John 5-12

Christian Standard Bible

The Third Sign: Healing the Sick

5 After this, a Jewish festival took place, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.^{(A) 2} By the Sheep Gate^(B) in Jerusalem there is a pool, called Bethesda^[a] in Aramaic, which has five colonnades. ³ Within these lay a large number of the disabled—blind, lame, and paralyzed.^[b]

⁵ One man was there who had been disabled for thirty-eight years. ⁶ When Jesus saw him lying there and realized he had already been there a long time,^(C) he said to him, “Do you want to get well?”

⁷ “Sir,”^(D) the disabled man answered, “I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but while I’m coming, someone goes down ahead of me.”

⁸ “Get up,” Jesus told him, “pick up your mat and walk.” ⁹ Instantly the man got well, picked up his mat, and started to walk.

Now that day was the Sabbath,^{(E) 10} and so the Jews^(F) said to the man who had been healed, “This is the Sabbath.^(G) The law prohibits you from picking up your mat.”

¹¹ He replied, “The man who made me well^(H) told me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’”

¹² “Who is this man who told you, ‘Pick up your mat and walk’?” they asked. ¹³ But the man who was healed did not know who it was,^(I) because Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there.^[c]

¹⁴ After this, Jesus found him in the temple^(J) and said to him, “See, you are well. Do not sin anymore, so that something worse doesn’t happen to you.” ¹⁵ The man went and reported to the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.^{(K) 16} Therefore, the Jews began persecuting^(L) Jesus^[d] because he was doing these things on the Sabbath.^(M)

Honoring the Father and the Son

¹⁷ Jesus responded to them, “My Father^(N) is still working, and I am working also.” ¹⁸ This is why the Jews began trying all the more to kill him:^(O) Not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal to God.

¹⁹ Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, the Son is not able to do anything on his own, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father^[e] does, the Son likewise does these things.^{(P) 20} For the Father loves the Son and shows him everything he is doing, and he will show him greater works^(Q) than these so that you will be amazed. ²¹ And just as the Father raises^(R) the dead and gives them life, so the Son also gives life to whom he wants.^{(S) 22} The Father,^(T) in fact, judges no one but has given all judgment to the Son, ²³ so that all people may honor the Son just as they honor the Father.^(U) Anyone who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.^(V)

Life and Judgment

²⁴ “Truly I tell you, anyone who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life^(W) and will not come under judgment but has passed from death to life.

²⁵ “Truly I tell you, an hour is coming, and is now here,^(X) when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.^{(Y) 26} For just as the Father has life in himself, so also he has granted to the Son^(Z) to have life in himself. ²⁷ And he has granted him the right to pass judgment,^(AA) because he is the Son of Man.^{(AB) 28} Do not be amazed at this, because a time is coming when all who are in the graves will hear his voice ²⁹ and come out—those who have done good things, to the resurrection of life, but those who have done wicked things, to the resurrection of condemnation.

³⁰ “I can do nothing on my own. I judge only as I hear, and my judgment^(AC) is just,^(AD) because I do not seek my own will, but the will of him who sent me.^(AE)

Witnesses to Jesus

³¹ “If I testify about myself, my testimony is not true. ³² There is another who testifies about me, and I know that the testimony he gives about me is true.^{(AF) 33} You sent messengers to John, and he testified to the truth.^{(AG) 34} I don’t receive human testimony, but I say these things so that you may be saved. ³⁵ John^[f](AH) was a burning and shining lamp,^(AI) and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light.^(AJ)

³⁶ “But I have a greater testimony than John’s because of the works that the Father has given me to accomplish.^(AK) These very works I am doing testify about me that the Father has sent^(AL) me. ³⁷ The Father who sent me has himself testified^(AM) about me. You have not heard his voice at any time, and you haven’t seen his form.^{(AN) 38} You don’t have his word residing in you, because you don’t believe the one he sent. ³⁹ You pore over the Scriptures^(AO) because you think you have eternal life in them, and yet they testify about me.^{(AP) 40} But you are not willing^(AQ) to come to me^(AR) so that you may have life.

⁴¹ “I do not accept glory^(AS) from people, ⁴² but I know you—that you have no love for God^(AT) within you. ⁴³ I have come in my Father’s name,^(AU) and yet you don’t accept me.^(AV) If someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him. ⁴⁴ How can you believe, since you accept glory from one another but don’t seek the glory that comes from the only^(AW) God?^{(AX) 45} Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. Your accuser is Moses,^(AY) on whom you have set your hope. ⁴⁶ For if you believed Moses, you would believe me, because he wrote about me. ⁴⁷ But if you don’t believe what he wrote,^(AZ) how will you believe my words?”^(BA)

The Fourth Sign: Feeding of the Five Thousand

6 After^(BB) this, Jesus crossed the Sea of Galilee^(BC) (or Tiberias^(BD)). ² A huge crowd was following him because they saw the signs that he was performing by healing the sick. ³ Jesus went up a mountain and sat down there with his disciples.

⁴ Now the Passover, a Jewish festival, was near. ⁵ So when Jesus looked up and noticed a huge crowd coming toward him,^(BE) he asked Philip,^(BF) “Where will we buy bread so that these people can eat?” ⁶ He asked this to test him,^(BG) for he himself knew what he was going to do.

⁷ Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii^[g](BH) worth of bread wouldn’t be enough for each of them to have a little.”

⁸ One of his disciples, Andrew,^(BI) Simon^(BJ) Peter’s^(BK) brother, said to him, ⁹ “There’s a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish—but what are they for so many?”

