John 12:1-13 ▼

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

2 There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those at the table with him.

3 Mary took a litron of very expensive perfume made of pure nard and anointed Jesus' feet. She wiped his feet with her hair, and the house became filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

4 But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples, who was going to betray him, asked,

5 |Why wasn't this perfume sold for 300 denarii and the money given to the destitute?|

6 He said this, not because he cared about the destitute, but because he was a thief. He was in charge of the moneybag and would steal what was put into it.

7 Then Jesus said, |Leave her alone so she can observe the day of my burial,

8 because you will always have the destitute with you, but you won't always have me.|

9 When the large crowd of Jews realized that he was there, they came not only because of Jesus but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead.

10 So the high priests planned to kill Lazarus, too,

11 since he was the reason why so many of the Jews were leaving to believe in Jesus.

12 The next day, the large crowd that had come to the festival heard that Jesus was coming into Jerusalem.

13 So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, shouting, |Hosanna! How blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord, the King of Israel!|