God is Doing a New Thing – 3 April 2022

John 12:1–8

In the Gospel of John, the story of the woman at the dinner gathering helps to focus the reader’s attention on Jesus’ upcoming death and resurrection. Unique to John is the identification of the location as Bethany at the house of Lazarus, and the woman as Mary, Lazarus’ sister. These details serve to link the story to Jesus’ “glorification” in the events of Good Friday and Easter Sunday. The connections to Lazarus remind the reader that Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead, a foreshadowing of Jesus’ own resurrection. The reader will recall that it was after Jesus raised Lazarus that the religious authorities decided it was necessary to kill Jesus (11:45–53).

John indicates that this event occurred six days before Passover, and before Jesus entered Jerusalem to the acclaim of the crowds. The anointing has royal/messianic overtones to link Jesus’ kingly identity with his death and burial. . . . Jesus was identified by John the Baptist as the Lamb of God (1:36) and was crucified on the eve of the Passover, at the same time the lambs were being slaughtered. When recounting other events as happening at Passover, John has suggested that their true significance can be seen only by their relationship to Jesus’ death and resurrection (for example with the cleansing of the temple and the feeding of the five thousand). Thus Jesus’ enigmatic statement about Mary keeping the perfume for his burial reveals the deepest meaning of her expansive (and expensive) gesture of gratitude and devotion. –– Aaron J. Couch

Isaiah 43:16–21

Declaring the powerful word of the LORD to the exilic community, the prophet begins by recalling God’s great saving work from generations past. The LORD is the One who delivered Israel from slavery in Egypt. . . . In a surprising rhetorical move, the prophet then calls for the listener to “not remember the former things.” It is possible that the prophet means the people should not remember the sins of generations past and the prophetic announcements of divine judgment that were central to the ministry of Isaiah of Jerusalem. Alternately, it may also be that the prophet means to emphasize the overwhelming greatness of the new work God is about to do . . . suggesting that the Exodus pales in comparison. . .

God’s new work, announced by the prophet, will begin with nothing less than the transformation of the world. . . . Water will flow in the desert so that the exiles will have something to drink as they return to their homeland. The wild animals will pose no danger as the people travel through a formerly threatening landscape . . .

Whereas the Exodus was recalled in terms of judgment and death, God’s new work will yield life and blessing. –– Aaron J. Couch

Philippians 3:4b–14

Paul recounts his excellent pedigree as an Israelite and his zeal for his ancestral faith, even describing himself as blameless under the law. Yet . . . he has come to regard them as less than nothing when compared to experiencing new life with God in Christ . . . The wonder of God’s victory over death gives Paul strength in the present and draws him onward to a future that is “heavenly,” defined by God’s surpassing gift of new life in Jesus. –– Aaron J. Couch

Aaron J. Couch is a co-pastor of First Immanuel Lutheran Church in Portland, Oregon.

Homily Service 43, no. 2 (2009): 37–45.

David Turnbloom