If you don't have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over?

Haman Is Hanged
1 So the king and Haman went in to eat with Queen Esther.
2 As they were drinking wine on the second day, the king asked Esther again, “What are you asking for? I will give it to you. What is it you want? I will give you as much as half of my kingdom.”

3 Then Queen Esther answered, “My king, if you are pleased with me, and if it pleases you, let me live. This is what I ask. And let my people live, too. This is what I want.
4 My people and I have been sold to be destroyed, to be killed and completely wiped out. If we had been sold as male and female slaves, I would have kept quiet, because that would not be enough of a problem to bother the king.”

5 Then King Xerxes asked Queen Esther, “Who is he, and where is he? Who has done such a thing?”

6 Esther said, “Our enemy and foe is this wicked Haman!”

Then Haman was filled with terror before the king and queen.
7 The king was very angry, so he got up, left his wine, and went out into the palace garden. But Haman stayed inside to beg Queen Esther to save his life. He could see that the king had already decided to kill him.

8 When the king returned from the palace garden to the banquet hall, he saw Haman falling on the couch where Esther was lying. The king said, “Will he even attack the queen while I am in the house?”

As soon as the king said that, servants came in and covered Haman’s face.
9 Harbona, one of the eunuchs there serving the king, said, “Look, a seventy-five foot platform stands near Haman’s house. This is the one Haman had prepared for Mordecai, who gave the warning that saved the king.”

The king said, “Hang Haman on it!”10 So they hanged Haman on the platform he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the king was not so angry anymore.

Esther accuses Haman. (1-6) Haman hanged on his own gallows. (7-10)

Commentary on Esther 7:1-6
If the love of life causes earnest pleadings with those that can only kill the body, how fervent should our prayers be to Him, who is able to destroy both body and soul in hell! How should we pray for the salvation of our relatives, friends, and all around us! When we petition great men, we must be cautious not to give them offence; even just complaints must often be kept back. But when we approach the King of kings with reverence, we cannot ask or expect too much. Though nothing but wrath be our due, God is able and willing to do exceeding abundantly, even beyond all we can ask or think.

Commentary on Esther 7:7-10
The king was angry: those that do things with self-will, reflect upon them afterward with self-reproach. When angry, we should pause before we come to any resolution, and thus rule our own spirits, and show that we are governed by reason. Those that are most haughty and insolent when in power and prosperity, commonly, like Haman, are the most abject and poor-spirited when brought down. The day is coming when those that hate and persecute God’s chosen ones, would gladly be beholden to them. The king returns yet more angry against Haman. Those about him were ready to put his wrath into execution. How little can proud men be sure of the interest they think they have! The enemies of God’s church have often been thus taken in their own craftiness. The Lord is known by such judgments. Then was the king’s wrath pacified, and not till then. And who pities Haman hanged on his own gallows? who does not rather rejoice in the Divine righteousness displayed in the destruction his own art brought upon him? Let the workers of iniquity tremble, turn to the Lord, and seek pardon through the blood of Jesus.

[Ābĭē'zûr] — father of help orin help.

1. The son of Hammoleketh, who was the sister of Machir and daughter of Manasseh. Gideon belonged to this family
Josh. 17:2: – ² So this allotment was for the rest of the people of Manasseh—the clans of Abiezer, Helek, Asriel, Shechem, Hepher and Shemida. These are the other male descendants of Manasseh son of Joseph by their clans.

Judg. 6:11: – ¹¹ The angel of the LORD came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites.

1 Chron. 7:18: – ¹⁸ His sister Hammoleketh gave birth to Ishhod, Abiezer and Mahlah.
Perhaps the same as Jeezer (Num. 26:30: - ³⁰ These were the descendants of Gilead:  through Iezer, the Iezerite clan; through Helek, the Helekite clan).

2. An Anethothite, one of David’s thirty-seven chief heroes, who had command of the army during the ninth month
2 Sam. 23:27: – ²⁷ Abiezer from Anathoth, Sibbekai the Hushathite.

1 Chron. 11:28: – ²⁸ Ira son of Ikkesh from Tekoa, Abiezer from Anathoth.

1 Chron. 27:12: – ¹² The ninth, for the ninth month, was Abiezer the Anathothite, a Benjamite. There were 24,000 men in his division.
Also the name of a district (Judg. 6:34: -³⁴ Then the Spirit of the LORD came on Gideon, and he blew a trumpet, summoning the Abiezrites to follow him).

