Daily Devotions
John
The impact of the raising of Lazarus
Text: John 12 : 9 - 22
THE IMPACT OF THE RAISING OF LAZARUS
John noted that “The Jews” went to the home of Martha and Mary to offer their condolences on the demise of their brother Lazarus (John 11:31, 33). After Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, some were drawn to see Lazarus in his home. Had he really been raised from the dead?
“Now a great many of the Jews knew that He
was there; And they came, not for Jesus’ sake
only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom
He had raised from the dead.”
John 12:9
The skepticism of a good number of the Jews went away even as they faced up to the fact that Lazarus was indeed alive. They could not deny what they had seen with their eyes! How would they explain away the phenomenal miracle of a person raised from the dead?
THE GROWING HOSTILITY OF THE JEWS
The chief priests probably did not bother to come to the home of Lazarus. As far as they were concerned, Lazarus must also be put to death. John made an observation of the growing hostility of the Jews.
“But the chief priests plotted to put Lazarus
to death also, because on account of him many
of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus.”
John 12:10-11
The chief priests blamed Lazarus for being alive! Imagine this line of reasoning! Though it sounded absurd, nevertheless this was the official line of the Jews. They now plotted the death of Jesus and Lazarus. They figured that if they could put Jesus to death, then His influence and His teaching would die with Him. If Lazarus could also be silenced, then they could mute the significance of his testimony!
THE AMAZING COURAGE OF JESUS
The Jews must have been totally surprised to see Jesus appearing in broad daylight in Jerusalem! Talk about walking into the lion’s den! Jesus was totally unafraid of the Jews! Not only did Jesus appear in broad daylight, this time He made a grand entrance into Jerusalem!
“The next day a great multitude that had come
to the feast, when they heard that Jesus
was coming to Jerusalem, took branches
of palm trees and went out to meet Him…”
John 12:12-13
THE TRIUMPHAL ENTRY INTO JERUSALEM
The consternation of the Jews grew even as they watched “a great multitude” surging forward to greet Jesus. They had never seen a more festive multitude. What were the multitudes doing? They cut down branches of palm trees and they went out with these palm leaves to greet Jesus. Didn’t the crowds know the significance of what they were doing?
Palm leaves were used symbolically to highlight “victories won by kings”! Did the multitudes understand what they were doing? Suddenly, the Jews heard great shouting. Their hair must have stood on end as the shouts became more discernible.
“Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the
name of the Lord! The King of Israel!”
John 12:13
“The King of Israel!” That was the unmistakable cry of the multitudes! Their worst fears were realized at that moment. The chief priests had been afraid that the multitudes would name Jesus as their King! They feared that the Romans might see Jesus as the Pretender and then they would come with their armies and wipe out Jerusalem! How could the multitudes conclude that Jesus was their King? They, the chief priests, had declared Jesus public enemy number one! Obviously few had listened to them! They had virtually lost all their influence on the multitudes! They seemed to listen to only One Man – Jesus!
His popularity seemed to increase daily! They had tried everything, but nothing had worked! They were quite helpless! They certainly couldn’t stop the crowds from cheering Jesus even as they greeted Him!
Some of the people had seen Lazarus who was raised from the dead! The power of Jesus knew no bounds! The chief priests knew the significance of the plaintive cry, “Hosanna”.
It was a cry for deliverance. It was more than just a cry for help. The multitudes had greeted Jesus as their King!
Once before, some of the Jews had tried to force Jesus to become their king
(John 6:15). Jesus had deliberately withdrawn Himself from that crowd of people. Once again, the multitudes cried out to acknowledge Jesus as the King of Israel.
This group seemed to be more “spiritual” than the first batch of people. They had not tried to force Jesus to be King. They merely wanted to greet Him and to hail Him as the King of Israel.
THE QUIET ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF JESUS
Jesus had withdrawn Himself from the unruly group of people who tried to coerce Him to become King. His response this time was quite different. He seemed to quietly acknowledge the cries of the people. They did not understand Him then. Did they understand Him better now? John noted the “reply” of Jesus to the cheering multitudes.
“Then Jesus, when He had found a young donkey,
sat on it; as it is written…”
John 12:14