YOU CAN’T STAY NEUTRAL (JOHN 12:1-19)
Imagine you’re over at at some friends house talking. It’s a great time, you’re enjoying dinner when, they bring up a controversial subject. It’s one of those awkward things you can’t avoid picking a side. Your wife shoots you a look like, “What are we supposed to say?” But you also know: if you speak up, everything changes. The tone. The friendship. Maybe it’s their strong opinion of some political situation, maybe it’s homeschooling versus public schooling, or perhaps most divisive of all: whether pineapple belongs on pizza… In these situations you can’t avoid taking a side. There’s no middle ground. This is what Jesus does.
A lot of us like to avoid conflict. The average person wants to just kind of get along. But have you ever wondered if we’re not fired up because there’s nothing in our life really worth fighting for?
Winston Churchill: "You have enemies? Good. That means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life.”
If you’ve been living without something really worth taking a stand for is there not a subtle unrest in you? Is there, under the surface, this quiet question: “Is this it?”
Gandalf to Bilbo: “You used to dream of seeing elves. I remember a young hobbit who would run off in search of them… Tell me, when did doilies and your mother’s dishes become so important to you?” Bilbo: “Can you promise that I will come back?” Gandalf: “No. And if you do… you will not be the same.”
When you encounter Jesus you’re not the same!
→ You can't encounter the real Jesus and stay neutral.
John 12:1–19
He’s Worthy of Worship (vv. 1–8)
He’s a Threat to Darkness (vv. 9–11)
He Draws the World (vv. 12–19)
01. JESUS IS WORTHY OF WORSHIP (vv. 1–8)
Mary Anoints Jesus at Bethany
[1] Six days before the Passover, Jesus therefore came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. [2] So they gave a dinner for him there. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at table. [3] Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. [4] But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was about to betray him), said, [5] “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” [6] He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it. [7] Jesus said, “Leave her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of my burial. [8] For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me.”
Scene at dinner. Context is Lazarus recently got raised from the dead.
The expensive perfume and foot washing with her hair was an extravagant anointing act of worship. This is worth something like a year’s wages. Judas is disgusted by this. His alibi is that he wants the money to be given to the poor. Turns out he’s actually lining his pockets secretly.
→ What do you consider too much to give to Jesus?
I was discipled at 20 to give 10% to the Lord. This is something I’ve always done. One time, when I was struggling terribly financially, I was confronted by my pastor when he picked up that I wasn’t giving the last couple months. In faith, I immediately put my best foot forward and started working back to giving 10% to the Lord. That month, a wealthy dude graciously paid part of my rent. I remember then, longing to be the guy in the position to help others and the local church like that! God has increased us over the years, and now my goal is not 10% but higher.
Malachi 3:10
Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.
Core convictions around giving to God:
01. God is King and gives creation and salvation to us generously.
02. 90% with the blessing of God will win over 100% without His blessing.
03. If pre-Jesus believers full-sent it, I should too this side of the resurrection.
04. There’s insanely more joy in giving than in receiving.
05. Giving to people is euphoric and a fraction as powerful as giving to God.
06. Humans are called to dominion and cultivation so as to extend God’s Kingdom.
07. Money is deeply spiritual and must never be compartmentalized from faith.
Spurgeon It was very costly, but it had not cost a penny too much now that it could be used upon him. There was a pound of it, but there was none too much for him. It was very sweet, but none too sweet for him.
How do I do this?
Priority. Give first.
Percentage. Pick a percentage and be consistent.
Progressive. Push to grow overtime.
Like prayer, evangelism, and bible teaching:
→ when the local Church prioritizes giving joyfully, the Kingdom will advance forcefully.
When we drive by the Mormon church my kids know it’s a cult. They’re burdened by it. They say things like, “Dad, that's not a real church. They don’t believe Jesus is God. They have a spike instead of a cross. People shouldn’t be going there. Let’s pray against it.” They know we love misguided people who go there, but we disagree with the false teaching they’re being fed. Guys, my kids have fire theology! If you’re a Christian in this room, you probably agree wholeheartedly with them. Now, what’s interesting is that the LDS Church is rapidly shrinking in influence in the West. Membership is in a considerable decline. But financially indestructible for the foreseeable future. Think about that. An institution built on lies is indestructible because of their commitment to giving.
Growth Rate Since 200
Non-denom 140% Growth since 2000
Mormon Church 33% growth since 2000
Per Capita Giving
Average Mormon Gives 3x as much as the average Evangelical…
→ Mormons are more invested in the LIE than Christians are to TRUTH.
Imagine if! Mormonism though its numbers are shrinking, are practically indestructible because of their members commitment to investing in the false religion. But imagine what could happen if believers were as committed to the Kingdom of God?
The enemy doesn’t want us invested because Jesus Kingdom is a threat to the kingdom of darkness.
02. JESUS IS A THREAT TO THE DARKNESS (vv. 9–11)
The Plot to Kill Lazarus
[9] When the large crowd of the Jews learned that Jesus was there, they came, not only on account of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. [10] So the chief priests made plans to put Lazarus to death as well, [11] because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus.
V. 10 chief priests
The chief priests were mostly Sadducees, and the Sadducees didn’t believe in the resurrection.
A. They plot to KILL JESUS. The Cross is the center of the story of Jesus. The plot thickens. John devotes 50% of his Gospel to the last 7 days of Jesus' life.
Guzik: “This was the large crowd that came for the greatest holidays of Judaism – Passover. Many of them came from Galilee. When they came, they came with lambs. Jewish law required that the Passover lamb live with the family for at least three days before sacrifice (Exodus 12:3-6). When Jesus came and went into Jerusalem, lambs for sacrifice would surround him and everyone else.”
Josphus (ancient Jewish historian) wrote that one year 256,500 lambs were brought up to Jerusalem. You would have seen them being wheeled up all all day long in the thousands. You would have heard their bleating everywhere.
→ How much more significant is it to know Jesus is the lamb of God?
Mormons use a spire. It’s symbolic of climbing your way to God. Their theology says you can become a god. This is reversed from the Gospel.
Every worldview says essentially the same thing: you earn your way upward.
Confucianism teaches you climb the moral ladder through discipline and virtue.
Buddhism teaches you follow the Eightfold Path to escape suffering.Islam teaches you obey the Five Pillars to earn Allah’s favor.
Humanism says we can evolve and improve ourselves through reason, progress, and technology.
But only the Gospel says: you can’t climb up, so Jesus came down.
He didn't come as a coach, a guru, or an example—He came as a substitute. Jesus had to die for our sins, because no one else could carry the weight. When Jesus finds a man, He finds him dead in sin—helpless, hopeless, and utterly incapable of saving himself. So Jesus died—not to help us improve—but to save us from sin and raise us from the dead.
Do you feel your inability to climb to God? Have you come to the end of yourself? Jesus can forgive you and save you. If you have not put faith in Jesus, today is the day.
V. 10 …made plans to put Lazarus to death as well
B. The enemies' hatred blinds them to the point that they are even plotting to kill innocent lazarus after he was miraculous resurrected if that’s what it takes to dismantle the advance of Jesus. This is hardly believable. But this is exactly what hatred of Jesus does.
Charles Spurgeon: “When men hate Christ, they also hate those whom he has blessed, and will go to any lengths in seeking to silence their testimony.”
When the wise men didn't report back to King Herod
He ordered the mass murder of all male infants in Bethlehem under two years old—just to eliminate a baby who might be the Messiah. They were willing to slaughter babies to silence a threat to their throne.
The St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre (1572, France)
In Paris and throughout France, Catholic mobs—with political backing—slaughtered an estimated 10,000–30,000 Huguenots (French Protestants) over several days. Entire families were wiped out—including women, children, and the elderly. Eyewitnesses describe babies pulled from mothers' arms and thrown into the Seine.
Protestors & Pursuit NW Seattle
At a public worship event hosted by The Pursuit NW at Cal Anderson Park in Seattle, Christians gathered to sing, preach, and baptize in one of the city’s most progressive areas. But as the service began, activists—believed to be affiliated with Antifa—showed up to disrupt. They shouted profanities, blasted noise machines, damaged equipment, and tried to intimidate worshippers by throwing urine-filled water balloons. It came to clashes with Seattle PD which resulted in arrests. Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell dismissed concerns about the church’s public worship gathering by labeling it a “hate rally”.
Jesus is a threat to the darkness.
→ Nobody’s picketing yoga studios.
→Nobody’s shouting down self-help seminars
→But say the name Jesus, and the room shifts.
Could it be that people over and again unite to oppose the mission of Jesus precisely because the powers of darkness know that He is the King? Why is a man who lived 2,000 years ago still the most controversial, magnetic, disruptive figure in human history?
03. JESUS DRAWS THE WORLD (vv. 12–19)
The Triumphal Entry
[12] The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. [13] So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!” [14] And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written,
[15] “Fear not, daughter of Zion;
behold, your king is coming,
sitting on a donkey’s colt!”
[16] His disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about him and had been done to him. [17] The crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to bear witness. [18] The reason why the crowd went to meet him was that they heard he had done this sign. [19] So the Pharisees said to one another, “You see that you are gaining nothing. Look, the world has gone after him.”
Tasker
They greeted Jesus as a king, though ignorant of the nature of His kingship. It would seem that they looked upon Him as a potential nationalist leader, with whose help they might be able to become wholly independent of foreign powers.”
Guzik: “From the time of the Maccabees palms or palm-branches had been used as a national symbol.”
They were using these a symbol to declare Jesus King!
But Jesus was quite a different kind of leader than they anticipated. He was not a warrior but a substitute.
Morris: “The donkey was not normally used by a warlike person. It was the animal of a man of peace, a priest, a merchant or the like. It might also be used by a person of importance but in connection with peaceable purposes. A conqueror would ride into the city on a war horse, or perhaps march in on foot at the head of his troops. The donkey speaks of peace.”
They also knew their bibles which clarified and predicted Jesus’ importance:
[15] “Fear not, daughter of Zion;
behold, your king is coming,
sitting on a donkey’s colt!”
Because they knew (Zechariah 9:9) they saw Jesus’ importance.
We too are called to know God’s Word to clarify Jesus’ importance in our lives.
V. 17 The crowd…continued to bear witness.
V. 18 they heard he had done this sign
V. 19 Look, the world has gone after him.
These three lines give us a feel for John’s intent. We too are to spread the message of Jesus Humble Kingship, His substitutionary death and atonement for sin.
John’s conviction is that Jesus is conquering the world through his humble death.
Are we willing to do whatever it takes to spread the message of Jesus? Do you see Jesus as compelling…as King? Jesus’ name drew the world in His day. Are you as passionate about Him? Are you willing to do whatever it takes to make Him known?
APPLICATION
01. Are you invested in God’s Kingdom?
02 Have you put your trust in Jesus?
03. Are you spreading Him to the world?
GROUP QUESTIONS:
What's a situation (serious or funny) where you had to take a side?
What’s controversial about Mary’s act of worship? Why do you think it bothered Judas so much?
What makes Jesus worthy of our devotion?
How did the teaching portion on money land with you?
If someone evaluated your bank account what would they say you worship?
If Jesus really really died for your sin—how should that change the way you live this week?
Where in your life have you been trying to stay neutral about Jesus?
What would it look like for you to fully align your life with Him?