Live to Love Scripture Encouragement

John 12:26 If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him. Three truths about the one who serves Jesus. 1). He must follow His lead in all things. 2). He will be present where Jesus is present. 3). He will be honored by the Father. Imagine. The One who deserves all the honor, honors those who deserve no honor. W...

John 12:25b He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal. Today we consider the second phrase of this verse. Whereas the one who loves his life will lose it, the one who hates his life in this world will keep his life to life eternal. What does he mean by hate in contrast to love? I think He means a person despises his self life, is dissatisf...

John 12:25 He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal. Let’s just focus on the first phrase. Jesus stated it as a fact: he who loves his life loses it. He surely means “loves his life in this world” since he contrasts it with “hates his life in this world”. What does He mean by love? I suggest love in this context means that one identifies...

John 12:24 Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. How is the Son of Man to be glorified? Jesus stated it plainly so we would all know. And John recorded it faithfully. Jesus is glorified as He gives Himself over to be crucified. In doing so, He will bear much fruit. John is going to quote Jesus again...

John 12:23 And Jesus answered them, saying, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified." This is not what I would have expected to hear from Jesus had I been Philip or Andrew. I would have expected something like, “Great! Bring them to me.” or “Where are they? Take me to them, I’d be happy to talk with them.” Does Jesus’ answer surprise you? What is it about some Greeks wanting to see H...

John 12:22 Philip came and told Andrew; Andrew and Philip came and told Jesus. Philip and Andrew became intercessors for the Greeks. An intercessor is one who negotiates or acts as a link between parties. A go-between if you will. We can be like Philip and Andrew as well when we go tell Jesus about those He has put in our lives to love with Him. There are people in our lives that God is in the pro...

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...

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 appear...

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...

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...

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 a...

John 12:14-15 Jesus, finding a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written, "Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your King is coming, seated on a donkey's colt." Zechariah 9:9 “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, Humble, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey....

John 12:12-13 On the next day the large crowd who had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took the branches of the palm trees and went out to meet Him, and began to shout, "Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel." This was a worthy praise and adoration of Jesus. He was and is the King of Israel who came in the name of th...

John 12:10-11 But the chief priests planned to put Lazarus to death also; because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and were believing in Jesus. The Pharisees were creating a first century cancel culture—the ultimate cancel culture. Literally cancel the lives of those who threaten the way of life we have created for ourselves. Perhaps the apostle James best explains what lies at t...

Living the Truth in 2026 “For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.” Pilate said to Him, “What is truth?” And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews and said to them, “I find no guilt in Him” (John 13:37-38).

John 12:9 The large crowd of the Jews then learned that He was there; and they came, not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He raised from the dead. We died when Jesus died. That’s our first death. We were raised from the dead when He was raised from the dead. What was the difference between Lazarus before he died and Lazarus after he was raised? People wanted to know...

John 12:7-8 Therefore Jesus said, "Let her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of My burial. For you always have the poor with you, but you do not always have Me." Certainly Jesus’ reply to Judas caught them all off-guard. First, He gave clear direction for the use of the remaining perfume, and it wasn’t to be sold to help the poor. Second, His reference to His burial. What? Couldn’t the on...

John 12:6 Now he said this, not because he was concerned about the poor, but because he was a thief, and as he had the money box, he used to pilfer what was put into it. I wonder when John discovered Judas’ hypocrisy and thievery. What strikes me is that it was necessary for Judas to have responsibility for the money box so that God’s judgment would be just. Didn’t Jesus know Judas’ greedy heart w...

John 12:4-5 But Judas Iscariot, one of His disciples, who was intending to betray Him, said, "Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and given to poor people?" Not only was God’s grace to Mary revealed as she anointed Jesus’ feet, but Judas’ heart was exposed as well. Every situation is an opportunity for sin or love to be expressed by those present. If Judas had been a true disci...

John 12:3 Mary then took a pound of very costly perfume of pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. As John mentioned the perfume was costly. It was derived from a flower of the honeysuckle family found in the Himalaya mountains of China and India. This was no small display of love and honor to the one w...

John 12:2 So they made Him a supper there, and Martha was serving; but Lazarus was one of those reclining at the table with Him. Imagine reclining at the table with Jesus, whose voice had called you out of the tomb. Maybe they were listening to Lazarus share his first thoughts upon re-entering his body in the tomb and hearing Jesus cry, “Lazarus, come forth!” Or maybe they were hearing him share a...

John 12:1 Jesus, therefore, six days before the Passover, came to Bethany where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. We don’t know how much time transpired between the miracle and Jesus’ return to Bethany after meeting with His disciples in Ephraim. It was a 14 1/2 mile trek and He timed His arrival to six days before Passover. I can’t help but see this as another expression of love f...

John 11:57 Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where He was, he was to report it so that they might seize Him. The dragnet tightened. Their evil scheme was in motion. They were determined to seize and eliminate Him. We should be amazed at the wisdom and glory of God to allow men to scheme and carry out evil against His anointed as the means by which He over...

John 11:56 So they were seeking for Jesus, and were saying to one another as they stood in the temple, "What do you think; that He will not come to the feast at all?" Imagine the scene. Men straining their necks, searching the crowd for Jesus. They were wondering what He would do. Have you ever wondered what Jesus would do? Jesus did eventually come, but not when they expected it nor how they expe...

John 11:55 Now the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went up to Jerusalem out of the country before the Passover to purify themselves. John lets us know the historical context surrounding the Passover celebration. Jerusalem’s population swelled with committed worshippers preparing for Passover. John implied that Jesus was expected to show up and that He would be easy to find. But Jesus didn’...