Read John chapters 12-13. Here is a summary of each chapter.
John 12:
- Six days before the Passover, Jesus goes to Bethany for a dinner party in His honor
- At the dinner party, Mary anoints Jesus’ feet with an expensive perfume
- Judas feels like this is this is wasteful. Jesus rebukes Judas
- Jesus rides into Jerusalem for the Passover celebration, on a donkey, with palm branches at His feet.
- Jesus predicts His own death
- Jesus reminds the crowd that He is the Light of the World
John 13:
- Jesus’ last supper with the disciples
- Jesus washes the disciples’ feet, including the feet of Judas. He commands His disciples to do the same type of service for others
- Jesus tells his disciples that one of them will betray Him, and it turns out to be Judas. Judas leaves into the night.
- Jesus tells Peter that he will deny Jesus three times before the rooster crows
In John 12:9-19. The crowds flocked to Jesus because they thought he was the coming king that was going to save them from Rome. They did not see Jesus as the Messiah. They want what he had to offer for their benefit, plus more, yet not believe He was the coming Messiah of the Old Testament. Do you ever find yourself in this place? Do you ever feel convicted of this? A place of coming to see Jesus but also wanting to experience the blessings of his hands. Do you ever feel that Jesus is not ever enough? We can see this when we study the bible. Look at Adam and Eve. They had all of their needs met, yet they still chose to eat from the forbidden tree. Out of all of us humans, they knew what it was like to have a close relationship with God. There was no barrier.
We find ourselves in this situation because of unbelief. We don’t believe that God is who He says he is. Therefore, we search elsewhere for that need to be met. We have to remember what we do know about God and trust him. We have to know when we are hearing lies about our triune God.
Let’s read Zechariah 9:9-10.
Zechariah prophesied Jesus’s coming. The people waited 500 years for this promise to be fulfilled. What does John 12:16 say about when they realized what all this meant? “These things His disciples did not understand at the first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written of Him and that they had done these things to Him.” Zechariah never saw his prophecy fulfilled. The disciples didn’t see the meaning of what Jesus did until much later. We may have a promise that we are waiting on; we need to trust God that his timing is perfect. We have to keep praying over things that are going on in our lives.
God hears our prayers, have confidence in this. Trust that prayers make a difference, even when we don’t see the difference. When you pray trust that God is doing His part and you are doing your part. Do not let fear have a place in the conversation. Fear makes you focus on the problem and not on God’s promises. God is still working, even when we don’t see Him working. We have to trust and believe Him.
Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for keeping your promises. Even the promises that we don’t see. I pray that we will take everything to you in prayer and trust your will in each situation. I pray that we will believe in you. Let our eye be open and our ears hear all that you want us to.
In Jesus Name
Amen
