John Chapter 12

¹ Six days before Passover, Jesus arrived at Bethany, where Lazarus lived that Jesus had raised from the dead. ² They made him a meal there. Martha was waiting on him and Lazarus was reclining at table with him. ³ Mary took twelve ounces of ointment—very expensive pure nard—and poured it on Jesus’ feet and started wiping them with her hair. The scent from the ointment filled the house.  

⁴ Judas Iscariot, Jesus’ disciple that would betray him, said^p, ⁵ “Why didn’t she sell that ointment for 300 denarii [up to a year’s wages] and give it to the poor?” ( ⁶ He didn’t say that because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief. He took care of the money pouch and had been stealing from it.)

⁷ Jesus said, “Let her keep it for my burial. ⁸ You always have poor people around; you won’t always have^p me around.”

⁹ A large crowd of the Jews found out that Jesus was there. They hadn’t come just because of him, but to see Lazarus. ¹⁰ The chief priests planned to kill Lazarus, too, because lots of Jews were ¹¹ believing in Jesus because of him.

Jn 12:1-11

The Triumphal Entry

            ¹² The next day the huge crowd that attended the festival heard Jesus was coming into Jerusalem, ¹³ and took fronds from the palm trees and went out to meet him, shouting,

                        “‘Hosanna!

Blessed be the One that’s coming in the name of the LORD,’

the King of Israel!” [Ps 118:25-26].

            ¹⁴ Jesus found a young donkey and rode on it, like scripture says,

                        ¹⁵ “Don’t be afraid, people of Zion.

Look! Your king’s coming,

                                    riding on a donkey’s colt” [Zech 9:9].

(¹⁶ His disciples didn’t understand what was going on; but when he was glorified, they remembered that the scripture had said these things about him and that people had done these things to him.) ¹⁷ The crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb, was telling about it. ¹⁸ That’s also the reason that the crowd met him: they heard he’d done that sign. ¹⁹ The Pharisees said to each other, “See how you don’t get anywhere. The world has gone after him!”

Jn 12:12-19

Sermon on the Significance of Life and Death

            ²⁰ Some Greeks that went up to worship at the festival ²¹ came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, “Sir, we’d like to see Jesus.”

            ²² Philip went^p and spoke^p to Andrew, and the two of them spoke^p to Jesus.

            ²³ Jesus answered^p them, “It’s time to honor the Son of Man. ²⁴ Unless a grain of wheat falls on the ground and dies, it’s alone. But if it dies, it yields lots of grains. ²⁵ Those who love their life will lose it; those who look on past their life in the world will keep it for eternal life. ²⁶ If people serve me, they need to follow me, and they’ll be where I am. If they serve me, the Father will honor them.

²⁷ “I’m torn now: Will I ask the Father to save me from this hour? But this is why I came to this hour. ²⁸ Father, glorify your name.”

Jn 12:20-28a

            A voice came out of the sky, “I’ve glorified it, and I’ll glorify it again.”

            ²⁹ The crowd standing there heard it and said it had thundered.

            Others said, “An angel spoke to him.”

            ³⁰ Jesus responded, “That voice didn’t come for my sake so much as for yours. ³¹ Now judgment is in the world; the ruler of this world will be thrown out. ³² And if I’m lifted up from the ground, I’ll draw everyone to me.” ³³ (He said that to indicate how he’d die.)

            ³⁴ The crowd responded, “We’ve heard out of the Law that Messiah will remain^p forever. How do you say the Son of Man has to be lifted up? Who is this ‘Son of Man’?”

³⁵ Jesus said, “The light’s still among you for a little while. Walk while you have it so darkness doesn’t overtake you. People that walk in the dark can’t tell where they’re going. ³⁶ While you have light, believe in it so it will enlighten you.” After saying that, Jesus went away and was hidden from them.                                                                                                                       

Jn 12:28b-36

            ³⁷ Despite doing so many signs in their presence, they weren’t believing in him— ³⁸ just like Isaiah the prophet said,

“LORD, who has believed our report, and

            who has the arm of the LORD been revealed to?” [Is 53:1]

³⁹ Here’s the reason they couldn’t believe: Isaiah said again,

⁴⁰ “He blinded their eyes

            and hardened their heart,

so they couldn’t see with their eyes,

                        understand with their heart,

                                    be converted,

and he would heal them” [Is 6:10].

⁴¹ Isaiah said that because he saw the Messiah’s glory and spoke about him. ⁴² Nevertheless a number even of the rulers did believe in him, but because of the Pharisees they didn’t admit it and get excommunicated from the synagogue. ⁴³ They cared more about honor from people than glory from God.

⁴⁴ Jesus shouted, “Whoever believes in me doesn’t just believe in me, but in the One that sent me. ⁴⁵ Whoever sees me sees the One that sent me. ⁴⁶ I’ve come to the world as a light so nobody that believes in me will be in the dark. ⁴⁷ I don’t condemn anybody that hears what I’m saying and doesn’t do it. I didn’t come to condemn the world, but to save it. ⁴⁸ People that reject me do have something that will condemn them in the end: the message I’m delivering. ⁴⁹ I haven’t spoken on my own. The Father has told me what to say. ⁵⁰ I know that what he says leads to eternal life; so I say what he’s told me to say.”                                                                                               

Jn 12:37-50