Title Because of Lazarus / John 12:1-12
Contents
because of Lazarus
Text: John 12:1-12
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The biggest holiday in Israel is the Passover. This is the anniversary of the liberation of the Israelites from their slavery in Egypt in 430 AD. Therefore, it is a period of one week during which the whole nation celebrates wildly. One week from January 14th. In any case, it is an unforgettable day. It is also a season that should never be forgotten. Jesus went to Bethany six days before the Passover. It is a town where an event to be remembered happened. It was the place where Lazarus was saved. The townspeople who were grateful for this had a big feast. At that time Martha was serving him. Then Mary brought a very valuable perfume of naad. And Jesus poured the perfume on his head. And he wiped the feet of Jesus with his hair. The whole house was filled with the smell of perfume.
Then Judas Iscariot, the disciple of Jesus who was going to betray Jesus, saw this and became angry. Look at this stupid man. He said that this precious perfume was wasted, and if sold, it would be worth more than 300 denarii, but it would be much better to give Jesus moderately and give the rest to the poor. What he did was he had Jesus' money. He was the kind of person who often stole money from the money box. Then Jesus said to him: “Leave it alone. She has kept this perfume for my funeral.” The poor are always with you, but I am not always with you.
Thousands of people flocked to hear the news that Jesus had come. They came to see not only Jesus, but also the kingdom of Jesus who died and rose again. But the high priests even tried to kill Lazarus. This is because of Lazarus, many Jews left them to believe in Jesus. This is the plot of the verse we read today. I also want to receive grace with this word, “Because of Lazarus.”
I. Let's be people who know grace
God guides us on a good path every day. However, the problem is that man is the root of the problem. The foundation must be good. It must be someone who knows the love of a parent. Children must learn to respect their parents. Human beings should be able to love dignity and freedom. There are people who do denial for immediate gain. Some people lie to avoid an immediate crisis. We must be honest. Whose responsibility is it that the whole country is in a mess? It's not just one person's fault. All I need to know is that society, education, culture, ethics, and economy are all my fault. We need to get out of this society as soon as possible, arguing with our parents, drugs, and infidelity.
Bethany is really good because of one person here. There are too many people in the world who do not know gratitude. Mary here is a believer who truly knows gratitude. He was not worth a single bottle of perfume. If there was anything more precious than perfume, he would have given it. If I had a few bottles of perfume, I would have given them all. True love is like this. This is what true gratitude is. Who in this world should be thankful for? That's me. How many people were healed by Jesus? But where did all those people go? But this Mary poured out all the precious nard oil on Jesus. This is the act of knowing gratitude.
Man should always look to God and live. We see pines and oaks, they grow very tall. But look at the powder. The tree grows only about 70,80 cm at most. This happens when the landscaper regularly cuts the tops of the trees. The roots are also trimmed regularly, and the tree is repotted each year. So, it stops the root to prevent stable activity. This is what makes the tree a dwarf. So are people. Most people in the world live in a pot called civilization, like a bonsai tree. Among them, “I am weak” “I have not learned” “I have no money” “I have no background” “I come from a poor family” “I go to church by myself” Cut out and live. And there are people who say that there are many people other than me.
It is not. Maria did well without a background. He is not a tycoon. He is not a well-educated person. Still, he offered that precious perfume. It's really great. Of course, there will be people who say that I will do the same even if I am Mary. We call these people really trustworthy people. Faith takes courage. And devotion must take this courage. I didn't notice anyone. He was just doing his due diligence. We tend to be too hesitant. If you always hesitate, you miss the opportunity. That opportunity comes to everyone. You must not miss that opportunity. Everyone regrets when the opportunity passes. We should be educated to always appreciate God's love every day. A really great person here is Maria. He gave his most precious thing. This is truly the right dedication.
II. Even good things have hindrances
Maria is a wonderful person. However, there were people who were jealous and jealous of this. he is no different Is this really something to be blamed for? You must be sorry for what you did not do. Still, he's just too brazen. He embarrass this woman with all sorts of things. There, others were amazed and praised this work. In this increasingly desolate land, you must be a true Christian. This world is so selfish. I have a lot of greed. He is a very difficult person who only knows himself. When we receive grace, not everyone likes it. Here is the operation of Satan who envy, tease, and ridicule. Therefore, we must always live centered on God.
It was one summer. Summer Bible school. The teachers were zealous for evangelism, and so many students gathered. There was a shortage of teachers. As a result, Deacon and Master Kwon came out and took care of the students. And they devoted themselves to serving, such as having lunch, regardless of who they were. We all liked it because it was the result of hard work and preparation. At that time, a passionate young lady from the Jeolla-do countryside served as an assistant teacher. He was a housekeeper in a house. He liked it so much that he taught harder than anyone else. However, the problem was that after studying during the day, we had an evaluation session before lunch time. Then there was still time. The teacher prayed there.
After praying for a long time, he prays in tongues. However, this was the first time the people of Seoul had heard such a prayer. Then the young teachers pointed out that this guy was crazy and laughed. When he realized this while praying, he was so disappointed that he stopped attending the church as well as the teacher. All of these things are people who interfere with God's work. We should always be careful about this. If we live centered on God, we have no worries, but we can become weak as humans.
There has been a saying since ancient times, “There is a saying that you can’t give dongnyang, but don’t break scallions. Judas Iscariot is a man who cuts chives. Because of Lazarus, the whole town was far from a great feast. But then, why does he do the slab-breaking thing? It's something I don't understand at all. He's a person with no common sense. This must be the case if we want to live a little better. Sometimes my family gets in the way. It should not be shaken even when it rains. The Holy Spirit always protects us.
closing words
I would like to close my message today. In Bethany, the whole town was autonomous. It is because of Jesus that Lazarus came to life four days after he died. That's why Jesus came to this town. So they had a feast in that town. At that time, Mary poured a pound of precious perfumed oil on Jesus' head. How great is that?
The whole room is filled with the smell of perfume. Jesus also felt really good. But at that time, there was a person who got angry and scolded the woman, saying that she was a fool. He is Judas Iscariot. Rather, Jesus rebuked him greatly. He was a thief, pretending to think of others and having a different mind. People are always like that. It's like you're slipping away and trying to tell others what to say. It's a card these days. I hope that we too, while always doing God's work, do not become weak and always have victory in the truth. Just as these good things happened because of Lazarus, I hope that these exciting things will always happen because of me.