Jesus anointed at Bethany
1Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honour. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. 3Then Mary took about half a litre 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.
4But 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.12:5 Greek three hundred denarii’ 6He 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. 8You will always have the poor among you,12:8 See Deut. 15:11. but you will not always have me.’
9Meanwhile 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. 10So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well, 11for on account of him many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and believing in him.
Jesus comes to Jerusalem as king
12The next day the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. 13They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting,
‘Hosanna!12:13 A Hebrew expression meaning ‘Save!’ which became an exclamation of praise’
‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’12:13 Psalm 118:25,26
‘Blessed is the king of Israel!’
14Jesus found a young donkey and sat upon it, as it is written:
15‘Do not be afraid, Daughter Zion;
see, your king is coming,
seated on a donkey’s colt.’12:15 Zech. 9:9
16At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realise that these things had been written about him and that these things had been done to him.
17Now the crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to spread the word. 18Many people, because they had heard that he had performed this sign, went out to meet him. 19So the Pharisees said to one another, ‘See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!’
Jesus predicts his death
20Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the festival. 21They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. ‘Sir,’ they said, ‘we would like to see Jesus.’ 22Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus.
23Jesus replied, ‘The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24Very truly I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. 25Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honour the one who serves me.
27‘Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? “Father, save me from this hour”? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. 28Father, glorify your name!’
Then a voice came from heaven, ‘I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.’ 29The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him.
30Jesus said, ‘This voice was for your benefit, not mine. 31Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. 32And I, when I am lifted up12:32 The Greek for lifted up also means exalted. from the earth, will draw all people to myself.’ 33He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die.
34The crowd spoke up, ‘We have heard from the Law that the Messiah will remain for ever, so how can you say, “The Son of Man must be lifted up”? Who is this “Son of Man”?’
35Then Jesus told them, ‘You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. Whoever walks in the dark does not know where they are going. 36Believe in the light while you have the light, so that you may become children of light.’ When he had finished speaking, Jesus left and hid himself from them.
Belief and unbelief among the Jews
37Even after Jesus had performed so many signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him. 38This was to fulfil the word of Isaiah the prophet:
‘Lord, who has believed our message
and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?’12:38 Isaiah 53:1
39For this reason they could not believe, because, as Isaiah says elsewhere:
40‘He has blinded their eyes
and hardened their hearts,
so they can neither see with their eyes,
nor understand with their hearts,
nor turn – and I would heal them.’12:40 Isaiah 6:10
41Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus’ glory and spoke about him.
42Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not openly acknowledge their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; 43for they loved human praise more than praise from God.
44Then Jesus cried out, ‘Whoever believes in me does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me. 45The one who looks at me is seeing the one who sent me. 46I have come into the world as a light, so that no-one who believes in me should stay in darkness.
47‘If anyone hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge that person. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. 48There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; the very words I have spoken will condemn them at the last day. 49For I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me to say all that I have spoken. 50I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say.’
Mary Pours Perfume on Jesus at Bethany
1It was six days before the Passover Feast. Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived. Lazarus was the one Jesus had raised from the dead. 2A dinner was given at Bethany to honor Jesus. Martha served the food. Lazarus was among the people at the table with Jesus. 3Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard. It was an expensive perfume. She poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the sweet smell of the perfume.
4But Judas Iscariot didn’t like what Mary did. He was one of Jesus’ disciples. Later he was going to hand Jesus over to his enemies. Judas said, 5“Why wasn’t this perfume sold? Why wasn’t the money given to poor people? It was worth a year’s pay.” 6He didn’t say this because he cared about the poor. He said it because he was a thief. Judas was in charge of the money bag. He used to help himself to what was in it.
7“Leave her alone,” Jesus replied. “The perfume was meant for the day I am buried. 8You will always have the poor among you. But you won’t always have me.”
