John 9-11

English Standard Version

Jesus Heals a Man Born Blind

9 As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. ² And his disciples asked him, ^(A)“Rabbi, ^(B)who sinned, ^(C)this man or ^(D)his parents, that he was born blind?” ³ Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but ^(E)that the works of God might be displayed in him. ⁴ We must ^(F)work the works of him who sent me ^(G)while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. ⁵ As long as I am in the world, ^(H)I am the light of the world.” ⁶ Having said these things, ^(I)he spit on the ground and made mud with the saliva. ^(J)Then he anointed the man's eyes with the mud ⁷ and said to him, “Go, wash in ^(K)the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). So he went and washed and ^(L)came back seeing.

⁸ The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar were saying, ^(M)“Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?” ⁹ Some said, “It is he.” Others said, “No, but he is like him.” He kept saying, “I am the man.” ¹⁰ So they said to him, “Then how were your eyes opened?” ¹¹ He answered, ^(N)“The man called Jesus made mud and anointed my eyes and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ So I went and washed and received my sight.” ¹² They said to him, “Where is he?” He said, “I do not know.”

¹³ They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. ^14 (O)Now it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. ^15 (P)So the Pharisees again asked him how he had received his sight. And he said to them, “He put mud on my eyes, and I washed, and I see.” ¹⁶ Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not ^(Q)from God, ^(R)for he does not keep the Sabbath.” But others said, ^(S)“How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?” And ^(T)there was a division among them. ¹⁷ So they said again to the blind man, “What do you say about him, since he has opened your eyes?” He said, ^(U)“He is a prophet.”

^18 (V)The Jews^[a] did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight, until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight ¹⁹ and asked them, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?” ²⁰ His parents answered, “We know that this is our son and that he was born blind. ²¹ But how he now sees we do not know, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself.” ²² (His parents said these things ^(W)because they feared the Jews, for ^(X)the Jews had already agreed that if anyone should ^(Y)confess Jesus^[b] to be Christ, ^(Z)he was to be put out of the synagogue.) ²³ Therefore his parents said, ^(AA)“He is of age; ask him.”

²⁴ So for the second time they called the man who had been blind and said to him, ^(AB)“Give glory to God. We know that ^(AC)this man is a sinner.” ²⁵ He answered, “Whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I ^(AD)was blind, now I see.” ²⁶ They said to him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” ²⁷ He answered them, ^(AE)“I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?” ²⁸ And they reviled him, saying, “You are his disciple, but ^(AF)we are disciples of Moses. ²⁹ We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, ^(AG)we do not know where he comes from.” ³⁰ The man answered, “Why, this is ^(AH)an amazing thing! ^(AI)You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. ³¹ We know that ^(AJ)God does not listen to sinners, but ^(AK)if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him. ³² Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. ^33 (AL)If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” ³⁴ They answered him, ^(AM)“You were born in utter sin, and would you teach us?” And they ^(AN)cast him out.

³⁵ Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, “Do you believe in ^(AO)the Son of Man?”^{[c] 36} He answered, ^(AP)“And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?” ³⁷ Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and ^(AQ)it is he who is speaking to you.” ³⁸ He said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him. ³⁹ Jesus said, ^(AR)“For judgment I came into this world, ^(AS)that those who do not see may see, and ^(AT)those who see may become blind.” ⁴⁰ Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things, and said to him, ^(AU)“Are we also blind?” ⁴¹ Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, ^(AV)you would have no guilt;^[d] but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains.

I Am the Good Shepherd

10 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. ² But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. ³ To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. ⁴ When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. ^5 (AW)A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” ⁶ This figure of speech Jesus ^(AX)used with them, but they ^(AY)did not understand what he was saying to them.

⁷ So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, ^(AZ)I am the door of the sheep. ⁸ All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. ⁹ I am the door. If anyone enters by me, ^(BA)he will be saved and will go in and out and ^(BB)find pasture. ¹⁰ The thief comes only to steal and ^(BC)kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. ^11 (BD)I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd ^(BE)lays down his life for the sheep. ¹² He who is ^(BF)a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and ^(BG)leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and ^(BH)scatters them. ¹³ He flees because ^(BI)he is a hired hand and ^(BJ)cares nothing for the sheep. ^14 (BK)I am the good shepherd. ^(BL)I know my own and ^(BM)my own know me, ^15 (BN)just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and ^(BO)I lay down my life for the sheep. ¹⁶ And ^(BP)I have other sheep that are not of this fold. ^(BQ)I must bring them also, and ^(BR)they will listen to my voice. So there will be ^(BS)one flock, ^(BT)one shepherd. ^17 (BU)For this reason the Father loves me, ^(BV)because ^(BW)I lay down my life that I may take it up again. ^18 (BX)No one takes it from me, but ^(BY)I lay it down ^(BZ)of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and ^(CA)I have authority to take it up again. ^(CB)This charge I have received from my Father.”

^19 (CC)There was again a division among the Jews because of these words. ²⁰ Many of them said, ^(CD)“He has a demon, and ^(CE)is insane; why listen to him?” ²¹ Others said, “These are not the words of one who is oppressed by a demon. ^(CF)Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”

I and the Father Are One

²² At that time the Feast of Dedication took place at Jerusalem. It was winter, ²³ and Jesus was walking in the temple, ^(CG)in the colonnade of Solomon. ²⁴ So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are ^(CH)the Christ, ^(CI)tell us plainly.” ²⁵ Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. ^(CJ)The works that I do ^(CK)in my Father's name bear witness about me, ²⁶ but ^(CL)you do not believe because you are not among my sheep. ^27 (CM)My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. ^28 (CN)I give them eternal life, and ^(CO)they will never perish, and ^(CP)no one will snatch them out of my hand. ²⁹ My Father, ^(CQ)who has given them to me,^{[e] (CR)}is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of ^(CS)the Father's hand. ^30 (CT)I and the Father are one.”

