A crowd of people has just confronted Jesus. They think he is confused. Maybe they think he is wrong. He says the foretold Jewish Messiah will die. The crowd knows their Bible, and the ancient prophecies say the Messiah will live forever. Jesus’ response explains how we you and I can experience the abundant life.Continue reading “The abundant life is found in holy disruption – John 12:12-50, Part 5”
Tag Archives: john 12
How Jesus’ death brings light – John 12:12-50, Part 4
Jesus has been talking about his death, which he knows is only a few days away. People in the crowd listening to him respond. They understand that he is talking about his death, but that confuses them. Look at John 12 verse 34, “The crowd spoke up, ‘We have heard from the Law that theContinue reading “How Jesus’ death brings light – John 12:12-50, Part 4”
How God’s upside-down Kingdom helps us make sense of Jesus’ death – John 12:12-50, Part 3
Jesus is just days from his death. So it’s no surprise that in John 12 verses 27-28 Jesus becomes introspective: “Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!” Jesus chose toContinue reading “How God’s upside-down Kingdom helps us make sense of Jesus’ death – John 12:12-50, Part 3”
The unhealthy way to love life – John 12:12-50, Part 2
The city of Jerusalem is jam-packed with pilgrims from all over the world who have come to celebrate the Feast of Passover. In the previous post, we learned about what is called Jesus’ Triumphal Entry into the city, when all sorts of people are clamoring to get near him. In John 12, verses 20-22, weContinue reading “The unhealthy way to love life – John 12:12-50, Part 2”
The Triumphal Entry as holy disruption – John 12:12-50, Part 1
How much inconvenience should we accept in our lives? What is the definition of inconvenience? You want to get some Chick-fil-A real quick, but the drive-through is wrapped around the building. What an inconvenience. Inconvenience is defined as trouble or difficulty caused to one’s personal requirements or comfort. Some synonyms are aggravation, annoyance, disruption, disturbance. Continue reading “The Triumphal Entry as holy disruption – John 12:12-50, Part 1”
Would you like to know your DOD? – John 12:12-50, Preview
What would you do if you knew the date of your death? Could you imagine if that data were available to us? We’re accustomed to putting our DOB on all sorts of forms, but what if we knew our DOD? What would you be thinking and feeling if you knew exactly how much longer you had?Continue reading “Would you like to know your DOD? – John 12:12-50, Preview”
Why and How to be more Generous – John 11:46-12:11, Part 5
Does the Bible tell us the goal of generosity to the poor? It does. In 2 Corinthians 8, Paul taught something that is not mentioned enough. One of the subplots of Paul’s missionary journeys is that he was asking the churches across the Roman Empire to give money to help the mother church in Jerusalem. Continue reading “Why and How to be more Generous – John 11:46-12:11, Part 5”
What Jesus meant when he said, “You will always have the poor among you” – John 11:46-12:11, Part 4
What does extravagant generosity to Jesus look like in our day? In John 12:1-11, Mary dumped $70K worth of perfume on Jesus’ feet. While Jesus doesn’t expect us to do precisely what Mary did, he does expect us to be extravagantly generous. Why doesn’t he expect us to do what Mary did? Mary lived, forContinue reading “What Jesus meant when he said, “You will always have the poor among you” – John 11:46-12:11, Part 4″
Why we set up four essential oil diffusers in our worship service – John 11:46-12:11, Part 3
What will Jesus say when Mary love bombs by dumping $70K of perfume on his feet, and his disciple Judas Iscariot is angry, saying that perfume could have been sold to help the poor? Will Jesus agree with Mary or Judas? Here’s how Jesus responds to Judas in John 12, verses 7-8, “’Leave her alone,’Continue reading “Why we set up four essential oil diffusers in our worship service – John 11:46-12:11, Part 3”
The time someone wasted $70K on Jesus? – John 11:46-12:11, Part 2
This week we’re studying John 11:46-12:11, but our focus in on chapter 12, verses 1-11. In the previous post, we studied John 11:46-12:2, which sets up the story. After hiding from the watchful eye of the Jewish leaders, Jesus travels to the town of Bethany, just two miles outside the city of Jerusalem. In BethanyContinue reading “The time someone wasted $70K on Jesus? – John 11:46-12:11, Part 2”
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