1Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, the one Jesus had brought back from the dead.
2So they prepared a dinner for him there. Martha served the food, and Lazarus was one of the guests eating with him.
3Then Mary took a pound of very expensive perfume made from pure nard, anointed Jesus' feet with it, and wiped his feet with her hair. The whole house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.
4But Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, one of his followers who would later betray him, said,
5"Why wasn't this perfume sold for 300 silver coins and given to the poor?"
6He said this not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief. He was in charge of the money box and would often steal from what was put into it.
7But Jesus said, "Leave her alone. She has kept this perfume for the day of my burial.
8You will always have poor people among you, but you will not always have me."
9A large crowd of Jewish people found out that he was there, and they came not only to see Jesus but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead.
10However, the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus too,
11because many of the Jews were leaving them and believing in Jesus because of Lazarus.
12The next day, a large crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was coming 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, the King of Israel!"
14Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written:
15“Don’t be afraid, people of Zion. Look, your King is coming, riding on a donkey’s colt.”
16At first, his followers didn’t understand these things. But when Jesus was honored, they remembered that these things were written about him and that they had done these things to him.
17The many people who were with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead kept talking about it.
18That was also why so many people went out to meet him, because they heard that he had done this miracle.
19So the Pharisees said to each other, “See, you’re not accomplishing anything. Look, the whole world has gone after him.”
20Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to Jerusalem to worship during the festival.
21They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, “Sir, we want to see Jesus.”
22Philip went and told Andrew, and then Andrew and Philip both went and told Jesus.
23Jesus answered them, “The time has come for the Son of Man to be honored.
24I tell you the truth, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single grain. But if it dies, it produces much grain.
25Anyone who loves their life will lose it, and anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
26If anyone serves me, they must follow me. And where I am, my servant will also be. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor them.
27"Now I am deeply troubled. What should I say? Should I ask, 'Father, save me from this moment?' But I came for this very purpose.
28Father, bring glory to your name!" Then a voice came from heaven, saying, "I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again."
29The crowd standing nearby heard it and thought it was thunder. Others said, "An angel has spoken to him."
30Jesus responded, "This voice was not for my benefit, but for yours.
31Now is the time for this world to be judged. Now the ruler of this world will be thrown out.
32And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all people to myself."
33He said this to indicate the kind of death he was going to die.
34The crowd answered him, "We have learned from the law that the Christ remains forever. How can you say, 'The Son of Man must be lifted up'? Who is this Son of Man?"
35So Jesus told them, "The light will be with you for a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, so that darkness doesn't catch you. Those who walk in darkness don't know where they are going."
36While you have the light, believe in the light so you can become children of light." After Jesus said these things, he left and hid himself from them.
37But even though he had performed so many miraculous signs in front of them, they still didn't believe in him.
38This happened so that what the prophet Isaiah said would come true: "Lord, who has believed our message? And to whom has the power of the Lord been revealed?"
39They couldn't believe for this reason, because Isaiah also said:
40"He has blinded their eyes and made their hearts stubborn, so they wouldn't see with their eyes or understand with their hearts and turn to me, and I would heal them."
41Isaiah said these things when he saw Jesus' glory and spoke about him.
42Yet, many of the rulers did believe in him, but because of the Pharisees, they wouldn't admit it, so they wouldn't be expelled from the synagogue.
43They loved human approval more than God's approval.
44Jesus cried out and said, "Whoever believes in me doesn't just believe in me, but also in the one who sent me.
45Whoever sees me also sees the one who sent me.
46I have come into the world as a light, so that everyone who believes in me won't remain in darkness.
47If anyone hears my words and doesn't believe them, I don't judge them. I didn't come to judge the world, but to save the world.
48Those who reject me and don't accept my words have someone who will judge them. The message I spoke will judge them on the last day.
49Because I didn't speak on my own authority. The Father who sent me gave me a command about what I should say and what I should speak.
50And I know that his command leads to eternal life. So what I speak is exactly what the Father told me to say."