The Good News According to John, God's Living Word Translation


Foreword

One day in March 1994, I was praying about the lack of a good contemporary
English translation of the Holy Bible that can be distributed internationally
in unlimited quantities, without payment of royalties, in electronic formats.
All of the best contemporary English translations (and we are truly blessed
with many good ones) carry copyright restrictions that preclude certain forms
of ministry distribution that I intend to do. God clearly impressed on me
that I was to start work on a new, accurate, contemporary English translation
of the Holy Bible for the purpose of giving it away, with no royalties
charged. Thank you, Father in Heaven, for your inspiration, direction, and
provision. The first fruit of this labor of love is The Good News According
to John, God's Living Word Translation. This book was written by John, chosen
to be an Apostle by Jesus Christ, with the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. I
have only acted as translator, praying in faith for the inspiration of the
same Holy Spirit.

John writes as an eye witness to the facts he presents about Jesus. He
introduces us to God's living message to us -- the Word made flesh. John, who
called himself "the disciple who Jesus sincerely loved," emphasizes Jesus and
some of the most important things that He did and said. John makes it very
clear that Jesus was, indeed, God's Son. John writes what we need to know to
believe in God's Son and have everlasting life.

                                                        In God's service,

                                                        Michael Paul Johnson

Copyright and Permission to Copy

The Good News According to John, God's Living Word Translation, is Copyright
(C) 1996 Michael Paul Johnson.  All rights reserved.  "God's Living Word
Translation" and "GLW" are trademarks of Michael Paul Johnson.

The Good News According to John, God's Living Word Translation may be copied
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and inclusive of the entire text, for either commercial or noncommercial
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According to John, God's Living Word Translation not covered by the above
should be directed to Michael Paul Johnson, PO Box 1151, Longmont CO
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The Good News According to John

[1:1]In the beginning was the Word,{a} and the Word was with God, and the
Word was God. [1:2]He was in the beginning with God. [1:3]Everything was made
through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. [1:4]In Him was
life, and that life was the light of mankind. [1:5]The light shines in the
darkness, but the darkness hasn't overcome{b} it.  [1:6]There was a man sent
from God, whose name was John. [1:7]This man came as a witness, to testify
about the light, that all through him might believe. [1:8]He wasn't that
light, but was sent as a witness of that light. [1:9]The true light that
enlightens everyone was coming into the world.

[1:10]The Word was in the world, and though the world was made through Him,
the world didn't recognize Him. [1:11]He came to His own, and those who were
His own didn't receive Him. [1:12]But as many as received Him, to them He
gave the right to become God's children, to those who believe in His name:
[1:13]who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the
will of man, but of God.

[1:14]The Word became flesh and lived among us, and we saw His glory, the
glory as of the only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth. [1:15]John
testified about Him. He cried out, saying, "This was He who I told you about
when I said, 'He who comes after me has surpassed me because He was before
me.'" [1:16]From His fullness we have all received grace upon grace.
[1:17]The Law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus
Christ. [1:18]No one has ever seen God, but God's only born Son, who is near
to the heart of His Father, has made Him known.

[1:19]Now this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and
Levites{c} from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who are you?" [1:20]He confessed, and
didn't deny, but confessed, "I'm not the Christ." [1:21]They asked him, "Then
who are you? Are you Elijah?" He said, "I am not." "Are you the Prophet?" He
answered, "No." [1:22]Then they asked him, "Who are you? Give us an answer to
take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?" [1:23]John
replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, "I am the voice of one calling in
the desert, 'Make straight the way for the Lord.'"{d} [1:24]Now those who
were sent were Pharisees.{e} [1:25]They asked him, saying, "Why then do you
baptize if you aren't the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?" [1:26]John
answered them, saying, "I baptize with water, but One stands among you that
you don't know. [1:27]It is He who, coming after me, is preferred before me,
whose sandal strap I'm not worthy to untie." [1:28]This all happened at
Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

[1:29]The next day, John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Look! God's
Lamb who takes away the sin of the world! [1:30]This is the One I meant when
I said, 'A man who comes after me is preferred before me because He existed
before me.' [1:31]I didn't know Him, but the reason I came baptizing with
water was that He might be revealed to Israel." [1:32]John testified, saying,
"I saw the Spirit descending from Heaven like a dove, and He remained upon
Him. [1:33]I wouldn't have known Him, but He who sent me to baptize with
water told me, 'Whoever you see the Spirit descending upon, and remaining on
Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.' [1:34]I have seen and I
testify that this is God's Son."

[1:35]The next day, John again stood with two of His disciples. [1:36]When he
saw Jesus passing by, he said, "Look, God's Lamb!" [1:37]The two disciples
heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. [1:38]Jesus turned, and seeing
them following, asked them, "What are you looking for?" They said to Him,
"Rabbi" (which, when translated, means Teacher), "Where are You staying?"

[1:39]He told them, "Come and see." They came and saw where He was staying,
and spent that day with Him. It was about the tenth hour.{f} [1:40]Andrew,
Simon Peter's brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and
who had followed Jesus. [1:41]The first thing Andrew did was to find his
brother, Simon, and tell him, "We have found the Messiah" (that is,
translated, the Christ{g}).  [1:42]Andrew brought Simon to Jesus. Jesus
looked at him, and said, "You are Simon the son of Jonah. You will be called
Cephas" (which is translated Peter{h}).  [1:43]The next day Jesus decided to
leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he told him, "Follow me." [1:44]Philip was
from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. [1:45]Philip found Nathanael
and told him, "We have found Him who Moses in the Law, and also the prophets,
wrote about -- Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph."

[1:46]Nathanael asked Philip, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?"

Philip told Nathanael, "Come and see."

[1:47]Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, and said of Nathanael, "Look!
An Israelite indeed, who has no deceit in him!"

[1:48]Nathanael asked Him, "How do You know me?"

Jesus answered, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree,
I saw you."

[1:49]Nathanael answered, "Rabbi,{i} You are God's Son. You are the King of
Israel." [1:50]Jesus said to him, "Because I told you that I saw you under
the fig tree, do you believe? You will see greater things than these."
[1:51]And He told him, "Most assuredly, I tell you, you will see Heaven
opened, and God's angels ascending and descending on the Son of Man."

[2:1]On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the Jesus'
mother was there. [2:2]Now both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the
wedding. [2:3]When they ran out of wine, Jesus' mother told Him, "They have
no wine."

[2:4]Jesus said to her, "Woman, what does that have to do with you and me?
My time has not yet come." [2:5]His mother told the servants, "Do whatever He
tells you." [2:6]Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews
for ceremonial washing, each holding two to three metretes.{j} [2:7]Jesus
told the servants, "Fill the jars with water," so they filled them to the
brim. [2:8]Then He told them, "Now draw some out and take it to the master of
the banquet." They did so, [2:9]and the master of the banquet tasted the
water that had been turned into wine. He didn't realize where it had come
from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the
bridegroom aside [2:10]and said, "Everyone brings out the choice wine first,
and then the cheaper wine after the guests have drunk freely, but you have
saved the best till now!" [2:11]Jesus did this beginning of signs in Cana of
Galilee. He revealed His glory, and His disciples believed in Him.

[2:12]After this, He went down to Capernaum with His mother, His brothers,
and His disciples, and they stayed there only a few days.

[2:13]The time for the Passover{k} of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to
Jerusalem. [2:14]He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and
doves, and the money changers doing business. [2:15]When He had made a whip
of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen,
and poured out the changers' money and overturned the tables. [2:16]He told
those who sold doves, "Take these things away! Don't make my Father's house a
market place!" [2:17]Then His disciples remembered that it was written, "Zeal
for Your house will consume me."{l} [2:18]So the Jews answered and asked Him,
"What sign do You show to us, since You do these things?" [2:19]Jesus
answered them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up."
[2:20]Then the Jews said, "It has taken forty-six years to build this temple,
and will You raise it up in three days?" [2:21]But the temple He had spoken
of was His body. [2:22]After He was raised from the dead, His disciples
recalled what He had said. Then they believed the Scripture and the words
that Jesus had spoken.

[2:23]Now while He was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many people saw
the miraculous signs He was doing and believed in His name. [2:24]But Jesus
didn't commit Himself to them, because He knew all people, [2:25]and had no
need for anyone to testify about people, for He knew what was in people.

[3:1]There was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.
[3:2]This man came to Jesus by night, and said to Him, "Rabbi, we know that
You have come from God as a teacher, for no one can do these signs that You
do unless God is with him."

[3:3]Jesus answered and told him, "Most assuredly, I tell you, unless one is
born again, that person can't see the kingdom of God."

[3:4]Nicodemus asked Him, "How can a man be born when he is old? He can't go
back into his mother's womb and be born, can he?"

[3:5]Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I tell you, unless one is born of water
and the Spirit, that one can't enter the Kingdom of God. [3:6]That which is
born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
[3:7]Don't marvel that I told you, 'You must be born again.' [3:8]The wind{m}
blows where it wants to, and you hear its sound, but can't tell where it
comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit."
[3:9]Nicodemus asked Him, "How can these things be?" [3:10]"Are you Israel's
teacher," asked Jesus, "and yet you don't understand these things? [3:11]Most
assuredly, I tell you, we speak what we know and testify what we have seen,
and you don't receive our witness.  [3:12]If I have told you earthly things
and you don't believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?
[3:13]No one has ever gone up into Heaven except the one who came from Heaven
-- the Son of Man. [3:14]Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert,{n}
so the Son of Man must be lifted up, [3:15]that everyone who believes in Him
should not die, but have eternal life. [3:16]For God so sincerely loved{o}
the world that He gave His only born Son, that whoever believes in Him should
not perish, but have everlasting life. [3:17]For God didn't send His Son into
the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.
[3:18]Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever doesn't believe
is condemned already because that person has not believed in the name of
God's only Son.  [3:19]This is the condemnation, that light has come into the
world, but people sincerely loved darkness rather than light, because their
deeds were evil. [3:20]Everyone who practices evil hates the light, and
doesn't come to the light, for fear that their deeds will be exposed.
[3:21]Whoever practices the truth comes to the light to show clearly that
their deeds have been done with God."

[3:22]After this, Jesus and His disciples went out into the countryside of
Judea, where He remained with them, and baptized. [3:23]John was also
baptizing at Aenon, near Salim, because there was plenty of water there, and
people kept coming to be baptized. [3:24]John had not yet been thrown into
prison. [3:25]There were some questions between some of John's disciples and
the Jews about purification. [3:26]They came to John and told him, "Rabbi, He
who was with you beyond the Jordan, that you have testified about -- look, He
is baptizing, and everyone is flocking to Him!" [3:27]John replied, "A man
can receive nothing, unless it's given to him from Heaven. [3:28]You
yourselves can testify that I said, 'I'm not the Christ, but I have been sent
ahead of Him.' [3:29]The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who
attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and rejoices when he hears
the bridegroom's voice. This joy of mine is now made complete. [3:30]He must
increase, but I must decrease.

[3:31]"He who comes from above is above all. He who is of the Earth belongs
to the Earth and speaks of the Earth. He who comes from Heaven is above all.
[3:32]He testifies about what He has seen and heard, but no one accepts His
testimony. [3:33]The man who has accepted His testimony has certified that
God is truthful. [3:34]The one that God has sent speaks God's words, for God
gives the Spirit without measure. [3:35]The Father sincerely loves the Son,
and has given everything into His hand. [3:36]Whoever believes in the Son has
eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son won't see life, for God's wrath
remains on that person."