9Meanwhile a large crowd of Jews found out that Jesus was there, so they came. But they did not come only because of Jesus. They also came to see Lazarus. After all, Jesus had raised him from the dead. 10So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus too. 11Because of Lazarus, many of the Jews were starting to follow Jesus. They were believing in him.
Jesus Comes to Jerusalem as King
12The next day the large crowd that had come for the feast heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. 13So they took branches from palm trees and went out to meet him. They shouted,
“Hosanna!”
“Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!” (Psalm 118:25,26)
“Blessed is the king of Israel!”
14Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it. This is just as it is written in Scripture. It says,
15“City of Zion, do not be afraid.
See, your king is coming.
He is sitting on a donkey’s colt.” (Zechariah 9:9)
16At first, Jesus’ disciples did not understand all this. They realized it only after he had received glory. Then they realized that these things had been written about him. They realized that these things had been done to him.
17A crowd had been with Jesus when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead. So they continued to tell everyone about what had happened. 18Many people went out to meet him. They had heard that he had done this sign. 19So the Pharisees said to one another, “This isn’t getting us anywhere. Look how the whole world is following him!”
Jesus Tells About His Coming Death
20There were some Greeks among the people who went up to worship during the feast. 21They came to ask Philip for a favor. Philip was from Bethsaida in Galilee. “Sir,” they said, “we would like to see Jesus.” 22Philip went to tell Andrew. Then Andrew and Philip told Jesus.
23Jesus replied, “The time has come for the Son of Man to receive glory. 24What I’m about to tell you is true. Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only one seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. 25Anyone who loves their life will lose it. But anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it and have eternal life. 26Anyone who serves me must follow me. And where I am, my servant will also be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.
27“My soul is troubled. What should I say? ‘Father, keep me from having to go through with this’? No. This is the very reason I have come to this point in my life. 28Father, bring glory to your name!”
Then a voice came from heaven. It said, “I have brought glory to my name. I will bring glory to it again.” 29The crowd there heard the voice. Some said it was thunder. Others said an angel had spoken to Jesus.
30Jesus said, “This voice was for your benefit, not mine. 31Now it is time for the world to be judged. Now the prince of this world will be thrown out. 32And I am going to be lifted up from the earth. When I am, I will bring all people to myself.” 33He said this to show them how he was going to die.
34The crowd spoke up. “The Law tells us that the Messiah will remain forever,” they said. “So how can you say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this ‘Son of Man’?”
35Then Jesus told them, “You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light. Do this before darkness catches up with you. Whoever walks in the dark does not know where they are going. 36While you have the light, believe in it. Then you can become children of light.” When Jesus had finished speaking, he left and hid from them.
Some Jews Believe and Some Don’t
37Jesus had performed so many signs in front of them. But they still would not believe in him. 38This happened as Isaiah the prophet had said it would. He had said,
“Lord, who has believed what we’ve been saying?
Who has seen the Lord’s saving power?” (Isaiah 53:1)
39For this reason, they could not believe. As Isaiah says in another place,
40“The Lord has blinded their eyes.
He has closed their minds.
So they can’t see with their eyes.
They can’t understand with their minds.
They can’t turn to the Lord. If they could, he would heal them.” (Isaiah 6:10)
41Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus’ glory and spoke about him.
42At the same time that Jesus did those signs, many of the Jewish leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees, they would not openly admit they believed. They were afraid they would be thrown out of the synagogue. 43They loved praise from people more than praise from God.
44Then Jesus cried out, “Whoever believes in me does not believe in me only. They also believe in the one who sent me. 45The one who looks at me sees the one who sent me. 46I have come into the world to be its light. So no one who believes in me will stay in darkness.
47“I don’t judge a person who hears my words but does not obey them. I didn’t come to judge the world. I came to save the world. 48But there is a judge for anyone who does not accept me and my words. These words I have spoken will judge them on the last day. 49I did not speak on my own. The Father who sent me commanded me to say all that I have said. 50I know that his command leads to eternal life. So everything I say is just what the Father has told me to say.”
