Live to Love Scripture Encouragement

John 12:20-21 Now there were some Greeks among those who were going up to worship at the feast; these then came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and began to ask him, saying, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus."
How did the Greeks know to talk with Philip? How did they know they could gain access to Him through Philip? I’m not sure how. My guess is that they watched from a distance and could tell who Jesus’ disciples were. There was an observable contrast between those who were there merely for the show and those who were dedicated followers of Jesus. These Greeks had heard of Jesus perhaps or they had just arrived at the temple and were curious about this man who received so much praise and adulation from the people. For whatever reason, they wanted to see Jesus, and they figured Philip was the man to go to for access to Him. If someone had heard about Jesus and wanted to see Him, would they know to come to you or to me? Would it be clear to them as they watched our lives that we could introduce them to Him? I think if we live to love with Jesus, we will have many opportunities to take people to Jesus.

John 12:19 So the Pharisees said to one another, "You see that you are not doing any good; look, the world has gone after Him."
To the Pharisees, it looked like everyone had abandoned them and gone after Jesus. Oh, if that were the case! That same “world” was a fickle crowd, weren’t they? Within a very short time, they had turned on Jesus and were crying out, “Crucify Him.” Not everyone who appears to be following Jesus (that is, says they are a Christian) is a true believer. The greatest protection from being a fickle follower is to live to love with Jesus every day. Keep your eyes on Him. Be devoted to Him, not to a worldly cause, spiritual experience, or personal happiness. As Oswald Chambers wrote in My Utmost for His Highest, “A man with a vision of God is not devoted to a cause or to any particular issue; he is devoted to God, Himself.” (Reading for May 2). Such a person will not praise one day, then blame another day. If you have had a true vision of God, then you know He is love and living to love with Him is a privilege and anchor.

John 12:18 For this reason also the people went and met Him, because they heard that He had performed this sign.
The raising of Lazarus from the dead would certainly catch my attention. How about yours? John explained why the crowd met Jesus before His entry into Jerusalem. Remember when Jesus told Martha that she would see the glory of God as a result of Lazarus’ death? Surely all of this was in view. The Father’s testimony regarding His Son spread throughout Jerusalem and was the cause of the fulfillment of Scripture regarding His triumphal entry to the city of Zion. I am amazed at how God works. Aren’t you? Today, as we live to love with Jesus and testify about His resurrection power and new life, let’s hope and pray that people will want to go meet Jesus. Every believer is a sign, a miracle of resurrection power and life.

John 12:17 So the people, who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead, continued to testify about Him.
Even if they killed Jesus and Lazarus, how could they silence all the witnesses? They couldn’t. And so it is today. We are witnesses of the truth that Jesus is the resurrection and the life. He lives in us. He loves through us. We once were dead, but now we live to love with Him. What were they testifying about Him? Here are my thoughts. Jesus told Martha that He was the resurrection and the life and that she would see the glory of God. After Lazarus was raised and the crowd saw the miracle, you know Martha had to remember what Jesus had said to her. Surely she was proclaiming something to this effect, “He said He was life. He has authority over death. This has to be the Messiah.” On top of that, the news of Mary’s anointing of Jesus’ feet at the dinner circulated. The testimony about Jesus continues today through us. As we live to love with Him, we echo the same truths testified to by Mary, Martha, Lazarus, and those who witnessed the miracle. Jesus is life everlasting.

John 12:16 These things His disciples did not understand at the first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written of Him, and that they had done these things to Him.
So often this is the case. Things happen in our lives that we don’t understand until we see Jesus glorified in and through them. Jesus mounting a donkey to ride into Jerusalem this one time, of all the times He had entered that city, didn’t strike them as all that incredible. However, it was! Think about it. Because God had spoken it through Zechariah centuries before, the event was God’s undeniable testimony glorifying His Son, Jesus Christ, as the anointed Messiah and promised King. John’s words, “Fear not,” could not be more appropriate and accurate considering the context of Zachariah’s prophecy where he promised to “camp around My house,” and “no oppressor will pass over them anymore,” and the “chariot” and “bow of war will be cut off.” Zechariah penned, “Rejoice greatly.” John wrote, “Fear not.” Are they not both sides of the same coin? Let us fear not and rejoice greatly, for now, we have seen Jesus glorified.