Monday, November 11, 2019

Jesus anointed by Mary of Bethany


Here are the study notes, questions and assignments for this week's IN THE WORD BIBLE STUDY!
Please read John chapter 12 and other references to ready yourself for Thursday night's class.
Chapter 12 can be divided as such: THE ANOINTING BY MARY, 12:1-8 (Matt. 26: 6-13; Mark 14:3-9). JESUS TRIUMPHAL ENTRY INTO JERUSALEM, 12:12-19, (Matt 21:1-11; mark 11: 1-11; Luke 19: 28-40), and JESUS FINAL DISCOURSE TO THE PEOPLE, 12: 20-50.

Questions and assignments for Thursday night (Nov. 14).
In this chapter we find Jesus back in Bethany, the home of his friends Mary, Martha and Lazarus. At the end of chapter 11 he had withdrawn to a region near the desert, to a village called Ephraim (11:54). The chapter opens with a beautiful portrayal of Mary anointing Jesus with an expensive spikenard oil, which was met with a wide range of reactions. Lazarus, Mary, Martha and Judas Iscariot were all in Jesus circle of friends, BUT their relationship and motives were different..for Iscariot anyway. We must want to be close to Jesus for the right reasons..
1. Mary used spikenard to anoint Jesus. What is spikenard? Was it expensive? It is also called 'nard”.
  1. Nard was used to anoint kings? What may Mary have been thinking about while anointing her Lord?
  2. The chief priests blindness and hardness of heart caused them to sink further and deeper in sin. Now not only did they want to kill Jesus but Lazarus as well! They claimed blasphemy as the reason to kill Jesus, why did they want to kill Lazarus) (vss 9-10)
  3. As Martha served the meal and as Lazarus enjoyed the company of the Lord, Mary offered the worship of her heart by anointing him. This would be Jesus final visit with his friends before going to Jerusalem, where he had already told his disciples..”The Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death; then they will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified; and on the third day he will be raised.” (Matt 20: 18-19 NRSV). Others had met at Jesus's feet to get their needs met, but she came to worship him, and to anoint him for the burial for what was to come. The other two evangelists, Matthew and Mark, writes this account, only John gives her name. (v 3)
  4. Is there ever a reason to be jealous of others?
  5. Why do you think the crowd was so excited to see Jesus? As they shouted HOSANNA : Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord., what were they expecting from him?
  6. What does HOSANNA mean? (show scripture reference)
  7. Why did Jesus get a young donkey to ride into Jerusalem? It there a prophesy concerning this in the OT, where can we find it?
  8. Did the people crying HOSANNA understand what was really going on?
  9. John 12: 20-36...Jesus would explain why he had to die...The Greeks seek Jesus..We will continue this section next week...Lord willing.

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