Every Woman's Bible Journaling Edition, Filament Enabled - Book - Page 40
JOHN 12
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They told him, “Lord, come and see.” 35 Then Jesus
wept. 36 The people who were standing nearby said,
“See how much he loved him!” 37 But some said, “This
man healed a blind man. Couldn’t he have kept Lazarus from dying?”
38 Jesus was still angry as he arrived at the tomb, a
cave with a stone rolled across its entrance. 39 “Roll
the stone aside,” Jesus told them.
But Martha, the dead man’s sister, protested,
“Lord, he has been dead for four days. The smell will
be terrible.”
40 Jesus responded, “Didn’t I tell you that you would
see God’s glory if you believe?” 41 So they rolled the
stone aside. Then Jesus looked up to heaven and
said, “Father, thank you for hearing me. 42 You always
hear me, but I said it out loud for the sake of all these
people standing here, so that they will believe you
sent me.” 43 Then Jesus shouted, “Lazarus, come out!”
44And the dead man came out, his hands and feet
bound in graveclothes, his face wrapped in a headcloth. Jesus told them, “Unwrap him and let him go!”
for the entire nation. 52And not only for that nation,
but to bring together and unite all the children of
God scattered around the world.
53 So from that time on, the Jewish leaders began
to plot Jesus’ death. 54As a result, Jesus stopped his
public ministry among the people and left Jerusalem. He went to a place near the wilderness, to
the village of Ephraim, and stayed there with his
disciples.
55 It was now almost time for the Jewish Passover
celebration, and many people from all over the country arrived in Jerusalem several days early so they
could go through the purification ceremony before
Passover began. 56 They kept looking for Jesus, but as
they stood around in the Temple, they said to each
other, “What do you think? He won’t come for Passover, will he?” 57 Meanwhile, the leading priests and
Pharisees had publicly ordered that anyone seeing
Jesus must report it immediately so they could arrest him.
Jesus Anointed at Bethany
The Plot to Kill Jesus
Many of the people who were with Mary believed
in Jesus when they saw this happen. 46 But some
went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had
done. 47 Then the leading priests and Pharisees called
the high council* together. “What are we going to
do?” they asked each other. “This man certainly performs many miraculous signs. 48 If we allow him to
go on like this, soon everyone will believe in him.
Then the Roman army will come and destroy both
our Temple* and our nation.”
49 Caiaphas, who was high priest at that time,* said,
“You don’t know what you’re talking about! 50 You
don’t realize that it’s better for you that one man
should die for the people than for the whole nation
to be destroyed.”
51 He did not say this on his own; as high priest at
that time he was led to prophesy that Jesus would die
45
Six days before the Passover celebration
began, Jesus arrived in Bethany, the home
of Lazarus—the man he had raised from the dead.
2 A dinner was prepared in Jesus’ honor. Martha
served, and Lazarus was among those who ate*
with him. 3 Then Mary took a twelve-ounce jar* of
expensive perfume made from essence of nard, and
she anointed Jesus’ feet with it, wiping his feet with
her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance.
4 But Judas Iscariot, the disciple who would soon
betray him, said, 5 “That perfume was worth a year’s
wages.* It should have been sold and the money
given to the poor.” 6 Not that he cared for the poor—
he was a thief, and since he was in charge of the disciples’ money, he often stole some for himself.
7 Jesus replied, “Leave her alone. She did this in
preparation for my burial. 8 You will always have the
poor among you, but you will not always have me.”
12
11:47 Greek the Sanhedrin. 11:48 Or our position; Greek reads our place. 11:49 Greek that year; also in 11:51. 12:2 Or who reclined.
12:3 Greek took 1 litra [327 grams]. 12:5 Greek worth 300 denarii. A denarius was equivalent to a laborer’s full day’s wage.
11:38-44 When he reached the tomb, Jesus was still angry.
He was furious about the destruction brought about by death,
and in this case it was even more personal because he knew
the family. For John, Jesus’ raising Lazarus from the dead,
essentially in the direct middle of the story, foreshadows Jesus’
ultimate defeat of death through his own death and resurrection (19:28–20:10).
11:51-52 The high priest predicted that Jesus would die not only
for Jews but also for Gentiles (non-Jews). For Jewish people in
Jesus’ day, especially the religious leaders, including “other”
nations into God’s covenant was not a small deal. Many of us are
Gentiles, but now Jesus’ good news unites us into one family.
John’s account stresses oneness despite otherness (see 10:16;
17:21). Today we still live with the tension between diversity and
unity, but Jesus invites us to embrace the tension we feel now to
experience the rewards of full unity. We will see this unity fully
in the Kingdom of God (Revelation 7:9-10).
12:1-8 In the first-century Jewish home, women often took
charge. When hosting Jesus at their home, both Martha and Mary
showed hospitality but in different ways. Martha prepared and
served the meal, while Mary anointed Jesus’ feet with her costly
perfume. Today, women can serve Jesus in different ways according to their gifts. Find your gifts and use them to serve others.
12:3 Ancient Jews reclined on low couches at a formal meal
like this, giving Mary access to Jesus’ feet. Her dramatic
gesture involved nard, a precious aromatic oil imported from
the Himalayas of north India. Twelve ounces of nard cost a
year’s wages (12:5). The book of Mark records that Mary also
anointed Jesus’ head, and the perfume ran down and scented
his body (Mark 14:3-8). Mary was acting with extravagant
abandon and devotion.
