John 12

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1Six days before the Passover, Jesus arrived at Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.

2Here a dinner was given in Jesus' honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him.

3Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus' feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

4But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected,

5“Why wasn't this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year's wages. ”

6He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.

7“Leave her alone,” Jesus replied. “It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial.

8You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.”

9Meanwhile a large crowd of Jews found out that Jesus was there and came, not only because of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead.

10So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well,

11for on account of him many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and putting their faith in him.

12The next day the great crowd that had come for the Feast heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem.

13They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, “Hosanna! ” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Blessed is the King of Israel!”

14Jesus found a young donkey and sat upon it, as it is written,

15“Do not be afraid, O Daughter of Zion; see, your king is coming, seated on a donkey's colt.”

16At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and that they had done these things to him.

17Now the crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to spread the word.

18Many people, because they had heard that he had given this miraculous sign, went out to meet him.

19So the Pharisees said to one another, “See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!”

20Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the Feast.

21They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. “Sir,” they said, “we would like to see Jesus.”

22Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus.

23Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.

24I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.

25The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.

26Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.

27“Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour.

28Father, glorify your name!” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.”

29The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him.

30Jesus said, “This voice was for your benefit, not mine.

31Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out.

32But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.”

33He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die.

34The crowd spoke up, “We have heard from the Law that the Christ will remain forever, so how can you say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this ‘Son of Man’?”

35Then Jesus told them, “You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. The man who walks in the dark does not know where he is going.

36Put your trust in the light while you have it, so that you may become sons of light.” When he had finished speaking, Jesus left and hid himself from them.

37Even after Jesus had done all these miraculous signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him.

38This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet: “Lord, who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”

39For this reason they could not believe, because, as Isaiah says elsewhere:

40“He has blinded their eyes and deadened their hearts, so they can neither see with their eyes, nor understand with their hearts, nor turn–and I would heal them.”

41Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus' glory and spoke about him.

42Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not confess their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue;

43for they loved praise from men more than praise from God.

44Then Jesus cried out, “When a man believes in me, he does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me.

45When he looks at me, he sees the one who sent me.

46I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.

47“As for the person who hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge him. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save it.

48There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day.

49For I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it.

50I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say.”

Commentary

12:1-11 Christ had formerly blamed Martha for being troubled with much serving. But she did not leave off serving, as some, who when found fault with for going too far in one way, peevishly run too far another way; she still served, but within hearing of Christ's gracious words. Mary gave a token of love to Christ, who had given real tokens of his love to her and her family. God's Anointed should be our Anointed. Has God poured on him the oil of gladness above his fellows, let us pour on him the ointment of our best affections. In Judas a foul sin is gilded over with a plausible pretence. We must not think that those do no acceptable service, who do it not in our way. The reigning love of money is heart-theft. The grace of Christ puts kind comments on pious words and actions, makes the best of what is amiss, and the most of what is good. Opportunities are to be improved; and those first and most vigorously, which are likely to be the shortest. To consult to hinder the further effect of the miracle, by putting Lazarus to death, is such wickedness, malice, and folly, as cannot be explained, except by the desperate enmity of the human heart against God. They resolved that the man should die whom the Lord had raised to life. The success of the gospel often makes wicked men so angry, that they speak and act as if they hoped to obtain a victory over the Almighty himself.

"\nThere they made him a supper,.... At Bethany, in the house of Lazarus, Martha, and Mary; by whose order, and at whose charge it was prepared for him; and not in the house of Simon the leper, which was four days after this, Mt 26:2.\n\nAnd Martha served; who was always a busy, active, and stirring woman; and this she did, to testify her love to Christ, and great respect for him; otherwise, as she was a person of substance, she had servants enough to wait at table:\n\nbut Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with him; and ate, and drank, and conversed; by which it appeared, that he was really risen from the dead, and was in a good state of health.\n\n\n "

2. Martha served—This, with what is afterwards said of Mary's way of honoring her Lord, is so true to the character in which those two women appear in Lu 10:38-42, as to constitute one of the strongest and most delightful confirmations of the truth of both narratives. (See also on Joh 11:20).Lazarus … sat at the table—"Between the raised Lazarus and the healed leper (Simon, Mr 14:3), the Lord probably sits as between two trophies of His glory" [Stier].

12:2 It seems Martha was a person of some figure, from the great respect which was paid to her and her sister, in visits and condolences on Lazarus's death, as well as from the costly ointment mentioned in the next verse . And probably it was at their house our Lord and his disciples lodged, when he returned from Jerusalem to Bethany, every evening of the last week of his life, upon which he was now entered.

