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Historical

Read the books of the Bible as they were written historically, according to the estimated date of their writing.
Duration: 365 days
International Children’s Bible (ICB)
Version
John 7-8

Jesus and His Brothers

After this, Jesus traveled around Galilee. He did not want to travel in Judea, because the Jews there wanted to kill him. It was time for the Jewish Feast of Shelters. So Jesus’ brothers said to him, “You should leave here and go to Judea. Then your followers there can see the miracles you do. Anyone who wants to be well known does not hide what he does. If you are doing these things, show yourself to the world.” (Even Jesus’ brothers did not believe in him.)

Jesus said to his brothers, “The right time for me has not yet come. But any time is right for you. The world cannot hate you. But it hates me, because I tell about the evil things it does. So you go to the feast. I will not go now. The right time for me has not yet come.” After saying this, Jesus stayed in Galilee.

10 So Jesus’ brothers left to go to the feast. When they had gone, Jesus went, too. But he did not let people see him. 11 At the feast the Jews were looking for him. They said, “Where is that man?”

12 There was a large crowd of people there. Many of them were whispering to each other about Jesus. Some said, “He is a good man.”

Others said, “No, he fools the people.” 13 But no one was brave enough to talk about Jesus openly. They were afraid of the Jews.

Jesus Teaches at the Feast

14 The feast was about half over. Then Jesus went to the Temple and began to teach. 15 The Jews were amazed. They said, “This man has never studied in school. How did he learn so much?”

16 Jesus answered, “The things I teach are not my own. My teaching comes from him who sent me. 17 If anyone chooses to do what God wants, then he will know that my teaching comes from God. He will know that this teaching is not my own. 18 He who teaches his own ideas is trying to get honor for himself. But he who tries to bring honor to the one who sent him—that person speaks the truth. There is nothing false in him. 19 Moses gave you the law,[a] but none of you obey that law. Why are you trying to kill me?”

20 The people answered, “A demon has come into you. We are not trying to kill you.”

21 Jesus said to them, “I did one miracle, and you are all amazed. 22 Moses gave you the law about circumcision. (But really Moses did not give you circumcision. Circumcision came from our ancestors.) And yet you circumcise a baby boy on a Sabbath day. 23 This shows that a baby boy can be circumcised on a Sabbath day to obey the law of Moses. So why are you angry at me for healing a person’s whole body on the Sabbath day? 24 Stop judging by the way things look! Be fair, and judge by what is really right.”

Is Jesus the Christ?

25 Then some of the people who lived in Jerusalem said, “This is the man they are trying to kill. 26 But he is teaching where everyone can see and hear him. And no one is trying to stop him. Maybe the leaders have decided that he really is the Christ. 27 But we know where this man is from. Yet when the real Christ comes, no one will know where he comes from.”

28 Jesus was still teaching in the Temple. He cried out, “Yes, you know me, and you know where I am from. But I have not come by my own authority. I was sent by the One who is true. You don’t know him. 29 But I know him. I am from him, and he sent me.”

30 When Jesus said this, they tried to seize him. But no one was able to touch him. It was not yet the right time. 31 But many of the people believed in Jesus. They said, “When the Christ comes, will he do more miracles than this man has done?”

Some Leaders Try to Arrest Jesus

32 The Pharisees heard the crowd whispering these things about Jesus. So the leading priests and the Pharisees sent some Temple guards to arrest him. 33 Then Jesus said, “I will be with you a little while longer. Then I will go back to the One who sent me. 34 You will look for me, but you will not find me. And you cannot come where I am.”

35 The Jews said to each other, “Where will this man go so we cannot find him? Will he go to the Greek cities where our people live? Will he teach the Greek people there? 36 This man says, ‘You will look for me but you will not find me.’ He also says, ‘You cannot come where I am.’ What does this mean?”

Jesus Talks About the Spirit

37 The last day of the feast came. It was the most important day. On that day Jesus stood up and said in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. 38 If a person believes in me, rivers of living water will flow out from his heart. This is what the Scripture says.” 39 Jesus was talking about the Holy Spirit. The Spirit had not yet been given because Jesus had not yet been raised to glory. But later, those who believed in Jesus would receive the Spirit.

The People Argue About Jesus

40 The people heard these things that Jesus said. Some of them said, “This man really is the Prophet.”[b]

41 Others said, “He is the Christ.”

Still others said, “The Christ will not come from Galilee. 42 The Scripture says that the Christ will come from David’s family. And the Scripture says that the Christ will come from Bethlehem, the town where David lived.” 43 So the people did not agree with each other about Jesus. 44 Some of them wanted to arrest him, but no one was able to touch him.

The Leaders Won’t Believe

45 The Temple guards went back to the leading priests and the Pharisees. The priests and the Pharisees asked, “Why didn’t you bring Jesus?”

46 The Temple guards answered, “The things he says are greater than the words of any man!”

47 The Pharisees answered, “So Jesus has fooled you too! 48 Have any of the leaders or the Pharisees believed in him? No! 49 But those people, who know nothing about the law, are under God’s curse!”

50 But Nicodemus was there in that group. He was the one who had gone to see Jesus before.[c] Nicodemus said, 51 “Our law does not judge a man without hearing him. We cannot judge him until we know what he has done.”

52 They answered, “Are you from Galilee too? Study the Scriptures. You will learn that no prophet comes from Galilee.”

53 And everyone left and went home.[d]

The Woman Caught in Adultery

Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. But early in the morning he went back to the Temple. All the people came to Jesus, and he sat and taught them. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought a woman there. She had been caught in adultery. They forced the woman to stand before the people. They said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught having physical relations with a man who is not her husband. The law of Moses commands that we kill with stones every woman who does this. What do you say we should do?” They were asking this to trick Jesus so that they could have some charge against him.

