relationship, but the human relationships that existed between some people. It’s plain that among the 12, John was something of a favorite of Jesus. It’s very plain that Mary, Martha, and Lazarus were also very special to Jesus. Because as they were sitting at the table, Mary took a pound of ointment of spicknard, very expensive, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. And the whole house was filled with the fragrance of this ointment. Now, you have to understand, this is an act of great affection and tenderness. It makes me wonder if Mary sensed what was coming. In fact, she may have more than sensed. As close as they were to Jesus, I have really very little doubt that he told them what was coming. Fact is, he told the twelve what was coming, and they didn’t get it. It seems strange in a way, but it ought not to seem strange. I have got enough experience with telling people things they don’t get that I ought to understand that. So anyway, they told them they didn’t get it, but I have the distinct impression that Mary and Martha and Lazarus got it. And so Mary then comes to him on this occasion. She anointed his feet. Then said one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son. John goes to a little bit of pains here because there was more than one Judas. And he doesn’t want anybody making a mistake which Judas he’s talking about. Judas Simon’s son, which should betray him, asked, why wasn’t this ointment sold for 300 pence and given to the poor? He said this, not because he cared for the poor, But because he was a thief, John does not mince words. He was a thief and had the bag and carried what was there. The NIV says that this was a year’s wages. I don’t know how much you make in a year, but at the lowest of your wages, you start thinking about a pint, which is about the amount there was of this ointment that was worth a year of your labor. You’re talking about something pretty important. Jesus said, let her alone. Against the day of my burying has she kept this. I don’t know how long she saved for it. I don’t know how she planned for it. All I know is that at some point in time, Mary realized that they were going to have to bury Jesus. And she wanted to do this before his burial. Against the day of my burying has she kept this. The poor you have with you always. There is plenty of time to help the poor. But me you have not always. Now their privacy that they had at this little dinner did not last long. Too many of the people of the Jews knew that he was there, and they came not merely to see Jesus, but to see Lazarus also, whom he had raised from the dead. Lazarus almost became like a circus attraction. The word of what had happened had spread everywhere. And to know and actually lay your eyes on a man that had been absolutely graveyard, stone-cold dead, brought back to life by this man. Well, you know, you’d walk a little distance to see that man, to actually lay eyes on him, to see that he was real. Okay. But the chief priests consulted that they might put Lazarus to death because by reason of him, many of the Jews went away and believed on him. I, you know, I try. My training is such that I always try to see both sides of any question that come up. You know, that’s one of the things you learn in debate. You You have to figure out the case for, I mean, the case against. If you don’t have the case against, you don’t really have the case for, so you try to get on the other side of it. I can’t get there with these people. I just can’t. I mean, I can explain it at the level of politics, that they were scared to death that they were going to lose their position of power one way or the other. Either the people would throw them out or the Romans would throw them out, or they had people who rebelled against Rome, and the Rome would come in and destroy them all. They just had a feeling that their authority and their power was threatened by all this thing, so they thought the simplest solution was to get rid of Lazarus. And, of course, Jesus as well. They had a murderous spirit, which is hard to understand. On the next day, many people that were come to the feast, the Passover is the feast we’re talking about, And in case you haven’t figured it out, this is the last Passover that Jesus would keep in the flesh. On the next day, much people came to the feast when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. That’s really interesting because even the fact that they heard Jesus was going to be there increased the crowds that were present at the feast on this year. They took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him and cried, “‘Hosanna! Blessed is the King of Israel that comes in the name of the Lord!’ Do you have any idea how big that is? This is one of the huge issues that come up at this time. You know, Pilate said, well, let’s put a sign up there that says, here’s the king of the Jews, which offended a lot of Jews, but nevertheless, that’s what he said. He said, what I’ve written, I have written. But the fact of the matter is, this is what the people were thinking. This is the king of Israel. What that meant was they saw him not merely as the Messiah as we see him, but as a delivering Messiah who would actually come to power, throw the Romans out, restore the kingdom to Israel, and rule over Israel in a whole new reign of God’s justice. Okay. Then blessed is the king of Israel. It comes in the name of the Lord. And it’s a flat recognition on the part of the crowd that Jesus was the Messiah. Jesus, when he had found a young ass, sat there on it. It is written, Fear not, daughter of Zion. Behold, your king comes to you sitting on an ass’s coat. Now, what’s the connection between fear not and your king coming comes to you sitting upon an ass’s coat? Well, in the ancient world, horses were not means of transportation or implements of agricultural production. Horses were instruments of war. You rode a horse into battle. You