Jesus Cures a Man at the Bethesda Pool

5 Later, Jesus went to Jerusalem for a Jewish festival.

² Near Sheep Gate in Jerusalem was a pool called Bethesda in Hebrew. It had five porches. ³ Under these porches a large number of sick people—people who were blind, lame, or paralyzed—used to lie.^{[a] 5} One man, who had been sick for 38 years, was lying there. ⁶ Jesus saw the man lying there and knew that he had been sick for a long time. So Jesus asked the man, “Would you like to get well?”

⁷ The sick man answered Jesus, “Sir, I don’t have anyone to put me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I’m trying to get there, someone else steps into the pool ahead of me.”

⁸ Jesus told the man, “Get up, pick up your cot, and walk.” ⁹ The man immediately became well, picked up his cot, and walked.

That happened on a day of rest—a holy day. ¹⁰ So the Jews told the man who had been healed, “This is a day of rest—a holy day. You’re not allowed to carry your cot today.”

¹¹ The man replied, “The man who made me well told me to pick up my cot and walk.”

¹² The Jews asked him, “Who is the man who told you to pick it up and walk?” ¹³ But the man who had been healed didn’t know who Jesus was. (Jesus had withdrawn from the crowd.)

¹⁴ Later, Jesus met the man in the temple courtyard and told him, “You’re well now. Stop sinning so that something worse doesn’t happen to you.”

¹⁵ The man went back to the Jews and told them that Jesus was the man who had made him well.

The Son Is Equal to the Father

¹⁶ The Jews began to persecute Jesus because he kept healing people on the day of rest—a holy day. ¹⁷ Jesus replied to them, “My Father is working right now, and so am I.”

¹⁸ His reply made the Jews more intent on killing him. Not only did he break the laws about the day of rest—a holy day, but also he made himself equal to God when he said repeatedly that God was his Father.

¹⁹ Jesus said to the Jews, “I can guarantee this truth: The Son cannot do anything on his own. He can do only what he sees the Father doing. Indeed, the Son does exactly what the Father does. ²⁰ The Father loves the Son and shows him everything he is doing. The Father will show him even greater things to do than these things so that you will be amazed. ²¹ In the same way that the Father brings back the dead and gives them life, the Son gives life to anyone he chooses.

²² “The Father doesn’t judge anyone. He has entrusted judgment entirely to the Son ²³ so that everyone will honor the Son as they honor the Father. Whoever doesn’t honor the Son doesn’t honor the Father who sent him. ²⁴ I can guarantee this truth: Those who listen to what I say and believe in the one who sent me will have eternal life. They won’t be judged because they have already passed from death to life.

²⁵ “I can guarantee this truth: A time is coming (and is now here) when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who respond to it will live. ²⁶ The Father is the source of life, and he has enabled the Son to be the source of life too.

²⁷ “He has also given the Son authority to pass judgment because he is the Son of Man.^{[b] 28} Don’t be surprised at what I’ve just said. A time is coming when all the dead will hear his voice, ²⁹ and they will come out of their tombs. Those who have done good will come back to life and live. But those who have done evil will come back to life and will be judged. ³⁰ I can’t do anything on my own. As I listen ⌞to the Father⌟, I make my judgments. My judgments are right because I don’t try to do what I want but what the one who sent me wants.

³¹ “If I testify on my own behalf, what I say isn’t true. ³² Someone else testifies on my behalf, and I know that what he says about me is true. ³³ You sent people to John ⌞the Baptizer⌟, and he testified to the truth. ³⁴ But I don’t depend on human testimony. I’m telling you this to save you. ³⁵ John was a lamp that gave off brilliant light. For a time you enjoyed the pleasure of his light. ³⁶ But I have something that testifies more favorably on my behalf than John’s testimony. The tasks that the Father gave me to carry out, these tasks which I perform, testify on my behalf. They prove that the Father has sent me. ³⁷ The Father who sent me testifies on my behalf. You have never heard his voice, and you have never seen his form. ³⁸ So you don’t have the Father’s message within you, because you don’t believe in the person he has sent. ³⁹ You study the Scriptures in detail because you think you have the source of eternal life in them. These Scriptures testify on my behalf. ⁴⁰ Yet, you don’t want to come to me to get ⌞eternal⌟ life.

⁴¹ “I don’t accept praise from humans. ⁴² But I know what kind of people you are. You don’t have any love for God. ⁴³ I have come with the authority my Father has given me, but you don’t accept me. If someone else comes with his own authority, you will accept him. ⁴⁴ How can you believe when you accept each other’s praise and don’t look for the praise that comes from the only God?

⁴⁵ “Don’t think that I will accuse you in the presence of the Father. Moses, the one you trust, is already accusing you. ⁴⁶ If you really believed Moses, you would believe me. Moses wrote about me. ⁴⁷ If you don’t believe what Moses wrote, how will you ever believe what I say?”

Jesus Feeds More Than Five Thousand^(A)

6 Jesus later crossed to the other side of the Sea of Galilee (or the Sea of Tiberias). ² A large crowd followed him because they saw the miracles that he performed for the sick. ³ Jesus went up a mountain and sat with his disciples. ⁴ The time for the Jewish Passover festival was near.

⁵ As Jesus saw a large crowd coming to him, he said to Philip, “Where can we buy bread for these people to eat?” ⁶ Jesus asked this question to test him. He already knew what he was going to do.

⁷ Philip answered, “We would need about a year’s wages to buy enough bread for each of them to have a piece.”

⁸ One of Jesus’ disciples, Andrew, who was Simon Peter’s brother, told him, ⁹ “A boy who has five loaves of barley bread and two small fish is here. But they won’t go very far for so many people.”

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

The people had plenty of grass to sit on. (There were about 5,000 men in the crowd.)

