For your benefit, not mine

"Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? 'Father, save me from this hour'? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!"
Then a voice came from heaven, "I have glorified it, and will glorify it again." The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him.
Jesus said, "This voice was for your benefit, not mine. Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself." He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die. John 12: 27-33

REFLECTION
In theory our Lord did have two options. His prayer to the Father could have been: ‘Father, save me from this hour’, but he rejected this attractive option and chose to pray the other prayer instead: ‘Father, glorify your name!’
Then a thundering voice broke through the skies, the same voice that once called the universe into existence, the same voice that shouted light into the darkness – the voice of the Almighty God.
Jesus didn’t need to hear this voice – he was on speaking terms with his Father all of the time. This voice was for the benefit of the crowd – the people who witnessed all of this, among them the disciple who recorded this extraordinary event in the history of mankind.
Read these words again and hear God’s thundering voice echoing in your heart. There is no turning back: God's name will be glorified, Christ's victory will be claimed, the enemy will be defeated and the final judgment is just a matter of time! Yes, we truly have an awesome God and mighty Saviour!

PRAYER
Dear Lord Jesus, thank you for being obedient to your Father’s calling. I believe that you had the authority and every right in the universe to pray that first prayer: ‘Father, save me from this hour’. But all of humanity must be thunderstruck by your willingness to pray the second prayer, ‘Father, glorify your name!’ And God answered your prayer immediately and convincingly.
For this very reason you came: to save the world from darkness, to set us free, to draw all men near to you. Looking back in time, reading these words in your Word, we may think that we understand what happened here – because of the cross. But when I think about your words and let them sink into my heart and mind – I feel overwhelmed by your love. What a Lord I have!

Only one priority

Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the Feast. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. "Sir," they said, "we would like to see Jesus." Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus.

Jesus replied, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me. John 12:20-26

REFLECTION
Jewish men had to travel to Jerusalem three times a year in order to participate in the most important feasts. They were accompanied by foreigners - people who lived side by side with Jewish believers and who were converted to Judaism.
It's easy to miss this point, but John tells us about some Greek men who were trying to get in touch with Jesus via two of his disciples. During the Succot celebration (Feast of Tabernacles) some Jews had already wondered whether Jesus was planning to travel abroad in order to teach the Jewish believers who were living scattered among Greeks because of the diaspora. This was their interpretation of Jesus' prophetic words, as recorded in John 7: ‘"I am with you for only a short time, and then I go to the one who sent me. You will look for me, but you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come."
These mysterious, intriguing words - that make perfect sense to us now - were very confusing for the Jewish audience: The Jews said to one another, "Where does this man intend to go that we cannot find him? Will he go where our people live scattered among the Greeks, and teach the Greeks? What did he mean when he said, 'You will look for me, but you will not find me,' and 'Where I am, you cannot come'?" ’
Jesus was determined. He was going to fulfill his mission - nothing could stop him, nobody could distract him. His journey would lead him through hell and back and his purpose was to bring eternal life to all who put their trust in him!

PRAYER
Thank you, Lord Jesus, for going all the way. Thank you for your willingness to lay down your life for us. Of course there were plenty of people trying to get your attention, asking for some of your time, claiming you for their own agenda. It's good to know that you instructed your servant Paul to go to the Greeks - and other nations - several years later, so that he could proclaim the liberating good news of your death and resurrection. Thank you for sticking to that one priority in your life: doing your Father's will. We can live our lives for you, because you stayed focused on God's purposes. Yes, I do want to be your servant and I am happy that I can represent you right where you've put me on this earth. Help me to bring the good news to other people. And it's such a relief to know that you are with me!

Great exodus and triumphal entry

The next day the great crowd that had come for the Feast heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, "Hosanna!" "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" "Blessed is the King of Israel!" Jesus found a young donkey and sat upon it, as it is written,
"Do not be afraid, O Daughter of Zion; see, your king is coming, seated on a donkey's colt."

At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and that they had done these things to him. (John 12:12-16)

REFLECTION
Devout Jewish believers came to Jerusalem for the annual Pesach feast to celebrate the exodus - the liberation from slavery in Egypt. A long time ago the people of God were deprived of their freedom and treated as slaves. God Himself noticed their suffering and called a powerful leader and liberator to their rescue, a man called Moses. The people of Israel regained their freedom and entered the promised land after a long and exhausting journey of forty years through the desert.
When Jesus makes his entrance in Jerusalem, the Jewish people are again oppressed by foreigners. This time they were not taken away to a foreign country, an army of strangers had overwhelmed them instead and these Romans were now in charge of their holy land. Maybe God could send a liberator once again to set His people free? And that Liberator, that Messiah, who else could that be than Jesus, the man who was able to call dead people back to life. Surely he was able to start a liberating revolution too...