[4:1]Therefore when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was
gaining and baptizing more disciples than John [4:2](although Jesus Himself
wasn't baptizing, but His disciples were), [4:3]He left Judea, and went back
towards Galilee. [4:4]He had to go through Samaria. [4:5]He came to a city of
Samaria, called Sychar, near the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son
Joseph, [4:6]and Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being tired from
His journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour.{p} [4:7]A
Samaritan woman came to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Please give me a
drink." [4:8]His disciples had gone into the town to buy food. [4:9]The
Samaritan woman therefore asked Him, "How is it that You, being a Jew, ask me
for a drink, since I'm a Samaritan woman?" (For Jews have nothing to do with
Samaritans.) [4:10]Jesus answered her, "If you knew God's gift, and who it is
who says to you, 'Please give me a drink,' you would have asked Him, and He
would have given you living water."

[4:11]The woman said, "Sir, you have nothing to draw with and the well is
deep. Where could you get this living water from? [4:12]Are You greater than
our forefather Jacob, who gave us this well and who used to drink from it
himself, as did also his sons and his flocks and herds?"

[4:13]Jesus answered her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will get thirsty
again, [4:14]but whoever drinks the water that I will give will never, ever
get thirsty. The water that I will give will become in that person a fountain
of water springing up into everlasting life."

[4:15]The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water so that I won't get
thirsty and have to keep coming all the way here to draw water."

[4:16]Jesus told her, "Go, call your husband, and come here."

[4:17]The woman answered, "I have no husband."

Jesus told her, "You are right in saying, 'I have no husband,' [4:18]for you
have had five husbands, and the one you have now isn't your husband. What you
have said is quite true."

[4:19]The woman said to Him, "Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet.
[4:20]Our ancestors worshipped on this mountain, but you Jews say that the
place where we must worship is in Jerusalem."

[4:21]Jesus told her, "Woman, believe me, a time is coming when you will
worship the Father neither in this mountain, nor in Jerusalem. [4:22]You
Samaritans worship what you don't know. We worship what we know, for
salvation is from the Jews. [4:23]A time is coming, and has now come, when
the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are
the kind of worshipers that the Father seeks. [4:24]God is spirit, and those
who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."

[4:25]The woman said to Him, "I know that the Messiah (who is called Christ)
is coming. When He comes, He will explain everything to us."

[4:26]Jesus told her, "I who speak to you am He."

[4:27]Just then Jesus' disciples returned. They were surprised to find him
talking with a woman, but no one asked, "What do you want?" or "Why are you
talking with her?" [4:28]Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to
the town and began telling the people, [4:29]"Come, see a man who told me
everything that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?" [4:30]They went out of
the city, and started to go to Him.

[4:31]Meanwhile, the disciples urged Him, saying "Rabbi, eat something."

[4:32]He told them, "I have food to eat that you don't know about."

[4:33]So the disciples asked one another, "Nobody brought Him anything to
eat, did they?"

[4:34]Jesus told them, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent me, and to
accomplish His work. [4:35]Don't you say, 'It's still four months until the
harvest'? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and look at the fields! They
are ripe for harvest. [4:36]He who harvests is already receiving wages, and
is gathering fruit for eternal life, so that he who plants and he who
harvests may rejoice together. [4:37]Thus the saying 'One plants and another
harvests' is true. [4:38]I sent you to harvest that for which you didn't
labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor."

[4:39]Many Samaritans from that town believed in Jesus because of the woman's
testimony, "He told me everything that I ever did." [4:40]So when the
Samaritans arrived, they asked Him to stay with them, and He stayed there two
days. [4:41]Many more believed because of His words. [4:42]They told the
woman, "It's no longer just because of what you said that we believe, for we
have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Savior of the
world, the Christ."

[4:43]After the two days, He departed from there and went to Galilee,
[4:44]for Jesus Himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own
country. [4:45]When He arrived in Galilee, the Galileans welcomed Him. They
had seen all that He had done in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, for they
had been there, too.

[4:46]Therefore He came back to Cana of Galilee, where He had made the water
wine. There was a certain royal official, whose son was sick at Capernaum.
[4:47]When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to
Him and begged Him to come down and heal his son, who was at the point of
death.

[4:48]Jesus told him, "Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will
never believe."

[4:49]The royal official said to Him, "Sir, come down before my child dies!"

[4:50]Jesus told him, "Go in peace. Your son lives." So the man believed the
words that Jesus spoke to him, and he went his way. [4:51]As he was still
going down the road, his servants met him, saying that his son was living.
[4:52]So he asked them the hour when he began to recover, and they told him,
"Yesterday at the seventh hour,{q} the fever left him." [4:53]The father
realized that it was at that hour that Jesus told him, "Your son lives," and
he himself believed, along with his whole household. [4:54]This was the
second sign that Jesus did, when He had come from out of Judea to Galilee.

[5:1]After this, there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to
Jerusalem. [5:2]Near the Sheep Gate in Jerusalem, there is a pool, which is
called Bethesda in Hebrew. It's surrounded by five covered colonnades.
[5:3]In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, or
paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water, [5:4]for an angel went down
from time to time into the pool and stirred up the water. Whoever stepped in
first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease
that person had. [5:5]A certain man was there who had an infirmity
thirty-eight years. [5:6]When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he had
already been sick for a long time, He asked him, "Do you want to be made
well?"

[5:7]The sick man answered, "Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when
the water is stirred up, but while I'm coming, another steps down before me."

[5:8]Jesus told him, "Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk."
[5:9]Immediately, the man was made well, took up his mat, and walked.

That was on the Sabbath day.{r} [5:10]Therefore the Jews were telling him who
was cured, "It's the Sabbath, and it isn't legal for you to carry your mat."
[5:11]He answered them, "He who made me well told me, 'Take up your mat and
walk.'"

[5:12]Then they asked him, "Who told you to 'Take up your mat and walk'?"
[5:13]The man who had been healed didn't know who it was, because Jesus had
disappeared into the crowd.

[5:14]Later, Jesus found him in the temple and told him, "See, you have been
made well! Don't sin any more, so that nothing worse happens to you."
[5:15]The man went away, and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him
well. [5:16]For this reason, the Jews persecuted Jesus, and sought to kill
Him, because He was doing these things on the Sabbath. [5:17]Jesus answered
them, "My Father is still working, so I am working, too." [5:18]Because of
this, the Jews tried all the harder to kill Him. Not only was He breaking the
Sabbath, but He was even calling God His own Father, making Himself equal
with God. [5:19]Then Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I tell you, the Son can
do nothing of Himself, unless He sees the Father do it, for whatever He does,
the Son does likewise. [5:20]The Father loves the Son, and shows Him
everything that He Himself does. He will show Him even greater works than
these, that you may marvel. [5:21]As the Father raises the dead and gives
life to them, even so the Son gives life to whoever He wishes. [5:22]The
Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son, [5:23]that
all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who doesn't honor the
Son doesn't honor the Father who sent Him.

[5:24]"Most assuredly, I tell you, the person who hears my words and believes
in Him who sent me has everlasting life, and won't come into judgment, but
has passed from death into life. [5:25]Most assuredly, I tell you, the time
is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of God's Son, and
those who hear will live. [5:26]For just as the Father has life in Himself,
so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, [5:27]and has given Him
authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man. [5:28]Don't
marvel at this, for the time is coming in which all who are in the graves
will hear His voice [5:29]and come out -- those who have done good, to the
resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of
condemnation. [5:30]I can do nothing by myself. As I hear, I judge, and my
judgment is righteous, because I don't seek my own will, but the will of the
Father who sent me.

[5:31]"If I testify about myself, my testimony isn't valid. [5:32]There is
another who testifies on my behalf, and I know that his testimony about me is
valid. [5:33]You have sent to John, and he has testified to the truth.
[5:34]Not that I accept human testimony, but I tell you this so that you may
be saved. [5:35]John was the burning and shining lamp, and you were willing
for a time to rejoice in his light. [5:36]I have a greater testimony than
John's. The works that the Father has given me to finish -- the very works
that I do -- testify about me, that the Father has sent me. [5:37]The Father
Himself, who sent me, has testified about me. You have neither heard His
voice at any time, nor seen His form. [5:38]You don't have His words dwelling
in you, because you don't believe the One who He sent. [5:39]You search the
Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life, and these testify
about me. [5:40]Yet you refuse to come to me to have life.

[5:41]"I don't accept glory from men, [5:42]but I know you. I know that you
don't have God's sincere love in you. [5:43]I have come in my Father's name,
and you don't accept me, but if someone else comes in his own name, you will
accept him. [5:44]How can you believe when you accept glory from one another,
and don't seek the glory that comes from the only God?

[5:45]Don't think that I will accuse you before the Father. Your accuser is
Moses, who you have set your hope on. [5:46]If you believed Moses, you would
believe me, for he wrote about me. [5:47]If you don't believe what he wrote,
how will you believe what I say?"

[6:1]After this, Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, also
called the Sea of Tiberias. [6:2]A great multitude was following Him, because
they were seeing the signs that He was performing on those who were sick.
[6:3]Jesus went up on a mountain side, and sat down with His disciples.
[6:4]The Jewish Passover Feast was near. [6:5]Jesus looked up, and saw that a
great multitude was coming to Him, so He asked Philip, "Where can we buy
bread, so that these may eat?" [6:6]He said this to test him, for He knew
what He would do.

[6:7]Philip answered, "Two hundred denarii{s} worth of bread wouldn't even be
enough for everyone to receive a little!" [6:8]One of Jesus' disciples,
Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to Him, [6:9]"There is a boy here who has
five barley loaves and two fish, but what is that among so many people?"
[6:10]Jesus said, "Have the people sit down." There was plenty of grass
there, so the men sat down, in number about five thousand. [6:11]Jesus took
the loaves, and when He had given thanks, He distributed them to the
disciples, and the disciples to those sitting down. He did likewise with the
fish, as much as they wanted. [6:12]When they were filled, He told His
disciples, "Gather up the leftover pieces, so that nothing may be wasted."
[6:13]Therefore they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with the
pieces of the five barley loaves, which were left over by those who had
eaten.

[6:14]When the people saw the sign which He had performed, they said, "This
is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world." [6:15]When Jesus
perceived that they meant to come and take Him by force to make Him king, He
withdrew again to the mountain by Himself.

[6:16]When evening came, Jesus' disciples went down to the sea, [6:17]got
into the boat, and went over the sea toward Capernaum. It was already dark,
and Jesus had not come to them. [6:18]The sea arose because a great wind was
blowing. [6:19]When they had rowed about twenty-five or thirty stadia,{t}
they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near the boat. They were
terrified, [6:20]but He told them, "It's me. Don't be afraid." [6:21]Then
they willingly took Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the
land where they were going.

[6:22]The next day, the crowd that had stayed on the other side of the sea
saw that there had been only one boat there. They also saw that Jesus had not
gone in the boat with His disciples, but that His disciples had gone away
alone. [6:23]Then some other boats from Tiberias landed near the place where
the people had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. [6:24]When
the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor His disciples were there, they got into
the boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus. [6:25]When they found Him
on the other side of the sea, they asked Him, "Rabbi, when did you come
here?"

