John Chapter Twelve
First, I am going to show two different translations for the verses I am choosing to expose the enemy. One version is the New Messianic Version (NMV) and the other the New International Version (NIV). My reason is clear: To show cultural differences and present a cleared understanding of the Hebrew text of the New Testament. Through the series of walking through John there have been numerous times where the working of the opposition against Jesus through his disciples were pointed out. This time there is no difference as the influence of the opposition is pointed out once again.
While reading any of the New Testament people more times than not overlook the subtle influences of evil where the person is looked upon as the culprit. However, the human being influenced is part of the story: The human being influence has a choice to make; to choose to give in to temptation, to do what the heart desires or to overcome the temptation and follow the path the Lord has placed before them.
Throughout the gospels the influence of evil (temptation) can be seen in the mocking of Jesus by his disciples where they do this out of concern for Jesus while the underlying message is selfishness and an unknowing attempt to thwart Jesus’s ministry. This giving into temptation is obvious until after the apostles and others were baptized in the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. After that event, the temptation appears to have ceased with a few exceptions, one being Peter who was teaching the new gentile converts were to practice the Jewish teachings or the Torah. Eventually, Paul rebuked Peter and the result of the compromise can be seen in the book of Acts chapter fifteen verse twenty: ‘Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood.’ This verse needs to be explained before people say that the Apostles were teaching vegetarianism—they were not. Here is what the issue of eating animals stipulates: ‘Due to the prohibition of eating an animal’s blood, the Torah implies that an animal must be killed via exsanguination, since animals which died naturally or were torn apart by other animals were prohibited.’
As we can see thought the New Testament there is always the influence of evil tempting the heart of people no matter their faithfulness. It is up to everyone to make a stand and choose which path to remain on.
Moving along into the purpose of ‘how the devil works’ let us look at John twelve verses three through seven:
From the NMV:
Joh 12:3 Then took Miryam [waters of strength] a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Yeshua [God is Salvation] and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odor of the ointment.
Joh 12:4 Then says one of his disciples, Y’hudah [praised] From K’riot [cities], Shim’on [he has heard]’s [son], which should betray him,
Joh 12:5 Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor?
Joh 12:6 This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bore what was put in it.
Joh 12:7 Then said Yeshua [God is Salvation], Let her alone: against the day of my bury in g has she kept this.
From the NIV:
Jon 3 Then Mary took about a pint a of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of perfume.
Jon 4 But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected,
Jon 5 Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.
Jon 6 He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.
Jon 7 Leave her alone, Jesus replied. “It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial.
The verses that reveal the working temptation of evil are seen in verses four through six. What we first see is Judas acting out his nature and trying to belittle what Mary did in preparation for Jesus’ death as stated in Jon verse seven. However, this is much deeper than first realized because this type of mocking is not only Judas’ nature at work, but also Judas’ nature being manipulated by temptation or his influence by the evil one or has I like to say, the opposition. This is the argument of the article because each one of us fall victim to this temptation because we were and are not aware that we are being manipulated to mock Jesus without knowing it. In the text we know for example that Judas is a thief and later we know greed has led him to betray Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. However, we also know that Judas was being used by the evil one all along as noted at the Passover by Jesus in Matthew chapter twenty-six verses twenty through twenty-five:
Mat 20 When evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the Twelve.
Mat 21 And while they were eating, he said, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me.”
Mat 22 They were sad and began to say to him one after the other, “Surely you don’t mean me, Lord?”
Mat 23 Jesus replied, “The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me.”
Mat 24 The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would have been better for him if he had not been born.
Mat 25 …Judas, the one who would betray him, said, “Surely you don’t mean me, Rabbi?” Jesus answered, “You have said so.”
Questions are: Have you ever mocked another of Jesus’s followers because you wanted them to do something different, or to stop doing something there were doing? Have you ever mocked your pastor for the message delivered Saturday, Sunday, or during Wednesday services? Was mocking a means to get what you wanted instead of what the Lord wanted for you? I you ever tried to lead someone away from what they perceived as the correct thing to do?
I think we all have fallen into the devils’ traps, and my point is we need to stop giving in to the trickery of the evil one and fall for the manipulated temptation thrown our way. We must stay on the path the Lord has ordered for us. We must be steadfast in faith no matter how difficult it may appear. We must agree with Paul’s instruction to Timothy where Paul encourages Timothy to “Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.”
WE MUST!
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