"\nThen took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard very costly,.... Worth three hundred pence, according to Judas's estimation of it. This Mary was the other sister of Lazarus; [See comments on Mt 26:7],\n[See comments on Mr 14:3], concerning the nature and value of this ointment:\n\nand anointed the feet of Jesus; as he lay upon the bed or couch, at supper:\n\nand wiped his feet with her hair; [See comments on Lu 7:38].\n\nAnd the house was filled with the odour of the ointment; see So 1:3; ointment of spikenard was very odoriferous: this may be an emblem of the sweet savour of Christ, in the ministration of the Gospel, throughout the whole world.\n\n\n "

"\nThen saith one of his disciples,.... Who had no true love for his master, was an hypocrite, and a covetous person:\n\nJudas Iscariot; so called, to distinguish him from another Judas, an apostle; [See comments on Mt 10:4].\n\nSimon's [son]; this is omitted in the Vulgate Latin, Syriac, Persic, and Ethiopic versions; [See comments on Joh 13:2];\n\nwhich should betray him; and so he did; this was pre-determined by God, foretold in prophecy, and foreknown by Christ; and is observed here, to show the temper and character of the man.\n\n\n "

12:3 Then Mary, taking a pound of ointment - There were two persons who poured ointment on Christ. One toward the beginning of his ministry, at or near Nain, Luke 7:37, and c. The other six days before his last passover, at Bethany; the account of whom is given here, as well as by St. Matthew and Mark.

3. spikenard—or pure nard, a celebrated aromatic (So 1:12).anointed the feet of Jesus—and "poured it on His head" (Mt 26:7; Mr 14:3). The only use of this was to refresh and exhilarate—a grateful compliment in the East, amidst the closeness of a heated atmosphere, with many guests at a feast. Such was the form in which Mary's love to Christ, at so much cost to herself, poured itself out.

"\nWhy was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence,.... Meaning Roman pence, one of which is, of the value of our money, seven pence halfpenny; so that three hundred pence amount to nine pounds seven shillings and six pence:\n\nand given to the poor? this was his pretence, and with which he covered himself; his uneasiness was, because it was not sold, and the money put into his hands, as appears by what follows.\n\n\n "

"\nThis he said, not that he cared for the poor,....

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Translations8 · 5

AMHEVG ከፋሲካም በፊት በስድስተኛው ቀን ኢየሱስ ከሙታን ያስነሣው አልዓዛር ወደ ነበረበት ወደ ቢታንያ መጣ። አማርኛ BCV ሽዑ ኢየሱስ ሽዱሽተ መዓልቲ ቕድሚ ፋሲካ፥ ናብታ ንሱ ኻብ ምዉታን ዘተስኦ ኣልኣዛር ዘለዋ፥ ቢታንያ ናብ ዝተብሃለት ዓዲ ኸደ። ትግርኛ GAZBIB Ayyaaneffamuu Faasiikaa guyyaa ja'aan jiru, Yesus Bitaaniyaa iddoo Alaazaar ture dhaqe; inni isa Yesus warra du'an kees… Afaan Oromoo BCV GIZ ወእምዝ ሖረ እግዚእ ኢየሱስ እምቅድመ ሰዱስ መዋዕል ዘፋሲካ ወበጽሐ ቢታንያ ኀበ ሀሎ አልዓዛር ዘአንሥኦ እምነ ምዉታን። giz GAZGAZ Ayyaaneffamuu Faasiikaa guyyaa ja'aan jiru, Yesus Bitaaniyaa iddoo Alaazaar ture dhaqe; inni isa Yesus warra du'an kees… Afaan Oromoo BCV aksum ሽዑ ኢየሱስ ሽዱሽተ መዓልቲ ቕድሚ ፋሲካ፥ ናብታ ንሱ ኻብ ምዉታን ዘተስኦ ኣልኣዛር ዘለዋ፥ ቢታንያ ናብ ዝተብሃለት ዓዲ ኸደ። ትግርኛ AMHNIV የፋሲካ በዓል ስድስት ቀን ሲቀረው ኢየሱስ፣ ከሞት ያስነሣው አልዓዛር ወደሚኖርበት፣ ወደ ቢታንያ መጣ። አማርኛ SWAHSUV Basi, siku sita kabla ya Pasaka, Yesu alifika Bethania, alipokuwapo Lazaro, yeye ambaye Yesu alimfufua katika wafu. Kiswahili