[6:26]Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I tell you, you are looking for me,
not because you saw the signs, but because you ate the loaves and were
filled. [6:27]Don't labor for perishable food, but for the food which endures
to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the
Father has set His seal on Him."

[6:28]Then they asked Him, "What must we do to do God's works?"

[6:29]Jesus answered them, "This is God's work, that you believe in Him who
He has sent."

[6:30]Therefore they asked Him, "What sign will You perform then, that we may
see it and believe You? What work will You do? [6:31]Our ancestors ate the
manna in the wilderness. As it's written, 'He gave them bread from Heaven to
eat.'{u}" [6:32]Jesus told them, "Most assuredly, I tell you, Moses didn't
give you the bread from Heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from
Heaven. [6:33]For God's bread is He who comes down from Heaven and gives life
to the world."

[6:34]Then they said to Him, "Lord, give us this bread forever."

[6:35]Jesus told them, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will
never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. [6:36]As I
told you, you have seen me, and yet you still don't believe. [6:37]All that
the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never
drive away. [6:38]I have come down from Heaven, not to do my own will, but
the will of Him who sent me. [6:39]This is the will of the Father who sent
me, that of all He has given me I should lose none, but should raise them up
at the last day. [6:40]This is also the will of Him who sent me, that
everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and
I will raise them up at the last day."

[6:41]The Jews then grumbled about Jesus, because He said, "I am the bread
which came down from Heaven." [6:42]They were saying, "Isn't this Jesus, the
son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can He claim, 'I have
come down from Heaven'?" [6:43]Jesus answered, "Stop grumbling among
yourselves. [6:44]No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent
me, and I will raise that person up on the last day. [6:45]It's written in
the prophets, 'They will all be taught by God.'{v} Everyone who has heard and
learned from the Father comes to me. [6:46]Nobody has seen the Father except
the one who is from God. He has seen the Father. [6:47]Most assuredly, I tell
you, everyone who believes in me has everlasting life.  [6:48]I am the bread
of life. [6:49]Your forefathers ate manna in the wilderness, but they died.
[6:50]This is the bread which comes down from Heaven, so that one may eat of
it and not die. [6:51]I am the living bread that came down from Heaven.
Whoever eats of this bread will live forever. The bread that I will give for
the life of the world is my flesh."

[6:52]Therefore the Jews argued among themselves, saying, "How can this Man
give us His flesh to eat?"

[6:53]Then Jesus told them, "Most assuredly, I tell you, unless you eat the
flesh of the Son of Man, and drink His blood, you have no life in you.
[6:54]Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will
raise that person up at the last day, [6:55]for my flesh is true food, and my
blood is true drink. [6:56]One who eats my flesh and drinks my blood lives in
me, and I in that person. [6:57]Just as the living Father sent me, and I live
because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me.
[6:58]This is the bread which came down from Heaven, not like the manna your
forefathers ate, and died. A person who eats this bread will live forever."
[6:59]He said this while teaching in the synagogue{w} at Capernaum. 
[6:60]Therefore when many of His disciples heard this, they said, "This is a
hard teaching. Who can stand to hear it?"

[6:61]Jesus, aware that his disciples were complaining about this, asked
them, "Does this offend you? [6:62]What if you saw the Son of Man ascend to
where He was before? [6:63]The Spirit gives life. The flesh profits nothing.
The words that I speak to you are spirit and life. [6:64]Yet there are some
of you who don't believe." Jesus knew from the beginning who didn't believe,
and who would betray Him. [6:65]He said, "For this reason I have told you,
that no one can come to me, unless it has been granted by the Father."

[6:66]Because of this, many of His disciples turned back and didn't walk with
him any more. [6:67]Then Jesus asked the twelve, "Do you want to go away,
too?"

[6:68]Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord, who will we go to? You have words of
eternal life. [6:69]We have come to believe and know that You are the Christ,
the Son of the living God."

[6:70]Jesus answered, "Didn't I choose you, the twelve, yet one of you is a
slanderer{x}?" [6:71]He was speaking of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, for he,
one of the twelve, was going to betray him.

[7:1]After these things, Jesus walked in Galilee, for He didn't want to walk
in Judea, because the Jews sought to kill Him. [7:2]Now the Jews' Feast of
Tabernacles{y} was near. [7:3]Therefore His brothers told Him, "Leave here
and go to Judea, so that Your disciples will see the works that You are
doing, too. [7:4]Nobody does anything in secret while he seeks to be known
openly. If You do these things, show Yourself to the world." [7:5]For even
His brothers didn't believe in Him.

[7:6]Then Jesus told them, "My time hasn't yet come, but your time is always
right. [7:7]The world can't hate you, but it hates me because I testify that
its works are evil. [7:8]Go up to this feast yourselves. I'm not going up to
this feast, yet, for my time hasn't yet fully come." [7:9]Having said these
things to them, He stayed in Galilee.

[7:10]When His brothers had gone up to the feast, however, Jesus also went
up, not publicly, but in secret. [7:11]The Jews were looking for Him at the
feast, and saying, "Where is He?" [7:12]There was much complaining among the
people about Him. Some said, "He is good," but others said, "No, He deceives
the people." [7:13]No one spoke openly of Him for fear of the Jews.

[7:14]About the middle of the feast, Jesus went up into the temple and began
to teach. [7:15]The Jews marveled, saying, "How does this man know letters,
having never been educated?"

[7:16]Jesus answered, "My teaching isn't mine, but His who sent me.
[7:17]Anyone who wants to do His will shall know if the teaching is from God
or if I speak on my own. [7:18]The one who speaks on his own seeks his own
glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no
unrighteousness is in Him. [7:19]Didn't Moses give you the Law, yet none of
you keeps the Law? Why are you trying to kill me?"

[7:20]The people answered, "You have a demon. Who is trying to kill You?"

[7:21]Jesus answered, "I did one work, and you all marvel. [7:22]Moses gave
you circumcision (not that it's from Moses, but from the forefathers), and
you circumcise a boy on the Sabbath. [7:23]If a boy gets circumcised on the
Sabbath, so that the Law of Moses should not be broken, are you angry with me
because I made a man completely well on the Sabbath? [7:24]Don't judge by
appearance, but judge with righteous judgment."

[7:25]Some of the people of Jerusalem said, "Isn't this the man they are
trying to kill? [7:26]Look! He is speaking boldly, and they say nothing to
Him. The rulers haven't really concluded that this is the Christ, have they?
[7:27]Still, we know where this man is from, but when the Christ comes, no
one will know where He is from."

[7:28]Then Jesus cried out, as He taught in the temple, "You know me, and you
know where I'm from. I haven't come of my own accord, but He who sent me is
true, who you don't know. [7:29]I know Him, because I am from Him, and He
sent me."

[7:30]Because of this, they were seeking to seize Him, but no one laid hands
on Him, because His time had not yet come. [7:31]Many of the people believed
in Him, saying, "When the Christ comes, will He do more signs than this man
has done?"

[7:32]The Pharisees heard the crowd murmuring these things about Jesus, and
the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to seize Him.

[7:33]Then Jesus told them, "I will be with you a little while longer, and
then I am going to Him who sent me. [7:34]You will look for me, and not find
me, and where I am, you can't come."

[7:35]Then the Jews said among themselves, "Where does He intend to go that
we won't be able to find Him? He doesn't intend to go to the dispersion among
the Greeks and teach the Greeks, does He? [7:36]What does He mean by saying,
'You will look for me, and not find me, and where I am, you can't come'?"

[7:37]On the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood and declared
loudly, "If anyone is thirsty, let that person come to me and drink.
[7:38]Rivers of living water will flow from within whoever believes in me, as
the Scripture has said." [7:39]He said this about the Spirit, who those
believing in Him would receive. The Holy Spirit wasn't yet given, because
Jesus wasn't yet glorified.

[7:40]When they heard these words, many in the crowd were saying, "This is
really the prophet." [7:41]Others were saying, "This is the Christ," but some
were saying, "Surely the Christ isn't going to come from Galilee, is He?
[7:42]Hasn't the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the seed of David
and from the town of Bethlehem, where David was?" [7:43]So there was a
division among the crowd because of Jesus. [7:44]Some of them wanted to seize
Him, but no one laid hands on Him.

[7:45]When the officers went back to the chief priests and Pharisees, they
asked them, "Why didn't you bring Him in?" [7:46]The officers answered, "No
man ever spoke like this man!" [7:47]Then the Pharisees answered, "You
haven't been deceived, too, have you? [7:48]Have any of the rulers or
Pharisees believed in Him? [7:49]But this accursed crowd doesn't know the
Law."

[7:50]Nicodemus (who came to Jesus before, being one of them) asked them,
[7:51]"Does our Law permit us to judge a man before hearing him and finding
out what he is doing?" [7:52]They answered him, "You aren't from Galilee,
too, are you? Search and you will see that no prophet comes out of Galilee."

[7:53]Then everyone went home, [8:1]but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.
[8:2]At dawn, He came back into the temple. All the people were coming to
Him, and He sat down and began to teach them. [8:3]The scribes and the
Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery, and having set her in the
midst, [8:4]they told Him, "Teacher, this woman has been caught in adultery,
in the very act. [8:5]In the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women.
What do You say?" [8:6]They were saying this, testing Him, so that they might
have grounds to accuse Him. Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with
His finger, as if He didn't hear. [8:7]When they persisted in asking Him, He
straightened up, and told them, "Let whoever is without sin among you be the
first to throw a stone at her." [8:8]He stooped down, again, and wrote on the
ground.

[8:9]When they heard this, they began to go out one by one, beginning with
the older ones. Jesus was left alone with the woman still standing there.
[8:10]Straightening up, Jesus asked her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one
condemned you?"

[8:11]She said, "No one, Lord."

Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more."

[8:12]Jesus spoke again to the people, saying, "I am the light of the world.
Anyone who follows me won't walk in the darkness, but will have the light of
life."

[8:13]Then the Pharisees told Him, "You are testifying on your own behalf, so
your testimony isn't valid."

[8:14]Jesus answered, "Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is
valid because I know where I came from and where I am going, but you don't
know where I come from or where I am going. [8:15]You judge by human
standards, but I am not judging anyone. [8:16]Even if I do judge, my judgment
is true, because I am not alone, but I am with the Father who sent me.
[8:17]It's also written in your Law that the testimony of two men is valid.
[8:18]I am one who bears witness of myself, and my Father who sent me bears
witness of me."

[8:19]Then they asked Him, "Where is Your Father?"

Jesus answered, "You know neither me nor my Father. If you had known me, you
would have known my Father, too."

[8:20]Jesus spoke these words in the treasury, as He taught in the temple.
Nobody laid hands on Him, for His time had not yet come.

[8:21]Jesus told them again, "I am going away, and you will look for me, and
you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you can't come."

[8:22]Therefore the Jews were saying, "Surely He won't kill Himself, will He,
since He says, 'Where I am going, you can't come'?"

[8:23]Jesus was saying to them, "You are from below. I am from above. You are
of this world. I am not of this world. [8:24]Therefore I told you that you
will die in your sins, because if you don't believe that I am He, you will
die in your sins."

[8:25]Then they asked Him, "Who are You?"

Jesus told them, "Just what I have been saying to you from the beginning.
[8:26]I have many things to say and judge about you, but He who sent me is
true, and I speak to the world those things which I heard from Him."