¹⁰ Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.”

There was plenty of grass in that place; so they sat down. The men numbered about five thousand.^{(BL) 11} Then Jesus took the loaves, and after giving thanks he distributed them to those who were seated—so also with the fish, as much as they wanted.^(BM)

¹² When they were full, he told his disciples, “Collect the leftovers so that nothing is wasted.”^{(BN) 13} So they collected them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces from the five barley loaves that were left over by those who had eaten.

¹⁴ When the people saw the sign^[h] he had done, they said, “This truly is the Prophet^(BO) who is to come^(BP) into the world.”^(BQ)

¹⁵ Therefore, when Jesus realized that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king,^(BR) he withdrew again to the mountain by himself.

The Fifth Sign: Walking on Water

¹⁶ When^(BS) evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, ¹⁷ got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum.^(BT) Darkness had already set in, but Jesus had not yet come to them. ¹⁸ A high wind arose, and the sea began to churn. ¹⁹ After they had rowed about three or four miles,^[i] they saw Jesus walking on the sea. He was coming near the boat, and they were afraid. ²⁰ But he said to them, “It is I.^[j](BU) Don’t be afraid.” ²¹ Then they were willing to take him on board, and at once the boat was at the shore where they were heading.

The Bread of Life

²² The next day, the crowd that had stayed on the other side of the sea saw there had been only one boat.^[k](BV) They also saw that Jesus had not boarded the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone off alone. ²³ Some boats from Tiberias^(BW) came near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. ²⁴ When the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus. ²⁵ When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi,^(BX) when did you get here?”

²⁶ Jesus answered, “Truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw^[l] the signs, but because you ate the loaves and were filled. ²⁷ Don’t work for the food that perishes^(BY) but for the food that lasts for eternal life,^(BZ) which the Son of Man^(CA) will give you, because God the Father^(CB) has set his seal of approval on him.”

²⁸ “What can we do to perform the works of God?” they asked.

²⁹ Jesus replied, “This is the work^(CC) of God—that you believe in the one he has sent.”^(CD)

³⁰ “What sign, then, are you going to do so that we may see and believe you?” they asked. “What are you going to perform? ³¹ Our ancestors ate the manna^(CE) in the wilderness,^(CF) just as it is written: He gave them bread from heaven to eat.”^[m](CG)

³² Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, Moses^(CH) didn’t give you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. ³³ For the bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

³⁴ Then they said, “Sir, give us this bread always.”

³⁵ “I am^(CI) the bread of life,” Jesus told them. “No one who comes to me^(CJ) will ever be hungry,^(CK) and no one who believes in me^(CL) will ever be thirsty^(CM) again. ³⁶ But as I told you, you’ve seen me,^[n] and yet you do not believe. ³⁷ Everyone the Father gives me will come to me, and the one who comes to me I will never cast out.^{(CN) 38} For I have come down from heaven,^(CO) not to do my own will, but the will of him^(CP) who sent me. ³⁹ This is the will of him who sent me: that I should lose none of those he has given me but should raise^(CQ) them up on the last day. ⁴⁰ For this is the will of my Father: ^(CR) that everyone who sees the Son^(CS) and believes in him will have eternal life, and I will raise^(CT) him up on the last day.”

⁴¹ Therefore the Jews started grumbling about him because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” ⁴² They were saying, “Isn’t this Jesus the son of Joseph,^(CU) whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?”

⁴³ Jesus answered them, “Stop grumbling among yourselves. ⁴⁴ No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws^[o] him, and I will raise him up on the last day. ⁴⁵ It is written in the Prophets: ^(CV) And they will all be taught by God.^[p](CW) Everyone who has listened to and learned from the Father^(CX) comes to me— ⁴⁶ not that anyone has seen the Father^(CY) except the one who is from God.^(CZ) He has seen the Father.^(DA)

⁴⁷ “Truly I tell you, anyone who believes^[q] has eternal life. ⁴⁸ I am the bread of life. ⁴⁹ Your ancestors ate the manna^(DB) in the wilderness,^(DC) and they died. ⁵⁰ This is the bread that comes down from heaven so that anyone may eat of it and not die.^{(DD) 51} I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread he will live^(DE) forever.^(DF) The bread that I will give for the life^(DG) of the world is my flesh.”^(DH)

⁵² At that, the Jews argued^(DI) among themselves,^(DJ) “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”

⁵³ So Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man^(DK) and drink his blood,^(DL) you do not have life in yourselves. ⁵⁴ The one who eats my flesh and drinks my blood^(DM) has eternal life, and I will raise^(DN) him up on the last day, ⁵⁵ because my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. ⁵⁶ The one who eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him.^{(DO) 57} Just as the living^(DP) Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live^(DQ) because of me. ⁵⁸ This is the bread that came down from heaven; it is not like the manna^[r] your ancestors ate—and they died. The one who eats this bread will live forever.”^(DR)

⁵⁹ He said these things while teaching in the synagogue^(DS) in Capernaum.^(DT)

Many Disciples Desert Jesus

⁶⁰ Therefore, when many of his disciples heard this, they said, “This teaching is hard. Who can accept^[s] it?”

⁶¹ Jesus, knowing in himself^(DU) that his disciples were grumbling about this, asked them, “Does this offend you? ⁶² Then what if you were to observe the Son of Man^(DV) ascending^(DW) to where he was before? ⁶³ The Spirit^(DX) is the one who gives life. The flesh doesn’t help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. ⁶⁴ But there are some among you who don’t believe.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning^(DY) those who did not^[t] believe and the one who would betray^(DZ) him.) ⁶⁵ He said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me^(EA) unless it is granted to him by the Father.”

