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In the Shadow of Calvary: A Bible Study of John 12-17
In the Shadow of Calvary: A Bible Study of John 12-17
In the Shadow of Calvary: A Bible Study of John 12-17
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In the Shadow of Calvary: A Bible Study of John 12-17

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In his gospel, the apostle John provides a unique perspective on the public life and ministry of Jesus that is very different from the Synoptic Gospels by Matthew, Mark and Luke. One of the most distinctive features is the recording of what has been called the "Upper Room Ministry", which includes the so-called "High Priestly Prayer of Jesus. The content is even more poignant given that the events described occurred just a few hours before the cross.


These chapters, John 12 through John 17, provide a fascinating insight into who Jesus was, his mission and purpose and his relationship with his God and Father and his disciples. This book explores these in twelve concise chapters, each written by a different author:

CHAPTER ONE: THE REJECTED KING
CHAPTER TWO: THE LAST PUBLIC APPEARANCES
CHAPTER THREE: AN OBJECT LESSON IN HUMILITY
CHAPTER FOUR: THE TRAGEDY OF JUDAS
CHAPTER FIVE: THIS DO IN REMEMBRANCE OF ME
CHAPTER SIX: DISCIPLESHIP – IT'S CHARACTER AND POTENTIAL
CHAPTER SEVEN: THE PROMISE OF THE COMFORTER
CHAPTER EIGHT: THE VINE AND THE BRANCHES
CHAPTER NINE: THE DISCIPLE AND THE WORLD
CHAPTER TEN: THE HOLY SPIRIT'S MINISTRY
CHAPTER ELEVEN: THE FATHER HIMSELF LOVES YOU
CHAPTER TWELVE: FINAL SUPPLICATIONS

LanguageEnglish
PublisherHayes Press
Release dateDec 21, 2017
ISBN9781540199331
In the Shadow of Calvary: A Bible Study of John 12-17

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    Book preview

    In the Shadow of Calvary - Hayes Press

    CHAPTER ONE: THE REJECTED KING (EDWIN NEELY)

    In a sense, the whole of eternity sits in the shadow of Calvary. Never was there, nor will there be, a more important event than the shedding of the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish unto God. Calvary is the fulcrum of human history, prophesied in early Genesis; central to the whole of Scripture, even the future in Revelation; and to the theme of praise and worship in the present, both here and in heaven. This book, however, confines itself to the events and teachings that transpired from the entrance of Christ into Bethany, John 12:1, to His final recorded supplication prior to Gethsemane, in John 17.

    By the weekend of that entrance into Bethany, the sixty-nine weeks of Daniel’s prophecy (Daniel 9:25) had all but run their course, after which Messiah was to be cut off. Four hundred and eighty-three years previously, Artaxerxes’ command to rebuild Jerusalem (Nehemiah 2:6) had excited the builders from Babylon to return. Since Peter’s declaration that no matter what men in general thought, Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, Jesus had been showing His disciples that He must go up to Jerusalem and suffer, and be killed, and be raised up the third day (Matthew 16:21). Then He left Galilee for the last time, not to return there until after His resurrection. Now, this final week brings the culmination of all that these other things led up to, the fulfilment of divine purpose in the incarnation.

    It is not our purpose to attempt a harmony of the Gospels for this final week, except to reflect that all the Scriptures are true, and if hard for us to place in time sequence, it is we, not they, who are at fault. We shall confine our thought to matters recorded in John, which have particular importance when viewed in relation to their proximity to the death of the Lord Jesus Christ.

    The Scene at Bethany

    THERE MAY BE SOME FRUITFUL comparison between the specific days that began the ministry of Christ that are mentioned in the first two chapters of John and the six days that are outlined here at the end of His ministry. Certainly He did some things in those early days which are repeated here: His baptism and its counterpart in His death; the cleansing of the temple; and His appearing at a special dinner. Indeed, there seems to be a development worthy of note in the meals that He is recorded to have attended in this Gospel. At Cana, He began as guest; in John 12:1 He is guest of honour; on the beach in John 21 He is the host. Our own lives would show growth if we allowed Him the same progress in them. As John said, He must increase, but I must decrease.

    This Bethany supper is the first mentioned opportunity for us to see the reunited family together after the resurrection of Lazarus. One notices the great similarity between the activities of that lovely trio before and after that occasion. Martha served; Mary sat at His feet; Lazarus, His friend, sat at table with Him; all graphically depicting a truth that is elsewhere emphasized in Scripture; our position and service after resurrection will be related to that which we have developed in life (cf. Matthew 19:27-30; Matthew 25:21; Luke 19:24; 2 Timothy 2:11). Often throughout their lives would those gathered at that meal remember their fellowship with the Master, and many a time, no doubt, would the sweetness of that remembrance lighten the burden of the moment.

    More than once in His lifetime had the Lord been anointed with precious perfume, and each occasion recorded (perhaps there had been many more) is rich in its teaching. But this anointing by Mary takes on a special significance because of its timing. Mary loved her brother Lazarus, yet that precious spikenard had not been used on his body, so recently dead. It was the anticipation of the Lord’s burial that caused the sweetness to flow. Mary seemed to have an insight into the matter beyond even that of His apostles, perhaps gained in her hours spent at the Lord’s feet. But her action was more than anticipatory. Mary identified herself with both His death and burial, not only by anointing Him, but by wiping His feet with her hair. It may have been a most unconventional thing for a Jewish woman to loose her hair in the presence of men, but convention gave place to devotion, and the whole house was filled with the fragrance.

    There was to be no shortage of ointments and spices for His burial. Much of it, because it was brought too late, would never be used for the purpose. Yet a seeming surfeit of sweetness is no reason for not bringing the gift, a point underscored by the Lord’s stout defence of Mary’s action. His statement about the lasting nature of the matter, that it would be told wherever the gospel would be preached worldwide, shows the importance He placed upon it. Perhaps I would do well to remind myself of this at the remembrance and prayer meetings when I seem to have difficulty offering what I have stored up during the week.

    Public Reaction

    WE ARE NOT TOLD HOW many guests had been invited to this supper. Bethany by the meaning of its name was associated with food, and whether at the home of Mary and Martha, or at the home of Simon the Leper, Scripture refers to hospitality freely given. During that last week it is probable that all twelve disciples, plus any women that followed along to minister to the group, were cared for here. Bethany may well have been the place to which many of the disciples fled after the arrest in Gethsemane. In any case, a great multitude of the Jews, hearing that Jesus was there, came out of curiosity, not only to see Him, but to see Lazarus whom He had raised from the dead a short time before. Contrasted with this interest and the attention shown by those who had been with Him when Lazarus was raised and who were willing to testify to the reality of it all (v.17), were the chief priests, many of them Sadducees who did not believe in even the possibility of resurrection.

    The hatred of these

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