[8:27]They didn't realize that He had been speaking to them about the Father.
[8:28]So, Jesus said, "When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know
that I am He, and that I do nothing on my own, but I speak these things as
the Father taught me. [8:29]He who sent me is with me. He hasn't left me
alone, because I always do the things that are pleasing to Him." [8:30]As
Jesus spoke, many came to believe in Him.

[8:31]Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, "If you continue in my
words, you are truly my disciples, [8:32]and you will know the truth, and the
truth will set you free."

[8:33]They answered Him, "We are Abraham's descendants, and have never been
slaves to anyone. How can you say that we'll be set free?"

[8:34]Jesus answered them, "Most assuredly, I tell you, whoever sins is a
slave of sin. [8:35]A slave doesn't remain in the house forever, but a son
does belong forever. [8:36]Therefore if the Son sets you free, you will be
free indeed.

[8:37]"I know that you are Abraham's descendants, but you seek to kill me,
because my word has no place in you. [8:38]I talk about what I have seen with
my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father."

[8:39]They answered, "Abraham is our father."

Jesus told them, "If you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of
Abraham, [8:40]but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth
which I heard from God. Abraham didn't do this. [8:41]You do the deeds of
your father."

Then they said to Him, "We weren't born of fornication. We have one Father --
God."

[8:42]Jesus said, "If God were your Father, you would sincerely love me, for
I came from God, and now am here. I haven't come of my own initiative, but He
sent me. [8:43]Why don't you understand what I say? It's because you can't
accept my words. [8:44]You are of your father, the Devil,{z} and you want to
do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and
doesn't stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. Whenever he
speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, because he is a liar, and the
father of lies. [8:45]Because I tell the truth, you don't believe me.
[8:46]Which of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why don't you
believe me? [8:47]Whoever is from God hears God's words. The reason you don't
hear them is that you aren't from God."

[8:48]The Jews answered and asked Him, "Aren't we right in saying that You
are a Samaritan and have a demon?"

[8:49]Jesus answered, "I don't have a demon, but I honor my Father, and you
dishonor me. [8:50]I don't seek glory for myself, but there is One who seeks
it, and He is the judge. [8:51]Most assuredly, I tell you, anyone who keeps
my word will never see death."

[8:52]Then the Jews answered Him, "Now we know that You have a demon! Abraham
is dead, and the prophets, and You say, 'Anyone who keeps my word will never
taste death.' [8:53]Surely You aren't greater than our forefather Abraham,
who died? The prophets died too. Who do You claim to be?"

[8:54]Jesus answered, "If I honor myself, my honor is nothing. It's my
Father, who you say is your God, who honors me. [8:55]Yet you haven't come to
know Him, but I know Him. If I said, 'I don't know Him,' I would be a liar
like you, but I do know Him and keep His word. [8:56]Your forefather Abraham
rejoiced that he would see my day, and he saw it and was glad."

[8:57]Then the Jews said to Him, "You aren't yet fifty years old, and You
have seen Abraham?"

[8:58]Jesus told them, "Most assuredly, I tell you, before Abraham was, I
AM."{aa} [8:59]Then they took up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus hid
Himself and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so
passed by.  [9:1]Passing by, Jesus saw a man who was blind from birth.
[9:2]His disciples asked Him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents,
that he was born blind?"

[9:3]Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but this
happened so that God's works might be revealed in this man. [9:4]We must work
the works of Him who sent me, as long as it's day. Night is coming, when
nobody can work. [9:5]As long as I am in the world, I am the world's light."

[9:6]After Jesus said this, He spat on the ground and made mud with the
saliva, put it on the blind man's eyes, [9:7]and told him, "Go, wash in the
pool of Siloam" (which means Sent). So he went away and washed, and came back
seeing. [9:8]Then the neighbors and those who used to see him as a beggar
began to ask, "Isn't this the man who used to sit and beg?" [9:9]Some were
saying, "Yes, it is he," others were saying, "No, but he is like him." He
kept saying, "I'm the one." [9:10]So they asked him, "How were your eyes
opened?"

[9:11]He answered, "The man called Jesus made mud, put it on my eyes, and
told me, 'Go to Siloam, and wash'; so I went and washed, and I received
sight."

[9:12]"Where is this man?" they asked him.

"I don't know," he said.

[9:13]They brought the man who used to be blind to the Pharisees. [9:14]Now
it was a sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened the man's eyes.
[9:15]So the Pharisees were also asking him how he received his sight. He
told them, "He applied mud to my eyes, I washed, and I see."

[9:16]Therefore some of the Pharisees said, "This Man isn't from God, because
He doesn't keep the Sabbath." Others said, "How can a sinner do such signs?"
So there was a division among them. [9:17]So they turned again to the blind
man and asked, "What do you say about him? It was your eyes he opened."

He said, "He is a prophet."

[9:18]The Jews didn't believe that he had been blind, and had received sight,
until they called the parents of the one who had received his sight,
[9:19]and questioned them, saying, "Is this your son, who you say was born
blind? Then how does he now see?"

[9:20]His parents answered them, "We know that this is our son, and that he
was born blind, [9:21]but how he now sees, we don't know. Who opened his
eyes, we don't know. Ask him. He is of age. He will speak for himself."
[9:22]His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews, for the
Jews had already agreed that if anyone would confess that Jesus was the
Christ, they would be put out of the synagogue. [9:23]For this reason, his
parents said, "Ask him. He is of age."

[9:24]So they called the man who had been blind a second time, and told him,
"Give glory to God. We know that this man is a sinner."

[9:25]He answered, "Whether He is a sinner or not I don't know. One thing I
do know: that though I was blind, now I see."

[9:26]Then they asked him again, "What did He do to you? How did He open your
eyes?"

[9:27]He answered, "I told you already, and you didn't listen. Why do you
want to hear it again? You don't want to become His disciples, too, do you?"

[9:28]Then they became abusive towards him and said, "You are that man's
disciple, but we are Moses' disciples. [9:29]We know that God spoke to Moses,
but as for this man, we don't know where He is from."

[9:30]The man answered, "How amazing! You don't know where He comes from, yet
He opened my eyes. [9:31]We know that God doesn't hear sinners, but if anyone
is God-fearing, and does His will, He hears him. [9:32]Since the beginning of
time it has never been heard of that anyone opened the eyes of a person born
blind. [9:33]If this man weren't from God, He could do nothing."

[9:34]To this they replied, "Who are you to teach us? You were born entirely
in sin!" Then they threw him out.

[9:35]Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and finding him, He said, "Do
you believe in the Son of Man?"

[9:36]He answered, "Who is He, sir, that I may believe in Him?"

[9:37]Jesus told him, "You have seen Him, and it is He who is talking with
you."

[9:38]Then he said, "Lord, I believe!" and he worshipped Jesus.

[9:39]Jesus said, "I came into this world for judgment, so that those who
don't see may see, and those who do see may become blind."

[9:40]Some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these things, and asked
Him, "We aren't blind too, are we?"

[9:41]Jesus told them, "If you were blind, you would have no sin, but since
you say, 'We see,' your sin remains. [10:1]Most assuredly, I tell you,
whoever doesn't enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs in some other
way, is a thief and a robber. [10:2]The one who enters by the gate is the
sheep's shepherd. [10:3]The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep
hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
[10:4]When he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them, and the sheep
follow him, because they know his voice. [10:5]There is no way that they will
follow a stranger, but will run away from the stranger, because they don't
know the voice of strangers." [10:6]Jesus used this illustration, but the
Pharisees didn't understand what He was telling them.

[10:7]Then Jesus told them again, "Most assuredly, I tell you, I am the
sheep's door. [10:8]All who ever came before me are thieves and robbers, but
the sheep didn't listen to them. [10:9]I am the door. Anyone who enters by me
will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. [10:10]The thief
comes only to steal, and kill, and destroy. I came that they might have life,
and that they might have it in all its fullness. [10:11]I am the good
shepherd. The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. [10:12]The
hired hand, who isn't the shepherd and doesn't own the sheep, sees the wolf
coming and leaves the sheep and runs away. So, the wolf snatches them and
scatters them. [10:13]The hired hand is concerned about the wages, and not
the sheep, so the hired hand runs away. [10:14]I am the good shepherd. I know
my own and my own know me, [10:15]just as the Father knows me and I know the
Father. I lay down my life for the sheep. [10:16]I have other sheep that
don't belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my
voice. So, there will be one flock, with one shepherd.  [10:17]For this
reason the Father sincerely loves me, because I lay down my life, so that I
may take it up again. [10:18]No one takes it away from me, but I lay it down
of my own free will. I have the authority to lay it down, and I have the
authority to take it up again. I received this commandment from my Father."

[10:19]The Jews were divided again, because of these words. [10:20]Many of
them were saying, "He has a demon and is insane. Why do you listen to Him?"
[10:21]Others were saying, "These aren't the sayings of a demon-possessed
person. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?"

[10:22]At that time the Feast of Dedication{ab} took place in Jerusalem. It
was winter, [10:23]and Jesus was walking in the temple, in Solomon's porch.
[10:24]Then the Jews gathered around Him, and asked Him, "How long will You
keep us in suspense? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly." [10:25]Jesus
answered, "I told you, but you don't believe. The works that I do in my
Father's name testify about me, [10:26]but you don't believe, because you
aren't of my sheep. [10:27]My sheep listen to my voice. I know them, and they
follow me. [10:28]I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No
one is able to snatch them out of my hand. [10:29]My Father, who has given
them to me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of my
Father's hand. [10:30]I and my Father are one."

[10:31]Therefore the Jews took up stones again to stone Him. [10:32]Jesus
answered, "I showed you many good works from the Father. For which of them
are you stoning me?"

[10:33]The Jews answered Him, "We aren't stoning you for a good work, but for
blasphemy, because You, being a man, claim to be God."

[10:34]Jesus answered, "Isn't it written in your Law, 'I said, "You are
gods"'?{ac} [10:35]If he, who God's word came to, called them gods, (and the
Scripture can't be broken), [10:36]do you say of Him who the Father set apart
and sent into the world, 'You are blaspheming,' because I said, 'I am God's
Son'? [10:37]If I don't do my Father's works, then don't believe me.
[10:38]But if I do them, even if you don't believe me, believe the works, so
that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I am in the
Father." [10:39]Therefore they were trying again to seize Him, and He escaped
from their grasp.

[10:40]Jesus went away again across the Jordan to the place where John was
first baptizing, and He was staying there. [10:41]Many came to Him and were
saying, "John performed no miraculous sign, but everything that John said
about this man was true." [10:42]Many believed in Jesus there.

[11:1]Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus from Bethany, the village of Mary
and her sister Martha. [11:2]It was the Mary who anointed the Lord with
ointment, and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.
[11:3]These sisters therefore sent to Him, saying, "Lord, one You love is
sick!"

[11:4]When Jesus heard this, He said, "This sickness won't end in death, but
for God's glory, so that God's Son may be glorified by it." [11:5]Now Jesus
sincerely loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus. [11:6]Yet, when He heard
that Lazarus was sick, Jesus stayed where He was for two more days.

[11:7]After this, He said to the disciples, "Let's go back to Judea."

[11:8]The disciples said to Him, "Rabbi, the Jews were just recently trying
to stone You! Are You really going back there?"

