12:8
Jesus then addresses the objection that Judas raised. “You will always have the poor”. People often raise an objection that something better could have been done with money. Jesus’ words here warn us against a completely utilitarian approach to money. We should be sensible, for the most part, but logic alone is not the only thing that matters. And there is actually no limit on what we can do for the poor. We can always give.
12:9
The raising of Lazarus had made Jesus a star attraction, as if He wasn’t well known enough already. This partly explains why there were such large crowds. They also wanted to see Lazarus himself. Was he really alive? What was it like to come back from the dead? There is a similar interest today in things like near-death experiences, and “Christian” books by people who supposedly have seen heaven (my default position on these things is to assume they are wrong until proven otherwise).
12:10,11
The chief priests made plans to kill Jesus, now they added to their sin by planning to kill Lazarus as well. Jesus’ increasing fame was making Him an ever-increasing threat to them. The ministry of Jesus was showing up the paucity of their own ministry, and Lazarus was someone they could not argue with.
So we see here the effect of sin and how it takes over people. We also see the madness of it all. Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead, so reason showed that death was not the “defeater” for Jesus that is is for everyone else.
Regimes try to shut up the church by persecuting it. But if there is a God persecuting the church will not achieve anything. God Himself will take action.
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