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54 Because of this plot against him, Jesus stopped going around in public. He went to the town of Ephraim, which was near the desert, and he stayed there with his disciples.

55 It was almost time for Passover. Many of the Jewish people who lived out in the country had come to Jerusalem to get themselves ready[a] for the festival. 56 They looked around for Jesus. Then when they were in the temple, they asked each other, “You don't think he will come here for Passover, do you?”

57 The chief priests and the Pharisees told the people to let them know if any of them saw Jesus. This is how they hoped to arrest him.

At Bethany

(Matthew 26.6-13; Mark 14.3-9)

12 Six days before Passover Jesus went back to Bethany, where he had raised Lazarus from death. A meal had been prepared for Jesus. Martha was doing the serving, and Lazarus himself was there.

(A) Mary took a very expensive bottle of perfume[b] and poured it on Jesus' feet. She wiped them with her hair, and the sweet smell of the perfume filled the house.

A disciple named Judas Iscariot[c] was there. He was the one who was going to betray Jesus, and he asked, “Why wasn't this perfume sold for 300 silver coins and the money given to the poor?” Judas did not really care about the poor. He asked this because he carried the moneybag and sometimes would steal from it.

Jesus replied, “Leave her alone! She has kept this perfume for the day of my burial. (B) You will always have the poor with you, but you won't always have me.”

A Plot To Kill Lazarus

A lot of people came when they heard that Jesus was there. They also wanted to see Lazarus, because Jesus had raised him from death. 10 So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus. 11 He was the reason that many of the people were turning from them and putting their faith in Jesus.

Jesus Enters Jerusalem

(Matthew 21.1-11; Mark 11.1-11; Luke 19.28-40)

12 The next day a large crowd was in Jerusalem for Passover. When they heard that Jesus was coming for the festival, 13 (C) they took palm branches and went out to greet him.[d] They shouted,

“Hooray![e]
God bless the one who comes
    in the name of the Lord!
God bless the King
    of Israel!”

14 Jesus found a donkey and rode on it, just as the Scriptures say,

15 (D) “People of Jerusalem,
    don't be afraid!
Your King is now coming,
and he is riding
    on a donkey.”

16 At first, Jesus' disciples did not understand. But after he had been given his glory,[f] they remembered all this. Everything had happened exactly as the Scriptures said it would.

17-18 A crowd had come to meet Jesus because they had seen him call Lazarus out of the tomb. They kept talking about him and this miracle.[g] 19 But the Pharisees said to each other, “There is nothing we can do! Everyone in the world is following Jesus.”

Footnotes

  1. 11.55 get themselves ready: The Jewish people had to do certain things to prepare themselves to worship God.
  2. 12.3 very expensive bottle of perfume: The Greek text has “expensive perfume made of pure spikenard,” a plant used to make perfume.
  3. 12.4 Iscariot: See the note at 6.71.
  4. 12.13 took palm branches and went out to greet him: This was one way the people welcomed a famous person.
  5. 12.13 Hooray: This translates a word that can mean “please save us.” But it is most often used as a shout of praise to God.
  6. 12.16 had been given his glory: See the note at 7.39.
  7. 12.17,18 miracle: See the note at 2.11.

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