How pleasant it is for a father to sit at his child's board. It is like an aged man reclining under the shadow of an oak which he has planted.

Mordecai Is Honored
1 That same night the king could not sleep. So he gave an order for the daily court record to be brought in and read to him.
2 It was found recorded that Mordecai had warned the king about Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s officers who guarded the doorway and who had planned to kill the king.

3 The king asked, “What honor and reward have been given to Mordecai for this?”

The king’s personal servants answered, “Nothing has been done for Mordecai.”

4 The king said, “Who is in the courtyard?” Now Haman had just entered the outer court of the king’s palace. He had come to ask the king about hanging Mordecai on the platform he had prepared.

5 The king’s personal servants said, “Haman is standing in the courtyard.”

The king said, “Bring him in.”

6 So Haman came in. And the king asked him, “What should be done for a man whom the king wants very much to honor?”

And Haman thought to himself, “Whom would the king want to honor more than me?”
7 So he answered the king, “This is what you could do for the man you want very much to honor.
8 Have the servants bring a royal robe that the king himself has worn. And also bring a horse with a royal crown on its head, a horse that the king himself has ridden.
9 Let the robe and the horse be given to one of the king’s most important men. Let the servants put the robe on the man the king wants to honor, and let them lead him on the horse through the city streets. As they are leading him, let them announce: ‘This is what is done for the man whom the king wants to honor!’ “

10 The king commanded Haman, “Go quickly. Take the robe and the horse just as you have said, and do all this for Mordecai the Jew who sits at the king’s gate. Do not leave out anything you have suggested.”

11 So Haman took the robe and the horse, and he put the robe on Mordecai. Then he led him on horseback through the city streets, announcing before Mordecai: “This is what is done for the man whom the king wants to honor!”

12 Then Mordecai returned to the king’s gate, but Haman hurried home with his head covered, because he was embarrassed and ashamed.
13 He told his wife, Zeresh, and all his friends everything that had happened to him.

Haman’s wife and the men who gave him advice said, “You are starting to lose power to Mordecai. Since he is a Jew, you cannot win against him. You will surely be ruined.”
14 While they were still talking, the king’s eunuchs came to Haman’s house and made him hurry to the banquet Esther had prepared.

Providence recommends Mordecai to the king’s favour. (1-3) Haman’s counsel honours Mordecai. (4-11) Haman’s friends tell him of his danger. (12-14)

Commentary on Esther 6:1-3
The providence of God rules over the smallest concerns of men. Not a sparrow falls to the ground without him. Trace the steps which Providence took towards the advancement of Mordecai. The king could not sleep when Providence had a design to serve, in keeping him awake. We read of no illness that broke his sleep, but God, whose gift sleep is, withheld it from him. He who commanded a hundred and twenty-seven provinces, could not command one hour’s sleep.

Commentary on Esther 6:4-11
See how men’s pride deceives them. The deceitfulness of our own hearts appears in nothing more than in the conceit we have of ourselves and our own performances: against which we should constantly watch and pray. Haman thought the king loved and valued no one but himself, but he was deceived. We should suspect that the esteem which others profess for us, is not so great as it seems to be, that we may not think too well of ourselves, nor trust too much in others. How Haman is struck, when the king bids him do honour to Mordecai the Jew, the very man whom he hated above all men, whose ruin he was now designing!

Commentary on Esther 6:12-14
Mordecai was not puffed up with his honours, he returned to his place and the duty of it. Honour is well bestowed on those that do not think themselves above their business. But Haman could not bear it. What harm had it done him? But that will break a proud man’s heart, which will not break a humble man’s sleep. His doom was, out of this event, read to him by his wife and his friends. They plainly confessed that the Jews, though scattered through the nations, were special objects of Divine care. Miserable comforters are they all; they did not advise Haman to repent, but foretold his fate as unavoidable. The wisdom of God is seen, in timing the means of his church’s deliverance, so as to manifest his own glory.

All, everything that I understand, I understand only because I love.

Esther Speaks to the King
1 On the third day Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner courtyard of the king’s palace, facing the king’s hall. The king was sitting on his royal throne in the hall, facing the doorway.
2 When the king saw Queen Esther standing in the courtyard, he was pleased. He held out to her the gold scepter that was in his hand, so Esther went forward and touched the end of it.