¹¹ Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to the people who were sitting there. He did the same thing with the fish. All the people ate as much as they wanted.

¹² When the people were full, Jesus told his disciples, “Gather the leftover pieces so that nothing will be wasted.” ¹³ The disciples gathered the leftover pieces of bread and filled twelve baskets.

¹⁴ When the people saw the miracle Jesus performed, they said, “This man is certainly the prophet who is to come into the world.” ¹⁵ Jesus realized that the people intended to take him by force and make him king. So he returned to the mountain by himself.

Jesus Walks on the Sea^(B)

¹⁶ When evening came, his disciples went to the sea. ¹⁷ They got into a boat and started to cross the sea to the city of Capernaum. By this time it was dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. ¹⁸ A strong wind started to blow and stir up the sea.

¹⁹ After they had rowed three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea. He was coming near the boat, and they became terrified.

²⁰ Jesus told them, “It’s me. Don’t be afraid!”

²¹ So they were willing to help Jesus into the boat. Immediately, the boat reached the shore where they were going.

Jesus Is the Bread of Life

²² On the next day the people were still on the other side of the sea. They noticed that only one boat was there and that Jesus had not stepped into that boat with his disciples. The disciples had gone away without him. ²³ Other boats from Tiberias arrived near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord gave thanks. ²⁴ When the people saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into these boats and went to the city of Capernaum to look for Jesus. ²⁵ When they found him on the other side of the sea, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?”

²⁶ Jesus replied to them, “I can guarantee this truth: You’re not looking for me because you saw miracles. You are looking for me because you ate as much of those loaves as you wanted. ²⁷ Don’t work for food that spoils. Instead, work for the food that lasts into eternal life. This is the food the Son of Man will give you. After all, the Father has placed his seal of approval on him.”

²⁸ The people asked Jesus, “What does God want us to do?”

²⁹ Jesus replied to them, “God wants to do something for you so that you believe in the one whom he has sent.”

³⁰ The people asked him, “What miracle are you going to perform so that we can see it and believe in you? What are you going to do? ³¹ Our ancestors ate the manna in the desert. Scripture says, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ ”

³² Jesus said to them, “I can guarantee this truth: Moses didn’t give you bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. ³³ God’s bread is the man who comes from heaven and gives life to the world.”

³⁴ They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread all the time.”

³⁵ Jesus told them, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never become hungry, and whoever believes in me will never become thirsty. ³⁶ I’ve told you that you have seen me. However, you don’t believe in me. ³⁷ Everyone whom the Father gives me will come to me. I will never turn away anyone who comes to me. ³⁸ I haven’t come from heaven to do what I want to do. I’ve come to do what the one who sent me wants me to do. ³⁹ The one who sent me doesn’t want me to lose any of those he gave me. He wants me to bring them back to life on the last day. ⁴⁰ My Father wants all those who see the Son and believe in him to have eternal life. He wants me to bring them back to life on the last day.”

⁴¹ The Jews began to criticize Jesus for saying, “I am the bread that came from heaven.” ⁴² They asked, “Isn’t this man Jesus, Joseph’s son? Don’t we know his father and mother? How can he say now, ‘I came from heaven’?”

⁴³ Jesus responded, “Stop criticizing me! ⁴⁴ People cannot come to me unless the Father who sent me brings them to me. I will bring these people back to life on the last day. ⁴⁵ The prophets wrote, ‘God will teach everyone.’ Those who do what they have learned from the Father come to me. ⁴⁶ I’m saying that no one has seen the Father. Only the one who is from God has seen the Father. ⁴⁷ I can guarantee this truth: Every believer has eternal life.

⁴⁸ “I am the bread of life. ⁴⁹ Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert and died. ⁵⁰ This is the bread that comes from heaven so that whoever eats it won’t die. ⁵¹ I am the living bread that came from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. The bread I will give to bring life to the world is my flesh.”

⁵² The Jews began to quarrel with each other. They said, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”

⁵³ Jesus told them, “I can guarantee this truth: If you don’t eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you don’t have the source of life in you. ⁵⁴ Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will bring them back to life on the last day. ⁵⁵ My flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. ⁵⁶ Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood live in me, and I live in them. ⁵⁷ The Father who has life sent me, and I live because of the Father. So those who feed on me will live because of me. ⁵⁸ This is the bread that came from heaven. It is not like the bread your ancestors ate. They eventually died. Those who eat this bread will live forever.”

⁵⁹ Jesus said this while he was teaching in a synagogue in Capernaum. ⁶⁰ When many of Jesus’ disciples heard him, they said, “What he says is hard to accept. Who wants to listen to him anymore?”

⁶¹ Jesus was aware that his disciples were criticizing his message. So Jesus asked them, “Did what I say make you lose faith? ⁶² What if you see the Son of Man go where he was before? ⁶³ Life is spiritual. Your physical existence doesn’t contribute to that life. The words that I have spoken to you are spiritual. They are life. ⁶⁴ But some of you don’t believe.” Jesus knew from the beginning those who wouldn’t believe and the one who would betray him. ⁶⁵ So he added, “That is why I told you that people cannot come to me unless the Father provides the way.”

⁶⁶ Jesus’ speech made many of his disciples go back to the lives they had led before they followed Jesus. ⁶⁷ So Jesus asked the twelve apostles, “Do you want to leave me too?”

⁶⁸ Simon Peter answered Jesus, “Lord, to what person could we go? Your words give eternal life. ⁶⁹ Besides, we believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.”

⁷⁰ Jesus replied, “I chose all twelve of you. Yet, one of you is a devil.” ⁷¹ Jesus meant Judas, son of Simon Iscariot. Judas, who was one of the twelve apostles, would later betray Jesus.

