CHAPTER XII.
1‐8. *The Supper in Bethania six days before the Pasch.*
9‐11. *The chief priests think of killing Lazarus.*
12‐19. *On the day after the supper Christ enters Jerusalem in triumph, to the disgust of the Pharisees.*
20‐22. *Some Gentile Proselytes wish to see Him.*
23‐33. *Christ (at the temple) foretells the near approach of His passion, and a voice from heaven is heard.*
34‐36. *He continues to refer to His approaching death, and exhorts the people to faith.*
37‐43. *Yet though they had witnessed many miracles, most of them refused to believe, as the prophets had foretold.*
44‐50. *Christ’s testimony regarding the object of the Incarnation, and the necessity of faith in Him.*
1. Iesus ergo ante sex dies 1. Jesus therefore six days paschae venit Bethaniam, ubi before the pasch came to Lazarus fuerat mortuus, quem Bethania, where Lazarus had suscitavit Iesus. been dead, whom Jesus raised to life.
1. Maldonatus connects with xi. 55: since the Pasch was near, Jesus on His way to Jerusalem to celebrate it, came to Bethania. *Six days before the pasch.* This peculiar Greek construction would be better rendered in Latin; “sex diebus ante pascha.” We have now entered upon the last week of our Divine Lord’s mortal life, but there is a diversity of opinion regarding the exact day here indicated. The principal views regarding the days of our Lord’s arrival at Bethania, of the supper there, and of the triumphant entry into Jerusalem, are:—
(1) Arrival at Bethania on Friday; the supper (_a_) on the same evening, or (_b_) according to others, on Saturday evening; the triumphal entry on Sunday.
(2) Arrival at Bethania on Saturday evening; the supper on the same evening; the entry into Jerusalem (_a_) on Sunday, or (_b_) according to others, on Monday.
(3) Arrival on Sunday; supper on the same evening; the entry into Jerusalem on Monday.
2. Fecerunt autem ei coenam 2. And they made him a supper ibi: et Martha ministrabat, there: and Martha served, but Lazarus vero, unus erat ex Lazarus was one of them that discumbentibus cum eo. were at table with him.
2. In Bethania then (in the house of Simon the leper, as we learn from Matt. xxvi. 6; Mark xiv. 3) a supper was prepared for Jesus, at which Lazarus was present and Martha served. We take it as certain that Matthew (xxvi. 6‐13) and Mark (xiv. 3‐9) refer to the same unction of Christ which is recorded by St. John in the following verses here. If not, we should have to suppose that the same murmuring for the same cause in the same circumstances took place a second time within four days, though reprehended by Christ on the first occasion it occurred. That SS. Matthew and Mark seem to refer to an occasion _two_ days before the Pasch (Matt. xxvi. 2; Mark xiv. 1), while St. John refers to an occasion _six_ days before, is readily explained. The two Synoptic Evangelists record this anointing of Jesus by Mary out of its place, and in connection with the treachery of Judas, because it was it that finally determined Judas to betray our Lord.(79)
3. Maria ergo accepit libram 3. Mary therefore took a pound unguenti nardi pistici, of ointment of right pretiosi, et unxit pedes Iesu, spikenard, of great price, and et extersit pedes eius anointed the feet of Jesus, capillis suis: et domus and wiped his feet with her impleta est ex odore unguenti. hair: and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment.
3. When we bear in mind the prominence given to Lazarus, Martha, and Mary in the preceding chapter, and find two of the three mentioned in verse 2 here, it is certain that the Mary mentioned here, in verse 3, can be no other than she who was sister to Martha and Lazarus.
*Mary therefore took a pound of ointment of right spikenard.* We learn from Matthew and Mark that the ointment was contained in an alabaster box. Alabaster is a species of stone resembling marble, and derives its name from Alabastron, a town in Egypt, near which it was found in large quantities. The term “alabaster box” came in time to be applied to any box for holding perfumes.