⁶⁶ From that moment^[u] many of his disciples turned back and no longer accompanied him. ⁶⁷ So Jesus said to the Twelve,^(EB) “You don’t want to go away too, do you?”

⁶⁸ Simon Peter^(EC) answered, “Lord, to whom will we go? You have the words of eternal life. ⁶⁹ We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.”^[v](ED)

⁷⁰ Jesus replied to them, “Didn’t I choose you, the Twelve?^(EE) Yet one of you is a devil.”^{(EF) 71} He was referring to Judas,^(EG) Simon Iscariot’s son,^[w] one of the Twelve, because he was going to betray^(EH) him.

The Unbelief of Jesus’s Brothers

7 After this, Jesus traveled in Galilee,^(EI) since he did not want to travel in Judea^(EJ) because the Jews^(EK) were trying to kill him.^{(EL) 2} The Jewish Festival of Shelters^[x](EM) was near. ³ So his brothers^(EN) said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea so that your disciples can see your works^(EO) that you are doing. ⁴ For no one does anything in secret while he’s seeking public recognition. If you do these things, show yourself to the world.” ⁵ (For not even his brothers believed in him.)

⁶ Jesus told them, “My time^(EP) has not yet arrived, but your time is always at hand. ⁷ The world cannot hate^(EQ) you, but it does hate me because I testify about it—that its works are evil. ⁸ Go up to the festival yourselves. I’m not going up to this festival,^[y] because my time has not yet fully come.” ⁹ After he had said these things, he stayed in Galilee.

Jesus at the Festival of Shelters

¹⁰ After his brothers had gone up to the festival, then he also went up, not openly but secretly. ¹¹ The Jews were looking for him at the festival and saying, “Where is he?” ¹² And there was a lot of murmuring about him among the crowds. Some were saying, “He’s a good^(ER) man.” Others were saying, “No, on the contrary, he’s deceiving^(ES) the people.” ¹³ Still, nobody was talking publicly about him for fear of the Jews.

¹⁴ When the festival was already half over, Jesus went up into the temple^(ET) and began to teach. ¹⁵ Then the Jews were amazed and said, “How is this man so learned,^(EU) since he hasn’t been trained?”

¹⁶ Jesus answered them, “My teaching isn’t mine but is from the one who sent me.^{(EV) 17} If anyone wants to do his will,^(EW) he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own. ¹⁸ The one who speaks on his own seeks his own glory;^(EX) but he who seeks the glory^(EY) of the one who sent him is true,^(EZ) and there is no unrighteousness in him.^{(FA) 19} Didn’t Moses^(FB) give you the law? Yet none of you keeps the law.^(FC) Why are you trying to kill me?”

²⁰ “You have a demon!” the crowd responded. “Who is trying to kill you?”

²¹ “I performed one work,^(FD) and you are all amazed,” Jesus answered. ²² “This is why Moses has given you circumcision^(FE) —not that it comes from Moses but from the fathers^(FF) —and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath.^{(FG) 23} If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath^(FH) so that the law of Moses^(FI) won’t be broken, are you angry at me because I made a man entirely well on the Sabbath? ²⁴ Stop judging^(FJ) according to outward appearances; rather judge according to righteous judgment.”

The Identity of the Messiah

²⁵ Some of the people of Jerusalem^(FK) were saying, “Isn’t this the man they are trying to kill? ²⁶ Yet, look, he’s speaking publicly and they’re saying nothing to him. Can it be true that the authorities^(FL) know he is the Messiah?^{(FM) 27} But we know where this man is from.^(FN) When the Messiah comes, nobody will know where he is from.”

²⁸ As he was teaching in the temple,^(FO) Jesus cried out, “You know me and you know where I am from. Yet I have not come on my own, but the one who sent me^(FP) is true. You don’t know him;^{(FQ) 29} I know him because I am from him, and he sent me.”^(FR)

³⁰ Then they tried to seize him. Yet no one laid a hand on him because his hour had not yet come. ³¹ However, many from the crowd believed in him and said, “When the Messiah comes, he won’t perform more signs than this man has done,^(FS) will he?” ³² The Pharisees^(FT) heard the crowd murmuring these things about him, and so the chief priests^(FU) and the Pharisees sent servants^[z] to arrest him.

³³ Then Jesus said, “I am only with you for a short time.^(FV) Then I’m going to the one who sent me.^{(FW) 34} You will look for me, but you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come.”^(FX)

³⁵ Then the Jews^(FY) said to one another, “Where does he intend to go that we won’t find him? He doesn’t intend to go to the Jewish people dispersed^[aa](FZ) among the Greeks^(GA) and teach the Greeks, does he? ³⁶ What is this remark he made: ‘You will look for me, and you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come’^(GB)?”

The Promise of the Spirit

³⁷ On the last and most important day of the festival,^(GC) Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me^[ab](GD) and drink.^{(GE) 38} The one who believes in me,^(GF) as the Scripture^(GG) has said, will have streams of living water^(GH) flow^(GI) from deep within him.” ³⁹ He said this about the Spirit.^(GJ) Those who believed in Jesus were going to receive the Spirit,^(GK) for the Spirit^[ac] had not yet been given^[ad] because Jesus had not yet been glorified.

