John 11:45 – 12:19

John 11

The Plot

⁴⁵ Therefore many of the Jews who came to Mary and saw what Jesus did believed in him. ⁴⁶ But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. ⁴⁷ So the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin. They asked, “What are we going to do, because this man is doing many miraculous signs? ⁴⁸ If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him. Then the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.”

⁴⁹ But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all. ⁵⁰ You do not even consider that it is better for us ^[1] 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 was going to die for the nation, ⁵² and not only for that nation, but also in order to gather into one the scattered children of God.

⁵³ So from that day on they plotted to kill him. ⁵⁴ Therefore Jesus no longer walked about openly among the Jews. Instead he withdrew into a region near the wilderness, to a town called Ephraim. And he stayed there with his disciples.

⁵⁵ The Jewish Passover was near, and many went up to Jerusalem from the country to purify themselves before the Passover. ⁵⁶ They kept looking for Jesus and asking one another as they stood in the temple area, “What do you think? He certainly won’t come to the Festival, will he?” ⁵⁷ The chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where Jesus was, he should report it so that they could arrest Jesus.

Mary Anoints Jesus

John 12

¹ Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, the hometown of Lazarus, who had died, the one Jesus raised from the dead. ² They gave a dinner for him there. Martha was serving, and Lazarus was one of those reclining at the table with him.

³ Then Mary took about twelve ounces ^[2] of very expensive perfume (pure nard) and anointed Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

⁴ But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was going to betray him, said, ⁵ “Why wasn’t this perfume sold for three hundred denarii ^[3] and given to the poor?” ⁶ He did not say this because he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief. He held the money box and used to steal what was put into it.

⁷ Jesus replied, “Leave her alone. She intended to keep this for the day of my burial. ⁸ Indeed, the poor you always have with you, but you are not always going to have me.”

⁹ A large crowd of the Jews learned that he was there. They came not only because of Jesus, but also to see Lazarus, whom he raised from the dead. ¹⁰ So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus too, ¹¹ because it was on account of him that many of the Jews were leaving them and believing in Jesus.

The King Comes to Jerusalem

¹² The next day, the large crowd that had come for the Festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. ¹³ Taking palm branches, they went out to meet him, shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord—the King of Israel!” ^[4]

¹⁴ Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written:

¹⁶ At first, his disciples did not understand these things. But when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about him and that they did these things for him.

¹⁷ The crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead kept telling what they had seen. ¹⁸ This is another reason a crowd met him: They heard he had done this miraculous sign.

¹⁹ So the Pharisees said to one another, “You see? You are accomplishing nothing. Look! The world has gone after him.”