Jesus Goes to the Festival of Booths

7 Jesus later traveled throughout Galilee. He didn’t want to travel in Judea because Jews there wanted to kill him.

² The time for the Jewish Festival of Booths was near. ³ So Jesus’ brothers told him, “Leave this place, and go to Judea so that your disciples can see the things that you’re doing. ⁴ No one does things secretly when he wants to be known publicly. If you do these things, you should let the world see you.” ⁵ Even his brothers didn’t believe in him.

⁶ Jesus told them, “Now is not the right time for me to go. Any time is right for you. ⁷ The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I say that what everyone does is evil. ⁸ Go to the festival. I’m not going to this festival right now. Now is not the right time for me to go.”

⁹ After saying this, Jesus stayed in Galilee. ¹⁰ But after his brothers had gone to the festival, Jesus went. He didn’t go publicly but secretly.

¹¹ The Jews were looking for Jesus in the crowd at the festival. They kept asking, “Where is that man?” ¹² The crowds argued about Jesus. Some people said, “He’s a good man,” while others said, “No he isn’t. He deceives the people.” ¹³ Yet, no one would talk openly about him because they were afraid of the Jews.

¹⁴ When the festival was half over, Jesus went to the temple courtyard and began to teach. ¹⁵ The Jews were surprised and asked, “How can this man be so educated when he hasn’t gone to school?”

¹⁶ Jesus responded to them, “What I teach doesn’t come from me but from the one who sent me. ¹⁷ Those who want to follow the will of God will know if what I teach is from God or if I teach my own thoughts. ¹⁸ Those who speak their own thoughts are looking for their own glory. But the man who wants to bring glory to the one who sent him is a true teacher and doesn’t have dishonest motives. ¹⁹ Didn’t Moses give you his teachings? Yet, none of you does what Moses taught you. So why do you want to kill me?”

²⁰ The crowd answered, “You’re possessed by a demon! Who wants to kill you?”

²¹ Jesus answered them, “I performed one miracle, and all of you are surprised by it. ²² Moses gave you the teaching about circumcision (although it didn’t come from Moses but from our ancestors). So you circumcise a male on a day of rest—a holy day. ²³ If you circumcise a male on the day of rest—a holy day, to follow Moses’ Teachings, why are you angry with me because I made a man entirely well on the day of rest—a holy day? ²⁴ Stop judging by outward appearance! Instead, judge correctly.”

²⁵ Some of the people who lived in Jerusalem said, “Isn’t this the man they want to kill? ²⁶ But look at this! He’s speaking in public, and no one is saying anything to him! Can it be that the rulers really know that this man is the Messiah? ²⁷ However, we know where this man comes from. When the Christ comes, no one will know where he is from.”

²⁸ Then, while Jesus was teaching in the temple courtyard, he said loudly, “You know me, and you know where I come from. I didn’t decide to come on my own. The one who sent me is true. He’s the one you don’t know. ²⁹ I know him because I am from him and he sent me.”

³⁰ The Jews tried to arrest him but couldn’t because his time had not yet come.

³¹ However, many people in the crowd believed in him. They asked, “When the Messiah comes, will he perform more miracles than this man has?”

³² The Pharisees heard the crowd saying things like this about him. So the chief priests and the Pharisees sent temple guards to arrest Jesus.

³³ Jesus said, “I will still be with you for a little while. Then I’ll go to the one who sent me. ³⁴ You will look for me, but you won’t find me. You can’t go where I’m going.”

³⁵ The Jews said among themselves, “Where does this man intend to go so that we won’t find him? Does he mean that he’ll live with the Jews who are scattered among the Greeks and that he’ll teach the Greeks? ³⁶ What does he mean when he says, ‘You will look for me, but you won’t find me,’ and ‘You can’t go where I’m going’?”

³⁷ On the last and most important day of the festival, Jesus was standing ⌞in the temple courtyard⌟. He said loudly, “Whoever is thirsty must come to me to drink. ³⁸ As Scripture says, ‘Streams of living water will flow from deep within the person who believes in me.’ ” ³⁹ Jesus said this about the Spirit, whom his believers would receive. The Spirit was not yet evident, as it would be after Jesus had been glorified.

⁴⁰ After some of the crowd heard Jesus say these words, they said, “This man is certainly the prophet.” ⁴¹ Other people said, “This man is the Messiah.” Still other people asked, “How can the Messiah come from Galilee? ⁴² Doesn’t Scripture say that the Messiah will come from the descendants of David and from the village of Bethlehem, where David lived?” ⁴³ So the people were divided because of Jesus. ⁴⁴ Some of them wanted to arrest him, but they couldn’t.

⁴⁵ When the temple guards returned, the chief priests and Pharisees asked them, “Why didn’t you bring Jesus?”

⁴⁶ The temple guards answered, “No human has ever spoken like this man.”

⁴⁷ The Pharisees asked the temple guards, “Have you been deceived too? ⁴⁸ Has any ruler or any Pharisee believed in him? ⁴⁹ This crowd is cursed because it doesn’t know Moses’ Teachings.”

⁵⁰ One of those Pharisees was Nicodemus, who had previously visited Jesus. Nicodemus asked them, ⁵¹ “Do Moses’ Teachings enable us to judge a person without first hearing that person’s side of the story? We can’t judge a person without finding out what that person has done.”

⁵² They asked Nicodemus, “Are you saying this because you’re from Galilee? Study ⌞the Scriptures⌟, and you’ll see that no prophet comes from Galilee.” ^[c]

⁵³ Then each of them went home.

A Woman Caught in Adultery

8 Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. ² Early the next morning he returned to the temple courtyard. All the people went to him, so he sat down and began to teach them.

