John 12:1–19

Mary Anoints Jesus at Bethany

12Six days before ⁱthe Passover, ^jJesus therefore came to Bethany, ^kwhere Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. ²So they gave a dinner for him there. ^lMartha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at table. ^3mMary therefore took a pound¹ of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. ⁴But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was about to betray him), said, ⁵“Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii² and ⁿgiven to the poor?” ⁶He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and ⁿhaving charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it. ⁷Jesus said, “Leave her alone, so that she may keep it³ for the day of my burial. ⁸For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me.”

The Plot to Kill Lazarus

⁹When the large crowd of the Jews learned that Jesus⁴ was there, they came, not only on account of him but also to see Lazarus, ^owhom he had raised from the dead. ^10pSo the chief priests made plans to put Lazarus to death as well, ¹¹because ^qon account of him many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus.

The Triumphal Entry

¹²The next day ^rthe large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. ¹³So they took branches of ^spalm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, ^t“Hosanna! Blessed is ^uhe who comes in the name of the Lord, even ^vthe King of Israel!” ¹⁴And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written,

^15w“Fear not, daughter of Zion;

behold, your king is coming,

sitting on a donkey’s colt!”

^16xHis disciples did not understand these things at first, but ^ywhen Jesus was glorified, then ^zthey remembered that these things had been written about him and had been done to him. ^17aThe crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to bear witness. ¹⁸The reason why the crowd went to meet him ^bwas that they heard he had done this sign. ¹⁹So the Pharisees said to one another, ^c“You see that you are gaining nothing. Look, ^dthe world has gone after him.”