[11:9]Jesus answered, "Aren't there twelve hours of daylight? Anyone who
walks by day doesn't stumble, because he sees the light of this world.
[11:10]But anyone who walks by night stumbles, because the light isn't in
him." [11:11]After He had said this, He told them, "Our friend Lazarus has
fallen asleep, but I am going there to wake him up."

[11:12]The disciples therefore said to Him, "Lord, if he is sleeping, he will
recover." [11:13]Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that He
was talking about literal sleep.

[11:14]So Jesus told them plainly, "Lazarus is dead, [11:15]and I am glad for
your sakes that I wasn't there, so that you may believe -- but let's go to
him."

[11:16]Therefore Thomas, who is called the Twin,{ad} said to his fellow
disciples, "Let's go, too, that we may die with Him." [11:17]When Jesus
arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days.
[11:18]Bethany was near Jerusalem, about fifteen stadia{ae} away, [11:19]and
many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning
their brother. [11:20]When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out
to meet him, but Mary stayed home. [11:21]Then Martha said to Jesus, "Lord,
if You had been here, my brother wouldn't have died. [11:22]Even now I know
that God will give you whatever You ask of Him."

[11:23]Jesus told her, "Your brother will rise again."

[11:24]Martha replied, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on
the last day."

[11:25]Jesus told her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes
in me will live even if they die, [11:26]and everyone who lives and believes
in me will never die. Do you believe this?"

[11:27]"Yes, Lord," she answered, "I have believed that You are the Christ,
God's Son, who was to come into the world." [11:28]When she had said this,
she went back and called Mary, her sister, saying secretly, "The Teacher is
here, and is asking for you." [11:29]When she heard this, she arose quickly,
and went to Him.

[11:30]Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place
where Martha met Him. [11:31]The Jews who were with her in the house,
consoling her, saw Mary get up quickly and go out. They followed her, saying,
"She is going to the tomb to weep there." [11:32]When Mary came to where
Jesus was, she saw Him, and fell at His feet, saying to Him, "Lord, if You
had been here, my brother wouldn't have died." [11:33]When Jesus saw her
weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and
was troubled. [11:34]He asked, "Where have you laid him?"

They replied, "Lord, come and see."

[11:35]Jesus wept.

[11:36]So the Jews were saying, "See how He loved him!" [11:37]But some of
them said, "Couldn't this man, who opened the eyes of the blind man, have
kept this man from dying?"

[11:38]Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb. It was a
cave, and a boulder was placed against the entrance.

[11:39]Jesus said, "Take away the boulder."

Martha, the dead man's sister, said to Him, "Lord, by this time there is a
stench, because he has been dead four days."

[11:40]Jesus told her, "Didn't I tell you that if you would believe you would
see God's glory?" [11:41]Then they took the boulder away from the place where
the dead man was lying. Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, "Father, I thank
You that You have heard me. [11:42]I know that You always hear me, but
because of the people who are standing here I said this, that they may
believe that You sent me." [11:43]Now when He had said these things, He
called loudly, "Lazarus, come out!" [11:44]He who had died came out, bound
hand and foot with wrappings, and his face was wrapped around with a cloth.
Jesus told them, "Unbind him, and let him go."

[11:45]Then many of the Jews who had come to Mary, and had seen the things
Jesus did, believed in Him. [11:46]But some of them went away to the
Pharisees and told them what Jesus did.

[11:47]Then the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered a council and said,
"What are we doing? For this Man performs many signs. [11:48]If we let Him go
on like this, everyone will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take
away both our place and our nation." [11:49]Then a certain one of them,
Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, told them, "You don't know anything,
[11:50]nor do you take into account that it's better for you that one man
should die for the people, than for the whole nation to perish." [11:51]He
didn't say this on his own initiative; but being high priest that year, he
prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation, [11:52]and not for the
nation only, but that Jesus might also gather together into one God's
children who are scattered abroad. [11:53]So from that day on, they planned
together to kill Jesus.

[11:54]Therefore Jesus stopped walking publicly among the Jews, but went away
from there to the region near the wilderness, into a city called Ephraim, and
there He stayed with the disciples. [11:55]Now the Passover of the Jews was
near, and many went from the country up to Jerusalem before the Passover, to
purify themselves. [11:56]Then they were looking for Jesus, and spoke among
themselves as they stood in the temple, "What do you think? Isn't He coming
to the feast at all?" [11:57]Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had
given a command, that anyone who knew where Jesus was should report it, that
they might arrest Him.

[12:1]Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was
who had been dead, who He had raised from the dead. [12:2]There they made Him
a supper, and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those reclining at the
table with Him. [12:3]Then Mary took a pound of very costly perfume of pure
nard,{af} and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair.
The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. [12:4]Then one of
Jesus' disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, who was about to betray Him,
said, [12:5]"Why wasn't this fragrant oil sold for three hundred denarii{ag}
and given to the poor?" [12:6]Now he said this, not because he was concerned
about the poor, but because he was a thief, and since he had the money box,
he used to steal from what was put into it.

[12:7]Jesus therefore said, "Leave her alone. She has kept this for the day
of my burial. [12:8]You will always have the poor among you, but you won't
always have me."

[12:9]Then a great multitude of the Jews learned that He was there; and they
came, not just for Jesus' sake, but also so that they could see Lazarus, who
He had raised from the dead. [12:10]So the chief priests plotted to kill
Lazarus too, [12:11]because on account of him many of the Jews were going
away, and were believing in Jesus.

[12:12]The next day, when a great multitude that had come to the feast heard
that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, [12:13]they took branches of palm trees
and went out to meet Him, and shouted:

"Hosanna!{ah} 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!' The King of
Israel!" [12:14]Then Jesus, finding a young donkey, sat on it, as it is
written:  [12:15]"Don't be afraid, Daughter of Zion; look, your king is
coming, sitting on a donkey's colt."{ai} [12:16]His disciples didn't
understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they
remembered that these things were written about Him and that they had done
these things to Him. [12:17]So the crowd that had been with Him when He
called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to
testify. [12:18]The crowd also met Him because they heard that He had done
this sign. [12:19]Then the Pharisees said among themselves, "You see that you
are accomplishing nothing. Look, the whole world has gone after Him!"

[12:20]Now there were certain Greeks among those who came up to worship at
the feast. [12:21]Then they came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of
Galilee, and told him, "Sir, we would like to see Jesus." [12:22]Philip came
and told Andrew, then Andrew and Philip came and told Jesus.

[12:23]Jesus answered them, saying, "The time has come for the Son of Man to
be glorified. [12:24]Most assuredly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat
falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone, but if it dies, it produces
many grains. [12:25]Anyone who loves their life will lose it, and anyone who
hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. [12:26]If
anyone serves me, let them follow me; and where I am, there my servant will
be also. If anyone serves me, my Father will honor them.

[12:27] "Now my soul has become troubled; and what will I say? 'Father, save
me from this time'? No, for this purpose I came to this time.  [12:28]Father,
glorify Your name."

Then a voice came from Heaven, saying, "I have both glorified it and will
glorify it again."

[12:29]Therefore the people who stood by and heard it said that it had
thundered. Others said, "An angel has spoken to Him."

[12:30]Jesus answered, "This voice hasn't come for my sake, but for your
sakes. [12:31]Now judgment is upon this world. Now the ruler of this world
will be cast out. [12:32]And I, if I am lifted up from the Earth, will draw
everyone to myself." [12:33]He was saying this to indicate the kind of death
He was about to die.

[12:34]Therefore the crowd answered Him, "We have heard from the Law that the
Christ is to remain forever, so how can You say, 'The Son of Man must be
lifted up'? Who is this Son of Man?"

[12:35]Jesus told them, "The light is with you for a little longer. Walk
while you have the light, so that the darkness may not overtake you. If you
walk in the darkness, you don't know where you are going. [12:36]Believe in
the light while you have the light, so that you may become children of
light." After Jesus had said this, he departed and hid from them.

[12:37]Although He had performed so many signs in front of them, they still
didn't believe in Him, [12:38]so that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be
fulfilled, which he spoke:

"Lord, who has believed our report?
And who has the arm of the LORD been revealed to?"{aj}

[12:39]Therefore they couldn't believe, because Isaiah said again:

[12:40]"He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts,
lest they see with their eyes,
and understand with their hearts and turn --
and I would heal them."{ak}

[12:41]Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus' glory and spoke about Him. 
[12:42]Nevertheless, even many of the rulers believed in Him, but because of
the Pharisees they weren't confessing Him, for fear that they might be put
out of the synagogue; [12:43]because they sincerely loved men's approval more
than God's approval.  [12:44]Jesus cried out and said, "Whoever believes in
me doesn't just believe in me, but in Him who sent me. [12:45]Whoever sees me
sees Him who sent me. [12:46]I have come into the world as light, that
everyone who believes in me should not stay in darkness. [12:47]If anyone
hears the words I speak, and doesn't keep them, I don't judge them; because I
didn't come to judge the world, but to save the world. [12:48]Whoever rejects
me, and doesn't receive my sayings, has one who judges them. The words that I
spoke are what will judge him at the last day.  [12:49]For I haven't spoken
on my own initiative, but the Father Himself who sent me has given me
commandment, what to say, and what to speak. [12:50]I know that His
commandment is eternal life, so the things I speak, I speak just as the
Father has told me."

[13:1]Before the Feast of the Passover, Jesus knew that His time had come
that He should depart out of this world to the Father. Having sincerely loved
His own who were in the world, He sincerely loved them to the end.

[13:2]Supper was finished, and the Devil had already put it into the heart of
Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray Jesus. [13:3]Jesus, knowing that the
Father had given everything into His hands, and that He had come from God and
was going to God, [13:4]got up from supper, laid aside His outer garment, and
wrapped a towel around His waist. [13:5]Then He poured water into a basin and
began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel that was
wrapped around Him.

[13:6]Then He came to Simon Peter, and Peter asked Him, "Lord, are You
washing my feet?"

[13:7]Jesus answered, "You don't understand what I am doing now, but you will
know after this."

[13:8]Peter told Him, "You will never wash my feet!"

Jesus answered, "If I don't wash you, you have no part with me."

[13:9]Simon Peter said to Him, "Lord, not just my feet, but also my hands and
my head!"

[13:10]Jesus said to him, "Someone who has bathed only needs to wash their
feet, but is completely clean; and most of you are clean, but not all of
you." [13:11]For He knew who would betray Him, therefore He said, "You aren't
all clean."

[13:12]When He had washed their feet, He put on His outer garment and sat
down again. He asked them, "Do you know what I have done to you?  [13:13]You
call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right in saying so, for so I am.
[13:14]If I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to
wash one another's feet. [13:15]I have given you an example, that you should
also do as I have done to you. [13:16]Most assuredly, I tell you, a servant
isn't greater than his master, nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent
him. [13:17]If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.
[13:18]I'm not talking about all of you. I know who I have chosen; but this
is to fulfill the Scripture, 'He who eats bread with me has lifted up his
heel against me.'{al} [13:19]Now I tell you before it happens, that when it
does happen, you may believe that I AM.{am} [13:20]Most assuredly, I tell
you, whoever receives anyone I send receives me; and he who receives me
receives Him who sent me."

[13:21]When Jesus had said these things, He was troubled in spirit, and
testified and said, "Most assuredly, I tell you, one of you will betray me."

