The Anointing at Bethany
Six days before the Passover festival, Jesus arrived in Bethany, the town where Lazarus lived—the same Lazarus whom Jesus had brought back from the dead. The people there prepared a dinner to honor Jesus. Martha was busy serving the meal, while Lazarus sat at the table eating with Jesus and the others. During the dinner, Mary came forward carrying about a pint of very expensive perfume made from pure nard. She poured this precious oil on Jesus' feet, then knelt down and wiped his feet dry with her own hair. The sweet, rich scent of the perfume filled the entire house. When Judas Iscariot saw this—one of Jesus' disciples who would later hand him over to his enemies—he complained loudly. "Why wasn't this perfume sold instead? It was worth three hundred silver coins! That money could have been given to help poor people." But Judas didn't say this because he actually cared about helping the poor. The truth was that he was a thief. Since he was the one who carried the disciples' money bag, he had been secretly stealing from it for his own use. Jesus spoke up firmly in Mary's defense. "Leave her alone. She has been saving this perfume for the day when my body will need to be prepared for burial. You will always have poor people around you to help, but you will not always have me here with you."
The Plot to Kill Lazarus
When word spread that Jesus was in town, a huge crowd of Jewish people came to see him. They didn't come just for Jesus himself, but also because they wanted to see Lazarus — the man Jesus had brought back from the dead. The leading priests saw what was happening and decided they needed to kill Lazarus too. They realized that because of Lazarus, many Jewish people were turning away from the religious leaders and putting their faith in Jesus instead.
The Triumphal Entry
The next day, a huge crowd had gathered in Jerusalem for the Passover feast. When they heard that Jesus was on his way to the city, they became excited. They grabbed palm branches and rushed out to welcome him, shouting with joy: "Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the King of Israel!" Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it to ride into the city. This happened exactly as the ancient prophecy had foretold: "Don't be afraid, people of Jerusalem. Look, your King is coming to you, riding on a young donkey." At the time, Jesus's disciples didn't fully grasp what was happening or why it mattered so much. But later, after Jesus had been raised to glory, they remembered this day and suddenly understood that everything that happened to him had been written about long before in the Scriptures. Many people in the crowd kept talking excitedly about what they had witnessed—they had been there when Jesus called Lazarus out of his tomb and brought him back from the dead. This amazing miracle was exactly why so many people had come out to meet Jesus when they heard he was approaching the city. When the Pharisees saw the massive, enthusiastic crowd surrounding Jesus, they turned to each other in frustration and said, "You can see that nothing we're doing is working. Look at this—it seems like the entire world is following after him now!"
The Greeks Seek Jesus
Among the crowds who had come to Jerusalem to worship during the festival were some Greeks. These Greeks approached Philip, who was from the town of Bethsaida in Galilee, and made a request of him. "Sir," they said, "we would like to meet Jesus." Philip went and told Andrew about this request, and then both Philip and Andrew went together to tell Jesus what the Greeks had asked.
Jesus Speaks of His Death
Jesus answered them, "The time has finally come for the Son of Man to receive glory. I'm telling you the absolute truth: unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it stays just one grain. But when it dies, it produces many more grains. Anyone who clings to his life will end up losing it, but whoever is willing to give up his life in this world will keep it forever. If anyone wants to serve me, he must follow me, and wherever I am, my servant will be there too. The Father will honor anyone who serves me." Jesus continued, "Right now my heart is deeply troubled. What should I say? Should I ask, 'Father, rescue me from what's about to happen'? No, because this is exactly why I came—for this very moment. Father, bring glory to your name!" Suddenly a voice spoke from heaven: "I have already brought glory to it, and I will bring glory to it again." The crowd standing nearby heard the voice. Some said it was thunder. Others said an angel had spoken to him. Jesus responded, "That voice wasn't for my sake—it was for yours. The time has come for this world to be judged. The ruler of this world is about to be thrown out. And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all people to myself." He said this to show them what kind of death he was going to die. The crowd argued back, "We've learned from the Law that the Christ will live forever. So how can you say the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man you're talking about?" Then Jesus told them, "The Light will only be with you for a little while longer. Walk while you have the Light, so that darkness doesn't catch up with you. Someone walking in darkness doesn't know where he's going. While you still have the Light, put your trust in the Light, so you can become children of light." After Jesus finished speaking, he left and hid himself from them.
The Unbelief of the People
Even though Jesus had performed so many miraculous signs right in front of the people, they still refused to believe in him. This happened exactly as the prophet Isaiah had written long before: "Lord, who has believed the message we brought? Who has seen the mighty power of the Lord at work?" The people couldn't believe because, as Isaiah explained in another place, "God has blinded their eyes and made their hearts stubborn, so they cannot see with their eyes or understand with their hearts. If they could, they would turn back to God, and he would heal them." Isaiah wrote these words because he had seen Jesus' glory and was speaking about him. Even so, many of the Jewish leaders did believe in Jesus. But they were afraid to say so publicly because of the Pharisees, who would throw them out of the synagogue if they confessed their faith. These leaders cared more about what people thought of them than what God thought of them.
Jesus' Final Public Teaching
Then Jesus called out loudly, "When someone believes in me, they are not just believing in me alone—they are believing in the One who sent me here. When someone sees me, they are seeing the One who sent me. I came into this world to be a light, so that everyone who believes in me will not have to stay in the darkness anymore. If someone hears what I say but chooses not to follow it, I am not the one who will judge them. I did not come here to judge the world—I came to save it. But there will be a judge for anyone who turns away from me and refuses to accept my words. The very words I have spoken will judge that person on the final day. I have not been speaking my own ideas. The Father who sent me gave me specific instructions about what to say and exactly how to say it. I know that following his instructions leads to eternal life. That is why I speak only what the Father has told me to speak—nothing more, nothing less."