hooked your horses up to chariots, and you drove your chariots into battle. Kings rode on a donkey or a mule. In fact, I don’t know how they put it in the NIV and all, but you have a King James Concordance. Just look up mule in the Old Testament, and you’ll see that there was considerable significance to the king’s mule. It was transportation. not war. Now what he’s saying here is, don’t be afraid. I’m not riding into town. I’m not accepting this triumphal entry as a conquering king. Don’t be afraid. I am meek and lowly, riding upon an ass’s colt. These things his disciples did not understand at first. But when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered these things were written of him and that they had done these things to him. That to me is really a fascinating thing and revealing of what had to happen in the years that followed Christ’s ascension. There was a long period of time here where the disciples stayed put in Jerusalem, sold stuff, and shared stuff together so that people could stay in what really amounted to the College of the Apostles. And day after day after day after day, they sat at the apostles’ feet and they memorized the story, the story of Jesus. Our old song, you know, tell me the old, old story of unseen things above. You know, I think earlier generations of hymn writers saw things like this in ways maybe we don’t. But it was clear that the telling of the story, the telling of the story, the clarifying of the story, because I have little doubt that the story was muddy in the minds of many people, and a lot of work had to be done of men sitting around in a circle and saying, well, I was there, I was standing right over there, and I saw this take place this way. Another one says, well, yeah, but you couldn’t see the other side of his body where he was. You didn’t see what I saw. And it was in this exchanging back and forth, back and forth of the events that they finally, and you know how it is, you think you have forgotten something, and then someone tells you something that reminds you, and bang, it’s back, and you do remember it. And this is all the stuff that was going on. So his disciples really came to understand that, after Jesus was ascensioned and over a period of time as they talked it over. The people, therefore, that were with him when he called Lazarus out of his grave and raised him from the dead bore record. They’d put up their right hand and testify, I was there, I saw it, he was dead, now he’s alive. So, for this cause, the people also met him because he had done this miracle. The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, don’t you see how you prevail nothing? The whole world is going after him. That was the way they saw it. And everything they did, everything they said, everything they tried, nothing was working. Then this astonishing thing happens, and one that underlines what they had just said. There were certain Greeks among them that came down to worship at the feast. The same came to Philip of Bethsaida and said, Sir, we would see Jesus. And Philip came and told Andrew, and Andrew and Philip told Jesus. This thing was really getting big fast. Word had spread. And to the Jews, the religious establishment, this thing was getting out of hand very rapidly. And Jesus answered them, his disciples, when they came to him and said, The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified. Now, what I just read to you, in what I just read to you, there is a little phrase that is so commonplace, it’s easy to read right over it and not realize what Jesus said. He said, the time has come that the Son of Man should be glorified. How did the people who heard him say that understand it? That, to me, is a fascinating question. This term, Son of Man, is used over 100 times in the Old Testament. Almost always, not always, almost always idiomatically as a synonym for a man, for a human being, for a person. Numbers 23, 19 will serve as an illustration of this. It’s a couplet. God is not a man that he should lie, neither the son of man that he should repent. In Hebrew poetry, Hebrew literature, the couplet is so common. It’s really helpful when you’re trying to discover the meaning of certain words when you know that they laid this thing out in parallel saying the same thing with a little variation but the same words. So basically what they understood was that being the son of man and being a man was roughly the same thing. But it isn’t unusual for an expression like this to be used in more than one sense. And we will see that it was. And Jesus answered them saying, The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified. Verily, verily, I say unto you, except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it remains alone. But if it dies, it brings forth much fruit. I have no idea how I would have taken that if I had been one of the twelve. If I had been standing there and heard him say that, I thought… Yes, and I would have wanted to know where he was going with this. Then he says this, and in a way, it’s almost as though he’s speaking to himself. He that loves his life shall lose it. He that hates his life in this world shall keep it to life eternal. If any man serve me, let him follow me. And where I am, there shall my servant be. And if any man serve me, him will my father honor. This is really profound because Jesus realized that they were coming to the crisis point, the tipping point, where something had to happen. It had just gotten too big. When people are coming from Greece down there saying, we’ve heard about this man, we want to meet Jesus. The Pharisees heard it. Jesus heard it. And he said, we are now to the place to where the Son of Man has to be glorified. And then he says, my soul is troubled. What shall I say? Save me for this hour? But for this cause I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name. And there came a voice from saying, I have both glorified it and