John 12:1-8 "About Jesus And Mary Magdalene"

John 12:1-8

1So six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, the one having died, whom He raised from dead. 2So they made Him dinner there, and Martha was serving. But Lazarus was one of the ones reclining to eat with Him.

3Then Mary, having taken a litra (about 12 ounces/340 grams) of very valuable, pure spikenard ointment, anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled from the fragrance of the ointment. 4Therefore one of His disciples (Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, the one about to betray Him) says, 5“Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred denarii (300 days’ wages) and given to poor?” 6Now he said this, not because he was concerned about the poor, but because he was a thief and holding the money bag and was stealing that being put in. 7Then Jesus said, “Allow her; she has kept it for the day of My burial preparation. 8For the poor always have with yourselves, but Me do not always have.”

Good Day Child of God! "Father? Please teach us as we open our hearts and minds to your leading. Thank you. Amen." If ever there were a group of verses that were used more than any other for sermons that concerned money, these must be in that group.

Almost as though it was a second thought, Lazarus being raised from the dead is mentioned above. Truthfully, the reason for the whole celebration has to do with that Miracle! The thing is, when we hear messages concerning these verses they usually have to do with the money, and what it represents. 

Today's easy lesson: There have been discussions taken from the verses above that allude to a lover's relationship between Mary and Jesus. More so, when the need for money is the primary focus of the pastor and his church, the idea of sacrificial giving shows up. It appears that is what Mary is doing above, and similarly what is needed from the congregation. 

Let's ask a question. What was Mary before she met Jesus, that is, what job did she have. It had to be something with good wages to make enough money to buy, using nearly a years worth of wages, less than a pint of perfume to wash the feet of Jesus. It was commonly taught until just recently that Mary was a prostitute. Then not too long ago, that she was simply a repentant woman who followed Jesus and Trusted in Him. Mary's sister Martha and brother Lazarus, who's home this celebration was taking place Trusted Jesus as well. Mary Magdalene, her full name, has no historical record to come to any conclusion except that of a Trusting follower of Jesus. No doubt closer to Him than most, as the whole family treated Jesus as though He were their own blood. In fact, Mary is brought up twice in Scripture. Once in our verses above, and once at the time of Jesus' Crucifixion, where she is found offering comfort to Jesus on His way to the Cross.

How does this help you in your daily walk with the Father? Some people do notice the one thing Mary is doing without thinking about the money. That is, Mary is so thankful to Jesus for bringing her brother Lazarus back to Life, and honoring Lazarus as they are about to eat together, she does the one thing she can do. She gives Jesus not her body, nor Judas her perfume, but she takes her prized possession and uses it for the most common activity, washing one's feet before coming together for a meal. She asks for nothing more from Jesus, in Him she has found everything, so she does the only thing she can. She says "Thank You" in a way that allows everyone to notice that Jesus is there. The house is filled with the perfume of thanks. Without regard to herself she wipes His feet with her hair, then disappears from the scene so Jesus alone will be spoken of, rather than focusing on what she had done.

Jesus said that when you give, give so that your left hand doesn't know what your right hand has done. It is called being humble, and when the Father leads you to do a good deed, He isn't asking you to tell the world of the good thing you have done. After all God lead you to that needy person or situation, and if you are keeping count, that is wrong. Keep it to yourself, allow your Father to be satisfied with your good works. Build on your relationship by allowing Him the Glory. This is one way that you will find true joy in your Life. Have a Grace Day!

Brother Glenn
Complete New Testament Grace Studies link: http://gracehouseministry.blogspot.com/

John 11:53-57 "Be careful What And Who You Believe In"

John 11:53-57

53So from that day they plotted among themselves so that they should kill Him. 54Therefore, Jesus was no more freely walking about among the Jews, but He went away from there to the countryside near the wilderness, to a city being called Ephraim. And there He stayed with His disciples.


55But the Passover of the Jews was near. And many went up to Jerusalem out of the countryside before the Passover so that they should purify themselves. 56So they were seeking Jesus and were speaking one with another, having stood in the Temple, “What do you think, that He shall not at all come to the feast?” 57Now both the Chief Priests and the Pharisees had given a command that if anyone knew where He is, they should report it, in order that they should seize Him.

Good Day Child of God! "Father? Thank You that we can come to You and ask that You teach us, lead us, and burn Your Wisdom on our hearts, which You will do as we allow it. Amen"

How many times have we spoken about taking small bites of Scripture at a time and Studying it so as to not over do our ability to understand? To many to count it seems. The thing is, as simple as the verses are above, just the opposite of those from the previous two Studies, each and every group has lessons and meaning for our Life. 

To me hearing the same teaching in different verses and Books of the Bible not only bring us to the point of learning, then remembering, and ultimately Living the lessons.

Today's easy lesson: A quick reminder of the gist of the last Study: Lazarus is called back to Life, he is standing in the tomb entrance looking more or less like a Mummy, and most that witness this miracle now Trust Jesus. Yet there are those that ran off immediately to tell the High Priest, along with the ruling body called the Sanhedrin, and to what end? To ensure that those in control of the Religious Jews would have reason to put together a plan to put Jesus to death. Nothing should stop them now. They do not want to lose power over this One's ability to do things they cannot. Obviously they believe Jesus is a subversive with magical powers, not God's Son, and certainly not Israel's Savior.

How does this help you in your daily walk as a Christian? In the 1960's a rush to freedom from tradition became popular to the degree of looking just as Jesus did to the Jewish Leadership, some kind of subversion. Rock and Roll and many movements began, all of which had at their heart to bring about several things, from the freedom from prejudice, freedom from war, and even from traditional church teaching. If you could go back to that time you would hear that a whole generation of young people from their teens were gathering and crying out against the way things were in our country for decades. The idea that one person was not as good as another was found to be something that should no longer be tolerated. The idea that war was a necessity but instead befriending and loving one another was a better way, made its way through the music, the theater, the books, and the movies of the time. The older folks that had to suffer in so many ways, enduring losses of family members from a lack of good work conditions to being used as nothing more than what seemed like a shooting gallery in wars, thought all of which was necessary to keep America a wonderful place to live for everyone, mostly those that were trying to change things. Yet the younger just weren't seeing things the way they thought America could be. A hard line was drawn in the sand if you will, "Love America or Leave It." Yet the love of America was the reason both did what they did. Those contentious days of the sixties are what brought us to where America is today. The question is did we take the right path? In Truth, God sees to that in the case of His Son, or in the case of this nation, He will see to it that this nation be needed to favor His People, Israel, in the decades to come.

The fact is, that both groups in the Scripture above have God in mind, but only one group was taking the better path. God had to allow the inevitable crushing beating of His only begotten Son to come to fruition, even help it come along. Then watch Him die on a Cross not even looking like a human being, Jesus was beaten so badly. Why would our Father, Jesus' Father allow that? It was the only way to make peace between He and His Creation since we would not listen to the way of Love. Self centered thinking which creates things like hatred, war, abortion, personal gain and more are not the ways to our Father's Heart. How did He put it? Oh yes, "Allow me to be the judge," as the Lord says "Vengeance is mine." In other words you keep following the God of Love, (Agape' Love: Absolute Commitment Under All Circumstances) and allow Him His rightful place in Wisdom and Grace. We are to Live and Love in Peace.


Remember this; We only use the things of this world a short time, then it is someone else's until the next one gets it, and so on. All we can leave here on earth and bring to heaven when we go is the legacy of Agape' Love. Have a Grace Day!

Brother Glenn

Complete New Testament Grace Studies link: http://gracehouseministry.blogspot.com/