17 Therefore the people, who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of his tomb and raised him from the dead, bore witness. 18 For this reason the people also met Him, because they heard that He had done this sign. 19 The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, “You see that you are accomplishing nothing. Look, the world has gone after Him!”
In the following verses there is a contrast between people in general and the religious leaders. Religion was determined to reject Jesus as the Messiah.
12:17
Therefore the people, who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of his tomb and raised him from the dead, bore witness.
The crowd who went to Bethany to witness the event of resurrection of Lazarus gave public testimony of what happened there.
12:18
For this reason the people also met Him,
The crowd of verse 18 is different than those in verse 17. The witness of the people who went to see the events at Bethany brought others in Jerusalem to see Jesus. The masses were growing. Many of these people were pilgrims who came from many geographical locations.
because they heard that He had done this sign [miraculous miracle that points to something].
Some heard from afar about what had happened at Bethany.
12:19
The Pharisees therefore said among themselves,
The Pharisees talked among themselves about crowds at Jesus’ triumphal entry.
“You see that you [other Pharisees] are accomplishing nothing. Look, the world has gone after Him!”
The Pharisees understood that the growing crowds coming out to see Jesus disrupted their plans to kill Him. They were now exasperated in their attempt to kill Jesus. They were about ready to hatch another devious plot against Jesus.
PRINCIPLE:
Envy drives people to greater evil.
APPLICATION:
Jesus must go through the cross before receiving His crown. He had no illusions about what He was moving into.
The reference to Lazarus’ resurrection from the dead shows us that the Pharisees were implacable in their hatred of Christ. Their reason for not believing who He claimed to be was patently clear. Their envy of His popularity drove them to greater evil.