I will glorify it again. The people that stood by heard it and said that it thundered. Others said an angel spoke to it. And Jesus answered and said, this voice came not because of me. but for your sakes. So you would know. I don’t know if he had to tell them what the voice said or if some of them more than likely understood what the voice said. And he said, now is the judgment of this world and now shall the prince of this world be cast out. Now that’s a startling statement when you pause to think about what he just said. It’s clearly a pivotal moment in time. Now Now is the judgment of this world. Now the prince of this world is cast out. Judgment is the Greek word crisis. Now is the crisis of this world. What changed at this time in history? Because we are at a tipping point. Everything is different from this time on. Hebrews 2, 14. Save your place. We’ll come back to John. Hebrews 2, verse 14. For as much then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also likewise took part of the same, that through death he might defeat him that had the power of death, that is the devil. That’s what he means when he says the prince of this world is cast out. Now, you have to study an awful lot to determine where all this is coming from and what it means. I’ll just recommend to you something I’ve written titled The Tracks of the Devil, in which I’d explore the events that took place when Daniel was visited by an angel who had to fight his way in past the prince of Persia. And it’s very evident as you read through that account that there are areas of the world who sit under certain princes that you and I cannot see and don’t even know are there and have no feeling. It’s another dimension, another spirit world, whatever you may want to call it. But they are there. And apparently there is one of them who is the prince of this world. It was under his dominion. It was his responsibility. And he is the one who has dominated a great deal of what’s happened in this world since that time. Now we can cast him out. Now we can bind him. Now we can get rid of him. Now, from this time forward, he’s finished. The prince of this world. Again, I mentioned the little booklet. I won’t bother trying to go down that road today, but it’s a fascinating study. The Prince of this World. Now is the judgment of this world. John 5, 21. For as the Father raises up the dead and quickens them, John 5, 21, even so the Son quickens whom He will. For the Father judges no man, but has committed all judgment to the Son. That’s a stunning statement when you think about that. The Father judges no man? And it raises all kinds of questions about the relationship between Father and Son. Why would that be? I’ve talked about it before. It is because the Son will have been through this life, will have suffered pain, will have suffered death. He has gone through it all, and now he understands. Now he knows, and more important, now we know that he knows that he is qualified to judge in things pertaining to this life. Anyway, he’s committed all judgment to the Son. Now is the judgment of this world. Now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to me. He said this signifying what death he would die. So I take from this, if I be lifted up equals signifying what death he would die. I would not have tumbled to that immediately, but the crowd did. Why? I don’t know. It was a different time, a different place. They were more aware of the circumstances than you and I might be. But the crowd absolutely tumbled to what he was saying. The people answered him, Now we have heard out of the law that Christ abides forever. And how do you say the Son of Man must be lifted up? Which means, how can you say he’s going to die when he’s supposed to abide forever? And he went on to say, and then they also asked, who is this Son of Man? So by this time, we have come to the place to where the crowd grasps, I assume the disciples grasped, something which has finally, you know, most of us I think nowadays understand is that the expression Son of Man has come to refer to the Messiah. There’s a reason for that which we’ll talk briefly about. I have to assume that To be lifted up in the terminology of the time meant crucifixion. The crowd understood that it meant it to mean death. But did you notice? Jesus did not say son of man when he said be lifted up. He said if I be lifted up, I will draw all men to me. The crowd had made the connection between the terminology son of man and Jesus. It was there. They saw it this way. Now, they didn’t quite know what to make of it all, but that’s what it does. The crowd understood him to be identifying himself as the son of man. You go back home tonight and read through that carefully, you’ll see. It has to be that way because of the sequence of the things that people said. Who is this son of man? They wanted to know, which means they understood it to mean more than just a human being, right? Has to be. And here we stumble across a pivotal concept in Christology. And Christology, to remind you, means the study of Christ or the Messiah. So, who indeed is this Son of Man? Again, mark your place there in John 12 because I want to trace this expression back to its roots, at least one of its roots, in Daniel the 7th chapter. Now, Daniel the 7th chapter is not an easy read. It’s not an easy read. It’s not easily understood. It’s awfully helpful if you understand a little bit about the history of the world that took place from the time of Israel’s captivity on down through Daniel’s day, let’s say all the way to the restoration of the second temple. This is why in Bible classes we always go through this and bore the students with it, at least they think they’re bored by it, because it’s important. If you don’t know it, all kinds of things are lost to you. Okay. Daniel 7, verse 1. In the first year of Belshazzar, king of Babylon, Daniel had a dream and visions of his head upon his bed. And he