[13:22]The disciples began looking at one another, perplexed about which one
of them He was talking about. [13:23]One of Jesus' disciples, who Jesus
sincerely loved, was leaning against His breast. [13:24]Simon Peter therefore
nodded to him to ask who He spoke about. [13:25]Then, leaning back on Jesus'
breast, he asked Him, "Lord, who is it?"

[13:26]Jesus answered, "It is he who I will give a morsel to when I have
dipped it." Having dipped the morsel, He gave it to Judas Iscariot, Simon's
son. [13:27]After the morsel, Satan{an} entered into him. Jesus therefore
told him, "What you do, do quickly." [13:28]None of those reclining at the
table knew why He had said this to him. [13:29]Some were supposing, because
Judas had the money box, that Jesus was saying to him, "Buy the things we
need for the feast"; or else, that he should give something to the poor.
[13:30]Having received the morsel, he went out immediately. It was night.

[13:31]When he had gone out, Jesus said, "Now the Son of Man is glorified,
and God is glorified in Him. [13:32]If God is glorified in Him, God will also
glorify Him in Himself, and will glorify Him immediately.  [13:33]Little
children, I am with you a little while longer. You will look for me, and as I
told the Jews, I now tell you, also, 'Where I am going, you can't come.'{ao}
[13:34]I give to you a new commandment, that you sincerely love one another,
even as I have sincerely loved you, so you should also sincerely love one
another. [13:35]By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you
have sincere love for one another."

[13:36]Simon Peter asked Him, "Lord, where are You going?"

Jesus answered, "Where I go, you aren't able to follow me now, but you will
follow later."

[13:37]Peter asked Him, "Lord, why can't I follow You right now? I will lay
down my life for You."

[13:38]Jesus answered, "Will you lay down your life for my sake? Most
assuredly, I tell you, the rooster won't crow until you have denied me three
times.

[14:1]"Don't let your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in
me. [14:2]In my Father's house are many mansions. If it weren't so, I would
have told you. I go to prepare a place for you, [14:3]and if I go and prepare
a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself; that where I
am, there you may also be. [14:4]You know where I go, and you know the way."

[14:5]Thomas asked Him, "Lord, we don't know where You are going, so how can
we know the way?"

[14:6]Jesus told him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to
the Father except through me. [14:7]If you had known me, you would have known
my Father too. From now on you know Him and have seen Him."

[14:8]Philip said to Him, "Lord, show us the Father, and that would be enough
for us."

[14:9]Jesus answered, "Have I been with you so long, and yet you haven't
known me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father, so how can you
say, 'Show us the Father'? [14:10]Don't you believe that I am in the Father,
and the Father in me? The words that I speak to you aren't my own, but from
the Father who lives in me. He does the works. [14:11]Believe me when I say
that I am in the Father and the Father in me, or else believe me for the sake
of the works themselves.

[14:12]"Most assuredly, I tell you, whoever believes in me will also do the
works that I do, and even greater works than these, because I am going to my
Father. [14:13]I will do whatever you ask in my name, that the Father may be
glorified in the Son. [14:14]If you ask anything in my name, I will do it.
[14:15]If you sincerely love me, you will keep my commandments.  [14:16]I
will then ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor,{ap} that He
may be with you forever -- [14:17]the Spirit of truth, whom the world can't
receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. You know Him, though,
because He lives with you and will be in you.  [14:18]I won't leave you
orphans. I will come to you. [14:19]After a little while the world won't see
me, but you will see me. Because I live, you will also live. [14:20]In that
day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.
[14:21]Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, sincerely loves me.
Whoever sincerely loves me will be sincerely loved by my Father, and I'll
sincerely love them and reveal myself to them."

[14:22]Judas (not Iscariot) asked Him, "Lord, how is it that You will reveal
Yourself to us, and not to the world?"

[14:23]Jesus answered him, "If anyone sincerely loves me, that person will
keep my words; and my Father will sincerely love that person, and we will
come and make our home with that person. [14:24]Whoever doesn't sincerely
love me doesn't keep my words. The word which you hear isn't mine, but the
Father's who sent me.

[14:25]"I've told you these things while living with you, [14:26]but the
Counselor, the Holy Spirit, who the Father will send in my name, will teach
you everything, and bring to your remembrance all that I told you. [14:27]I
leave peace with you. I give you my peace. I don't give to you as the world
gives. Don't let your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
[14:28]You have heard me tell you, 'I am going away and coming back to you.'
If you sincerely loved me, you would rejoice because I said, 'I am going to
the Father,' for my Father is greater than I. [14:29]Now I have told you
before it happens, that when it does happen, you may believe. [14:30]I won't
talk much longer with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no
power over me, [14:31]but the world must learn that I sincerely love the
Father and that I do exactly what my Father has commanded me.

"Come on. Let's go.

[15:1]"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. [15:2]He takes away
every branch in me that doesn't bear fruit, and He prunes every branch that
bears fruit, so that it may bear more fruit. [15:3]You are already pruned
clean because of the words which I have spoken to you. [15:4]Live in me, as I
live in you. As the branch can't bear fruit of itself, unless it lives in the
vine, so neither can you, unless you live in me. [15:5]I am the vine, and you
are the branches. Whoever lives in me, and I in them, bears much fruit; for
apart from me you can do nothing. [15:6]Anyone who doesn't live in me is
thrown away as a branch, and dries up. The dried up branches are gathered up,
thrown into the fire, and burned. [15:7]If you live in me, and my words live
in you, ask whatever you want, and it will be done for you. [15:8]My Father
is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, so you will prove to be my
disciples.

[15:9]"Just as the Father has sincerely loved me, I have also sincerely loved
you. Continue to live in my sincere love. [15:10]If you keep my commandments,
you will continue to live in my sincere love; just as I have kept my Father's
commandments, and continue to live in His sincere love.  [15:11]I have told
you these things, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made
full. [15:12]This is my commandment, that you sincerely love one another,
just as I have sincerely loved you. [15:13]No one has greater sincere love
than this, than to lay down one's life for one's friends. [15:14]You are my
friends if you do whatever I command you.  [15:15]I don't call you servants
any longer, because a servant doesn't know what the master is doing; but I
have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I
have heard from my Father. [15:16]You didn't choose me, but I chose you and
appointed you, so that you should go and bear fruit, and so that your fruit
should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in my name He may give you.
[15:17]I command you this, that you sincerely love one another.

[15:18]"If the world hates you, know that it hated me before it hated you.
[15:19]If you belonged to the world, the world would love its own. Because
you aren't the world's, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world
hates you. [15:20]Remember that I told you, 'A servant isn't greater than his
master.' If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they obeyed
my teaching, they will also obey yours. [15:21]The world will do all these
things to you, however, for My name's sake, because they don't know Him who
sent me. [15:22]If I hadn't come and spoken to them, they would have no sin,
but now they have no excuse for their sin. [15:23]Whoever hates me also hates
my Father. [15:24]If I hadn't done the works which no one else did among
them, they would have no sin; but now they have seen and also hated both me
and my Father. [15:25]This was to fulfill the word that is written in their
Law, 'They hated me without a cause.'{aq} [15:26]When the Counselor comes,
who I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of Truth who proceeds from
the Father, He will testify of me. [15:27]You will also testify, because you
have been with me from the beginning.

[16:1]"I have told you these things so that you may be kept from stumbling.
[16:2]They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, the time is coming
that whoever kills you will think that they are serving God. [16:3]They will
do these things to you because they haven't known the Father nor me.  [16:4]I
have told you these things, so that when the time comes, you may remember
that I told you about them. I didn't tell you these things at the beginning,
because I was with you.

[16:5]"Now I am going to Him who sent me, yet none of you asks me, 'Where are
you going?' [16:6]Instead, because I have told you these things, sorrow has
filled your heart. [16:7]Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it's to your
advantage that I go away; because if I don't go away, the Counselor won't
come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. [16:8]When He has come, He
will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:
[16:9]of sin, because they don't believe in me; [16:10]of righteousness,
because I go to my Father and you see me no more; [16:11]and of judgment,
because the ruler of this world is judged.

[16:12]I still have many things to tell you, but you can't bear them now.
[16:13]However, when the Spirit of truth has come, He will guide you into all
truth. He won't speak on His own, but whatever He hears He will speak. He
will announce things to come. [16:14]He will glorify me, because He will take
from what is mine and reveal it to you. [16:15]Everything that the Father has
is mine. That is why I said that He will take from what is mine and reveal it
to you.

[16:16]"In a little while, you won't see me; and in a little while longer,
you will see me again, because I go to the Father."

[16:17]Then some of Jesus' disciples said among themselves, "What does He
mean by, 'In a little while, and you won't see me; and in a little while
longer, you will see me, again;' and, 'because I go to the Father'?"
[16:18]They kept asking, "What does He mean by 'a little while'? We don't
understand what He is saying."

[16:19]Now Jesus knew that they wanted to ask Him, and He said to them, "Are
you asking yourselves about what I said, 'In a little while, and you won't
see me; and in a little while longer, you will see me, again'? [16:20]Most
assuredly, I tell you that you will weep and mourn, but the world will
rejoice. You will be sad, but your sadness will be turned into joy.  [16:21]A
woman in labor is in pain because her time has come; but as soon as she has
given birth to the baby, she forgets the agony, for joy that a child has been
born into the world. [16:22]Therefore you have sorrow now, too, but I will
see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and nobody will take your joy
away from you.

[16:23]"In that day you will ask me nothing. Most assuredly, I tell you,
whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you. [16:24]Until now you
have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may
be full.

[16:25]"I've told you these things in figures of speech, but the time is
coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures of speech, but I will
tell you plainly about the Father. [16:26]In that day you will ask in my
name. I don't tell you that I'll ask the Father for you, [16:27]because the
Father Himself loves you, because you have loved me, and have believed that I
came forth from God. [16:28]I came forth from the Father and have come into
the world. Again, I am leaving the world and going to the Father."

[16:29]His disciples said to Him, "See, now You are speaking plainly, and not
in figures of speech! [16:30]Now we are sure that You know everything, and
don't need anyone to question You. By this we believe that You came forth
from God."

[16:31]Jesus answered them, "Do you now believe? [16:32]The time is coming,
and indeed, has now come, that you will be scattered, each to his own home,
and you will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, because the Father is
with me. [16:33]I have told you these things so that you may have peace in
me. You will have trouble in the world, but cheer up! I have overcome the
world."

[17:1]After Jesus said these things, He looked toward Heaven, and said:
"Father, the time has come. Glorify Your Son, so that Your Son may also
glorify You, [17:2]as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He
should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him. [17:3]This is
eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ who
You have sent. [17:4]I have glorified You on the Earth. I have finished the
work which You have given me to do. [17:5]Now, O Father, glorify me together
with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world existed.