3 The king asked, “What is it, Queen Esther? What do you want to ask me? I will give you as much as half of my kingdom.”

4 Esther answered, “My king, if it pleases you, come today with Haman to a banquet that I have prepared for you.”

5 Then the king said, “Bring Haman quickly so we may do what Esther asks.”

So the king and Haman went to the banquet Esther had prepared for them.
6 As they were drinking wine, the king said to Esther, “Now, what are you asking for? I will give it to you. What is it you want? I will give you as much as half of my kingdom.”

7 Esther answered, “This is what I want and what I ask for.
8 My king, if you are pleased with me and if it pleases you, give me what I ask for and do what I want. Come with Haman tomorrow to the banquet I will prepare for you. Then I will answer your question about what I want.”

Haman’s Plans Against Mordecai

9 Haman left the king’s palace that day happy and content. But when he saw Mordecai at the king’s gate and saw that Mordecai did not stand up or tremble with fear before him, Haman became very angry with Mordecai.
10 But he controlled his anger and went home.

Then Haman called together his friends and his wife, Zeresh.
11 He told them how wealthy he was and how many sons he had. He also told them all the ways the king had honored him and how the king had placed him higher than his important men and his royal officers.
12 He also said, “I’m the only person Queen Esther invited to come with the king to the banquet she gave. And tomorrow also the queen has asked me to be her guest with the king.
13 But all this does not really make me happy when I see that Jew Mordecai sitting at the king’s gate.”

14 Then Haman’s wife, Zeresh, and all his friends said, “Have a seventy-five foot platform built, and in the morning ask the king to have Mordecai hanged on it. Then go to the banquet with the king and be happy.” Haman liked this suggestion, so he ordered the platform to be built.

Esther’s application received. (1-8) Haman prepares to hang Mordecai. (9-14)

Commentary on Esther 5:1-8
Esther having had power with God, and prevailing, like Jacob, had power with men too. He that will lose his life for God, shall save it, or find it in a better life. The king encouraged her. Let us from this be encouraged to pray always to our God, and not to faint. Esther came to a proud, imperious man; but we come to the God of love and grace. She was not called, but we are; the Spirit says, Come, and the Bride says, Come. She had a law against her, we have a promise, many a promise, in favour of us; Ask, and it shall be given you. She had no friend to go with her, or to plead for her; on the contrary, he that was then the king’s favourite, was her enemy; but we have an Advocate with the Father, in whom he is well pleased. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace. God put it into Esther’s heart to delay her petition a day longer; she knew not, but God did, what was to happen in that very night.

Commentary on Esther 5:9-14
This account of Haman is a comment upon Proverbs 21:24. Self-admirers and self-flatterers are really self-deceivers. Haman, the higher he is lifted up, the more impatient he is of contempt, and the more enraged at it. The affront from Mordecai spoiled all. A slight affront, which a humble man would scarcely notice, will torment a proud man, even to madness, and will mar all his comforts. Those disposed to be uneasy, will never want something to be uneasy at. Such are proud men; though they have much to their mind, if they have not all to their mind, it is as nothing to them. Many call the proud happy, who display pomp and make a show; but this is a mistaken thought. Many poor cottagers feel far less uneasiness than the rich, with all their fancied advantages around them. The man who knows not Christ, is poor though he be rich, because he is utterly destitute of that which alone is true riches.

And while the law of competition may be sometimes hard for the individual, it is best for the race, because it ensures the survival of the fittest in every department.

Mordecai Asks Esther to Help
1 When Mordecai heard about all that had been done, he tore his clothes, put on rough cloth and ashes, and went out into the city crying loudly and painfully.
2 But Mordecai went only as far as the king’s gate, because no one was allowed to enter that gate dressed in rough cloth.
3 As the king’s order reached every area, there was great sadness and loud crying among the Jewish people. They fasted and cried out loud, and many of them lay down on rough cloth and ashes to show how sad they were.

4 When Esther’s servant girls and eunuchs came to her and told her about Mordecai, she was very upset and afraid. She sent clothes for Mordecai to put on instead of the rough cloth, but he would not wear them.
5 Then Esther called for Hathach, one of the king’s eunuchs chosen by the king to serve her. Esther ordered him to find out what was bothering Mordecai and why.

6 So Hathach went to Mordecai, who was in the city square in front of the king’s gate.
7 Mordecai told Hathach everything that had happened to him, and he told Hathach about the amount of money Haman had promised to pay into the king’s treasury for the killing of the Jewish people.
8 Mordecai also gave him a copy of the order to kill the Jewish people, which had been given in Susa. He wanted Hathach to show it to Esther and to tell her about it. And Mordecai told him to order Esther to go into the king’s presence to beg for mercy and to plead with him for her people.

