12:1 [L Therefore] Six days before the Passover Feast, Jesus went to Bethany, where Lazarus lived. (Lazarus is the man Jesus raised from the dead.)
12:2 There they had a dinner for Jesus. Martha served the food, and Lazarus was one of the people ·eating [L reclining; C it was customary to eat formal meals while reclining around a low table] with Jesus.
12:3 [L Then] Mary brought in a pint [C Greek litra; about eleven ounces, weighing just under a pound] of very expensive ·perfume [ointment/fragrant oil] made from pure nard. She ·poured the perfume on [anointed; C not the word for royal or priestly anointing, but for hospitality or care] Jesus’ feet, and then she wiped his feet with her hair. And the ·sweet smell [fragrance] from the perfume filled the whole house.
12:4 Judas Iscariot, one of Jesus’ ·followers [disciples] who would later ·turn against [betray] him, was there. Judas said,
12:5 “This ·perfume [ointment/fragrant oil] was worth an ·entire year’s wages [L three hundred denarii]. Why wasn’t it sold and the money given to the poor?”
12:6 But Judas did not really care about the poor; he said this because he was a thief. He was the one who kept the money ·box [or bag], and he often stole from it.
12:7 [L Therefore] Jesus answered, “Leave her alone. It was right for her to save this perfume for today, the day for me to be prepared for burial.
12:8 [L For] You will always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me.”
12:9 A large crowd of ·people [L Jews] ·heard [learned; came to know] that Jesus was ·in Bethany [L there]. So they went there to see not only Jesus but Lazarus, whom Jesus raised from the dead.
12:10 So the leading [T chief] priests ·made plans [plotted; counseled together] to kill Lazarus too.
12:11 Because of Lazarus many of the Jews were ·leaving [going away from; deserting] them and believing in Jesus.
12:12 The next day a great crowd who had come to Jerusalem for the Passover Feast [C the annual festival celebrating God’s rescue of Israel from Egypt; Ex. 12; John 2:13] heard that Jesus was coming there.
12:13 So they took branches of palm trees [C a symbol of the nation of Israel] and went out to meet Jesus, shouting, “·Praise God [L Hosanna; C an Aramaic cry to God for salvation, which became a shout of praise]! ·God bless [L Blessed is] the One who comes in the name of the Lord [Ps. 118:25–26]! ·God bless [L Blessed is] the King of Israel!”
12:14 Jesus found a ·colt [young donkey] and sat on it. ·This was as the Scripture says [L As it is written],
12:15 “Don’t be afraid, ·people of Jerusalem [L Daughter of Zion; C a term of endearment for the people of Jerusalem]! Your king is coming, sitting on the colt of a donkey [Zech. 9:9; C riding a donkey rather than a warhorse, perhaps signaling that he was a different sort of king than their nationalist expectations anticipated].”
12:16 The ·followers [disciples] of Jesus did not understand this at first. But after Jesus was ·raised to glory [L glorified], they remembered that this had been written about him and that they had done these things to him.
12:17 There had been ·many people [a crowd] with Jesus when he raised Lazarus from the dead and told him to come out of the tomb. Now they were ·telling others [testifying; witnessing] about what Jesus did.
12:18 ·Many people [A crowd] went out to meet Jesus, because they had heard ·about this miracle [L that he had done this sign].
12:19 So the Pharisees said to each other, “You can see that ·nothing is going right for us [we are getting nowhere; L you are gaining nothing]. Look! The whole world ·is following [has gone after] him.”
12:20 There were some Greek people [C Gentiles—here meant to represent people from all over the world; 12:19], too, who came to Jerusalem to worship at the Passover Feast.
12:21 [L So] They went to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and ·said [requested], “Sir, we would like to ·see [meet] Jesus.”
12:22 Philip told Andrew, and then Andrew and Philip told Jesus.
