John 12

Six days before Passover, Jesus returns to Bethany, where Lazarus is present at a meal and Mary anoints Jesus' feet with a large quantity of costly nard. John's account overlaps with anointing traditions in Mark 14:3-9 and Matthew 26:6-13, but differs in location within the house, the identification of Mary, and the emphasis on anointing Jesus' feet rather than his head. The detail that she wipes his feet with her hair intensifies the scene's physical and symbolic intimacy.

Judas objects that the perfume could have been sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor. The narrator immediately interprets his protest as hypocritical, identifying Judas as a thief who controlled the common purse. Jesus' reply, 'Leave her, so that she may keep it for the day of my burial,' is syntactically difficult, and translations differ over whether Mary has kept the perfume until this occasion or whether her act itself anticipates burial preparation.

Jesus' statement, 'You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me,' echoes Deuteronomy 15:11 and does not negate concern for the poor; it explains the exceptional significance of the present moment. Meanwhile, Lazarus's presence draws crowds and leads the chief priests to plan his death as well, because his restoration has become evidence leading many to believe in Jesus.

John 12 closes the Gospel's public ministry and turns decisively toward Jesus' passion. The chapter begins at Bethany, where Mary anoints Jesus in a gesture he interprets with reference to his burial. It then moves to Jerusalem, where the crowd greets him with royal and scriptural acclamations. The raising of Lazarus remains the immediate background: it attracts popular interest, intensifies hostility, and prompts the chief priests to contemplate Lazarus's death as well as Jesus'.

The arrival of Greeks seeking Jesus signals a widening horizon and prompts Jesus to announce that his 'hour' has come. His coming death is described through the image of a grain of wheat, as glorification, and as the means by which he will draw all people to himself. The chapter ends with a theological explanation of widespread unbelief using Isaiah and with a final summary of Jesus' public message. John therefore presents the cross as both judgment and revelation, while bringing the Book of Signs to its culmination.