Dig Deeper:
NOT JUST YOUR ORDINARY EVERYDAY NARD: It's hard for us living two thousand plus years after the fact to appreciate exactly what Mary did when she poured the nard on Jesus; not to mention how odd it seems that she spread it around with her hair. Judas is quick to inform us of the value of the nard that was seemingly wasted, but the monetary value is not what's significant in this passage. Rather, it's that the nard was pure (v3), not watered down or mixed with some more common, cheaper spice. Whether she was fully aware of the implications or not, Mary indicated the pureness of Christ as she poured this pure nard on Him. Like the nard, Jesus was not just an ordinary, everyday sort of man.
ARE YOU IN OR OUT? It's a relatively simple phrase, and although John is not the only Biblical writer to use it, he uses it more than all of the writers combined. That phrase is:
believe in
It occurs six times in chapter 12 alone (v11, 36, 37, 42, 44, 46). Why do suppose this phrase is so important to John? What's the difference between 'believing Jesus' and 'believing in Jesus?' What's the difference between 'believing in Jesus' as opposed to 'believing in the Vikings or Twins?' Think about these simple questions today and contemplate what it means to truly 'believe in[to] Jesus.'
SPEAKING OF JOHN'S FAVORITE WORDS: The word 'world' (Greek: kosmos) appears 185 times in the New Testament, and 105 of those instances are in books that John wrote. Looking for clues like this helps us see one of John's key themes: Jesus was not just a local savior for a particular people at a particular time, rather He's God incarnate who came to save the whole cosmos. It's ironic that in today's chapter, it's the Pharisees who make that point (v19).
MEMORY VERSE:
Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world (kosmos) will keep it for eternal life (v25.)
John gives a perfect example of what this means in v43: Although there were Jewish leaders who believed in Jesus, they kept silent out of fear because "they loved human praise more than praise from God."
Follow the AAA Prayer Pattern:
ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, whose name is most glorified through His Son (v28)
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Ask God to equip you to follow Jesus, and to be where Jesus is (v26)
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:
