Please
Read John chapter 12
Key Verse:
And Jesus answered them, “The
hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly,
I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it
remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. John 12:23-24 [ESV]
Jesus
was approaching the last week
of His earthly life, and He is making it clear that the time of His death is
close. He spoke about being glorified, of being lifted up to die and the defeat
of the ruler of this world – Satan himself. The crowds welcomed Him with
branches of palm trees and cries of Hosanna and recognized Him as the King of
Israel, but in a few day’s time they would be crying, “Crucify Him.”
His
death is likened to a grain of wheat that falls into the ground and dies, but
from that death will come life and much fruit. Many would come to believe on
Him, and find freedom from sin and new life
Most
people, even His disciples did not understand that Jesus would die, but Mary
understood. She anointed the feet of Jesus in preparation for His burial.
Like
that grain of wheat, she also was prepared to die. She gave Him the most
valuable possession she owned, very expensive perfume. Then she gave Him
something of even greater value. No woman of respect in that culture would ever
let her hair down in public. Her hair was her crown and glory and typified her
dignity. This was more valuable than the perfume and as she wiped the feet of
Jesus she was giving him her dignity, her self and her everything. Out of her
love for Jesus Mary was prepared to die to herself.
Questions:
The
principle of a corn of wheat falling into the ground to die and then bearing
much fruit applies not only to Jesus but also to us who follow Him. What does
this death mean to you personally?
Mary
gave Jesus everything she possessed. What would that mean in your life?
Jesus
came to save the world [verses 44-50]. What does this mean to you?
No comments:
Post a Comment