The People Are Divided over Jesus

⁴⁰ When some from the crowd heard these words, they said, “This truly is the Prophet.”^{(GL) 41} Others said, “This is the Messiah.” But some said, “Surely the Messiah doesn’t come from Galilee, does he? ⁴² Doesn’t the Scripture^(GM) say that the Messiah comes from David’s^(GN) offspring^[ae] and from the town of Bethlehem,^(GO) where David lived?” ⁴³ So the crowd was divided^(GP) because of him. ⁴⁴ Some of them wanted to seize him,^(GQ) but no one laid hands on him.

Debate over Jesus’s Claims

⁴⁵ Then the servants^(GR) came to the chief priests^(GS) and Pharisees, who asked them, “Why didn’t you bring him?”

⁴⁶ The servants answered, “No man ever spoke like this!” ^[af](GT)

⁴⁷ Then the Pharisees responded to them, “Are you fooled^(GU) too? ⁴⁸ Have any of the rulers^(GV) or Pharisees believed in him? ⁴⁹ But this crowd, which doesn’t know the law, is accursed.”

⁵⁰ Nicodemus^(GW)—the one who came to him previously and who was one of them—said to them, ⁵¹ “Our law doesn’t judge a man before it hears from him and knows what he’s doing, does it?” ^(GX)

⁵² “You aren’t from Galilee^(GY) too, are you?” they replied. “Investigate and you will see that no prophet arises from Galilee.”^(GZ)

[The earliest mss do not include 7:53–8:11.]

[⁵³ Then each one went to his house.^[ag] 8 ¹ But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.^(HA)

An Adulteress Forgiven

² At dawn he went to the temple^(HB) again, and all the people were coming to him.^(HC) He sat down^(HD) and began to teach them.

³ Then the scribes and the Pharisees^(HE) brought a woman caught in adultery,^(HF) making her stand in the center. ⁴ “Teacher,” they said to him, “this woman was caught in the act of committing adultery.^{(HG) 5} In the law Moses^(HH) commanded us to stone such women.^(HI) So what do you say?” ⁶ They asked this to trap him,^(HJ) in order that they might have evidence to accuse him.

Jesus stooped down and started writing on the ground with his finger. ⁷ When they persisted in questioning him, he stood up and said to them, “The one without sin^(HK) among you^(HL) should be the first to throw a stone at her.”^{(HM) 8} Then he stooped down again and continued writing on the ground. ⁹ When they heard this, they left one by one, starting with the older men. Only he was left, with the woman in the center. ¹⁰ When Jesus stood up, he said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”

¹¹ “No one, Lord,”^[ah] she answered.

“Neither do I condemn you,”^(HN) said Jesus. “Go, and from now on do not sin anymore.”]

The Light of the World

¹² Jesus spoke to them again: “I am^(HO) the light^(HP) of the world. Anyone who follows me will never walk in the darkness but will have the light of life.”^(HQ)

¹³ So the Pharisees said to him, “You are testifying about yourself. Your testimony is not valid.”

¹⁴ “Even if I testify about myself,” Jesus replied, “my testimony is true, because I know where I came from and where I’m going. But you don’t know where I come from or where I’m going.^{(HR) 15} You judge^(HS) by human standards.^[ai](HT) I judge no one.^{(HU) 16} And if I do judge, my judgment is true, because it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father who sent me.^{(HV) 17} Even in your law it is written that the testimony of two witnesses is true.^{(HW) 18} I am the one who testifies^(HX) about myself, and the Father who sent me testifies about me.”

¹⁹ Then they asked him, “Where is your Father?”

“You know neither me nor my Father,”^(HY) Jesus answered. “If you knew me, you would also know my Father.”^{(HZ) 20} He spoke these words by the treasury,^(IA) while teaching in the temple. But no one seized him, because his hour had not yet come.

Jesus Predicts His Departure

²¹ Then he said to them again, “I’m going away; ^(IB) you will look for me, and you will die in your sin.^(IC) Where I’m going, you cannot come.”^(ID)

²² So the Jews said again, “He won’t kill himself, will he, since he says, ‘Where I’m going, you cannot come’^(IE)?”

²³ “You are from below,” he told them, “I am from above.^(IF) You are of this world; ^(IG) I am not of this world.^{(IH) 24} Therefore I told you that you will die in your sins. For if you do not believe that I am he, you will die in your sins.”

²⁵ “Who are you?” they questioned.

“Exactly what I’ve been telling you from the very beginning,” Jesus told them. ²⁶ “I have many things to say and to judge about you, but the one who sent me^(II) is true, and what I have heard from him—these things I tell the world.”^(IJ)

²⁷ They did not know he was speaking to them about the Father. ²⁸ So Jesus said to them, “When you lift up the Son of Man,^(IK) then you will know that I am^(IL) he, and that I do nothing on my own.^(IM) But just as the Father taught me, I say these things. ²⁹ The one who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone,^(IN) because I always do what pleases him.”

Truth and Freedom

³⁰ As he was saying these things, many believed in him.

³¹ Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you continue in my word,^[aj](IO) you really are my disciples. ³² You will know the truth,^(IP) and the truth will set you free.”

³³ “We are descendants^[ak] of Abraham,”^(IQ) they answered him, “and we have never been enslaved to anyone. How can you say, ‘You will become free’?”

³⁴ Jesus responded, “Truly I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin.^{(IR) 35} A slave does not remain in the household forever,^(IS) but a son does remain forever.^{(IT) 36} So if the Son sets you free, you really will be free. ³⁷ I know you are descendants of Abraham,^(IU) but you are trying to kill me because my word has no place among you. ³⁸ I speak what I have seen^(IV) in the presence of the Father; ^[al](IW) so then, you do what you have heard from your father.”