PRAYER
Lord, the people in Jerusalem were excited about your majestic entry but they only received you because they had their own political schemes and agendas in mind. You were welcomed in as a king by people who were too blind to see and too deaf to hear. Crowds of people shouted ‘Hosanna’ and a lot of them blessed you that day. Many of them called for your horrendous execution and they cursed you with the same passion - not long after all this happened. Your very own disciples only understood the real meaning of your majestic entry after you were lifted high and restored in heavenly majesty as the great Conqueror of death and hell.
Dear Jesus, please forgive me if I've welcomed you out of wrong motives. Don't let me sing your praises and shout for joy when my heart isn't completely changed. I'd rather be like that little donkey who humbly carried you into Jerusalem as the King of kings. I thank you, because now - looking back in history - we can see what an incredible liberation and exodus out of slavery you have made possible for all of us.

The price and the value

Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus' feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, "Why wasn't this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year's wages." He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.
"Leave her alone," Jesus replied. " It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me." John 12:3-8

REFLECTION
“Some people always know the price of everything, but the value of nothing,” someone once said. What is the value of being in the company of Jesus, the eternal Son of God? And picture this: your brother has been called back to life by the Creator of the universe and the perfect Lover of your soul has forgiven all your sins. What price tag would you put on that?
Mary couldn’t care less about money. She wanted to give her all – with everything she had – to her Master, the Lord Jesus Christ and the Lord valued her sacrifice of love.
Sometimes people around you don’t know how to react to your complete devotion. They can only think about the price that your gift to the Master represents and they just can’t stand the sweet smell of pure love. Well, whose fault is that?

PRAYER
Dear Lord, no human being can take your place and nobody can claim your glory. I want to pour out my love to you – no matter the costs and no matter what other people say. You know my true motives and you also know what is really inspiring the people who are mocking me, criticizing me and sneering at me. My prayer is that the sweet smell of my commitment, the gift of my praises, will be enough to drive away the bad odors of people who are only devoted to their own glory and the things of this world. Please put them to shame and make them repent before they go too far to be reconciled back to you. Change their heart and alter their perception, because there’s absolutely nothing wrong with my devotion to You.

One for all and all for One

Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, put their faith in him. But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin.
"What are we accomplishing?" they asked. "Here is this man performing many miraculous signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation."
Then one of them, named Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, spoke up, "You know nothing at all! You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish." John 11:45-49

REFLECTION
What would it take for some people to believe? If only… If only they could see God. Well, some people saw Jesus face-to-face and they still didn’t believe. If only they could see a miracle. Well, some people witnessed many miraculous signs, some of them even saw Lazarus walking out of his grave after our Lord called him back to live again! But did they all believe in Jesus?
What does it take to believe? The answer is very simple and very hard at the same time, because it takes faith. And faith has nothing to do with calculated guesses, wild speculations or a complete understanding of all the big mysteries of life. Faith is like love, it is a decision of the heart, it takes total surrender - and that is the difficult part.
If you want to believe, you will see. If you want to surrender your heart to Jesus, you will learn to love him more and you will KNOW that He is Lord.
Some people just don’t believe in Jesus, but they can still tell the truth about him or hammer a sign above his cross with an accurate message. Caiaphas didn’t believe in Jesus, but this time he surely told the truth. As high priest of that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for all to bring us together as God’s people and make us one.

PRAYER
Dear Lord Jesus, you are able to use us – even if we are not willing to be used. You can use our mouth, hands and feet – even if we are not willing to speak, act or go. You don’t need me in order to do your work on earth, but let me tell you this: I am willing to be used.
If you could use Caiaphas’ lips to proclaim the truth, you can certainly use mine to speak up for you and share the Good News: ‘Jesus died for us all, so that we can live forever.’
Yes, Caiaphas was spot on: they knew nothing at all! They didn’t know what they were talking about, because they didn’t know You – God’s only Son, our Saviour and Redeemer, the Lover of my soul!