*Spikenard*, or nard, is a famous aromatic substance obtained from an eastern plant of the same name. It is said in our Rhemish Version to be *right* spikenard. The Greek adjective thus translated is πιστικῆς, which may mean _genuine_, from πίστις; or _liquid_, from πίστος (πίνω, to drink); or, as St. Augustine says, the nard may have been so called from the place in which it was obtained. St. John tells us that Mary anointed the _feet_ of our Lord, who, according to the Jewish custom, would be reclining on His left side upon a couch, with His feet stretching out behind. The first two Evangelists mention only the unction of our Lord’s head, so that St. John supplements their account. The fact that the odour of the ointment filled the house, is mentioned as a proof of its excellence. Pliny (xiii. 3) refers to such unctions among the Romans: “Vidimus etiam vestigia pedum tingi.”
4. Dixit ergo unus ex 4. Then one of his disciples, discipulis eius, Iudas Judas Iscariot, he that was Iscariotes, qui erat eum about to betray him, said: traditurus: 5. Quare hoc unguentum non 5. Why was not this ointment veniit trecentis denariis, et sold for three hundred pence, datum est egenis? and given to the poor?
4, 5. From SS. Matt. and Mark, it would seem that at least two of the disciples must have murmured, for St. Matt. says: “And the disciples seeing it, had indignation;” and St. Mark: “Now there were some that had indignation within themselves, and said: Why was this waste of the ointment made?” We may admit, then, that some of the others joined Judas in murmuring, but probably from a different motive; or, we may hold, with some commentators, that the plural is used indefinitely for the singular.
*Judas Iscariot* (Gr. Judas Iscariot, _son of Simon_: see notes on vi. 72) spoke out, asking why this ointment was not sold at 300 pence, and the price given to the poor? We discussed above on vi. 7, the value of the Roman silver penny at this time current in Palestine, from which it appears that this box of ointment was thought to be worth nearly £10 of our money.
6. Dixit autem hoc, non quia 6. Now he said this, not de egenis pertinebat ad eum, because he cared for the poor; sed quia fur erat, et loculos but because he was a thief, habens, ea quae mittebantur and having the purse, carried portabat. the things that were put therein.
6. St. John here declares the motive of Judas. It was not love for the poor, as he pretended, but because, being purse‐bearer, for our Lord and the disciples, he was always anxious to receive money, that he might have an opportunity of filching some of it for himself. Whether with our Rhemish Version we give ἐβάσταζεν the meaning of “carried,” or, as others prefer, “made away with,” at all events, it is plain from the verse, in which Judas is declared a thief, that he sometimes appropriated to his own uses money from the common purse. In his case, too, the saying was true: “Nemo repente fit turpissimus.”
7. Dixit ergo Iesus: Sinite 7. Jesus therefore said: Let illam ut in diem sepulturae her alone, that she may keep meae servet illud. it against the day of my burial.
7. There is a difference of reading in this verse. Many ancient authorities read: *She has kept it* (τετήρηκεν) *against the day of my burial*; and the meaning of this reading is plain. The more probable(80) Greek reading, however, is: “_That she might keep it_ (ἱνα ... τηρήσῃ) _against the day of My burial_.” In this reading we take our Lord’s reply to mean: Let her alone: it was not sold (Judas had asked: Why was it not sold?) in order that she might keep it against the day of My burial. Thus we would read “servaret” instead of “servet” in the Vulgate; and we take “ut” to depend not on “sinite,” but on some words such as “non veniit” (it was not sold) understood. St. John’s report of Christ’s words agrees substantially with that of St. Mark, who represents our Lord as saying: “She is come beforehand to anoint My body for the burial” (Mark xiv. 8); and both accounts, as well as that of St. Matt. (xxvi. 12), “She hath done it for My burial,” signify that our Lord’s death was so close at hand that this unction might be regarded as a preparation for His burial; and hence Mary was not to be blamed, inasmuch as such honours were usually paid to bodies before burial.
Immediately after their account of this unction, SS. Matt. and Mark narrate the compact of Judas with the Jews to betray Jesus for thirty pieces of silver; so that it is extremely probable that it was spite at losing the price of the ointment used on this occasion that finally determined Judas to betray our Lord.
