John 12

It's strange how one can read a chapter one day and feel nothing. But on another day, reading the same chapter, feel something.


⁷"Leave her alone," Jesus replied. " It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. ⁸You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me." (John 12)

¹When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus' body. ⁶"Don't be alarmed," he said. "You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. (Mark 16)


The expression that came to mind after reading this verse again is 'carpe diem', remembering what happened in Mark with the two Mary's. Mary Magdalene and Mary of Jesus wanted to do the same thing for Jesus that Mary of Bethany did already, but they were too late. Jesus already predicted that Mary of Bethany saved the perfume for His burial. (On a side note, why is Mary such a popular name? This is even before Mary of Jesus became distinguished because of her special blessing in carrying Jesus in her womb.) This can remind us that if we want to do things for God, not to wait. Because even if we just wait for 8 or 9 days, it might be too late, like in this case. We do not know what will happen in the next moment. That is why there's a saying: Yesterday is a history, Tomorrow is a mystery, Today is a present (a gift from God). I know it is easier said than done. Many times we have the zeal in our hearts to do things for God, but we are not proactive enough in carrying it out into action. Hopefully we can be a source of strength for each other, and continue to pray for a increase in faith and deed.



¹⁰So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well, ¹¹for on account of him many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and putting their faith in him. 8Many people, because they had heard that he had given this miraculous sign, went out to meet him. ¹⁹So the Pharisees said to one another, "See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!" ³⁷Even after Jesus had done all these miraculous signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him. ⁴²Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not confess their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; ⁴³for they loved praise from men more than praise from God.


It is quite sad after reading these verses. That even after witnessing the miracle Jesus has performed, they still would not believe. However, it sounds like God blinded them from the prophesy from Isaiah:

"He has blinded their eyes
and deadened their hearts,
so they can neither see with their eyes,
nor understand with their hearts"

Can anyone explain this? But what I find even more saddening is the people in vs. 42 & 43. Those that believe, but do not have faith strong enough to stand up for their beliefs. I think sometimes we might become one of these people when we face the acceptance of men. Even with something as simple as saying grace in front of our friends before we eat when no one else is doing the same. Perhaps we can think about incidences where we have failed to acknowledge Jesus to others, either with our words or our actions.