*What happened last week? Lazarus was raised from the dead
Read John 12:1-3
1 Six days before the Passover celebration began, Jesus arrived in Bethany, the home of Lazarus—the man he had raised from the dead.
2 A dinner was prepared in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, and Lazarus was among those who ate with him.
3 Then Mary took a twelve-ounce jar of expensive perfume made from essence of nard, and she anointed Jesus’ feet with it, wiping his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance.
*How much did is say this perfume was worth? Year’s salary
*How much money do you think that is? $30-60k
The whole house was filled with fragrance. This was written by someone who was there.
Read John 12:4-6
4 But Judas Iscariot, the disciple who would soon betray him, said,
5 “That perfume was worth a year’s wages. It should have been sold and the money given to the poor.”
6 Not that he cared for the poor—he was a thief, and since he was in charge of the disciples’ money, he often stole some for himself.
*What do you know about Judas? Betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver – price you pay to buy a slave. Hung himself and they used the 30 pieces of silver to buy a graveyard.
Read John 12:7-8
7 Jesus replied, “Leave her alone. She did this in preparation for my burial.
8 You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.”
*Is Jesus saying do not take care of the poor? No, but Jesus was going to die soon from this moment.
*Anybody know how soon he dies on the cross after this? A week later
Read John 12:9-11
9 When all the people heard of Jesus’ arrival, they flocked to see him and also to see Lazarus, the man Jesus had raised from the dead.
10 Then the leading priests decided to kill Lazarus, too,
11 for it was because of him that many of the people had deserted them and believed in Jesus.
*Why did they want to kill Lazarus too? The real reason is that they were jealous of Jesus
Read John 12:12-13
12 The next day, the news that Jesus was on the way to Jerusalem swept through the city. A large crowd of Passover visitors
13 took palm branches and went down the road to meet him. They shouted, “Praise God! Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the LORD ! Hail to the King of Israel!”
*What Sunday do we call this? Palm Sunday
Read John 12:14-15
14 Jesus found a young donkey and rode on it, fulfilling the prophecy that said:
15 “Don’t be afraid, people of Jerusalem. Look, your King is coming, riding on a donkey’s colt.”
This verse in the prophecy is from Zechariah 9:9
*How many years was this written before this happened? About 500 years
Read John 12:16
16 His disciples didn’t understand at the time that this was a fulfillment of prophecy. But after Jesus entered into his glory, they remembered what had happened and realized that these things had been written about him.
This exact moment was prophesized over 500 years before this happened.
Daniel 9:25&26
25 Now listen and understand! Seven sets of seven plus sixty-two sets of seven will pass from the time the command is given to rebuild Jerusalem until a ruler—the Anointed One —comes. Jerusalem will be rebuilt with streets and strong defenses, despite the perilous times.
26 “After this period of sixty-two sets of seven, the Anointed One will be killed, appearing to have accomplished nothing, and a ruler will arise whose armies will destroy the city and the Temple.
This predicted the very day that Jesus would enter Jerusalem on the donkey.
*Do you think the Pharisees knew about these verses? Most likely
70 years after Jesus was crucified the city of Jerusalem was completely destroyed. The temple has never been rebuilt. Right now a Muslim Mosque was built on the place where the temple was. Amazing that one city, Jerusalem if the center of 3 major religions: Christianity, Judaism, and Muslims. This is no coincidence.
*What do you think the odds were of these 2 prophecies coming true written hundreds of years before it happened?
Take state of Texas, fill it with dimes. Drop one quarter and mix it up. Blindfold someone and have the walk through the state and randomly pick the quarter.
*What are the odds of that happening? Pretty much none.
*Why is this important? Because there if prophecy that came true in the Bible, the Bible is valid. No other book in this entire world has prophecy that came true. No other religion can claim this to be true. No other person in the entire world that was ever born had prophecy about them that came true.
Read John 12:17-19
17 Many in the crowd had seen Jesus call Lazarus from the tomb, raising him from the dead, and they were telling others about it.
18 That was the reason so many went out to meet him—because they had heard about this miraculous sign.
19 Then the Pharisees said to each other, “There’s nothing we can do. Look, everyone has gone after him!”
*How long after this did the crowds kill Jesus? One week
Read John 12:23-24
23 Jesus replied, “Now the time has come for the Son of Man to enter into his glory.
24 I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat is planted in the soil and dies, it remains alone. But its death will produce many new kernels—a plentiful harvest of new lives.
*When one wheat kernel is planted, how many more come from it? Lots
*When Jesus dies, how many more people will come from him and be saved? Lots
Read John 12:25-26
25 Those who love their life in this world will lose it. Those who care nothing for their life in this world will keep it for eternity.
26 Anyone who wants to serve me must follow me, because my servants must be where I am. And the Father will honor anyone who serves me.
*What should we as Christians live for? Not this world
*What are some ways you can follow Jesus?