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Jesus with Friends in Bethany

12 [L Therefore] Six days before the Passover Feast, Jesus went to Bethany, where Lazarus lived. (Lazarus is the man Jesus raised from the dead.) There they had a dinner for Jesus. Martha served the food, and Lazarus was one of the people ·eating [L reclining; C it was customary to eat formal meals while reclining around a low table] with Jesus. [L Then] Mary brought in a pint [C Greek litra; about eleven ounces, weighing just under a pound] of very expensive ·perfume [ointment/fragrant oil] made from pure nard. She ·poured the perfume on [anointed; C not the word for royal or priestly anointing, but for hospitality or care] Jesus’ feet, and then she wiped his feet with her hair. And the ·sweet smell [fragrance] from the perfume filled the whole house.

Judas Iscariot, one of Jesus’ ·followers [disciples] who would later ·turn against [betray] him, was there. Judas said, “This ·perfume [ointment/fragrant oil] was worth an ·entire year’s wages [L three hundred denarii]. Why wasn’t it sold and the money given to the poor?” But Judas did not really care about the poor; he said this because he was a thief. He was the one who kept the money ·box [or bag], and he often stole from it.

[L Therefore] Jesus answered, “Leave her alone. It was right for her to save this perfume for today, the day for me to be prepared for burial. [L For] You will always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me.”

The Plot Against Lazarus

A large crowd of ·people [L Jews] ·heard [learned; came to know] that Jesus was ·in Bethany [L there]. So they went there to see not only Jesus but Lazarus, whom Jesus raised from the dead. 10 So the leading [T chief] priests ·made plans [plotted; counseled together] to kill Lazarus too. 11 Because of Lazarus many of the Jews were ·leaving [going away from; deserting] them and believing in Jesus.

Jesus Enters Jerusalem(A)

12 The next day a great crowd who had come to Jerusalem for the Passover Feast [C the annual festival celebrating God’s rescue of Israel from Egypt; Ex. 12; John 2:13] heard that Jesus was coming there. 13 So they took branches of palm trees [C a symbol of the nation of Israel] and went out to meet Jesus, shouting,

“·Praise God [L Hosanna; C an Aramaic cry to God for salvation, which became a shout of praise]!
·God bless [L Blessed is] the One who comes in the name of the Lord [Ps. 118:25–26]!
·God bless [L Blessed is] the King of Israel!”

14 Jesus found a ·colt [young donkey] and sat on it. ·This was as the Scripture says [L As it is written],

15 “Don’t be afraid, ·people of Jerusalem [L Daughter of Zion; C a term of endearment for the people of Jerusalem]!
    Your king is coming,
    sitting on the colt of a donkey [Zech. 9:9; C riding a donkey rather than a warhorse, perhaps signaling that he was a different sort of king than their nationalist expectations anticipated].”

16 The ·followers [disciples] of Jesus did not understand this at first. But after Jesus was ·raised to glory [L glorified], they remembered that this had been written about him and that they had done these things to him.

People Tell About Jesus

17 There had been ·many people [a crowd] with Jesus when he raised Lazarus from the dead and told him to come out of the tomb. Now they were ·telling others [testifying; witnessing] about what Jesus did. 18 ·Many people [A crowd] went out to meet Jesus, because they had heard ·about this miracle [L that he had done this sign]. 19 So the Pharisees said to each other, “You can see that ·nothing is going right for us [we are getting nowhere; L you are gaining nothing]. Look! The whole world ·is following [has gone after] him.”

Jesus Talks About His Death

20 There were some Greek people [C Gentiles—here meant to represent people from all over the world; 12:19], too, who came to Jerusalem to worship at the Passover Feast. 21 [L So] They went to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and ·said [requested], “Sir, we would like to ·see [meet] Jesus.” 22 Philip told Andrew, and then Andrew and Philip told Jesus.

23 Jesus ·said to [answered; replied to] them, “The ·time [L hour] has come for the Son of Man [C a title for the Messiah; Dan. 7:13–14] to ·receive his glory [be glorified; C through his death, resurrection, and ascension]. 24 ·I tell you the truth [L Truly, truly I say to you], a grain of wheat must fall to the ground and die to make ·many seeds [L much fruit]. But if it never dies, it remains only a single ·seed [grain]. 25 ·Those who [L The one who…] love their lives will lose them, but those who hate their lives in this world will ·keep [guard; preserve] ·true life forever [L it for eternal life]. 26 Whoever serves me must follow me. Then my servant will be with me everywhere I am. My Father will honor anyone who serves me.

27 “Now ·I am very [L my soul is] troubled. Should I say, ‘Father, save me from this ·time [L hour]’? No, ·I came to this time so I could suffer [L for this reason I have come to this hour]. 28 Father, ·bring glory to [glorify; honor] your name!”

Then a voice came from heaven, “I have ·brought glory to [glorified] it, and I will ·do [L glorify; honor] it again.”

29 The crowd standing there, who heard the voice, said it was thunder.

But others said, “An angel has spoken to him.”

30 Jesus ·said [responded], “That voice was for your sake, not mine. 31 Now is the time for the world to be judged; now the ·ruler [prince] of this world [C Satan] will be ·thrown down [L cast/driven out]. 32 ·If [or When] I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all people ·toward me [to myself].” 33 Jesus said this to show ·how [what kind of death] he would die.

34 The crowd ·said [responded to him], “We have heard from the ·law [C the Old Testament] that the ·Christ [Messiah] will ·live [remain] forever [Ps. 89:35–37; Is. 9:7; Ezek. 37:25]. So why do you say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this ‘Son of Man’?”

35 Then Jesus said, “The light will be ·with [among] you for a little longer, so walk while you have the light. Then the darkness will not ·catch [overtake] you. ·If you walk [L The one who walks] in the darkness, you will not know where you are going. 36 ·Believe [Put your trust] in the light while you still have it so that you will become children of light.” When Jesus had said this, he left and hid himself from them.

Some People Won’t Believe in Jesus

37 Though Jesus had done many ·miracles [L signs; 2:11] in front of the people, they still did not believe in him. 38 This was to ·bring about [L fulfill] ·what [L the message/word that] Isaiah the prophet had said:

“Lord, who believed ·what we told them [L our message/report]?
    Who saw the Lord’s ·power [L arm; C a symbol of his power] in this [Is. 53:1]?”
39     This is why the people could not believe: Isaiah also had said,
40 “He has blinded their eyes,
    and he has ·closed their minds [L hardened their heart].
Otherwise they would see with their eyes
    and understand in their ·minds [L heart]
    and ·come back to me and be healed [L turn/repent, and I would heal them; Is. 6:10].”

41 Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus’ glory and spoke about him.

42 But many believed in Jesus, even many of the ·leaders [authorities]. But because of the Pharisees, they did not ·say they believed in him [L confess/proclaim him/it] for fear they would be put out of the synagogue. 43 They loved ·praise [glory] from people more than ·praise [glory] from God.

44 Then Jesus cried out, “Whoever believes in me is really believing in the One who sent me. 45 Whoever sees me sees the One who sent me. 46 I have come as light into the world so that whoever believes in me would not ·stay [remain] in darkness.

47 “Anyone who hears my words and does not ·obey [keep] them, I do not judge, because I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. 48 There is a judge for those who ·refuse to believe in [reject] me and do not accept my words. The word I have ·taught [spoken] will ·be their judge [judge them] on the last day. 49 The things I ·taught [spoke] were not from myself. The Father who sent me ·told [commanded] me what to say and what to ·teach [speak]. 50 And I know that eternal life comes from what the Father commands. So whatever I say is what the Father told me to say.”

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