8. Pauperes enim semper 8. For the poor you have habetis vobiscum: me autem non always with you; but me you semper habetis. have not always.
8. *But me you have not always.* Christ as God is, no doubt, everywhere, even now; and even as man He is still upon our altars in the Blessed Sacrament; but He is no longer with us in a mortal body capable of deriving sensible pleasure and comfort from such ministrations as those of Mary upon this occasion.
9. Cognovit ergo turba multa 9. A great multitude therefore ex Iudaeis quia illic est: et of the Jews knew that he was venerunt, non propter Iesum there: and they came, not for tantum, sed ut Lazarum Jesus’ sake only, but that viderent, quem suscitavit a they might see Lazarus, whom mortuis. he had raised from the dead. 10. Cogitaverunt autem 10. But the chief priests principes sacerdotum ut et thought to kill Lazarus also: Lazarum interficerent. 11. Quia multi propter illum 11. Because many of the Jews abibant ex Iudaeis, et by reason of him went away, credebant in Iesum. and believed in Jesus.
9‐11. A great multitude, on learning that Christ was in Bethania, flocked out to see the wonder‐worker, and Lazarus whom He had raised from the dead; and so many were being converted by that miracle, that the chief priests thought of putting Lazarus to death, that they might thus get rid of a living and manifest proof of the almighty power of Jesus.
12. In crastinum autem turba 12. And on the next day a multa, quae venerat ad diem great multitude, that was come festum, cum audissent quia to the festival day, when they venit Iesus Ierosolymam. had heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem,
12. On the day after the supper, which we take to have been Sunday or Monday, that is, the first or second day of the Jewish week, a great multitude came to meet our Lord and escort Him into Jerusalem. Hundreds of thousands always flocked to Jerusalem for the Pasch, and though the feast was still some days off, a great number had already arrived. Doubtless many of the inhabitants of Jerusalem were also among the crowd on this occasion.
13. Acceperunt ramos palmarum, 13. Took branches of palm‐ et processerunt obviam ei, et trees, and went forth to meet clamabant: Hosanna, benedictus him, and cried: Hosanna, qui venit in nomine Domini, blessed is he that cometh in rex Israel. the name of the Lord, the king of Israel.
13. Carrying palm branches, with shouts of joy and triumph, they hailed Jesus as the Messias, and King of Israel; in the words of the great Paschal chant (Ps. cxvii. 26), *Hosanna* (הושׂענא, which is contracted for הושׂיעה נא) means: _pray_, _save_, or: _save, I beseech_. It may be taken here as a prayer to Jesus to save them, or rather as a prayer to God to save and bless their Messias. Or it may be that it was used as an expression of joy without attention to its literal meaning, as the expressions “vivat,” “vive le roi,” and the like, are sometimes used at the present day.
14. Et invenit Iesus asellum, 14. And Jesus found a young et sedit super eum, sicut ass, and sat upon it, as it is scriptum est: written:
14. From the Synoptic Evangelists we learn that Jesus sent His disciples telling them where they should find the colt, and St. Matthew tells us that they brought the colt and its mother, and spread their garments upon both (ἐπ᾽ αὐτῶν, Matt. xxi. 7). They spread their garments upon both, because they did not know upon which He would choose to sit. And St. Matthew adds that Jesus sat _upon them_ (ἑπάνω αὐτῶν); that is, as we take it, upon the garments that had been spread upon the colt. In this way the accounts of the four Evangelists are reconciled.
Another difficulty occurs here, if we compare the parallel passage of St. Luke (xix. 29). For, whereas St. John’s account naturally leads us to suppose that the ass’s colt was procured on the way _between_ Bethania, where Christ had supped on the preceding night (xii. 1, 2) and Jerusalem, St. Luke, on the other hand, says: “And it came to pass _when He was come nigh to Bethphage and Bethania_, unto the mount called Olivet, He sent two of His disciples, saying, Go into the town which is over against you, at your entering into which you shall find the colt of an ass tied,” &c. We have searched in vain for a satisfactory solution of this difficulty. If the words of St. Luke are to be taken strictly as meaning that Christ was not merely near to, but _approaching_ Bethania, then we would hold that on this morning, before the procession started, He had retired from Bethania eastward, and therefore farther away from Jerusalem, and was now again approaching the village on His way to the Holy City. There is nothing improbable in this supposition, for Christ did many things which the Evangelists have not recorded (John xxi. 25), and it enables us to reconcile two accounts, which are not easily reconciled otherwise.