³⁹ “Our father is Abraham,” they replied.

“If you were Abraham’s children,” Jesus told them, “you would do what Abraham did.^{(IX) 40} But now you are trying to kill me, a man who has told you the truth^(IY) that I heard from God. Abraham did not do this. ⁴¹ You’re doing what your father does.”^(IZ)

“We weren’t born^(JA) of sexual immorality,”^(JB) they said. “We have one Father—God.”^(JC)

⁴² Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me,^(JD) because I came from God^(JE) and I am here. For I didn’t come on my own, but he sent me. ⁴³ Why don’t you understand what I say? Because you cannot listen to^[am] my word.^{(JF) 44} You are of your father the devil,^(JG) and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer^(JH) from the beginning^(JI) and does not stand in the truth,^(JJ) because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he speaks from his own nature,^[an] because he is a liar and the father of lies. ⁴⁵ Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. ⁴⁶ Who among you can convict me of sin?^(JK) If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? ⁴⁷ The one who is from God listens to God’s words. This is why you don’t listen, because you are not from God.”

Jesus and Abraham

⁴⁸ The Jews responded to him, “Aren’t we right in saying that you’re a Samaritan^(JL) and have a demon?” ^(JM)

⁴⁹ “I do not have a demon,” Jesus answered. “On the contrary, I honor my Father and you dishonor me. ⁵⁰ I do not seek my own glory; ^(JN) there is one who seeks it and judges. ⁵¹ Truly I tell you, if anyone keeps my word,^(JO) he will never see death.”

⁵² Then the Jews said, “Now we know you have a demon. Abraham died and so did the prophets. You say, ‘If anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death.’ ⁵³ Are you greater than our father Abraham who died? And the prophets died. Who do you claim to be?”

⁵⁴ “If I glorify myself,” Jesus answered, “my glory is nothing. My Father—about whom you say, ‘He is our God’—he is the one who glorifies me. ⁵⁵ You do not know him, but I know him. If I were to say I don’t know him,^(JP) I would be a liar like you. But I do know him,^(JQ) and I keep his word. ⁵⁶ Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day; he saw it^(JR) and was glad.”

⁵⁷ The Jews replied, “You aren’t fifty years old yet, and you’ve seen Abraham?” ^[ao]

⁵⁸ Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, before Abraham was, I am.”^(JS)

⁵⁹ So they picked up stones^(JT) to throw at him.^(JU) But Jesus was hidden^[ap](JV) and went out of the temple.^[aq](JW)

The Sixth Sign: Healing a Man Born Blind

9 As he was passing by, he saw a man blind from birth. ² His disciples asked him, “Rabbi,^(JX) who sinned, this man^(JY) or his parents,^(JZ) that he was born blind?”

³ “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” Jesus answered. “This came about so that God’s works^(KA) might be displayed in him. ⁴ We^[ar] must do the works^(KB) of him who sent me^[as] while it is day.^(KC) Night is coming when no one can work. ⁵ As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”^(KD)

⁶ After he said these things he spit on the ground, made some mud^(KE) from the saliva, and spread the mud on his eyes. ⁷ “Go,” he told him, “wash in the pool of Siloam”^(KF) (which means “Sent”). So he left, washed, and came back seeing.^(KG)

⁸ His neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar said, “Isn’t this the one who used to sit begging?” ⁹ Some said, “He’s the one.” Others were saying, “No, but he looks like him.”

He kept saying, “I’m the one.”

¹⁰ So they asked him, “Then how were your eyes opened?”

¹¹ He answered, “The man called Jesus made mud, spread it on my eyes, and told me, ‘Go to Siloam^(KH) and wash.’ So when I went and washed I received my sight.”^(KI)

¹² “Where is he?” they asked.

“I don’t know,” he said.

The Healed Man’s Testimony

¹³ They brought the man who used to be blind to the Pharisees.^{(KJ) 14} The day that Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes was a Sabbath.^{(KK) 15} Then the Pharisees asked him again how he received his sight.

“He put mud on my eyes,” he told them. “I washed and I can see.”

¹⁶ Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God,^(KL) because he doesn’t keep the Sabbath.” But others were saying, “How can a sinful man^(KM) perform such signs?” And there was a division^(KN) among them.

¹⁷ Again they asked the blind man, “What do you say about him, since he opened your eyes?”

“He’s a prophet,”^(KO) he said.

¹⁸ The Jews did not believe this about him—that he was blind and received sight—until they summoned the parents of the one who had received his sight.

¹⁹ They asked them, “Is this your son, the one you say was born blind? How then does he now see?”

²⁰ “We know this is our son and that he was born blind,” his parents answered. ²¹ “But we don’t know how he now sees, and we don’t know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he’s of age. He will speak for himself.” ²² His parents said these things because they were afraid of the Jews, since the Jews had already agreed that if anyone confessed him as the Messiah,^(KP) he would be banned from the synagogue. ²³ This is why his parents said, “He’s of age; ask him.”

²⁴ So a second time they summoned the man who had been blind and told him, “Give glory^(KQ) to God.^(KR) We know that this man is a sinner.”

²⁵ He answered, “Whether or not he’s a sinner, I don’t know. One thing I do know: I was blind, and now I can see!”

²⁶ Then they asked him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?”

²⁷ “I already told you,” he said, “and you didn’t listen. Why do you want to hear it again? You don’t want to become his disciples too, do you?”

