Lesson 35: John 12:1-19 - Jesus Offers His Kingdom
1 Six days before the Passover, Jesus therefore came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.
2 So they gave a dinner for him there. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at table.
3 Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.
4 But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was about to betray him), said,
5 “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?”
6 He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it.
7 Jesus said, “Leave her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of my burial.
8 For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me.”
9 When the large crowd of the Jews learned that Jesus was there, they came, not only on account of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead.
10 So the chief priests made plans to put Lazarus to death as well,
11 because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus.
12 The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem.
13 So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!”
14 And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written,
15 “Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey’s colt!”
16 His disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about him and had been done to him.
17 The crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to bear witness.
18 The reason why the crowd went to meet him was that they heard he had done this sign.
19 So the Pharisees said to one another, “You see that you are gaining nothing. Look, the world has gone after him.”
Beginning with this chapter, Jesus demonstrates His great “I AM” statement of chapter 11 – He is the Resurrection and the Life. As we learned in the lessons of Part 1, Jesus chose feast-times or other public occasions to make these statements, except in the case of the raising of Lazarus. In the previous 3 lessons this statement was made in the circumstance of a friend’s death. His demonstration of this claim will, however, be made at the Feast of Passover.
Jesus’ first demonstration confirming He is the Resurrection and the Life was simply made by returning to the home of the man He’d raised from the dead. He allowed Mary to anoint Him, telling His disciples it was for His death. And yet, though the religious leaders were anxious to kill Him, everything now proceeded according to God’s plan – so His perfect Lamb of God, Jesus, would be sacrificed according to the picture God had painted hundreds of years earlier in the Feast of Passover.
*Why were the religious leaders determined to kill Lazarus too? What does this say about how some people will respond to you when you tell them about Jesus?
1 Six days before the Passover, Jesus therefore came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.
2 So they gave a dinner for him there. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at table.
3 Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.
4 But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was about to betray him), said,
5 “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?”
6 He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it.
7 Jesus said, “Leave her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of my burial.
8 For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me.”
9 When the large crowd of the Jews learned that Jesus was there, they came, not only on account of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead.
10 So the chief priests made plans to put Lazarus to death as well,
11 because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus.
12 The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem.
13 So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!”
14 And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written,
15 “Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey’s colt!”
16 His disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about him and had been done to him.
17 The crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to bear witness.
18 The reason why the crowd went to meet him was that they heard he had done this sign.
19 So the Pharisees said to one another, “You see that you are gaining nothing. Look, the world has gone after him.”
Beginning with this chapter, Jesus demonstrates His great “I AM” statement of chapter 11 – He is the Resurrection and the Life. As we learned in the lessons of Part 1, Jesus chose feast-times or other public occasions to make these statements, except in the case of the raising of Lazarus. In the previous 3 lessons this statement was made in the circumstance of a friend’s death. His demonstration of this claim will, however, be made at the Feast of Passover.
Jesus’ first demonstration confirming He is the Resurrection and the Life was simply made by returning to the home of the man He’d raised from the dead. He allowed Mary to anoint Him, telling His disciples it was for His death. And yet, though the religious leaders were anxious to kill Him, everything now proceeded according to God’s plan – so His perfect Lamb of God, Jesus, would be sacrificed according to the picture God had painted hundreds of years earlier in the Feast of Passover.
*Why were the religious leaders determined to kill Lazarus too? What does this say about how some people will respond to you when you tell them about Jesus?