15. Noli timere filia Sion: 15. _Fear not, daughter of ecce rex tuus venit sedens Sion: behold, thy king cometh, super pullum asinae. sitting on an ass’s colt._
15. St. Matthew (xxi. 4) says that these things were done that prophecy might be fulfilled; that is, they were brought about by God, not by the disciples, who, as St. John tells us in the next verse, were ignorant that they were fulfilling a prophecy. The whole quotation here is substantially from Zach. ix. 9: “Rejoice greatly (‘fear not,’ of St. John) O daughter of Sion; shout for joy, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold thy King will come to thee, the Just and Saviour: He is poor and riding upon an ass, and (even) upon a colt the foal of an ass.”
16. Haec non cognoverunt 16. These things his disciples discipuli eius primum: sed did not know at the first: but quando glorificatus est Iesus, when Jesus was glorified, then tunc recordati sunt quia haec they remembered that these erant scripta de eo, et haec things were written of him, fecerunt ei. and that they had done these things to him.
16. The disciples did not know at that time that prophecy was being fulfilled; but when the light of the Holy Ghost had flooded their souls at the first Pentecost (Acts ii. 4), then they recognised in these things the fulfilment of prophecy.
17. Testimonium ergo 17. The multitude therefore perhibebat turba quae erat cum gave testimony, which was with eo quando Lazarum vocavit de him when he called Lazarus out monumento, et suscitavit eum a of the grave, and raised him mortuis. from the dead.
17. *When he called Lazarus out of the grave.* It is doubtful, and authorities are much divided, whether the true reading here is _when_ (ὅτε), or _that_ (ὅτι). In the former reading, eye‐witnesses of the miracle now bore testimony of it; in the latter, the crowd that was now with Him having heard and believed that the miracle had been wrought, now bore witness _that_ Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead.
18. Propterea et obviam venit 18. For which reason also the ei turba, quia audierunt eum people came to meet him: fecisse hoc signum. because they heard that he had done this miracle.
18. It was on account of this miracle too that the crowd had come out to meet Him. We take “the multitude” in this verse to be the same as that referred to in the preceding (ὁ ὄχλος); and what St. John tells us is, that their coming out to meet Him, and their testimony regarding Him, both proceeded from the fact that He had raised Lazarus from the dead.
19. Pharisaei ergo dixerunt ad 19. The Pharisees therefore semetipsos: Videtis quia nihil said among themselves: Do you proficimus? ecce mundus totus see that we prevail nothing? post eum abiit. behold, the whole world is gone after him.
19. The jealousy of the Pharisees is at once aroused, and, as often happens in such circumstances, they exaggerate, saying that the whole world had gone after Him.
Our Lord moved on towards Jerusalem, riding upon the ass,(81) between two enthusiastic crowds (see Matt. xxi. 9; Mark xi. 9). As He approached the city, and shouts of joy and thanksgiving rose from the crowds which preceded and followed, some Pharisees, as we learn from St. Luke, bade Jesus rebuke His disciples for the words of homage they were using. To whom He replied: “I say to you, if these shall hold their peace, the stones will cry out” (Luke xix. 40). Then when He had mounted the summit of Olivet, and the city and temple burst upon His view, He wept, and “went on to prophesy the destruction of the city with a particularity of detail, to the exactness of which the subsequent history bears wonderful testimony.” (Coleridge, _Life of our Life_, vol. ii., p. 187). See Luke xix. 41‐44.
When the procession entered Jerusalem, the “whole city was moved, saying, Who is this?” And the people said, “This is Jesus the Prophet from Nazareth of Galilee” (Matt. xxi. 10, 11). As we learn from St. Mark, Jesus went up to the temple, and there the events occurred which St. John records down to verse 36.
