John 12:3-13

3 Then Mary took a whole pint of a very expensive perfume made of pure nard, poured it on Jesus' feet, and wiped them with her hair. The sweet smell of the perfume filled the whole house. ¹

4 One of Jesus' disciples, Judas Iscariot - the one who was going to betray him - said,

5 "Why wasn't this perfume sold for three hundred silver coins and the money given to the poor?"

6 He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief. He carried the money bag and would help himself from it.

7 But Jesus said, "Leave her alone! Let her keep what she has for the day of my burial.

8 You will always have poor people with you, but you will not always have me." ²

9 A large number of people heard that Jesus was in Bethany, so they went there, not only because of Jesus but also to see Lazarus, whom Jesus had raised from death.

10 So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus too,

11 because on his account many Jews were rejecting them and believing in Jesus.

12 The next day the large crowd that had come to the Passover Festival heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem.

13 So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, shouting, "Praise God! God bless him who comes in the name of the Lord! God bless the King of Israel!" ³

Cross References

• 1. 12.3Luke 7.37, 38.
• 2. 12.8Deuteronomy 15.11.
• 3. 12.13Psalms 118.25, 26+21 Maccabees 13.51.

Footnotes

• [a] silver coins: [See 6.7.]