Mary Anoints Jesus^(A)

12 Six days before the Passover, Jesus arrived in Bethany, where Lazarus lived,^[a] the man whom Jesus had raised from the dead. ² There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those at the table with him. ³ Mary took a litron^[b] of very expensive perfume made of pure nard and anointed Jesus’ feet. She wiped his feet with her hair, and the house became filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

⁴ But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples, who was going to betray him, asked, ⁵ “Why wasn’t this perfume sold for 300 denarii^[c] and the money^[d] given to the destitute?” ⁶ He said this, not because he cared about the destitute, but because he was a thief. He was in charge of the moneybag and would steal what was put into it.

⁷ Then Jesus said, “Leave her alone so she can observe the day of my burial, ⁸ because you will always have the destitute with you, but you won’t always have me.”

The Plot against Lazarus

⁹ When the large crowd of Jews realized that he was there, they came not only because of Jesus but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. ¹⁰ So the high priests planned to kill Lazarus, too, ¹¹ since he was the reason why so many of the Jews were leaving to believe in Jesus.

The King Enters Jerusalem^(B)

¹² The next day, the large crowd that had come to the festival heard that Jesus was coming into Jerusalem. ¹³ So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, shouting,

¹⁴ Then Jesus found a young donkey and sat upon it, as it is written:

¹⁶ At first, his disciples didn’t understand these things. However, when Jesus had been glorified, they remembered that these things had been written about him and that people^[i] had done these things to him. ¹⁷ So the crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to testify to what they had seen.^{[j] 18} The crowd was going out to meet Jesus^[k] because they had heard that he had performed this sign. ¹⁹ Then the Pharisees told one another, “You see, there is nothing you can do. Look, the world has gone after him!”

Some Greeks Ask to See Jesus

²⁰ Now some Greeks were among those who had come up to worship at the festival. ²¹ They went to Philip (who was from Bethsaida in Galilee) and told him, “Sir, we would like to see Jesus.”

²² Philip went and told Andrew, and Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. ²³ Jesus told them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. ²⁴ Truly, I tell all of you^[l] emphatically, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone. But if it dies, it produces a lot of grain. ²⁵ The one who loves his life will destroy it, and the one who hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life. ²⁶ If anyone serves me, he must follow me. And where I am, there my servant will also be. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.”

Jesus Speaks about His Death

²⁷ “Now my soul is in turmoil, and what should I say—‘Father, save me from this hour’? No! It was for this very reason that I came to this hour. ²⁸ Father, glorify your name.”

Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again!” ²⁹ The crowd standing there heard this and said that it was thunder.

Others were saying, “An angel has spoken to him.”

³⁰ Jesus replied, “This voice is for your benefit, not for mine. ³¹ Now is the time for the judgment of this world to begin.^[m] Now the ruler of this world will be thrown out. ³² As for me, if I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all people to myself.” ³³ He said this to indicate the kind of death he was about to die.

³⁴ Then the crowd answered him, “We have learned^[n] from the Law that the Messiah^[o] remains forever. So how can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?”

³⁵ Jesus replied to the crowd,^[p] “The light is among you only for a short time. Walk while you have the light, so that the darkness may not overtake you. The person who walks in the darkness is in the darkness and does not know where he is going. ³⁶ As long as you have the light, believe in the light, so that you may become children of light.” After Jesus had said this, he went away and hid from them.

The Unbelief of the Jews

³⁷ Although he had performed numerous signs in their presence, they did not believe in him, ³⁸ so that what the prophet Isaiah spoke might be fulfilled when he said:

³⁹ This is why they could not believe: Isaiah also said,

⁴¹ Isaiah said this when^[w] he saw his glory and spoke about him. ⁴² Yet many people, even some of the authorities, believed in him, but because of the Pharisees they did not admit it so they would not be thrown out of the synagogue. ⁴³ For they loved the praise of human beings more than the praise of God.

Judgment by Jesus’ Word

⁴⁴ Then Jesus said loudly, “The one who believes in me does not believe in me only, but also^[x] in the one who sent me. ⁴⁵ The one who sees me sees the one who sent me. ⁴⁶ I’ve come into the world as light, so that everyone who believes in me won’t remain in the darkness. ⁴⁷ If anyone hears my words and doesn’t keep them, I don’t condemn him, because I didn’t come to condemn the world, but to save it.^{[y] 48} The one who rejects me and doesn’t receive my words has something to judge him: The word that I’ve spoken will judge him on the last day, ⁴⁹ because I haven’t spoken on my own authority. Instead, the Father who sent me has himself commanded me what to say and how to speak. ⁵⁰ And I know that what he commands brings eternal life. What I speak, therefore, I speak just as the Father has told me.”