wrote the dream and told the sum of the matter. Now, this dream was a real light nightmare. Nebuchadnezzar, by the way, is gone. Belshazzar is now on the throne in Babylon, and the Persians have not yet come when this vision dream takes place. Daniel spoke and said, I watched until the wings were plucked and it was lifted up from the earth and made stand upon the feet like a man and a man’s heart was given to it. That’s Nebuchadnezzar and Babylon. Behold another beast, a second like a bear. It raised itself up on one side and had three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it. And they said to it, arise and devour much flesh. This is Persia, which has its origins in what we now today call Iran. In fact, some people who live in this country who are Iranian call themselves Persian because they can’t bring themselves to call themselves Iranians. I can understand that. After this, I beheld another like a leopard which had on the back of it four wings like a fowl. The beast had four heads, and dominion was given to it. Universally, this is understood to be Greece, Alexander, and the four generals who assumed power in the four different countries at that time after Alexander’s death. It’s just simple history following its way through, and Daniel saw it all before it happened. After this I saw in the night visions, and I had a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, strong exceedingly, great iron teeth. It devoured and broke in pieces and stamped with the residue with the feet of it, and it was different from any one that had came before. It had ten horns. Universally, the Roman Empire. This is what commentators say. I considered the horns, and behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom three of the first horns were plucked up by the roots, and behold, in his horn were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things. Some see this little horn as the papacy, which rose up in the Roman Empire. There’s volumes that have been written about the ten horns, the three plucked up, and all this kind of stuff. I’m not going there today, because what comes next is what’s of particular interest. I beheld until the thrones were cast down. In other words, this whole sequence of world-ruling empires is finished. I beheld till the thrones were cast down and the Ancient of Days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, the hair of his head like pure wool. His throne was like a fiery flame and his wheels like burning fire. Wheels? Well, yeah, sure. Ezekiel saw them, remember? Ezekiel saw the wheel within the wheel turning way up in the middle of the air as the old spiritual goes. The vision of God’s, somebody called it a mobile throne. I think what it is is a chariot that they’re seeing. The Ancient of Days. Who’s this? A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him. Thousands, thousands ministered to him and 10,000 times 10,000 stood before him. The judgment was set. Oh. The judgment was set. And the books were opened. That’s enough to send a chill down your spine. And I’ve heard a lot of sermons in my time from preachers who are trying to sober us all up and make you realize what you’ve done in your life, you’ve been written down in a book. And whenever the day of judgment comes, that book’s going to be opened up and you’re going to have to answer for everything you did. It’s not anything anyone should look forward to with aplomb. Unless, of course, you know that your sins have been covered. And you have an advocate on the right hand of the judge, as it were. Well, actually, your advocate is the judge in this case. But wait. Doesn’t Jesus say the Father judges no man? And here we are. People being judged. Verse 11. I watched until the beast was slain and his body destroyed and given to the burning flame. As concerning the rest of the beast, they had their dominion taken away, but their lives were prolonged for a season and a time. What does that mean? Well, there are so many avenues we could chase down on this that I don’t want to go into today, partly because I don’t understand them, partly because nobody does, and I think it’s just as well to notice them, remember them, and wait and see. I saw in the night visions, and behold, one like the Son of Man came with the clouds of heaven and came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given to him dominion and glory and a kingdom that all people, nations, and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which will not be destroyed.” There’s our Son of Man who is now on the scene. Now, this is a coronation. The Son of Man is now to judge the whole thing. Compare this to Matthew 24. Verse 29, Jesus said, Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, the moon will not give her light, the stars will fall from the heaven, and the powers of the heaven shall be shaken. Then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven, and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of Man coming. In the clouds of heaven with power and great glory, he will send his angels with a great sound of trumpet, and they will gather together his elect from the four winds from one end of heaven to the other. That’s another one of those times we read and surely hope we’re among those who get gathered together. Also, you have to compare it with Matthew 26, 63, when Jesus is on trial. And he says, this is Matthew 26, 63, Jesus held his peace, and the high priest answered and said, I adjure you by the living God, you tell us whether you are the Christ, the Son of God. And Jesus said to him, you have said. Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you shall see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of power and coming in the clouds of heaven. So while the Son of Man could, in certain contexts, refer just to a guy, In the context in which we’re reading, it refers to the Messiah, to the Savior, and to the Lord. Now, I go back to Daniel 7 because there’s something else here I think we need to think about briefly. I, Daniel, was grieved in my spirit and in the midst of my body, and the visions of my head troubled me. I came near to one of them that stood by, and I said, what is all this? What’s the truth of this? So he told me, and he made me know the interpretation of the things. These great beasts, which are four, are four kings which will arise out of the earth. But the saints of the Most High shall take the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever and ever and ever. I would be surprised if there aren’t some people who interpret that, that the Ancient of Days is Christ. And one like the Son of Man who stands before them and symbolically refers to the saints who are in their turn and under his direction to judge them. He says, I beheld and the same horn made war with the saints and prevailed against them, verse 21, until the Ancient of Days came and judgment was given to the saints of the Most High and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdoms. You know, visions like this are so far over our head that it beggars the imagination. You know, you’re left there, your head spinning and wondering, what does this mean, what does that mean? And much of it we simply will not know in this life. But they reveal that there is a reality, and they hint at its outlines so that we can look at it, think about it, and try not to adopt such hard and core positions that we divide ourselves one from another over it. Now, returning to John 12. The people answered him, We have heard out of the law that Christ abides forever. How do you say the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man? And Jesus said to them, Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness come upon you. For he that walks in darkness doesn’t know where he’s going. While you have light, believe in the light, that you may be the children of the light. These things spoke Jesus, and then he left them and hid himself from them. But though he had done so many miracles before him, yet they didn’t believe on him, that the saying of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke, saying, Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? But there is this interesting statement down in verse 42. Nevertheless, among the chief rulers also many believed on him. Among the chief rulers, as a matter of fact. But because of the Pharisees, they would not confess him lest they be put out of the synagogue. For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God. Jesus said in verse 48, He that rejects me and receives not my words has one that judges him. The word that I have spoken, the same will judge him in the last day. Now, the stuff that happens here is very sobering, all this John 12 stuff, especially when you realize that it is followed so closely by the Last Supper and the crucifixion and Jesus’ last days on the earth. John’s Christology is very high. He establishes Christ from the beginning. He establishes Christ as creator. Christ as the son of man and son of God to whom all judgment is committed. Christ is the giver of life to anyone and everyone that he will give it to. Christ is alpha and omega, the beginning and the end. All these things come to us primarily from John’s gospel and John’s letters and the book of Revelation. And they are supported by the scriptures as well. In Revelation 1, verse 7, Behold, he comes with clouds, and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him. All kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, amen. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, says the Lord, which is, which was, and which is to come, the Almighty. Who’s talking? Father or son? I, John, who am your brother, companion in tribulation, and the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle called Patmos for the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. And I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day and heard behind me a great voice like a trumpet saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last. What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches in Asia. And I turned around to see the voice that spoke with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden-stamped candlesticks, and in the midst of the seven candlesticks, one like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, girded around the paps with a golden girdle. His head and his hairs were white as wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were as a flame of fire. His feet were like fine brass, as if they burned in the furnace, and his voice was like the sound of Niagara Falls. He has in his right hand seven stars. Out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword. His countenance was like the sun shines in his strength. And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. He laid his right hand on me and said, Fear not. I am the first and the last. I am he that lives and was dead. And behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And have the keys of hell and of death. Who’s talking? And the Father, the Father didn’t die. Jesus died. Christ is the beginning and the end. But that is said that way merely for our small minds. I am Alpha and Omega. I am the beginning and the end. But you have to understand, for him, there was no beginning. And there will be no end.
In this episode, we delve into the complexities of the 12th chapter of John’s Gospel and explore how it vividly differs from the synoptic narratives. By examining the story of Lazarus, the anointing by Mary, and the unique use of terms like ‘synoptic’, we explore how these elements highlight the distinct nature of John’s writing. Our discussion doesn’t stop at comparisons; we consider the broader implications of Jesus’ relationships with key figures like Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, through thoughtful analysis.
