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His heart. (5 ) THE REBUKE OE JUDAS. How little th e unregenerate under stand the love of a believer for th e Lord. Is anything wasted which is lavished on Jesus? There is no waste in service for H im ; giving the Gospel to th e heathen does not lessen our care for th e poor in our own land. The ta in t of Jud as is on selfish homes, on grum blers who would w ithhold' th e precious ointm ent of absolute su rrend er and d e votion. (6) THE REJOICING OF THE MULTITUDE. Because of Jesu s’ growing popular ity the Pharisees had determ ined upon His death, and now they determ ined also upon the death of Lazarus (vs. 10, 11). The next day the m ultitude who had come to th e feast, and who had heard of th e resurrection of Laz arus, organized an impromptu proces sion and followed Him into Jerusalem , waving palm branches, and acclaiming Him as th e K ing of Israel. The quota tion is from Psalm 118:26: “Blessed is th e King of Israel th a t cometh in th e name of the Lord.” Their enthusiasm was shallow and meaningless though some, doubtless, were sincere. The event was in ful fillment of Scripture (Zech. 9 :9 ). His way to th e th ro n e; was to be by way of th e cross, bu t He will come to reign in pomp and glory, angels and saints attending, (Matt. 16 :27 ). It is a wonderful picture,— divine and hum an; meek and lowly; m ighty and strong ; Son of God and Son of man! No chariot; no home; no escort! W hat hum ility! W hat sorrow! How can we honor Christ? Make Him a guest. Make H im a feast. Give Him our best. W itness fo r Him in daily life. Take our place w ith Him, in hum ility, in self-sacrifice, in service. TOPICS FOR STUDY (1) W hat is suggested to us by the fact th a t some people wanted
Jesus in th e ir homes? Why did they w ant Him? (2) If, you were choosing, which one of th e four— Simon, Mar tha,,^ Mary or Lazarus, would you choose to be, and why? (3) Why do we not have any sug gestion from th e lips of Laz arus concerning his experiences while out of th e body? (4) How did Mary come to sense th e fact of th e coming cruci fixion of Christ? (5) Why did Jesus perm it the people to proclaim Him King of Israel? (6) Is the world going afte r Jesus how? Why not? A little town was Bethany, bu t Jesus exalted it forever by His presence, “There they made him a supper” (2 ). W hat a guest was Jesus, and how Si mon honored himself by inviting Him into his home. W hat gives a feast its dignity is not' the quality of the linen and dishes and food, bu t the quality of the guests. W hat changes would be w rought at feasts if Jesus was always given a place a t th e table. “And M artha served” (2 ). Busy as a servant here and th ere, yet her name is w rit ten among the immortals in th e Book of God. “Lazarus was one of them th a t sat a t m eat w ith him ” (2 ). The man who had died, and had been raised from the dead, he was there. W hat a guest he was, and how Simon and the rest must have listened awed and hushed to th e table ta lk of Jesu s and th is man who had come back from the other world: “Then took Mary a pound of ointm ent, very costly” (3 ). So deep and divine was her love for her Saviour th a t she brought h er high est to th e service of His lowest, her h air and head and h eart to th e service SUGGESTIVE COMMENT Rev. Campbell Coyle
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