John 12

Chapter 12

We learn some details in this chapter of John we don't in the other gospels. In this chapter we learn that Judas is a thief. It's interesting that the Savior allows him to carry the money bag for the apostles. We also learn that the Pharisees are planning a way to put Lazarus to death because so many people in Jerusalem are following Jesus now, so many that Pharisees say that the whole world is starting to follow him. Wouldn't it have been interesting if they had put Lazarus to death, but the Savior raised him again from the dead? What would the Pharisees do then?

It is at this height of acceptance, that Jesus states he must be crucified and atone for sins of the world. He is troubled by the thought of what he must eventually go through and would just as soon not have to do it. But he says it is for this very reason that he came to earth. He says, "Father, glorify thy hame." I think what he is saying is "To thee goes all the glory." In return, the voice of the Father is heard saying "I have glorified it, and will glorify it again." I think this means, "My name has been glorified, but it will be glorified again through thee."

Some Bible scholars say that when the Savior said he was troubled, this the first sign of a fear that will become so great that he will suffer in Gethsemane to the point of sweating blood. The Savior didn't fear this. I believe what troubled him was the thought that he would have to take upon him all sin. He would lose the companionship of the Father. He had been perfect in resisting temptation. He was perfectly pure. That would end in the Garden of Gethsemane. What an awful thing for a God to have to descend into.

When the Father speaks, some people just hear thunder, but others hear his voice. Some are in tune, others aren't. Some hear God's voice through the Holy Ghost today, others do not. It is obvious that some are following just because they have seen or heard of the miracle but do not know who he really is. In verse 34, they ask him "who is this Son of man?" Others don't believe in spite of the miracles. Some of those who believe are among the chief rulers, but they won't confess their belief because they are afraid of being thrown out of the synagogue, or excommunicated, and "they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God." That last sentence is true of today's world too. Many people reject the gospel today, reject Christianity, for that very reason.