John 12:1-12

Mary Anoints Jesus

¹Therefore, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. ²So they made Him a dinner there, and Martha was serving; and Lazarus was one of those reclining at the table with Him. ³Mary then took a pound of very expensive perfume of pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. ⁴But Judas Iscariot, one of His disciples, the one who intended to betray Him, *said, ⁵“Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the proceeds given to poor people?” ⁶Now he said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and as he kept the money box, he used to steal from what was put into it. ⁷Therefore Jesus said, “Leave her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of My burial. ⁸For you always have the poor with you, but you do not always have Me.”

⁹The large crowd of the Jews then learned that He was there; and they came, not on account of Jesus only, but so that they might also see Lazarus, whom He raised from the dead. ¹⁰But the chief priests planned to put Lazarus to death also, ¹¹because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and were believing in Jesus.

The Triumphal Entry

¹²On the next day, when the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem,

Greeks Seek Jesus

Jesus Foretells His Death