^31 (CU)The Jews picked up stones again to stone him. ³² Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone me?” ³³ The Jews answered him, “It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but ^(CV)for blasphemy, because you, being a man, ^(CW)make yourself God.” ³⁴ Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in ^(CX)your Law, ^(CY)‘I said, you are gods’? ³⁵ If he called them gods to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be ^(CZ)broken— ³⁶ do you say of him whom ^(DA)the Father consecrated and ^(DB)sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because ^(DC)I said, ‘I am the Son of God’? ^37 (DD)If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me; ³⁸ but if I do them, ^(DE)even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that ^(DF)the Father is in me and I am in the Father.” ^39 (DG)Again they sought to arrest him, but he escaped from their hands.

⁴⁰ He went away again across the Jordan to the place ^(DH)where John had been baptizing at first, and there he remained. ⁴¹ And many came to him. And they said, “John did no sign, but ^(DI)everything that John said about this man was true.” ⁴² And ^(DJ)many believed in him there.

The Death of Lazarus

11 Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of ^(DK)Mary and her sister Martha. ^2 (DL)It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. ³ So the sisters sent to him, saying, “Lord, ^(DM)he whom you love is ill.” ⁴ But when Jesus heard it he said, ^(DN)“This illness does not lead to death. It is for ^(DO)the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”

⁵ Now ^(DP)Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. ⁶ So, when he heard that Lazarus^[f] was ill, ^(DQ)he stayed two days longer in the place where he was. ⁷ Then after this he said to the disciples, ^(DR)“Let us go to Judea again.” ⁸ The disciples said to him, ^(DS)“Rabbi, ^(DT)the Jews were just now seeking to stone you, and are you going there again?” ⁹ Jesus answered, ^(DU)“Are there not twelve hours in the day? ^(DV)If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. ¹⁰ But ^(DW)if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not ^(DX)in him.” ¹¹ After saying these things, he said to them, “Our friend Lazarus ^(DY)has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him.” ¹² The disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.” ¹³ Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep. ¹⁴ Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died, ¹⁵ and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” ^16 (DZ)So Thomas, called the Twin,^[g] said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, ^(EA)that we may die with him.”

I Am the Resurrection and the Life

¹⁷ Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb ^(EB)four days. ¹⁸ Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles^[h] off, ¹⁹ and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary ^(EC)to console them concerning their brother. ^20 (ED)So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house. ²¹ Martha said to ^(EE)Jesus, “Lord, ^(EF)if you had been here, my brother would not have died. ²² But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, ^(EG)God will give you.” ²³ Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” ^24 (EH)Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in ^(EI)the resurrection on the last day.” ²⁵ Jesus said to her, ^(EJ)“I am the resurrection and ^(EK)the life.^[i] Whoever believes in me, ^(EL)though he die, ^(EM)yet shall he live, ²⁶ and everyone who lives and believes in me ^(EN)shall never die. Do you believe this?” ²⁷ She said to him, “Yes, Lord; ^(EO)I believe that ^(EP)you are the Christ, the Son of God, ^(EQ)who is coming into the world.”

Jesus Weeps

²⁸ When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying in private, ^(ER)“The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” ²⁹ And when she heard it, she rose quickly and went to him. ³⁰ Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha had met him. ³¹ When the Jews ^(ES)who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary rise quickly and go out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there. ³² Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, ^(ET)“Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” ³³ When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he ^(EU)was deeply moved^[j] in his spirit and ^(EV)greatly troubled. ³⁴ And he said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” ^35 (EW)Jesus wept. ³⁶ So the Jews said, “See ^(EX)how he loved him!” ³⁷ But some of them said, “Could not he ^(EY)who opened the eyes of the blind man ^(EZ)also have kept this man from dying?”

Jesus Raises Lazarus

³⁸ Then Jesus, ^(FA)deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was ^(FB)a cave, and ^(FC)a stone lay against it. ³⁹ Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for ^(FD)he has been dead four days.” ⁴⁰ Jesus said to her, ^(FE)“Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see ^(FF)the glory of God?” ⁴¹ So they took away the stone. And Jesus ^(FG)lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. ^42 (FH)I knew that you always hear me, but I said this ^(FI)on account of the people standing around, ^(FJ)that they may believe that you sent me.” ⁴³ When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” ^44 (FK)The man who had died came out, ^(FL)his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and ^(FM)his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”

The Plot to Kill Jesus

^45 (FN)Many of the Jews therefore, ^(FO)who had come with Mary and ^(FP)had seen what he did, believed in him, ⁴⁶ but some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. ⁴⁷ So the chief priests and the Pharisees ^(FQ)gathered ^(FR)the council and said, ^(FS)“What are we to do? For this man performs many signs. ⁴⁸ If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and ^(FT)the Romans will come and take away both our ^(FU)place and our nation.” ⁴⁹ But one of them, ^(FV)Caiaphas, ^(FW)who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all. ⁵⁰ Nor do you understand that ^(FX)it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish.” ⁵¹ He did not say this of his own accord, but ^(FY)being high priest that year ^(FZ)he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, ⁵² and ^(GA)not for the nation only, but also ^(GB)to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad. ⁵³ So from that day on they ^(GC)made plans to put him to death.

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

⁵⁵ Now ^(GE)the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and ^(GF)many went up from the country to Jerusalem before the Passover ^(GG)to purify themselves. ^56 (GH)They were looking for^[k] Jesus and saying to one another as they stood in the temple, “What do you think? That he will not come to the feast at all?” ⁵⁷ Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where he was, he should let them know, so that they might arrest him.