9 Hathach went back and reported to Esther everything Mordecai had said.
10 Then Esther told Hathach to tell Mordecai,
11 ”All the royal officers and people of the royal states know that no man or woman may go to the king in the inner courtyard without being called. There is only one law about this: Anyone who enters must be put to death unless the king holds out his gold scepter. Then that person may live. And I have not been called to go to the king for thirty days.”

12 Esther’s message was given to Mordecai.
13 Then Mordecai sent back word to Esther: “Just because you live in the king’s palace, don’t think that out of all the Jewish people you alone will escape.
14 If you keep quiet at this time, someone else will help and save the Jewish people, but you and your father’s family will all die. And who knows, you may have been chosen queen for just such a time as this.”

15 Then Esther sent this answer to Mordecai:
16 ”Go and get all the Jewish people in Susa together. For my sake, fast; do not eat or drink for three days, night and day. I and my servant girls will also fast . Then I will go to the king, even though it is against the law, and if I die, I die.”

17 So Mordecai went away and did everything Esther had told him to do.

The Jews lament their danger. (1-4) Esther undertakes to plead for the Jews. (5-17)

Commentary on Esther 4:1-4
Mordecai avowed his relation to the Jews. Public calamities, that oppress the church of God, should affect our hearts more than any private affliction, and it is peculiarly distressing to occasion sufferings to others. God will keep those that are exposed to evil by the tenderness of their consciences.

Commentary on Esther 4:5-17
We are prone to shrink from services that are attended with peril or loss. But when the cause of Christ and his people demand it, we must take up our cross, and follow him. When Christians are disposed to consult their own ease or safety, rather than the public good, they should be blamed. The law was express, all knew it. It is not thus in the court of the King of kings: to the footstool of his throne of grace we may always come boldly, and may be sure of an answer of peace to the prayer of faith. We are welcome, even into the holiest, through the blood of Jesus. Providence so ordered it, that, just then, the king’s affections had cooled toward Esther; her faith and courage thereby were the more tried; and God’s goodness in the favour she now found with the king, thereby shone the brighter. Haman no doubt did what he could to set the king against her. Mordecai suggests, that it was a cause which, one way or other, would certainly be carried, and which therefore she might safely venture in. This was the language of strong faith, which staggered not at the promise when the danger was most threatening, but against hope believed in hope. He that by sinful devices will save his life, and will not trust God with it in the way of duty, shall lose it in the way of sin. Divine Providence had regard to this matter, in bringing Esther to be queen. Therefore thou art bound in gratitude to do this service for God and his church, else thou dost not answer the end of thy being raised up. There is wise counsel and design in all the providences of God, which will prove that they are all intended for the good of the church. We should, every one, consider for what end God has put us in the place where we are, and study to answer that end: and take care that we do not let it slip. Having solemnly commended our souls and our cause to God, we may venture upon his service. All dangers are trifling compared with the danger of losing our souls. But the trembling sinner is often as much afraid of casting himself, without reserve, upon the Lord’s free mercy, as Esther was of coming before the king. Let him venture, as she did, with earnest prayer and supplication, and he shall fare as well and better than she did. The cause of God must prevail: we are safe in being united to it.

[Lăz'arŭs] — God hath helped or without help.

1. The beggar in the parable of the rich man. This is the only instance where Jesus gives a name to a parabolic character, and there was an idea in early times that it was not a parable but a story from real life
Luke 16:19-31: – ¹⁹ “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day.
²⁰At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores
²¹ and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.
²² “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried.
²³ In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side.
²⁴ So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’
²⁵ “But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony.
²⁶ And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’
²⁷ “He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family,
²⁸ for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’
²⁹ “Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’
³⁰ “‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’
³¹ “He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”

