John 12:1-2

New King James Version

Then, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was who had been dead, whom He had raised from the dead. There, they made Him a supper, and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with Him.

For Meditation

Oh, the wonder of your majesty! Where is it in our lives? Where is it in your church? You have become so familiar that we no longer recognize Your glorious Presence with us.

Attending service is not a problem for us. There Is Jack and Jackie to see—a duty here and there to perform—to satisfy our spiritual obligation. Therefore, we hardly see you seated in our midst. We do not sense the power of your majesty with us. We no more sense your wonder in the teaching and preaching we hear every day.

How many focus on hearing you in the sermon than adoring the messenger? Preoccupied with the wrong things, we find wonder in the preacher’s eloquence. But does your Word come without your glory?

Why, then, are we in devotion every morning if not to see your glory and enjoy your fellowship and warmth? Why in service if not to find intimacy in the wonder of your holy Presence? This twisted  priority is what we see  at the dinner scene in Bethany for Jesus and Lazarus (Jn. 12:1-11).

He was seated at the dinner table with Jesus (2). An enormous crowd from Jerusalem has descended on Bethany to witness in  astonishment, Lazarus (9), the once-dead-and-buried-man for four days, alive and well! The wonder of wonders!

To see the dead raised to life was their goal and endeavor, so no one saw the wonder of the miracle worker sitting with the man He raised from the dead. Did the Pharisees even care to know the wonder of the Son of Man?

Their preoccupation was denial and hatred for Him—to remove the evidence before the people could behold the glory of God in the face of Jesus (10). To send Him to the  cross to humiliate Him was their goal, so they came to see Lazarus and plot their Calvary agenda. They had lost the glory of God in His Son – the Promised Messiah. This is beyond shame!

Now they are gone, but we are here. Every day, He walks among us and sits at our dinner tables. Do we sense His wonder? Do we ask Him to show us His glory as  Moses did (Exodus 33:18)? How about an appreciation of His glorious power in our salvation and the awe in His Presence?

 So, why are you before Him today?

May our senses and spirits be sensitive to His presence so we may behold His majesty and be transformed by Him. Amen!