³ The experts in Moses’ Teachings and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught committing adultery. They made her stand in front of everyone ⁴ and asked Jesus, “Teacher, we caught this woman in the act of adultery. ⁵ In his teachings, Moses ordered us to stone women like this to death. What do you say?” ⁶ They asked this to test him. They wanted to find a reason to bring charges against him.

Jesus bent down and used his finger to write on the ground. ⁷ When they persisted in asking him questions, he straightened up and said, “The person who is sinless should be the first to throw a stone at her.” ⁸ Then he bent down again and continued writing on the ground.

⁹ One by one, beginning with the older men, the experts in Moses’ Teachings and Pharisees left. Jesus was left alone with the woman. ¹⁰ Then Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Where did they go? Has anyone condemned you?”

¹¹ The woman answered, “No one, sir.”

Jesus said, “I don’t condemn you either. Go! From now on don’t sin.”

Jesus Speaks with the Pharisees about His Father

¹² Jesus spoke to the Pharisees again. He said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will have a life filled with light and will never live in the dark.”

¹³ The Pharisees said to him, “You testify on your own behalf, so your testimony isn’t true.”

¹⁴ Jesus replied to them, “Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is true because I know where I came from and where I’m going. However, you don’t know where I came from or where I’m going. ¹⁵ You judge the way humans do. I don’t judge anyone. ¹⁶ Even if I do judge, my judgment is valid because I don’t make it on my own. I make my judgment with the Father who sent me. ¹⁷ Your own teachings say that the testimony of two people is true. ¹⁸ I testify on my own behalf, and so does the Father who sent me.”

¹⁹ The Pharisees asked him, “Where is your father?”

Jesus replied, “You don’t know me or my Father. If you knew me, you would also know my Father.”

²⁰ Jesus spoke these words while he was teaching in the treasury area of the temple courtyard. No one arrested him, because his time had not yet come.

²¹ Jesus spoke to the Pharisees again. He said, “I’m going away, and you’ll look for me. But you will die because of your sin. You can’t go where I’m going.”

²² Then the Jews asked, “Is he going to kill himself? Is that what he means when he says, ‘You can’t go where I’m going’?”

²³ Jesus said to them, “You’re from below. I’m from above. You’re from this world. I’m not from this world. ²⁴ For this reason I told you that you’ll die because of your sins. If you don’t believe that I am the one, you’ll die because of your sins.”

²⁵ The Jews asked him, “Who did you say you are?”

Jesus told them, “I am who I said I was from the beginning. ²⁶ I have a lot I could say about you and a lot I could condemn you for. But the one who sent me is true. So I tell the world exactly what he has told me.” ²⁷ (The Jews didn’t know that he was talking to them about the Father.)

²⁸ So Jesus told them, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you’ll know that I am the one and that I can’t do anything on my own. Instead, I speak as the Father taught me. ²⁹ Besides, the one who sent me is with me. He hasn’t left me by myself. I always do what pleases him.”

³⁰ As Jesus was saying this, many people believed in him. ³¹ So Jesus said to those Jews who believed in him, “If you live by what I say, you are truly my disciples. ³² You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

³³ They replied to Jesus, “We are Abraham’s descendants, and we’ve never been anyone’s slaves. So how can you say that we will be set free?”

³⁴ Jesus answered them, “I can guarantee this truth: Whoever lives a sinful life is a slave to sin. ³⁵ A slave doesn’t live in the home forever, but a son does. ³⁶ So if the Son sets you free, you will be absolutely free. ³⁷ I know that you’re Abraham’s descendants. However, you want to kill me because you don’t like what I’m saying. ³⁸ What I’m saying is what I have seen in my Father’s presence. But you do what you’ve heard from your father.”

³⁹ The Jews replied to Jesus, “Abraham is our father.”

Jesus told them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would do what Abraham did. ⁴⁰ I am a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. But now you want to kill me. Abraham wouldn’t have done that. ⁴¹ You’re doing what your father does.”

The Jews said to Jesus, “We’re not illegitimate children. God is our only Father.”

⁴² Jesus told them, “If God were your Father, you would love me. After all, I’m here, and I came from God. I didn’t come on my own. Instead, God sent me. ⁴³ Why don’t you understand the language I use? Is it because you can’t understand the words I use? ⁴⁴ You come from your father, the devil, and you desire to do what your father wants you to do. The devil was a murderer from the beginning. He has never been truthful. He doesn’t know what the truth is. Whenever he tells a lie, he’s doing what comes naturally to him. He’s a liar and the father of lies. ⁴⁵ So you don’t believe me because I tell the truth. ⁴⁶ Can any of you convict me of committing a sin? If I’m telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? ⁴⁷ The person who belongs to God understands what God says. You don’t understand because you don’t belong to God.”

⁴⁸ The Jews replied to Jesus, “Aren’t we right when we say that you’re a Samaritan and that you’re possessed by a demon?”

⁴⁹ Jesus answered, “I’m not possessed. I honor my Father, but you dishonor me. ⁵⁰ I don’t want my own glory. But there is someone who wants it, and he is the judge. ⁵¹ I can guarantee this truth: Whoever obeys what I say will never see death.”

⁵² The Jews told Jesus, “Now we know that you’re possessed by a demon. Abraham died, and so did the prophets, but you say, ‘Whoever does what I say will never taste death.’ ⁵³ Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? The prophets have also died. Who do you think you are?”

⁵⁴ Jesus said, “If I bring glory to myself, my glory is nothing. My Father is the one who gives me glory, and you say that he is your God. ⁵⁵ Yet, you haven’t known him. However, I know him. If I would say that I didn’t know him, I would be a liar like all of you. But I do know him, and I do what he says. ⁵⁶ Your father Abraham was pleased to see that my day was coming. He saw it and was happy.”

⁵⁷ The Jews said to Jesus, “You’re not even fifty years old. How could you have seen Abraham?”