But Jesus knelt down and started writing on the ground with his finger. They continued to ask Jesus their question. So he stood up and said, “Is there anyone here who has never sinned? The person without sin can throw the first stone at this woman.” Then Jesus knelt down again and wrote on the ground.

Those who heard Jesus began to leave one by one. The older men left first, and then the others. Jesus was left there alone with the woman. She was standing before him. 10 Jesus stood up again and asked her, “Woman, all of those people have gone. Has no one judged you guilty?”

11 She answered, “No one has judged me, sir.”

Then Jesus said, “So I also don’t judge you. You may go now, but don’t sin again.”

Jesus Is the Light of the World

12 Later, Jesus talked to the people again. He said, “I am the light of the world. The person who follows me will never live in darkness. He will have the light that gives life.”

13 But the Pharisees said to Jesus, “When you talk about yourself, you are the only one to say these things are true. We cannot accept these things you say.”

14 Jesus answered, “Yes, I am saying these things about myself, but they are true. I know where I came from. And I know where I am going. You don’t know where I came from or where I am going. 15 You judge me the way you would judge any man. I don’t judge anyone. 16 But if I judge, I judge truthfully. When I judge, I am not alone. The Father who sent me is with me. 17 Your own law says that when two witnesses say the same thing, then you must accept what they say. 18 I am one of the witnesses who speaks about myself. And the Father who sent me is my other witness.”

19 They asked, “Where is your father?”

Jesus answered, “You don’t know me or my Father. But if you knew me, then you would know my Father, too.” 20 Jesus said these things while he was teaching in the Temple. He was near the place where the money that the people give is kept. But no one arrested him. The right time for Jesus had not yet come.

The People Misunderstand Jesus

21 Again, Jesus said to the people, “I will leave you. You will look for me, but you will die in your sins. You cannot come where I am going.”

22 So the Jews asked, “Will he kill himself? Is that why he said, ‘You cannot come where I am going’?”

23 But Jesus said, “You people are from here below. But I am from above. You belong to this world, but I don’t belong to this world. 24 So I told you that you would die in your sins. Yes, you will die in your sins if you don’t believe that I am he.”

25 They asked, “Then who are you?”

Jesus answered, “I am what I have told you from the beginning. 26 I have many things to say about you and to judge you for. But I tell people only the things I have heard from the One who sent me. And he speaks the truth.”

27 The people did not understand that Jesus was talking to them about the Father. 28 So Jesus said to them, “You will lift up the Son of Man. Then you will know that I am he. You will know that these things I do are not by my own authority. You will know that I say only what the Father has taught me. 29 The One who sent me is with me. I always do what is pleasing to him. So he has not left me alone.” 30 While Jesus was saying these things, many people believed in him.

Freedom from Sin

31 So Jesus said to the Jews who believed in him, “If you continue to obey my teaching, you are truly my followers. 32 Then you will know the truth. And the truth will make you free.”

33 They answered, “We are Abraham’s children. And we have never been slaves. So why do you say that we will be free?”

34 Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth. Everyone who lives in sin is a slave to sin. 35 A slave does not stay with a family forever, but a son belongs to the family forever. 36 So if the Son makes you free, then you will be truly free. 37 I know you are Abraham’s children. But you want to kill me because you don’t accept my teaching. 38 I am telling you what my Father has shown me. But you do what your father has told you.”

39 They answered, “Our father is Abraham.”

Jesus said, “If you were really Abraham’s children, you would do[e] the things that Abraham did. 40 I am a man who has told you the truth which I heard from God. But you are trying to kill me. Abraham did nothing like that. 41 So you are doing the things that your own father did.”

But they said, “We are not like children who never knew who their father was. God is our Father. He is the only Father we have.”

42 Jesus said to them, “If God were really your Father, you would love me. I came from God and now I am here. I did not come by my own authority. God sent me. 43 You don’t understand what I say because you cannot accept my teaching. 44 Your father is the devil. You belong to him and want to do what he wants. He was a murderer from the beginning. He was against the truth, for there is no truth in him. He is a liar, and he is like the lies he tells. He is the father of lies. 45 But I speak the truth. That is why you don’t believe me. 46 Can any of you prove that I am guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? 47 He who belongs to God accepts what God says. But you don’t accept what God says, because you don’t belong to God.”

Jesus and Abraham

48 The Jews answered, “We say you are a Samaritan! We say a demon has come into you. Are we not right?”

49 Jesus answered, “I have no demon in me. I give honor to my Father, but you dishonor me. 50 I am not trying to get honor for myself. There is One who wants this honor for me, and he is the judge. 51 I tell you the truth. If anyone obeys my teaching, he will never die.”

52 The Jews said to Jesus, “Now we know that you have a demon in you! Even Abraham and the prophets died. But you say, ‘Whoever obeys my teaching will never die.’ 53 Do you think that you are greater than our father Abraham? Abraham died. And the prophets died, too. Who do you think you are?”

54 Jesus answered, “If I give honor to myself, that honor is worth nothing. The One who gives me honor is my Father. And you say that he is your God. 55 But you don’t really know him. I know him. If I said I did not know him, then I would be a liar as you are liars. But I do know him, and I obey what he says. 56 Your father Abraham was very happy that he would see my day. He saw that day and was glad.”

57 The Jews said to him, “What? You have never seen Abraham! You are not even 50 years old!”

58 Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth. Before Abraham was born, I am!” 59 When Jesus said this, the people picked up stones to throw at him. But Jesus hid himself, and then he left the Temple.

International Children’s Bible (ICB)

The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.