²⁸ They ridiculed him: “You’re that man’s disciple, but we’re Moses’s^(KS) disciples. ²⁹ We know that God has spoken to Moses. But this man—we don’t know where he’s from.”^(KT)

³⁰ “This is an amazing thing!” the man told them. “You don’t know where he is from, and yet he opened my eyes. ³¹ We know that God doesn’t listen to sinners,^(KU) but if anyone is God-fearing and does his will,^(KV) he listens to him.^{(KW) 32} Throughout history^[at] no one has ever heard of someone opening the eyes of a person born blind.^{(KX) 33} If this man were not from God, he wouldn’t be able to do anything.”^(KY)

³⁴ “You were born entirely in sin,”^(KZ) they replied, “and are you trying to teach us?” Then they threw him out.^(LA)

Spiritual Blindness

³⁵ Jesus heard that they had thrown the man out, and when he found him, he asked, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”^[au](LB)

³⁶ “Who is he, Sir,^(LC) that I may believe in him?” he asked.

³⁷ Jesus answered, “You have seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.”

³⁸ “I believe, Lord!” he said, and he worshiped him.

³⁹ Jesus said, “I came into this world^(LD) for judgment,^(LE) in order that those who do not see will see and those who do see will become blind.”^(LF)

⁴⁰ Some of the Pharisees who were with him heard these things and asked him, “We aren’t blind too, are we?”

⁴¹ “If you were blind,” Jesus told them, “you wouldn’t have sin.^(LG) But now that you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains.

The Good Shepherd

10 “Truly I tell you, anyone who doesn’t enter the sheep pen by the gate but climbs in some other way is a thief and a robber.^{(LH) 2} The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd^(LI) of the sheep.^{(LJ) 3} The gatekeeper opens it for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. ⁴ When he has brought all his own outside, he goes ahead of them. The sheep follow him because they know his voice. ⁵ They will never follow a stranger; instead they will run away from him, because they don’t know the voice of strangers.” ⁶ Jesus gave them this figure of speech, but they did not understand^(LK) what he was telling them.

⁷ Jesus said again, “Truly I tell you, I am^(LL) the gate for the sheep.^{(LM) 8} All who came before me^[av] are thieves and robbers, but the sheep didn’t listen to them. ⁹ I am the gate. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will come in and go out and find pasture. ¹⁰ A thief comes only to steal^(LN) and kill and destroy.^(LO) I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance.

¹¹ “I am the good shepherd.^(LP) The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.^{(LQ) 12} The hired hand, since he is not the shepherd and doesn’t own the sheep, leaves them^[aw] and runs away when he sees a wolf^(LR) coming. The wolf then snatches and scatters them. ¹³ This happens because he is a hired hand and doesn’t care about the sheep.

¹⁴ “I am the good shepherd. I know my own, and my own know me, ¹⁵ just as the Father knows me, and I know the Father.^(LS) I lay down my life^(LT) for the sheep. ¹⁶ But I have other sheep^(LU) that are not from this sheep pen; I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. Then there will be one flock, one shepherd.^{(LV) 17} This is why the Father loves me,^(LW) because I lay down my life^(LX) so that I may take it up again. ¹⁸ No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own. I have the right to lay it down, and I have the right to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father.”^(LY)

¹⁹ Again the Jews were divided^(LZ) because of these words. ²⁰ Many of them were saying, “He has a demon^(MA) and he’s crazy. Why do you listen to him?” ²¹ Others were saying, “These aren’t the words of someone who is demon-possessed. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?” ^(MB)

Jesus at the Festival of Dedication

²² Then the Festival of Dedication took place in Jerusalem, and it was winter. ²³ Jesus was walking in the temple in Solomon’s Colonnade.^{(MC) 24} The Jews surrounded him and asked, “How long are you going to keep us in suspense?^[ax] If you are the Messiah,^(MD) tell us plainly.”^[ay](ME)

²⁵ “I did tell you and you don’t believe,” Jesus answered them. “The works^(MF) that I do in my Father’s name testify about me. ²⁶ But you don’t believe because you are not of my sheep.^{[az](MG) 27} My sheep hear my voice, I know them, and they follow me. ²⁸ I give them eternal life,^(MH) and they will never perish.^(MI) No one will snatch^(MJ) them out of my hand. ²⁹ My Father,^(MK) who has given them to me, is greater than all. No one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. ³⁰ I and the Father are one.”^(ML)

Renewed Efforts to Stone Jesus

³¹ Again the Jews picked up rocks to stone him.^(MM)

³² Jesus replied, “I have shown you many good works^(MN) from the Father. For which of these works are you stoning me?”

³³ “We aren’t stoning^(MO) you for a good work,” the Jews answered, “but for blasphemy, because you—being a man—make yourself God.”

³⁴ Jesus answered them, “Isn’t it written in your law,^[ba] I said, you are gods?^{[bb](MP) 35} If he called those to whom the word^(MQ) of God came ‘gods’—and the Scripture^(MR) cannot be broken— ³⁶ do you say, ‘You are blaspheming’ to the one the Father set apart and sent into the world, because I said: I am the Son of God?^{(MS) 37} If I am not doing my Father’s works,^(MT) don’t believe me. ³⁸ But if I am doing them and you don’t believe me, believe the works. This way you will know and understand^[bc] that the Father is in me and I in the Father.”^{(MU) 39} Then they were trying again to seize him,^(MV) but he escaped their grasp.^(MW)

Many beyond the Jordan Believe in Jesus

⁴⁰ So he departed again across the Jordan^(MX) to the place where John^(MY) had been baptizing earlier, and he remained there. ⁴¹ Many came to him^(MZ) and said, “John never did a sign, but everything John said about this man was true.” ⁴² And many believed in him there.