[17:6]"I have revealed Your name to the people You've given me out of the
world. They were Yours. You gave them to me, and they have kept Your word.
[17:7]Now they know that everything You've given me comes from You, [17:8]for
I have spoken to them the words You've given me. They have received Your
words, and have come to know for certain that I came forth from You. They
have believed that You sent me. [17:9]It is for them I pray. I'm not praying
for the world, but for those who You've given me, because they belong to You.
[17:10]All of mine are Yours, and Yours are mine. I am glorified in them.
[17:11]Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world. I am
coming to You. Holy Father, keep through Your name those who You've given me,
that they may be one just as we are one. [17:12] I kept them in Your name
while I was with them in the world. I have kept the people You gave me; and
none of them is lost except the son of perdition, so that the Scripture might
be fulfilled.{ar} [17:13]Now I am coming to You, and I speak these things in
the world, so that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. [17:14]I
have given them Your word. The world has hated them because they don't belong
to the world, just as I don't belong to the world.  [17:15]I don't pray that
You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the
evil one. [17:16]They don't belong to the world, just as I don't belong to
the world. [17:17]Sanctify them by Your truth.  Your word is truth. [17:18]As
You sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. [17:19]I
sanctify myself for their sakes, so that they may also be sanctified by the
truth.

[17:20]"I don't pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in
me through their message, [17:21]that they all may be one, as You, Father,
are in me, and I in You. I pray that they also may be one in Us, so that the
world may believe that You sent me. [17:22]I have given them the glory which
You gave me, that they may be one just as we are one: [17:23]I in them and
You in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that
You sent me and have sincerely loved them even as You have sincerely loved
me. [17:24]Father, I desire that those You gave me may also be with me where
I am, that they may see my glory which You've given me; because You sincerely
loved me before the foundation of the world. [17:25]O righteous Father! The
world hasn't known You, but I have always known You, and these have come to
know that You sent me. [17:26]I have declared to them Your name, and will
continue to declare it, so that the sincere love with which You sincerely
loved me may be in them, and I may be in them."

[18:1]When Jesus had said these things, He went with His disciples across the
Kidron ravine, where there was a garden, into which He and His disciples
entered. [18:2]Now Judas, who was betraying Him, also knew the place, because
Jesus had often met there with His disciples. [18:3]Then Judas, leading a
detachment{as} of soldiers and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees,
came there with lanterns, torches, and weapons.  [18:4]Therefore Jesus,
knowing everything that would happen to Him, went forward and asked them,
"Who are you looking for?"

[18:5]They answered, "Jesus of Nazareth."

Jesus told them, "I AM." Judas, who betrayed Him, also stood with them.
[18:6]Now when He told them, "I AM," they drew back and fell to the ground.
[18:7]Then He asked them again, "Who are you looking for?"

They said, "Jesus of Nazareth."

[18:8]Jesus answered, "I told you that I AM. So, if you are looking for me,
let these go their way," [18:9]that the saying might be fulfilled which He
spoke, "I have lost none of those who You gave me."

[18:10]Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest's
servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant's name was Malchus. [18:11]So
Jesus told Peter, "Put your sword into its sheath! Shouldn't I drink the cup
that my Father has given me?"

[18:12]Then the detachment of soldiers and their commander and the officers
of the Jews arrested Jesus and tied Him up. [18:13]They led Him away to Annas
first, because he was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that
year. [18:14]It was Caiaphas who advised the Jews that it was expedient that
one man should die for the people.

[18:15]Simon Peter was following Jesus, and so was another disciple. Since
the high priest knew that disciple, he entered with Jesus into the high
priest's court, [18:16]but Peter was standing just outside the door. So the
other disciple, who the high priest knew, went out and spoke to the woman who
guarded the door, and brought Peter in.

[18:17]Then the maidservant who kept the door asked Peter, "You aren't one of
this man's disciples, too, are you?"

He said, "I am not."

[18:18]Because it was cold, the servants and the officers were standing there
warming themselves, having made a charcoal fire. Peter was also with them,
standing and warming himself.

[18:19]Then the high priest asked Jesus about His disciples and His doctrine.
[18:20]Jesus answered him, "I have spoken openly to the world. I always
taught in synagogues, and in the temple, where all the Jews come together. I
said nothing in secret. [18:21]Why do you ask me? Ask those who have heard me
to tell you what I told them. They certainly know what I said."

[18:22]When He had said these things, one of the officers who stood by hit
Jesus with the palm of his hand, saying, "Is that how you answer the high
priest?"

[18:23]Jesus answered him, "If I have spoken evil, testify about the evil,
but if I have spoken honestly, why do you hit me?" [18:24]Then Annas sent
Him, still bound, to Caiaphas, the high priest.

[18:25]Now Simon Peter stood and warmed himself. Therefore they asked him,
"You aren't one of His disciples, too, are you?"

He denied it, saying, "I am not!"

[18:26]One of the servants of the high priest, a relative of the man whose
ear Peter cut off, said, "Didn't I see you in the garden with Him?"

[18:27]Peter then denied it again, and immediately a rooster crowed.

[18:28]Then they led Jesus from Caiaphas to the Praetorium.{at} It was early
morning. They themselves didn't go into the Praetorium, so that they wouldn't
be defiled, and so that they might eat the Passover supper. [18:29]So Pilate
came out to them and asked, "What charges do you bring against this man?"
[18:30]They answered, "If this man wasn't a criminal, we wouldn't have handed
him over to you."

[18:31]Then Pilate told them, "You take Him and judge Him according to your
Law." Therefore the Jews said to him, "It's illegal for us to put anyone to
death." [18:32]This happened so that the words would be fulfilled which Jesus
had spoken indicating the kind of death he was going to die.

[18:33]Then Pilate went back into the Praetorium, summoned Jesus, and asked
Him, "Are You the King of the Jews?"

[18:34]Jesus answered, "Are you speaking for yourself about this, or did
others tell you this about me?"

[18:35]Pilate answered, "I'm not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief
priests have delivered You to me. What have You done?"

[18:36]Jesus answered, "My kingdom doesn't belong to this world. If my
kingdom did belong to this world, then my servants would be fighting to keep
me from being delivered up to the Jews; but as it is, my kingdom isn't from
here."

[18:37]Pilate therefore asked Him, "So You are a king?"

Jesus answered, "You are right in saying that I am a king. For this I have
been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify about the
truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice."

[18:38]"What is truth?" Pilate asked. After asking this, he went out again to
the Jews and said, "I find no basis for a charge against Him, [18:39]but you
have a custom that I should release someone to you at the Passover. Therefore
you decide: do you want me to release the King of the Jews to you?"

[18:40]Then they all shouted back, saying, "Not this man, but Barabbas!" Now
Barabbas was a robber.

[19:1]Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. [19:2]The soldiers twisted
thorns into a crown and put it on His head, and they put a purple robe on
Him. [19:3]They kept coming up to Him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!" and
slapping Him on the face.

[19:4]Pilate then went out again, and told the Jews, "Look, I'm bringing Him
out to you, that you may know that I find no basis for a charge against Him."
[19:5]Then Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe,
and Pilate said to them, "Look! Here is the man!" [19:6]When the chief
priests and officers saw Him, they shouted "Crucify Him! Crucify Him!" Pilate
told them, "You take Him and crucify Him, because I find no basis for a
charge against Him."

[19:7]The Jews answered him, "We have a law, and according to our law He
ought to die, because He claimed to be God's Son."

[19:8]When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid, [19:9]and went back
into the Praetorium, and asked Jesus, "Where are You from?" But Jesus didn't
answer him. [19:10]Pilate therefore asked him, "Do you refuse to speak to me?
Don't you know that I have authority to release you, and authority to crucify
you?"

[19:11]Jesus answered, "You would have no authority at all against me unless
it had been given you from above. Therefore the one who delivered me to you
has the greater sin."

[19:12]From then on, Pilate tried to release Him, but the Jews shouted, "If
you let this man go, you aren't Caesar's friend. Whoever makes himself a king
speaks against Caesar."

[19:13]Therefore when Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out, and sat
down on the judgment seat at a place called "The Pavement," but in Hebrew,
"Gabbatha." [19:14]Now it was the day of preparation for the Passover. It was
about the sixth hour.{au} Pilate told the Jews, "Look! Here is your King!"

[19:15]They therefore shouted, "Away with Him! Away with Him! Crucify Him!"

Pilate asked them, "Shall I crucify your King?"

The chief priests answered, "We have no king but Caesar!"

[19:16]Then Pilate delivered Jesus to them to be crucified. So they took
Jesus and led Him away. [19:17]And He, bearing His cross, went out to a place
called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha.
[19:18]There they crucified Him, and two others with Him, one on either side,
with Jesus in the center. [19:19]Now Pilate wrote a notice, and put it on the
cross. The notice said:


"JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS."


[19:20]Then many of the Jews read this notice, because the place where Jesus
was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Hebrew, Greek, and
Latin. [19:21]Therefore the chief priests of the Jews told Pilate, "Don't
write, 'The King of the Jews,' but, 'He said, "I am the King of the Jews."'"

[19:22]Pilate answered, "What I have written, I have written."

[19:23]When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they split His garments into
four parts, to each soldier a part, including the tunic. Now the tunic was
without seam, woven from the top in one piece. [19:24]Therefore they said to
one another, "Let's not tear it, but cast lots to see whose it will be," that
the Scripture might be fulfilled which says:

"They divided my garments among them,
And for my clothing they cast lots."{av}

So the soldiers did these things.  [19:25]Now Jesus' mother, His mother's
sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene stood by Jesus' cross.
[19:26]Therefore when Jesus saw His mother, and the disciple who He sincerely
loved standing by, He told His mother, "Woman, here is your son!" [19:27]Then
He told the disciple, "Here is your mother!" From that hour, that disciple
took her into his own home.

[19:28]After this, Jesus, knowing that everything was now accomplished, so
that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, "I'm thirsty!" [19:29]A jar full
of vinegar{aw} was standing there, so they put a sponge full of the vinegar
on a hyssop stalk, and lifted it up to His mouth. [19:30]When Jesus had
received the vinegar, He said, "It is finished!" Then, He bowed His head, and
gave up His spirit.

[19:31]Because it was the Preparation Day,{ax} the Jews asked Pilate for the
prisoners' legs to be broken, and that they might be taken away, so that the
bodies wouldn't stay on the cross on the Sabbath (because that Sabbath was a
special one). [19:32]Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first
man and of the other man who was crucified with Jesus, [19:33]but when they
came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they didn't break His legs.
[19:34]Instead, one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and
immediately blood and water came out. [19:35]He who saw it has testified, and
his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you
may believe. [19:36]These things were done so that the Scripture should be
fulfilled, "Not one of His bones shall be broken."{ay} [19:37]Another
Scripture says, "They will look on Him who they pierced."{az} [19:38]After
this, Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly, for fear
of the Jews, asked Pilate if he could take the body of Jesus away; and Pilate
gave him permission. So he came and took the body of Jesus. [19:39]Nicodemus,
who at first came to Jesus by night, also came, bringing about a hundred
Roman pounds{ba} of a mixture of myrrh{bb} and aloes.{bc} [19:40]So they took
the body of Jesus, and wrapped it in strips of linen with the spices, as is
the burial custom of the Jews. [19:41]In the place where He was crucified,
there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had yet
been laid. [19:42]Because of the Jewish Preparation Day, and because the tomb
was nearby, they laid Jesus there.

[20:1]On the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early,
while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the
tomb. [20:2]Then she ran and came to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple,
who Jesus loved, and told them, "They've taken the Lord away, out of the
tomb, and we don't know where they've laid Him!" [20:3]Then Peter and the
other disciple went out, and were going to the tomb. [20:4]They both ran
together, and the other disciple outran Peter and came to the tomb first.
[20:5]Stooping down and looking in, He saw the strips of linen lying there,
but he didn't go in. [20:6]Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went
into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, [20:7]and the
handkerchief that had been around His head, not lying with the strips of
linen, but folded together in a place by itself. [20:8]Then the other
disciple, who came to the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed.
[20:9]For they still didn't know the Scripture, that Jesus must rise again
from the dead.