⁵⁸ Jesus told them, “I can guarantee this truth: Before Abraham was ever born, I am.”

⁵⁹ Then some of the Jews picked up stones to throw at Jesus. However, Jesus was concealed, and he left the temple courtyard.

Jesus Gives Sight to a Blind Man

9 As Jesus walked along, he saw a man who had been born blind. ² His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, why was this man born blind? Did he or his parents sin?”

³ Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned. Instead, he was born blind so that God could show what he can do for him. ⁴ We must do what the one who sent me wants us to do while it is day. The night when no one can do anything is coming. ⁵ As long as I’m in the world, I’m light for the world.”

⁶ After Jesus said this, he spit on the ground and mixed the spit with dirt. Then he smeared it on the man’s eyes ⁷ and told him, “Wash it off in the pool of Siloam.” (Siloam means “sent.”) The blind man washed it off and returned. He was able to see.

⁸ His neighbors and those who had previously seen him begging asked, “Isn’t this the man who used to sit and beg?”

⁹ Some of them said, “He’s the one.” Others said, “No, he isn’t, but he looks like him.” But the man himself said, “I am the one.”

¹⁰ So they asked him, “How did you receive your sight?”

¹¹ He replied, “The man people call Jesus mixed some spit with dirt, smeared it on my eyes, and told me, ‘Go to Siloam, and wash it off.’ So I went there, washed it off, and received my sight.”

¹² They asked him, “Where is that man?”

The man answered, “I don’t know.”

¹³ Some people brought the man who had been blind to the Pharisees. ¹⁴ The day when Jesus mixed the spit and dirt and gave the man sight was a day of rest—a holy day. ¹⁵ So the Pharisees asked the man again how he received his sight.

The man told the Pharisees, “He put a mixture of spit and dirt on my eyes. I washed it off, and now I can see.”

¹⁶ Some of the Pharisees said, “The man who did this is not from God because he doesn’t follow the traditions for the day of rest—a holy day.” Other Pharisees asked, “How can a man who is a sinner perform miracles like these?” So the Pharisees were divided in their opinions.

¹⁷ They asked the man who had been born blind another question: “What do you say about the man who gave you sight?”

The man answered, “He’s a prophet.”

¹⁸ Until they talked to the man’s parents, the Jews didn’t believe that the man had been blind and had been given sight. ¹⁹ They asked his parents, “Is this your son, the one you say was born blind? Why can he see now?”

²⁰ His parents replied, “We know that he’s our son and that he was born blind. ²¹ But we don’t know how he got his sight or who gave it to him. You’ll have to ask him. He’s old enough to answer for himself.” ²² (His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews. The Jews had already agreed to put anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Christ out of the synagogue. ²³ That’s why his parents said, “You’ll have to ask him. He’s old enough.”)

²⁴ So once again the Jews called the man who had been blind. They told him, “Give glory to God. We know that this man who gave you sight is a sinner.”

²⁵ The man responded, “I don’t know if he’s a sinner or not. But I do know one thing. I used to be blind, but now I can see.”

²⁶ The Jews asked him, “What did he do to you? How did he give you sight?”

²⁷ The man replied, “I’ve already told you, but you didn’t listen. Why do you want to hear the story again? Do you want to become his disciples too?”

²⁸ The Jews yelled at him, “You’re his disciple, but we’re Moses’ disciples. ²⁹ We know that God spoke to Moses, but we don’t know where this man came from.”

³⁰ The man replied to them, “That’s amazing! You don’t know where he’s from. Yet, he gave me sight. ³¹ We know that God doesn’t listen to sinners. Instead, he listens to people who are devout and who do what he wants. ³² Since the beginning of time, no one has ever heard of anyone giving sight to a person born blind. ³³ If this man were not from God, he couldn’t do anything like that.”

³⁴ The Jews answered him, “You were born full of sin. Do you think you can teach us?” Then they threw him out ⌞of the synagogue⌟.

³⁵ Jesus heard that the Jews had thrown the man out ⌞of the synagogue⌟. So when Jesus found the man, he asked him, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”

³⁶ The man replied, “Sir, tell me who he is so that I can believe in him.”

³⁷ Jesus told him, “You’ve seen him. He is the person who is now talking with you.”

³⁸ The man bowed in front of Jesus and said, “I believe, Lord.”

³⁹ Then Jesus said, “I have come into this world to judge: Blind people will be given sight, and those who can see will become blind.”

⁴⁰ Some Pharisees who were with Jesus heard this. So they asked him, “Do you think we’re blind?”

⁴¹ Jesus told them, “If you were blind, you wouldn’t be sinners. But now you say, ‘We see,’ so you continue to be sinners.

Jesus, the Good Shepherd

10 “I can guarantee this truth: The person who doesn’t enter the sheep pen through the gate but climbs in somewhere else is a thief or a robber. ² But the one who enters through the gate is the shepherd. ³ The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep respond to his voice. He calls his sheep by name and leads them out of the pen. ⁴ After he has brought out all his sheep, he walks ahead of them. The sheep follow him because they recognize his voice. ⁵ They won’t follow a stranger. Instead, they will run away from a stranger because they don’t recognize his voice.” ⁶ Jesus used this illustration as he talked to the people, but they didn’t understand what he meant.

⁷ Jesus emphasized, “I can guarantee this truth: I am the gate for the sheep. ⁸ All who came before I did were thieves or robbers. However, the sheep didn’t respond to them. ⁹ I am the gate. Those who enter the sheep pen through me will be saved. They will go in and out of the sheep pen and find food. ¹⁰ A thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy. But I came so that my sheep will have life and so that they will have everything they need.

