John 12:1
“Then Jesus six days before the passover came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, which had been dead, whom he raised from the dead.”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →Jesus arrives at Bethany, where His raising of Lazarus echoes through the scene.
Context
Six days before Passover, at Bethany (home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, whom Jesus had raised in John 11). The raising of Lazarus has made Jesus famous and dangerous to Jerusalem's leaders.
What Does John 12:1 Mean?
The hour is grave and gathering. Passover approaches, the feast when the nation remembers its liberation from Egypt; Jesus knows what lies ahead. Yet He comes to Bethany, to a home no longer sealed by death. Lazarus sits at table—a living, walking contradiction of the grave's finality. His presence is itself a proclamation: Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life, not in abstract creed but in bone and breath.
We are drawn into a scene thick with meaning. Jesus does not hide before the Passover fest. He goes to the home of the man He raised, allowing the deed to work in all who see it. The raising of Lazarus is John's sign of who Jesus is: the one who calls the dead from their tombs and gives them their lives back. Yet this same raising will seal Jesus' fate. The very sign that proclaims His power becomes the reason the authorities resolve to kill Him.
In the Original Language
Bethany (Bethania), 'place of dates'—a small town on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, home to Mary, Martha, and Lazarus.
Application
When Jesus draws near to us, He comes not as a stranger but as one who has already proven His power over death. Lazarus' presence at the table invites us to believe, not in a past miracle only, but in the power at work now.