20. Erant autem quidam 20. Now there were certain gentiles, ex his qui gentiles among them who came ascenderant ut adorarent in up to adore on the festival die festo. day. 21. Hi ergo accesserunt ad 21. These therefore came to Philippum, qui erat a Philip, who was of Bethsaida Bethsaida Galilaeae, et of Galilee, and desired him, rogabant eum, dicentes: Domine saying: Sir, we would see volumus Iesum videre. Jesus. 22. Venit Philippus, et dicit 22. Philip cometh and telleth Andreae: Andreas rursum et Andrew. Again Andrew and Philippus dixerunt Iesu. Philip told Jesus.
20‐22. Some Gentiles, who were probably proselytes, had come to Jerusalem for the Pasch, and they ask Philip that they may see, that is, speak with Jesus. Philip consults his fellow‐townsman, Andrew (John i. 44), and they both make known the request to Jesus. Our Lord was probably in the Court of the Jews, into which the Gentiles could not enter, so that their request meant that Jesus should come out into the Court of the Gentiles. See above on ii. 14.
23. Iesus autem respondit eis, 23. But Jesus answered them dicens: Venit hora, ut saying: The hour is come, that clarificetur Filius hominis. the son of man should be glorified.
23. The Evangelist does not tell us whether Jesus granted an audience to these Gentiles, but goes on to record His reply to the disciples: *The hour is come that the son of man should be glorified*: _i.e._, the hour of His death to be followed by His glorious resurrection and ascension by the descent of the Holy Ghost, and the call of the Gentiles.
24. Amen, amen dico vobis, 24. Amen, amen, I say to you, nisi granum frumenti cadens in unless the grain of wheat terram, mortuum fuerit, falling into the ground die; 25. Ipsum solum manet: si 25. Itself remaineth alone. autem mortuum fuerit, multum But if it die, it bringeth fructum affert. Qui amat forth much fruit. He that animam suam, perdet eam: et loveth his life shall lose it: qui odit animam suam in hoc and he that hateth his life in mundo, in vitam aeternam this world, keepeth it unto custodit eam. life eternal.
24, 25. In a beautiful comparison our Lord points out that as the grain of wheat dies in order that it may fructify, so in the providence of God His death is necessary to His triumph and His glory. And applying this doctrine to His disciples, He points out that whoever loveth his life inordinately here, shall lose it for eternity, and he that hateth (a Hebraism for _loveth less_) his life in this world, keepeth it unto life eternal.
26. Si quis mihi ministrat, me 26. If any man minister to me, sequatur: et ubi sum ego, let him follow me: and where I illic et minister meus erit. am, there also shall my Si quis mihi ministraverit, minister be. If any man honorificabit eum Pater meus. minister to me, him will my Father honour.
26. *If any man minister to me, let him follow me.* This exhortation to follow Christ in despising this life for God’s sake, is addressed to all His followers, who are to minister to Him by the service of devout lives; but it is applicable in a special way to Priests, for to them belongs the privilege of the special ministry. To such as imitate Him He gives the glorious promise, that where He is, that is, in the glory of the Father, which as God He then enjoyed, and which as man He was to merit by His passion, there also shall His followers be.
27. Nunc anima mea turbata 27. Now is my soul troubled. est. Et quid dicam? Pater, And what shall I say? Father, salvifica me ex hac hora. Sed save me from this hour. But propterea veni in horem hanc. for this cause I came unto this hour.
27. The thought of His approaching Passion now disturbed His human soul, for as He was true man, His humanity naturally shuddered at the suffering and death He was about to undergo. Compare Matt. xxvi. 38; Mark xiv. 34. Christ, of course, permitted this fear to seize upon Him, so that it was wholly voluntary; and He manifested it at this particular time, probably lest His disciples should be tempted to say that it was easy for Him who was God to exhort others to despise their life and endure suffering. He shows them, therefore, that He dreads death like the rest of men; and St. John records the fact because of the Docetae, who denied the reality of the Incarnation, and consequently of Christ’s sufferings. See above on i. 14, and Introd. IX.