2. The brother of Mary and Martha of Bethany whom Jesus raised from the dead
John 11: – ¹ Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha.
² (This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.)
³ So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.”
⁴ When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.”
⁵ Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.
⁶ So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days,
⁷ and then he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.”
⁸ “But Rabbi,” they said, “a short while ago the Jews there tried to stone you, and yet you are going back?”
⁹ Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Anyone who walks in the daytime will not stumble, for they see by this world’s light.
¹⁰ It is when a person walks at night that they stumble, for they have no light.”
¹¹ After he had said this, he went on to tell them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.”
¹² His disciples replied, “Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better.”
¹³ Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep.
¹⁴ So then he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead,
¹⁵ and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”
¹⁶ Then Thomas (also known as Didymus) said to the rest of the disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”
¹⁷ On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days.
¹⁸ Now Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem,
¹⁹ and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother.
²⁰ When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.
²¹ “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died.
²² But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”
²³ Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”
²⁴ Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”
²⁵ Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die;
²⁶ and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
²⁷ “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”
²⁸ After she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. “The Teacher is here,” she said, “and is asking for you.”
²⁹ When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him.
³⁰ Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him.
³¹ When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there.
³² When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
³³ When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled.
³⁴ “Where have you laid him?” he asked. “Come and see, Lord,” they replied.
³⁵ Jesus wept.
³⁶ Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”
³⁷ But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”
³⁸ Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance.
³⁹ “Take away the stone,” he said. “But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.”
⁴⁰ Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”
⁴¹ So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me.
⁴² I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.”
⁴³ When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!”
⁴⁴ The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.
Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”
⁴⁵ Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him.
⁴⁶ But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done.
⁴⁷ Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin. “What are we accomplishing?” they asked. “Here is this man performing many signs.
⁴⁸ If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our temple and our nation.”
⁴⁹ Then one of them, named Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, spoke up, “You know nothing at all!
⁵⁰ You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.”
⁵¹ He did not say this on his own, but as high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation,
⁵² and not only for that nation but also for the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one.
⁵³ So from that day on they plotted to take his life.
⁵⁴ Therefore Jesus no longer moved about publicly among the people of Judea. Instead he withdrew to a region near the wilderness, to a village called Ephraim, where he stayed with his disciples.
⁵⁵ When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, many went up from the country to Jerusalem for their ceremonial cleansing before the Passover.
⁵⁶ They kept looking for Jesus, and as they stood in the temple courts they asked one another, “What do you think? Isn’t he coming to the festival at all?”
⁵⁷ But the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that anyone who found out where Jesus was should report it so that they might arrest him.

John 12:1-17: – ¹ Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.
² Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him.
³ Then Mary took about a pint 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 the perfume.
⁴ But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected,
⁵ “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.”
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.
⁷ “Leave her alone,” Jesus replied. “It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial.
⁸ You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.”
⁹ Meanwhile a large crowd of Jews found out that Jesus was there and came, not only because of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead.
¹⁰ So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well,
¹¹ for on account of him many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and believing in him.
¹² The next day the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem.
¹³ They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, “Hosanna!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Blessed is the king of Israel!”
¹⁴ Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, as it is written:
¹⁵ “Do not be afraid, Daughter Zion; see, your king is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt.”
¹⁶ At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and that these things had been done to him.
¹⁷ Now the crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to spread the word.

The Man Who Lived Again

Alexander Whyte comments,

Lazarus of Bethany comes as near to Jesus of Nazareth, both in his character, and in his services, and in his unparalleled experience, as mortal men ever come. Lazarus’name is never to be read in the new Testament till the appointed time comes when he is to be sick, …to die, and to be raised from the dead for the glory of God. Nor is his voice heard. Lazarus loved silence. He sought obscurity. He liked to be overlooked. He revelled in neglect…The very Evangelists pass over Lazarus as if he were a worm and no man.

I. He is the subject of the greatest and most startling miracle of the gospel story.

II. He was the friend of Jesus, being loved by Him. Jesus wept at his grave.

III. His resurrection threatened the life of Jesus. The Sanhedrin were determined to put Him to death.

IV. His attendance at Simon’s banquet excited the enthusiasm of the people
John 12:9: – ⁹ Meanwhile a large crowd of Jews found out that Jesus was there and came, not only because of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead.

John 12:17: – ¹⁷ Now the crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to spread the word.

John 12:18: – ¹⁸ Many people, because they had heard that he had performed this sign, went out to meet him.

After his presence as an honored guest at Simon’s house, Lazarus vanishes from the gospel story. Of all men, he should have stood by Jesus at His trial and crucifixion. Doubtless Lazarus was forced to flee, seeing that the infuriated elders determined his death
John 12:10: – ¹⁰ So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well.

John 12:11: – ¹¹ for on account of him many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and believing in him.
With a deep affection for his Friend, Lazarus would withdraw more for His sake than for his own. He felt his presence only increased the Master’s danger.