12:23 Jesus ·said to [answered; replied to] them, “The ·time [L hour] has come for the Son of Man [C a title for the Messiah; Dan. 7:13–14] to ·receive his glory [be glorified; C through his death, resurrection, and ascension].
12:24 ·I tell you the truth [L Truly, truly I say to you], a grain of wheat must fall to the ground and die to make ·many seeds [L much fruit]. But if it never dies, it remains only a single ·seed [grain].
12:25 ·Those who [L The one who…] love their lives will lose them, but those who hate their lives in this world will ·keep [guard; preserve] ·true life forever [L it for eternal life].
12:26 Whoever serves me must follow me. Then my servant will be with me everywhere I am. My Father will honor anyone who serves me.
12:27 “Now ·I am very [L my soul is] troubled. Should I say, ‘Father, save me from this ·time [L hour]’? No, ·I came to this time so I could suffer [L for this reason I have come to this hour].
12:28 Father, ·bring glory to [glorify; honor] your name!” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have ·brought glory to [glorified] it, and I will ·do [L glorify; honor] it again.”
12:29 The crowd standing there, who heard the voice, said it was thunder. But others said, “An angel has spoken to him.”
12:30 Jesus ·said [responded], “That voice was for your sake, not mine.
12:31 Now is the time for the world to be judged; now the ·ruler [prince] of this world [C Satan] will be ·thrown down [L cast/driven out].
12:32 ·If [or When] I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all people ·toward me [to myself].”
12:33 Jesus said this to show ·how [what kind of death] he would die.
12:34 The crowd ·said [responded to him], “We have heard from the ·law [C the Old Testament] that the ·Christ [Messiah] will ·live [remain] forever [Ps. 89:35–37; Is. 9:7; Ezek. 37:25]. So why do you say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this ‘Son of Man’?”
12:35 Then Jesus said, “The light will be ·with [among] you for a little longer, so walk while you have the light. Then the darkness will not ·catch [overtake] you. ·If you walk [L The one who walks] in the darkness, you will not know where you are going.
12:36 ·Believe [Put your trust] in the light while you still have it so that you will become children of light.” When Jesus had said this, he left and hid himself from them.
12:37 Though Jesus had done many ·miracles [L signs; 2:11] in front of the people, they still did not believe in him.
12:38 This was to ·bring about [L fulfill] ·what [L the message/word that] Isaiah the prophet had said: “Lord, who believed ·what we told them [L our message/report]? Who saw the Lord’s ·power [L arm; C a symbol of his power] in this [Is. 53:1]?”
12:39 This is why the people could not believe: Isaiah also had said,
12:40 “He has blinded their eyes, and he has ·closed their minds [L hardened their heart]. Otherwise they would see with their eyes and understand in their ·minds [L heart] and ·come back to me and be healed [L turn/repent, and I would heal them; Is. 6:10].”
12:41 Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus’ glory and spoke about him.
12:42 But many believed in Jesus, even many of the ·leaders [authorities]. But because of the Pharisees, they did not ·say they believed in him [L confess/proclaim him/it] for fear they would be put out of the synagogue.
12:43 They loved ·praise [glory] from people more than ·praise [glory] from God.
12:44 Then Jesus cried out, “Whoever believes in me is really believing in the One who sent me.
12:46 I have come as light into the world so that whoever believes in me would not ·stay [remain] in darkness.
12:47 “Anyone who hears my words and does not ·obey [keep] them, I do not judge, because I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world.
12:48 There is a judge for those who ·refuse to believe in [reject] me and do not accept my words. The word I have ·taught [spoken] will ·be their judge [judge them] on the last day.
12:49 The things I ·taught [spoke] were not from myself. The Father who sent me ·told [commanded] me what to say and what to ·teach [speak].
12:50 And I know that eternal life comes from what the Father commands. So whatever I say is what the Father told me to say.”
Your support helps pay our hosting costs, and
- with a little bit extra -
lets us pay transcribers and proofreaders.
If you can help, Click here to become a Patreon:
www.patreon.com/IslamAwakened Thank you!