*Father save me from this hour.* Some read this with a note of interrogation after it, as if the meaning were: Shall I say to the Father to save Me from this hour? But we may understand the words as a conditional prayer proceeding from Christ’s human will; conditional, that is, upon his Father’s will to save Him from the Passion which He was to undergo, just as in St. Luke xxii. 42: “Father, if Thou wilt, remove this chalice from Me; but not My will, but Thine be done.” That such, indeed, is the meaning here, is proved by what follows, where Jesus retracts this conditional prayer, saying that it was for the very purpose that He might suffer, that He came unto this hour.
28. Pater, clarifica nomen 28. Father, glorify thy name. tuum. Venit ergo vox de coelo: A voice therefore came from Et clarificavi, et iterum heaven: I have both glorified clarificabo. it, and will glorify it again.
28. In this verse, then, He prays absolutely to the Father to glorify His name by the sufferings and death of the Son. And a voice came from the air, produced there by God or an angel, saying: *I have both glorified (it), and will glorify (it) again*. The sense of these words of the Father is disputed. The Latin fathers understand the sense to be; I have glorified Thee from all eternity, and will glorify Thee again as God‐man after Thy ascension. In favour of this view is the prayer of Christ: “And now glorify Thou Me, O Father, with Thyself, with the glory which I had before the world was, with Thee” (John xvii. 5). The Greek fathers, on the other hand, all take the sense to be: I have already glorified Thee by many miracles, and will again glorify Thee in the miracles to be wrought at Thy death, resurrection, and ascension, and afterwards by Thy followers in Thy name. It will be noted that the fathers generally understand the words of God the Father in reference to the glorification of Christ, whereas Christ’s prayer regarded the glorification of the Father’s name. We feel convinced, however, that the _direct_ object of glorification in both instances is the Father’s name. For when Christ prays: “Glorify Thy name,” and the Father answers: “I have glorified, and will again glorify,” obviously the answer must refer to the glorification of the Father’s name, for which Christ had prayed. Since, however, the glorification of the Father was to be brought about by the glorification of the Son; hence, this too is indirectly referred to, and our interpretation agrees substantially with that of the fathers.
29. Turba ergo quae stabat et 29. The multitude therefore audierat, dicebat tonitruum that stood and heard, said esse factum. Alii dicebant: that it thundered. Others Angelus ei locutus est. said, An Angel spoke to him. 30. Respondit Iesus, et dixit: 30. Jesus answered and said: Non propter me haec vox venit, This voice came not because of sed propter vos. me, but for your sakes.
30. Jesus declares that the voice from heaven was the Father’s testimony to Him, given for their sakes, in order that they might believe in Him.
31. Nunc iudicium est mundi: 31. Now is the judgment of the nunc princeps huius mundi world: now shall the prince of eiicietur foras. this world be cast out.
31. *Now is the judgment of the world.* There is a difference of opinion as to what judgment is here spoken of; whether the judgment of liberation of the world in general, or the judgment of condemnation of the _wicked_ world. In favour of the former, it is argued—(_a_) that since Satan was to be cast out, or deprived of his dominion over the world, therefore the world was to be liberated; (_b_) that verse 32 declares the effect of this judgment: the world shall be liberated, and as a consequence I shall draw all things to Myself; (_c_) that the world to be judged is that over which Satan had ruled, and from which he was now to be cast out. But before the Incarnation he had held sway over the whole world (Rom. iii. 23, xi. 32; Gal. iii. 22). Therefore, it is the whole world that is to be judged, and hence there must be question of the judgment of liberation. So St. Aug., Mald., A Lap., Tolet., Beel., Patriz.
In favour of the latter view, which is held by St. Chrysostom and most of the Greek fathers, it is argued—(_a_) that St. John always uses κρίσις of the judgment of condemnation; (_b_) that the world in the beginning of the verse is the same whose prince is to be deprived of his dominion; that, therefore, it should stand or fall with its prince; hence since he is to be stripped of his dominion, it is to be condemned; (_c_) that in the discourse after the Last Supper, Christ always means by the world, the _wicked_ world, opposed to Himself (John xiv. 17, 22, 30; xv. 18, 19;