John 12

Jesus Is Anointed at Bethany

1 Then, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.
2 So they made him a dinner there, and Martha was serving, but Lazarus was one of the ones reclining at table with him.
3 Then Mary took a pound of ointment of very valuable genuine nard [and] anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the ointment.
4 But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was going to betray him) said,
5 "{Why} was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?"
6 (Now he said this not because {he was concerned} about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having the money box, he used to steal what was put into [it].)
7 So Jesus said, "Leave her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of my preparation for burial.
8 For you have the poor with you always, but you do not always have me."

The Decision to Kill Lazarus

9 Now a large crowd of Jews found out that he was there, and they came, not only because of Jesus, but so that they could see Lazarus also, whom he raised from the dead.
10 So the chief priests decided that they would kill Lazarus also,
11 because on account of him many of the Jews were going and believing in Jesus.

The Triumphal Entry

12 On the next day the large crowd who had come to the feast, [when they] heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem,
13 took the branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, and began crying out, "Hosanna! Blessed [is] the one who comes in the name of the Lord, even the king of Israel!"
14 So Jesus found a young donkey [and] sat on it, just as it is written,
15 "Do not be afraid, daughter of Zion! Behold, your king is coming, seated on the foal of a donkey!"
16 (His disciples did not understand these [things] at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these [things] had been written about him and they did these [things] to him.)
17 So the crowd who was with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead were continuing to testify.
18 Because of this also the crowd went to meet him, for they had heard [that] he had performed this sign.
19 So the Pharisees said to one another, "You see that you are accomplishing nothing! Behold, the world has gone after him."

Greeks Seeking Jesus

20 Now some Greeks were among those who had gone up in order to worship at the feast.
21 So these approached Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and began asking him saying, "Sir, we want to see Jesus."
22 Philip went and told Andrew. Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus.
23 And Jesus answered them, saying, "The hour has come that the Son of Man will be glorified.
24 Truly, truly I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth [and] dies, it remains [by] itself alone. But if it dies, it bears much fruit.
25 The one who loves his life loses it, and the one who hates his life in this world preserves it for eternal life.
26 If anyone serves me, he must follow me, and where I am, there my servant will be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.

Jesus Predicts His Death

27 "Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? 'Father, deliver me from this hour'? But for this [reason] I have come to this hour!
28 Father, glorify your name!" Then a voice came from heaven, "I have both glorified [it], and I will glorify [it] again."
29 Now the crowd that stood [there] and heard [it] said {it had thundered}. Others were saying, "An angel has spoken to him!"
30 Jesus answered and said, "This voice has not happened for my sake, but [for] your sake.
31 Now is the judgment of this world! Now the ruler of this world will be thrown out!
32 And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all [people] to myself."
33 (Now he said this to indicate by what sort of death he was going to die.)
34 Then the crowd replied to him, "We have heard from the law that the Christ remains {forever}! And how do you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?"
35 So Jesus said to them, "Yet a little time the light is with you! Walk while you have the light, so that the darkness does not overtake you! And the one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going.
36 While you have the light, believe in the light, in order that you may become sons of light." Jesus said these [things], and [then] he went away [and] was hidden from them.

The People Still Refuse to Believe

37 But as many signs [as] he had performed before them, they did not believe in him,
38 in order that the word of the prophet Isaiah would be fulfilled, who said, "Lord, who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?"
39 For this [reason] they were not able to believe, because again Isaiah said,
40 "He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, lest they see with [their] eyes and understand with [their] hearts and turn, and I heal them."
41 Isaiah said these [things] because he saw his glory, and he spoke about him.
42 Yet despite that, even many of the rulers believed in him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess [it], so that they would not be expelled from the synagogue.
43 For they loved the praise of men more than praise from God.

Jesus’ Final Public Appeal

44 But Jesus cried out and said, "The one who believes in me does not believe in me, but in the one who sent me,
45 and the one who sees me sees the one who sent me.
46 I have come [as] a light into the world, in order that everyone who believes in me will not remain in the darkness.
47 And if anyone hears my words and does not observe [them], I will not judge him. For I have not come to judge the world, but to save the world.
48 The one who rejects me and does not accept my words has one who judges him; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day.
49 For I have not spoken from myself, but the Father himself who sent me {has commanded me} what I should say and what I should speak.
50 And I know that his commandment is eternal life. So [the things] that I say, just as the Father said to me, thus I say."

Images for John 12

Footnotes 22

  • [a]. The Greek term refers to a Roman pound, 327.45 grams (approximately 12 ounces)
  • [b]. *Here "[and]" is supplied because the previous participle ("took") has been translated as a finite verb
  • [c]. Literally "because of what"
  • [d]. Literally "it was a concern to him"
  • [e]. *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  • [f]. Some manuscripts have "the large crowd"
  • [g]. *Here "[when]" is supplied as a component of the participle ("heard") which is understood as temporal
  • [h]. *Here "[and]" is supplied because the previous participle ("found") has been translated as a finite verb
  • [i]. A quotation from Zech 9:9
  • [j]. *Here "[and]" is supplied because the previous participle ("falls") has been translated as a finite verb
  • [k]. *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  • [l]. *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  • [m]. *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  • [n]. Literally "thunder had happened"
  • [o]. Literally "for the age"; probably an allusion to Ps 89:35-37 (in common usage "law" could refer to the entire Old Testament)
  • [p]. *Here "[and]" is supplied because the previous participle ("went away") has been translated as a finite verb
  • [q]. *Literally "the"; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun
  • [r]. *Literally "the"; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun
  • [s]. A quotation from Isa 6:10
  • [t]. *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  • [u]. *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  • [v]. Literally "has given me commandment"

John 12 Commentaries

Scripture quotations marked (LEB) are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.