Day 25: The Hour Has Come (John 12:1–19)
“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.”
John 12:24 (NASB)
Six days before Passover, Jesus returns to Bethany. Mary takes a pound of expensive ointment — pure nard worth three hundred denarii, a year's wages — and anoints Jesus's feet, wiping them with her hair. The fragrance fills the house. Judas objects on grounds of financial prudence: 'Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?' John editorializes: Judas said this 'not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief' (12:6). Jesus defends Mary: 'Leave her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of my burial.' She has unknowingly prepared the body of the King.
The triumphal entry follows. Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a young donkey, fulfilling Zechariah 9:9 precisely. 'Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!' The crowd waves palm branches — a symbol associated in Jewish history with national liberation (cf. 1 Maccabees 13:51). They want a liberating king; they will be given a crucified Savior. John notes that the disciples did not understand all this at the time — only after the glorification did they remember and understand (12:16).
The Pharisees observe the crowd and say in despair: 'Look, the world has gone after him.' And then, in verses 20–22, Greeks come asking to see Jesus. Gentiles are at the door. Jesus's response is immediate: 'The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.' He has been saying 'my hour has not yet come' since chapter 2. Now it has. The cross is imminent. Everything in the Gospel has been moving toward this moment.
For Reflection
- Mary gave extravagantly, without restraint, to honor Jesus. What does extravagant devotion to Christ look like in your everyday life?
- The crowd waved palms expecting a military liberator and got a crucified servant-king. How have your expectations of Jesus needed to be reshaped?
- 'The hour has come.' Jesus had been moving toward this moment His entire ministry. What does it mean that He walked willingly into it?