[20:10]Then the disciples went back to their own homes, [20:11]but Mary stood
outside by the tomb, weeping. As she wept, she stooped down and looked into
the tomb. [20:12]She saw two angels in white sitting where the body of Jesus
had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. [20:13]Then they
asked her, "Woman, why are you weeping?"

She answered them, "Because they have taken away my Lord, and I don't know
where they have laid Him."

[20:14]Now when she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing
there, but she didn't know that it was Jesus.

[20:15]Jesus asked her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Who are you looking
for?"

She, supposing Him to be the gardener, said to Him, "Sir, if You have carried
Him away, tell me where You've laid Him, and I will take Him away."

[20:16]Jesus said to her, "Mary!"

She turned and said to him, "Rhabbouni!"{bd} (which means Teacher).
[20:17]Jesus said to her, "Don't touch me, because I haven't yet ascended to
my Father; but go to my brothers and tell them, 'I am ascending to my Father
and your Father, and to my God and your God.'"

[20:18]Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord,
and that He had told her these things.

[20:19]Then, that same first day of the week, at evening, although the doors
were locked where the disciples were assembled (for fear of the Jews), Jesus
came and stood in their midst. He said to them, "Peace be with you."
[20:20]When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the
disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.

[20:21]So Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you! As the Father has
sent me, so I send you." [20:22]When he had said this, he breathed on them
and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. [20:23]If you forgive the sins of
any, they are forgiven them. If you retain the sins of any, they are
retained."

[20:24]Now Thomas, called the Twin,{be} one of the twelve, wasn't with them
when Jesus came. [20:25]Therefore the other disciples were telling him, "We
have seen the Lord!" But he told them, "Unless I see the imprint of the nails
in His hands, put my finger into the nail prints, and put my hand into His
side, I won't believe." [20:26]After eight days, His disciples were again
inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors having been locked, and
stood in their midst, and said, "Peace be with you." [20:27]Then He told
Thomas, "Put your finger here, and see my hands. Reach your hand here, and
put it into my side. Don't be doubting, but believing."

[20:28]Thomas answered Him, "My Lord and my God!"

[20:29]Jesus told him, "Thomas, you have believed because you have seen me.
Blessed are those who haven't seen, and yet have believed."

[20:30]Truly, Jesus also performed many other signs in the presence of the
disciples, which aren't written in this book, [20:31]but these have been
written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, God's Son; and so
that believing you may have life in His name.

[21:1]After these things, Jesus showed Himself to the disciples again, at the
Sea of Tiberias. He showed Himself in the following way. [21:2]Simon Peter,
Thomas called the Twin,{bf} Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of
Zebedee, and two others of His disciples were together. [21:3]Simon Peter
told them, "I'm going fishing." They said to him, "We'll go with you, too."
They went out immediately and got into the boat, and that night they caught
nothing.  [21:4]Now when the morning had come, Jesus stood on the shore, but
the disciples didn't know that it was Jesus. [21:5]Therefore Jesus asked
them, "Children, you don't have any fish, do you?"

"No," they answered Him.

[21:6]He told them, "Cast the net on the right-hand side of the boat, and
you'll find some." So, they cast the net, and then they were unable to haul
it in because of the great number of fish. [21:7]Therefore that disciple who
Jesus sincerely loved told Peter, "It's the Lord!" So when Simon Peter heard
that it was the Lord, he put his outer garment on (for he had taken it off),
and threw himself into the sea. [21:8]The other disciples came in the little
boat, for they weren't far from land, but about two hundred cubits{bg} away,
dragging the net full of fish. [21:9]So when they came ashore, they saw a
charcoal fire already burning, with fish and bread placed on it.

[21:10]Jesus told them, "Bring some of the fish that you just caught."
[21:11]Simon Peter went up and dragged the net to land, full of one hundred
fifty-three large fish. Although there were so many, the net wasn't torn.
[21:12]Jesus said to them, "Come and eat breakfast." Yet none of the
disciples dared ask Him, "Who are You?" They knew that it was the Lord.
[21:13]Jesus then came and took the bread and gave it to them, and likewise
the fish. [21:14]This is now the third time that Jesus showed Himself to His
disciples after He was raised from the dead.

[21:15]When they had eaten breakfast, Jesus asked Simon Peter, "Simon, son of
Jonah, do you sincerely love me more than these?"

He answered, "Yes, Lord. You know that I love You."

"Feed my lambs," Jesus replied. [21:16]He asked him a second time, "Simon,
son of Jonah, do you sincerely love me?"

He answered, "Yes, Lord. You know that I love You."

"Shepherd my sheep," He replied. [21:17]He asked the third time, "Simon, son
of Jonah, do you love me?"

Peter was grieved because He asked him the third time, "Do you love me?" He
answered, "Lord, You know everything. You know that I love You."

"Feed My sheep," Jesus replied. [21:18]"Most assuredly, I tell you, when you
were younger, you dressed yourself and walked where you wanted to; but when
you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and
carry you where you don't want to go." [21:19]He said this to indicate what
kind of death he would glorify God with. When He had said this, He told
Peter, "Follow me!"

[21:20]Then Peter, turning around, saw a disciple following. This was the
disciple who Jesus sincerely loved, the one who had also leaned on Jesus'
breast at the supper and asked, "Lord, who is going to betray You?"
[21:21]Peter therefore, seeing him, asked Jesus, "Lord, what about this man?"

[21:22]Jesus answered, "If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to
you? You follow me!" [21:23]Because of this answer, the rumor spread among
the brothers that this disciple wouldn't die, but Jesus didn't tell him that
he wouldn't die, but only, "If I want him to remain until I come, what is
that to you?"

[21:24]This is the disciple who testifies about these things, and who wrote
these things. We know that his testimony is true. [21:25]There are also many
other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose
that even the world itself couldn't contain the books that would be written.
Amen.



{a}1:1  The Greek word translated "word" (Logos) means more than just a
collection of a few letters. It means an entire message and the thought
behind it.

{b}1:5  The Greek word translated "overcome" (katelaben) also means overcome,
comprehend, and overtake (to grasp and defeat an enemy or to grasp and
understand an idea).

{c}1:19  Levites are descendants of Levi, who were commissioned to help the
priests in their duties. (Numbers 18:23; Deuteronomy 18:1).

{d}1:23  Isaiah 40:3

{e}1:24  Pharisees were one of two main religious parties at this time, the
other being the Sadducees.  The Pharisees emphasized strict compliance with
the Jewish Law and the traditions of the elders. Acts 23:8.

{f}1:39  The tenth hour since sunrise, or about 4:00 p.m.

{g}1:41  "Messiah" (Hebrew) and "Christ" (Greek) both mean "Anointed One."

{h}1:42  "Cephas" (Aramaic) and "Peter" (Greek) both mean "Rock."

{i}1:49  Rabbi is Hebrew for "teacher."

{j}2:6  Two to three metretes equals about 20 to 30 U. S. gallons, 16 to 25
imperial gallons, or 75 to 115 liters.

{k}2:13  The Passover Feast is also called the Feast of Unleavened Bread.
Exodus 12:1-28; Numbers 9:1-14

{l}2:17  Psalm 69:9

{m}3:8  Greek uses the same word for both "wind" and "spirit" (pneuma).

{n}3:14  Numbers 21:4-9

{o} 3:16  The Greek word for the strongest kind of love, agape (pronounced
ah-gah-pay), is translated "sincere love" throughout this book.

{p}4:6  The sixth hour from sunrise, or about noon.

{q}4:52  The seventh hour from sunrise, or about 1:00 p.m.

{r}5:9  The Sabbath day is the seventh day of the week, which was set aside
by God for rest. Genesis 2:2-3; Exodus 20:8-11.

{s}6:7  One denarius was the usual wage for one day of labor.

{t}6:19  25 to 30 stadia equals about 3 to 4 miles or about 5 to 6
kilometers.

{u}6:31  Exodus 16:4; Nehemiah 9:15; Psalm 78:24-25

{v}6:45  Isaiah 54:13

{w}6:59  A synagogue is a Jewish congregation. "Synagogue" also refers to the
place where they gather to worship God.

{x}6:70  Literally, a devil (diabolos) -- one prone to slander, and accusing
falsely.

{y}7:2  Called Sukkot in Hebrew. Also called the Feast of Booths or the Feast
of Ingathering. Exodus 23:16, 34:22; Leviticus 23:39-43; Numbers 29:12-38

{z}8:44  The meaning of the word "Devil" (Greek diabolou) is "one prone to
slander, a false accuser."

{aa}8:58  Exodus 3:14

{ab}10:22  Chanukkah -- celebration of recovery and cleansing of the Temple by
Judas Maccabeaus in 164 BC.

{ac}10:34  Psalm 82:6

{ad}11:16  Greek: Didymus

{ae}11:18  15 stadia is about 1.7 miles or about 2.8 kilometers.

{af}12:3  Nard, also called spikenard, is an East Indian plant with pleasantly
scented roots.

{ag}12:5  300 denarii was about a year's wages for a laborer.

{ah}12:13  "Hosanna" is derived from a Hebrew word for "Save us" and is used
as an expression of praise. Psalm 118:25-26.

{ai}12:15  Zechariah 9:9

{aj}12:38  Isaiah 53:1

{ak}12:40  Isaiah 6:10

{al}13:18  Psalm 41:9

{am}13:19  Exodus 3:14

{an}13:27  "Satan" means "Adversary" or "Accuser."

{ao}13:33  John 7:34

{ap}14:16  The Greek word for Counselor (Paraklete) also means Comforter,
Helper, Advocate, Intercessor, and Strengthener.

{aq}15:25  Psalms 35:19; Psalms 69:4

{ar}17:12  Psalms 41:9; John 6:70-71

{as}18:3  The Greek word used here indicates a unit size that normally
consisted of about 600 Roman soldiers.

{at}18:28  The Praetorium was the Roman Governor's official residence.

{au}19:14  The sixth hour since sunrise, about noon.

{av}19:24  Psalm 22:18

{aw}19:29  A sour wine.

{ax}19:31  The Preparation Day is the day before the Sabbath. Preparations
for meals and activities are made in advance so that no work has to be done
on the Sabbath.

{ay}19:36  Exodus 12:46; Numbers 9:12; Psalm 34:19-20

{az}19:37  Zechariah 12:10

{ba}19:39  100 Roman pounds equals about 72 pounds weight or about 33
Kilograms. A Roman pound is 12 ounces.

{bb}19:39  Myrrh is an aromatic resin formed from the gum that drips from the
stems and branches of a low, shrubby tree (Commiphora myrhha and closely
related trees) native to Arabian deserts and parts of Africa.

{bc}19:39  Aloes probably refers to an aromatic derivative from eaglewood
(Aquilaria agallochum) trees found today in Malaya, East Bengal, and China.

{bd}20:16  Rhabbouni is a Greek spelling for the Hebrew word which means "my
great one" and "teacher."

{be}20:24  Greek: Didymus

{bf}21:2  Greek: Didymus

{bg}21:8  200 cubits equals about 100 yards or about 91 meters