¹¹ “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives his life for the sheep. ¹² A hired hand isn’t a shepherd and doesn’t own the sheep. When he sees a wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and quickly runs away. So the wolf drags the sheep away and scatters the flock. ¹³ The hired hand is concerned about what he’s going to get paid and not about the sheep.

¹⁴ “I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep as the Father knows me.^[d] My sheep know me as I know the Father. ¹⁵ So I give my life for my sheep. ¹⁶ I also have other sheep that are not from this pen. I must lead them. They, too, will respond to my voice. So they will be one flock with one shepherd. ¹⁷ The Father loves me because I give my life in order to take it back again. ¹⁸ No one takes my life from me. I give my life of my own free will. I have the authority to give my life, and I have the authority to take my life back again. This is what my Father ordered me to do.”

¹⁹ The Jews were divided because of what Jesus said. ²⁰ Many of them said, “He’s possessed by a demon! He’s crazy! Why do you listen to him?” ²¹ Others said, “No one talks like this if he’s possessed by a demon. Can a demon give sight to the blind?”

The Jews Reject Jesus

²² The Festival of the Dedication of the Temple took place in Jerusalem during the winter. ²³ Jesus was walking on Solomon’s porch in the temple courtyard.

²⁴ The Jews surrounded him. They asked him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.”

²⁵ Jesus answered them, “I’ve told you, but you don’t believe me. The things that I do in my Father’s name testify on my behalf. ²⁶ However, you don’t believe because you’re not my sheep. ²⁷ My sheep respond to my voice, and I know who they are. They follow me, ²⁸ and I give them eternal life. They will never be lost, and no one will tear them away from me. ²⁹ My Father, who gave them to me, is greater than everyone else, and no one can tear them away from my Father. ³⁰ The Father and I are one.”

³¹ The Jews had again brought some rocks to stone Jesus to death. ³² Jesus replied to them, “I’ve shown you many good things that come from the Father. For which of these good things do you want to stone me to death?”

³³ The Jews answered Jesus, “We’re going to stone you to death, not for any good things you’ve done, but for dishonoring God. You claim to be God, although you’re only a man.”

³⁴ Jesus said to them, “Don’t your Scriptures say, ‘I said, “You are gods” ’? ³⁵ The Scriptures cannot be discredited. So if God calls people gods (and they are the people to whom he gave the Scriptures), ³⁶ why do you say that I’m dishonoring God because I said, ‘I’m the Son of God’? God set me apart for this holy purpose and has sent me into the world. ³⁷ If I’m not doing the things my Father does, don’t believe me. ³⁸ But if I’m doing those things and you refuse to believe me, then at least believe the things that I’m doing. Then you will know and recognize that the Father is in me and that I am in the Father.”

³⁹ The Jews tried to arrest Jesus again, but he got away from them. ⁴⁰ He went back across the Jordan River and stayed in the place where John first baptized people.

⁴¹ Many people went to Jesus. They said, “John didn’t perform any miracles, but everything John said about this man is true.” ⁴² Many people there believed in Jesus.

Jesus Brings Lazarus Back to Life

11 Lazarus, who lived in Bethany, the village where Mary and her sister Martha lived, was sick. ² (Mary was the woman who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair. Her brother Lazarus was the one who was sick.)

³ So the sisters sent a messenger to tell Jesus, “Lord, your close friend is sick.”

⁴ When Jesus heard the message, he said, “His sickness won’t result in death. Instead, this sickness will bring glory to God so that the Son of God will receive glory through it.”

⁵ Jesus loved Martha, her sister, and Lazarus. ⁶ Yet, when Jesus heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was for two more days.

⁷ Then, after the two days, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s go back to Judea.”

⁸ The disciples said to him, “Rabbi, not long ago the Jews wanted to stone you to death. Do you really want to go back there?”

⁹ Jesus answered, “Aren’t there twelve hours of daylight? Those who walk during the day don’t stumble, because they see the light of this world. ¹⁰ However, those who walk at night stumble because they have no light in themselves.”

¹¹ After Jesus said this, he told his disciples, “Our friend Lazarus is sleeping, and I’m going to Bethany to wake him.”

¹² His disciples said to him, “Lord, if he’s sleeping, he’ll get well.”

¹³ Jesus meant that Lazarus was dead, but the disciples thought Jesus meant that Lazarus was only sleeping. ¹⁴ Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died, ¹⁵ but I’m glad that I wasn’t there so that you can grow in faith. Let’s go to Lazarus.”

¹⁶ Thomas, who was called Didymus, said to the rest of the disciples, “Let’s go so that we, too, can die with Jesus.”

¹⁷ When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had been in the tomb for four days. ¹⁸ (Bethany was near Jerusalem, not quite two miles away.) ¹⁹ Many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them about their brother.

²⁰ When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him. Mary stayed at home. ²¹ Martha told Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. ²² But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask him.”

²³ Jesus told Martha, “Your brother will come back to life.”

²⁴ Martha answered Jesus, “I know that he’ll come back to life on the last day, when everyone will come back to life.”

²⁵ Jesus said to her, “I am the one who brings people back to life, and I am life itself. Those who believe in me will live even if they die. ²⁶ Everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe that?”

²⁷ Martha said to him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who was expected to come into the world.”

²⁸ After Martha had said this, she went back home and whispered to her sister Mary, “The teacher is here, and he is calling for you.”

²⁹ When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to Jesus. ³⁰ (Jesus had not yet come into the village but was still where Martha had met him.) ³¹ The Jews who were comforting Mary in the house saw her get up quickly and leave. So they followed her. They thought that she was going to the tomb to cry. ³² When Mary arrived where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

³³ When Jesus saw her crying, and the Jews who were crying with her, he was deeply moved and troubled.

³⁴ So Jesus asked, “Where did you put Lazarus?”