Lazarus Dies at Bethany

11 Now a man was sick—Lazarus from Bethany,^(NA) the village of Mary and her sister Martha.^{(NB) 2} Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair,^(NC) and it was her brother Lazarus who was sick. ³ So the sisters sent a message to him: “Lord, the one you love is sick.”

⁴ When Jesus heard it, he said, “This sickness will not end in death but is for the glory of God,^(ND) so that the Son of God^(NE) may be glorified through it.” ⁵ Now Jesus loved Martha, her sister, and Lazarus. ⁶ So when he heard that he was sick, he stayed two more days in the place where he was. ⁷ Then after that, he said to the disciples, “Let’s go to Judea^(NF) again.”

⁸ “Rabbi,”^(NG) the disciples told him, “just now the Jews tried to stone you,^(NH) and you’re going there again?”

⁹ “Aren’t there twelve hours in a day?” Jesus answered. “If anyone walks during the day, he doesn’t stumble, because he sees the light of this world.^{(NI) 10} But if anyone walks during the night,^(NJ) he does stumble, because the light is not in him.”

¹¹ He said this, and then he told them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep,^(NK) but I’m on my way to wake him up.”

¹² Then the disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will get well.”

¹³ Jesus, however, was speaking about his death, but they thought he was speaking about natural sleep. ¹⁴ So Jesus then told them plainly, “Lazarus has died. ¹⁵ I’m glad for you that I wasn’t there so that you may believe. But let’s go to him.”

¹⁶ Then Thomas^(NL) (called “Twin”^[bd]) said to his fellow disciples, “Let’s go too so that we may die with him.”

The Resurrection and the Life

¹⁷ When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb^(NM) four days. ¹⁸ Bethany was near Jerusalem^(NN) (less than two miles^[be] away). ¹⁹ Many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them about their brother.

²⁰ As soon as Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him, but Mary remained seated in the house. ²¹ Then Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother wouldn’t have died. ²² Yet even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.”

²³ “Your brother will rise^(NO) again,” Jesus told her.

²⁴ Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”^(NP)

²⁵ Jesus said to her, “I am^(NQ) the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me,^(NR) even if he dies, will live.^{(NS) 26} Everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.^(NT) Do you believe this?”

²⁷ “Yes, Lord,” she told him, “I believe you are the Messiah,^(NU) the Son^(NV) of God, who comes into the world.”^(NW)

Jesus Shares the Sorrow of Death

²⁸ Having said this, she went back and called her sister Mary, saying in private, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.”

²⁹ As soon as Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him.^{(NX) 30} Jesus had not yet come into the village but was still in the place where Martha had met him. ³¹ The Jews who were with her in the house consoling her saw that Mary got up quickly and went out. They followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb^(NY) to cry there.

³² As soon as Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet^(NZ) and told him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother wouldn’t have died!”

³³ When Jesus saw her crying, and the Jews who had come with her crying, he was deeply moved^[bf] in his spirit^(OA) and troubled. ³⁴ “Where have you put him?” he asked.

“Lord,” they told him, “come and see.”

³⁵ Jesus wept.^(OB)

³⁶ So the Jews said, “See how he loved^(OC) him!” ³⁷ But some of them said, “Couldn’t he who opened the blind man’s eyes^(OD) also have kept this man from dying?”

The Seventh Sign: Raising Lazarus from the Dead

³⁸ Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it.^{(OE) 39} “Remove the stone,” Jesus said.

Martha, the dead man’s sister, told him, “Lord, there is already a stench because he has been dead four days.”

⁴⁰ Jesus said to her, “Didn’t I tell you that if you believed you would see the glory^(OF) of God?”^(OG)

⁴¹ So they removed the stone. Then Jesus raised his eyes and said, “Father, I thank^(OH) you that you heard me.^{(OI) 42} I know that you always hear me, but because of the crowd standing here I said this, so that they may believe you sent^(OJ) me.” ⁴³ After he said this, he shouted with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” ⁴⁴ The dead man came out bound hand and foot with linen strips and with his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unwrap him and let him go.”

The Plot to Kill Jesus

⁴⁵ Therefore, many of the Jews who came to Mary and saw what he did believed in him.^{(OK) 46} But some of them went to the Pharisees^(OL) and told them what Jesus had done.

⁴⁷ So the chief priests and the Pharisees convened the Sanhedrin^(OM) and were saying, “What are we going to do since this man is doing many signs? ⁴⁸ If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans^(ON) will come and take away both our place and our nation.”

⁴⁹ One of them, Caiaphas,^(OO) who was high priest^(OP) that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all! ⁵⁰ You’re not considering that it is to your^[bg] advantage that one man should die for the people rather than the whole nation perish.”^{(OQ) 51} He did not say this on his own, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus was going to die^(OR) for the nation, ⁵² and not for the nation only, but also to unite the scattered children^(OS) of God. ⁵³ So from that day on they plotted to kill him.^(OT)

⁵⁴ Jesus therefore no longer walked openly^(OU) among the Jews but departed from there to the countryside near the wilderness,^(OV) to a town called Ephraim, and he stayed there with the disciples.

⁵⁵ Now the Jewish Passover^(OW) was near, and many went up to Jerusalem^(OX) from the country to purify themselves before the Passover. ⁵⁶ They were looking for Jesus and asking one another as they stood in the temple,^(OY) “What do you think? He won’t come to the festival,^(OZ) will he?” ⁵⁷ The chief priests^(PA) and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where he was, he should report it so that they could arrest him.