They answered him, “Lord, come and see.”

³⁵ Jesus cried. ³⁶ The Jews said, “See how much Jesus loved him.” ³⁷ But some of the Jews asked, “Couldn’t this man who gave a blind man sight keep Lazarus from dying?”

³⁸ Deeply moved again, Jesus went to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone covering the entrance. ³⁹ Jesus said, “Take the stone away.”

Martha, the dead man’s sister, told Jesus, “Lord, there must already be a stench. He’s been dead for four days.”

⁴⁰ Jesus said to her, “Didn’t I tell you that if you believe, you would see God’s glory?” ⁴¹ So the stone was moved away from the entrance of the tomb.

Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you for hearing me. ⁴² I’ve known that you always hear me. However, I’ve said this so that the crowd standing around me will believe that you sent me.” ⁴³ After Jesus had said this, he shouted as loudly as he could, “Lazarus, come out!”

⁴⁴ The dead man came out. Strips of cloth were wound around his feet and hands, and his face was wrapped with a handkerchief. Jesus told them, “Free Lazarus, and let him go.”

The Jewish Council Plans to Kill Jesus

⁴⁵ Many Jews who had visited Mary and had seen what Jesus had done believed in him. ⁴⁶ But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. ⁴⁷ So the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the council. They asked, “What are we doing? This man is performing a lot of miracles. ⁴⁸ If we let him continue what he’s doing, everyone will believe in him. Then the Romans will take away our position and our nation.”

⁴⁹ One of them, Caiaphas, who was chief priest that year, told them, “You people don’t know anything. ⁵⁰ You haven’t even considered this: It is better for one man to die for the people than for the whole nation to be destroyed.”

⁵¹ Caiaphas didn’t say this on his own. As chief priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation. ⁵² He prophesied that Jesus wouldn’t die merely for this nation, but that Jesus would die to bring God’s scattered children together and make them one.

⁵³ From that day on, the Jewish council planned to kill Jesus. ⁵⁴ So Jesus no longer walked openly among the Jews. Instead, he left Bethany and went to the countryside near the desert, to a city called Ephraim, where he stayed with his disciples.

⁵⁵ The Jewish Passover was near. Many people came from the countryside to Jerusalem to purify themselves before the Passover. ⁵⁶ As they stood in the temple courtyard, they looked for Jesus and asked each other, “Do you think that he’ll avoid coming to the festival?” ⁵⁷ (The chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that whoever knew where Jesus was should tell them so that they could arrest him.)

Mary Prepares Jesus’ Body for the Tomb^(C)

12 Six days before Passover, Jesus arrived in Bethany. Lazarus, whom Jesus had brought back to life, lived there. ² Dinner was prepared for Jesus in Bethany. Martha served the dinner, and Lazarus was one of the people eating with Jesus.

³ Mary took a bottle of very expensive perfume made from pure nard and poured it on Jesus’ feet. Then she dried his feet with her hair. The fragrance of the perfume filled the house.

⁴ One of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was going to betray him, asked, ⁵ “Why wasn’t this perfume sold for a high price and the money given to the poor?” ⁶ (Judas didn’t say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief. He was in charge of the moneybag and carried the contributions.) ⁷ Jesus said to Judas, “Leave her alone! She has done this to prepare me for the day I will be placed in a tomb. ⁸ You will always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me with you.”

⁹ A large crowd of Jews found out that Jesus was in Bethany. So they went there not only to see Jesus but also to see Lazarus, whom Jesus had brought back to life. ¹⁰ The chief priests planned to kill Lazarus too. ¹¹ Lazarus was the reason why many people were leaving the Jews and believing in Jesus.

The King Comes to Jerusalem^(D)

¹² On the next day the large crowd that had come to the Passover festival heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. ¹³ So they took palm branches and went to meet him. They were shouting,

¹⁴ Jesus obtained a donkey and sat on it, as Scripture says:

¹⁶ At first Jesus’ disciples didn’t know what these prophecies meant. However, when Jesus was glorified, the disciples remembered that these prophecies had been written about him. The disciples remembered that they had taken part in fulfilling the prophecies.

¹⁷ The people who had been with Jesus when he called Lazarus from the tomb and brought him back to life reported what they had seen. ¹⁸ Because the crowd heard that Jesus had performed this miracle, they came to meet him.

¹⁹ The Pharisees said to each other, “This is getting us nowhere. Look! The whole world is following him!”

Some Greeks Ask to See Jesus

²⁰ Some Greeks were among those who came to worship during the Passover festival. ²¹ They went to Philip (who was from Bethsaida in Galilee) and told him, “Sir, we would like to meet Jesus.” ²² Philip told Andrew, and they told Jesus.

²³ Jesus replied to them, “The time has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. ²⁴ I can guarantee this truth: A single grain of wheat doesn’t produce anything unless it is planted in the ground and dies. If it dies, it will produce a lot of grain. ²⁵ Those who love their lives will destroy them, and those who hate their lives in this world will guard them for everlasting life. ²⁶ Those who serve me must follow me. My servants will be with me wherever I will be. If people serve me, the Father will honor them.

²⁷ “I am too deeply troubled now to know how to express my feelings. Should I say, ‘Father, save me from this time ⌞of suffering⌟’? No! I came for this time of suffering. ²⁸ Father, give glory to your name.”

A voice from heaven said, “I have given it glory, and I will give it glory again.”

²⁹ The crowd standing there heard the voice and said that it had thundered. Others in the crowd said that an angel had talked to him. ³⁰ Jesus replied, “That voice wasn’t for my benefit but for yours.

³¹ “This world is being judged now. The ruler of this world will be thrown out now. ³² When I have been lifted up from the earth, I will draw all people toward me.” ³³ By saying this, he indicated how he was going to die.

³⁴ The crowd responded to him, “We have heard from the Scriptures that the Messiah will remain here forever. So how can you say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up from the earth’? Who is this ‘Son of Man’?”

³⁵ Jesus answered the crowd, “The light will still be with you for a little while. Walk while you have light so that darkness won’t defeat you. Those who walk in the dark don’t know where they’re going. ³⁶ While you have the light, believe in the light so that you will become people whose lives show the light.”

After Jesus had said this, he was concealed as he left. ³⁷ Although they had seen Jesus perform so many miracles, they wouldn’t believe in him. ³⁸ In this way the words of the prophet Isaiah came true:

³⁹ So the people couldn’t believe because, as Isaiah also said,

⁴¹ Isaiah said this because he had seen Jesus’ glory and had spoken about him.

⁴² Many rulers believed in Jesus. However, they wouldn’t admit it publicly because the Pharisees would have thrown them out of the synagogue. ⁴³ They were more concerned about what people thought of them than about what God thought of them.

⁴⁴ Then Jesus said loudly, “Whoever believes in me believes not only in me but also in the one who sent me. ⁴⁵ Whoever sees me sees the one who sent me. ⁴⁶ I am the light that has come into the world so that everyone who believes in me will not live in the dark. ⁴⁷ If anyone hears my words and doesn’t follow them, I don’t condemn them. I didn’t come to condemn the world but to save the world. ⁴⁸ Those who reject me by not accepting what I say have a judge appointed for them. The words that I have spoken will judge them on the last day. ⁴⁹ I have not spoken on my own. Instead, the Father who sent me told me what I should say and how I should say it. ⁵⁰ I know that what he commands is eternal life. Whatever I say is what the Father told me to say.”

Jesus Washes the Disciples’ Feet

13 Before the Passover festival, Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go back to the Father. Jesus loved his own who were in the world, and he loved them to the end.

² While supper was taking place, the devil had already put the idea of betraying Jesus into the mind of Judas, son of Simon Iscariot.

³ The Father had put everything in Jesus’ control. Jesus knew that. He also knew that he had come from God and was going back to God. ⁴ So he got up from the table, removed his outer clothes, took a towel, and tied it around his waist. ⁵ Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and dry them with the towel that he had tied around his waist.

⁶ When Jesus came to Simon Peter, Peter asked him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”

⁷ Jesus answered Peter, “You don’t know now what I’m doing. You will understand later.”

⁸ Peter told Jesus, “You will never wash my feet.”

Jesus replied to Peter, “If I don’t wash you, you don’t belong to me.”

⁹ Simon Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, don’t wash only my feet. Wash my hands and my head too!”

¹⁰ Jesus told Peter, “People who have washed are completely clean. They need to have only their feet washed. All of you, except for one, are clean.” ¹¹ (Jesus knew who was going to betray him. That’s why he said, “All of you, except for one, are clean.”)

¹² After Jesus had washed their feet and put on his outer clothes, he took his place at the table again. Then he asked his disciples, “Do you understand what I’ve done for you? ¹³ You call me teacher and Lord, and you’re right because that’s what I am. ¹⁴ So if I, your Lord and teacher, have washed your feet, you must wash each other’s feet. ¹⁵ I’ve given you an example that you should follow. ¹⁶ I can guarantee this truth: Slaves are not superior to their owners, and messengers are not superior to the people who send them. ¹⁷ If you understand all of this, you are blessed whenever you follow my example.

¹⁸ “I’m not talking about all of you. I know the people I’ve chosen ⌞to be apostles⌟. However, I’ve made my choice so that Scripture will come true. It says, ‘The one who eats my bread has turned against me.’ ¹⁹ I’m telling you now before it happens. Then, when it happens, you will believe that I am the one.

²⁰ “I can guarantee this truth: Whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me.”

Jesus Knows Who Will Betray Him^(E)

²¹ After saying this, Jesus was deeply troubled. He declared, “I can guarantee this truth: One of you is going to betray me!”

²² The disciples began looking at each other and wondering which one of them Jesus meant.

²³ One disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, was near him at the table. ²⁴ Simon Peter motioned to that disciple and said, “Ask Jesus whom he’s talking about!”

²⁵ Leaning close to Jesus, that disciple asked, “Lord, who is it?”

²⁶ Jesus answered, “He’s the one to whom I will give this piece of bread after I’ve dipped it in the sauce.” So Jesus dipped the bread and gave it to Judas, son of Simon Iscariot.

²⁷ Then, after Judas took the piece of bread, Satan entered him. So Jesus told him, “Hurry! Do what you have to do.” ²⁸ No one at the table knew why Jesus said this to him. ²⁹ Judas had the moneybag. So some thought that Jesus was telling him to buy what they needed for the festival or to give something to the poor.

³⁰ Judas took the piece of bread and immediately went outside. It was night.

³¹ When Judas was gone, Jesus said, “The Son of Man is now glorified, and because of him God is glorified. ³² If God is glorified because of the Son of Man, God will glorify the Son of Man because of himself, and he will glorify the Son of Man at once.”

Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial^(F)

³³ Jesus said, “Dear children, I will still be with you for a little while. I’m telling you what I told the Jews. You will look for me, but you can’t go where I’m going.

³⁴ “I’m giving you a new commandment: Love each other in the same way that I have loved you. ³⁵ Everyone will know that you are my disciples because of your love for each other.”

³⁶ Simon Peter asked him, “Lord, where are you going?”

Jesus answered him, “You can’t follow me now to the place where I’m going. However, you will follow me later.”

³⁷ Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, why can’t I follow you now? I’ll give my life for you.”

³⁸ Jesus replied, “Will you give your life for me? I can guarantee this truth: No rooster will crow until you say three times that you don’t know me.