The Anointing at Bethany

12 Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany^(PB) where Lazarus^[bh] was, the one Jesus had raised from the dead.^{(PC) 2} So^(PD) they gave a dinner for him there; Martha^(PE) was serving them, and Lazarus was one of those reclining at the table with him. ³ Then Mary took a pound of perfume, pure and expensive nard, anointed Jesus’s feet, and wiped his feet with her hair.^(PF) So the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

⁴ Then one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot^(PG) (who was about to betray him), said, ⁵ “Why wasn’t this perfume sold for three hundred denarii^[bi](PH) and given to the poor?” ⁶ He didn’t say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief.^(PI) He was in charge of the money-bag and would steal part of what was put in it.

⁷ Jesus answered, “Leave her alone; she has kept it for the day of my burial.^{(PJ) 8} For you always have the poor with you,^(PK) but you do not always have me.”

The Decision to Kill Lazarus

⁹ Then a large crowd of the Jews learned he was there. They came not only because of Jesus but also to see Lazarus, the one he had raised from the dead.^{(PL) 10} But the chief priests had decided to kill Lazarus also, ¹¹ because he was the reason many of the Jews were deserting them^[bj] and believing in Jesus.

The Triumphal Entry

¹² The^(PM) next day, when the large crowd that had come to the festival heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, ¹³ they took palm branches^(PN) and went out to meet him. They kept shouting:

¹⁴ Jesus found a young donkey^(PR) and sat on it, just as it is written:

¹⁶ His disciples did not understand these things at first. However, when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about him^(PU) and that they had done these things to him.

¹⁷ Meanwhile, the crowd, which had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb^(PV) and raised him from the dead, continued to testify.^{[bm] 18} This is also why the crowd met him, because they heard he had done this sign. ¹⁹ Then the Pharisees said to one another, “You see? You’ve accomplished nothing. Look, the world has gone after him!” ^(PW)

Jesus Predicts His Crucifixion

²⁰ Now some Greeks were among those who went up to worship at the festival. ²¹ So they came to Philip,^(PX) who was from Bethsaida^(PY) in Galilee,^(PZ) and requested of him, “Sir,^(QA) we want to see Jesus.” ²² Philip went and told Andrew;^(QB) then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus.

²³ Jesus replied to them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man^(QC) to be glorified. ²⁴ Truly I tell you, unless a grain of wheat^(QD) falls to the ground and dies, it remains by itself. But if it dies, it produces much fruit.^{(QE) 25} The one who loves his life will lose it,^(QF) and the one who hates^(QG) his life^(QH) in this world will keep it for eternal life. ²⁶ If anyone serves me, he must follow me. Where I am, there my servant^(QI) also will be.^(QJ) If anyone serves me, the Father will honor^(QK) him.

²⁷ “Now my soul is troubled. What should I say—Father, save me^(QL) from this hour? But that is why I came to this hour. ²⁸ Father, glorify your name.”^[bn](QM)

Then a voice^(QN) came from heaven: ^(QO) “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.”^(QP)

²⁹ The crowd standing there heard it and said it was thunder. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.”

³⁰ Jesus responded, “This voice came, not for me, but for you.^{(QQ) 31} Now is the judgment of this world.^(QR) Now the ruler of this world^(QS) will be cast out.^{(QT) 32} As for me, if I am lifted up^[bo] from the earth I will draw all people to myself.”^{(QU) 33} He said this to indicate what kind of death he was about to die.^(QV)

³⁴ Then the crowd replied to him, “We have heard from the law that the Messiah will remain forever.^(QW) So how can you say, ‘The Son of Man^(QX) must be lifted up’? Who is this Son of Man?”

³⁵ Jesus answered, “The light will be with you only a little longer.^(QY) Walk while you have the light^(QZ) so that darkness doesn’t overtake you.^(RA) The one who walks in darkness doesn’t know where he’s going.^{(RB) 36} While you have the light,^(RC) believe in the light so that you may become children of light.” Jesus said this, then went away and hid from them.^(RD)

Isaiah’s Prophecies Fulfilled

³⁷ Even though he had performed so many signs in their presence, they did not believe in him. ³⁸ This was to fulfill^(RE) the word of Isaiah^(RF) the prophet, who said:^[bp]

³⁹ This is why they were unable to believe, because Isaiah also said:

⁴¹ Isaiah said these things because^[bs] he saw his glory^(RM) and spoke about him.

⁴² Nevertheless, many did believe in him even among the rulers,^(RN) but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, so that they would not be banned from the synagogue. ⁴³ For they loved human praise^(RO) more than praise from God.^(RP)

A Summary of Jesus’s Mission

⁴⁴ Jesus cried out, “The one who believes in me^(RQ) believes not in me, but in him who sent me. ⁴⁵ And the one who sees me sees him^(RR) who sent me. ⁴⁶ I have come as light into the world, so that everyone who believes in me would not remain in darkness. ⁴⁷ If anyone hears my words and doesn’t keep^(RS) them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world^(RT) but to save the world.^{(RU) 48} The one who rejects me^(RV) and doesn’t receive my sayings has this as his judge: ^[bt] The word I have spoken will judge him on the last day.^{(RW) 49} For I have not spoken on my own, but the Father^(RX) himself who sent me has given me a command to say everything I have said. ⁵⁰ I know that his command is eternal life.^(RY) So the things that I speak, I speak just as the Father has told me.”^(RZ)