John
Introduction
John closes his book by revealing his purpose in writing Jesus’ story:
John begins his book by echoing words from the Bible’s creation story –
The story is told in two main parts. The first describes Jesus’ public ministry and has seven sections. Each section closes with a report on how people respond to Jesus, either in faith or unbelief. The second part is devoted to the Passover weekend, when Jesus gave his life for the world.
John records seven instances in which Jesus revealed his identity by using the phrase
Chapter 1
The Word became flesh
1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was with God in the beginning. 3Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
6There was a man sent from God whose name was John. 7He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. 8He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.
9The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. 10He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognise him. 11He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God – 13children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
14The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
15(John testified concerning him. He cried out, saying, ‘This is the one I spoke about when I said, “He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.” ’) 16Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. 17For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18No-one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in the closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.
John the Baptist denies being the Messiah
19Now this was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. 20He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, ‘I am not the Messiah.’
21They asked him, ‘Then who are you? Are you Elijah?’
He said, ‘I am not.’
‘Are you the Prophet?’
He answered, ‘No.’
22Finally they said, ‘Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?’
23John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, ‘I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, “Make straight the way for the Lord.” ’
24Now the Pharisees who had been sent 25questioned him, ‘Why then do you baptise if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?’
26‘I baptise with water,’ John replied, ‘but among you stands one you do not know. 27He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.’
28This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptising.
John testifies about Jesus
29The next day John saw Jesus coming towards him and said, ‘Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 30This is the one I meant when I said, “A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.” 31I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptising with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.’
32Then John gave this testimony: ‘I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. 33And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptise with water told me, “The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptise with the Holy Spirit.” 34I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.’
John’s disciples follow Jesus
35The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. 36When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, ‘Look, the Lamb of God!’
37When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. 38Turning round, Jesus saw them following and asked,
They said, ‘Rabbi’ (which means ‘Teacher’), ‘where are you staying?’
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So they went and saw where he was staying, and they spent that day with him. It was about four in the afternoon.
40Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. 41The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, ‘We have found the Messiah’ (that is, the Christ). 42And he brought him to Jesus.
Jesus looked at him and said,
Jesus calls Philip and Nathanael
43The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him,
44Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. 45Philip found Nathanael and told him, ‘We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote – Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.’
46‘Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?’ Nathanael asked.
‘Come and see,’ said Philip.
47When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him,
48‘How do you know me?’ Nathanael asked.
Jesus answered,
49Then Nathanael declared, ‘Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.’
50Jesus said,
Chapter 2
Jesus changes water into wine
1On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, 2and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. 3When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, ‘They have no more wine.’
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5His mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’
6Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from eighty to a hundred and twenty litres.
7Jesus said to the servants,
8Then he told them,
They did so, 9and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realise where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside 10and said, ‘Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.’
11What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.
12After this he went down to Capernaum with his mother and brothers and his disciples. There they stayed for a few days.
Jesus clears the temple courts
13When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14In the temple courts he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. 15So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. 16To those who sold doves he said,
18The Jews then responded to him, ‘What sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?’
19Jesus answered them,
20They replied, ‘It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?’ 21But the temple he had spoken of was his body. 22After 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.
23Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival, many people saw the signs he was performing and believed in his name.24But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all people. 25He did not need any testimony about mankind, for he knew what was in each person.
Chapter 3
Jesus teaches Nicodemus
1Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2He came to Jesus at night and said, ‘Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no-one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.’
3Jesus replied,
4‘How can someone be born when they are old?’ Nicodemus asked. ‘Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!’
5Jesus answered,
9‘How can this be?’ Nicodemus asked.
10
16For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. 19This is the verdict: light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. 21But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.
John testifies again about Jesus
22After this, Jesus and his disciples went out into the Judean countryside, where he spent some time with them, and baptised. 23Now John also was baptising at Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water, and people were coming and being baptised. 24(This was before John was put in prison.) 25An argument developed between some of John’s disciples and a certain Jew over the matter of ceremonial washing. 26They came to John and said to him, ‘Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan – the one you testified about – look, he is baptising, and everyone is going to him.’
27To this John replied, ‘A person can receive only what is given them from heaven. 28You yourselves can testify that I said, “I am not the Messiah but am sent ahead of him.” 29The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. 30He must become greater; I must become less.’
31The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks as one from the earth. The one who comes from heaven is above all. 32He testifies to what he has seen and heard, but no-one accepts his testimony. 33Whoever has accepted it has certified that God is truthful. 34For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit. 35The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands. 36Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.
Chapter 4
Jesus talks with a Samaritan woman
1Now Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that he was gaining and baptising more disciples than John – 2although in fact it was not Jesus who baptised, but his disciples. 3So he left Judea and went back once more to Galilee.
4Now he had to go through Samaria. 5So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon.
7When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her,
9The Samaritan woman said to him, ‘You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?’ (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)
10Jesus answered her,
11‘Sir,’ the woman said, ‘you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? 12Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?’
13Jesus answered,
15The woman said to him, ‘Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.’
16He told her,
17‘I have no husband,’ she replied.
Jesus said to her,
19‘Sir,’ the woman said, ‘I can see that you are a prophet. 20Our ancestors worshipped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.’
21
25The woman said, ‘I know that Messiah’ (called Christ) ‘is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.’
26Then Jesus declared,
The disciples rejoin Jesus
27Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no-one asked, ‘What do you want?’ or ‘Why are you talking with her?’
28Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, 29‘Come, see a man who told me everything I’ve ever done. Could this be the Messiah?’ 30They came out of the town and made their way towards him.
31Meanwhile his disciples urged him, ‘Rabbi, eat something.’
32But he said to them,
33Then his disciples said to each other, ‘Could someone have brought him food?’
34
Many Samaritans believe
39Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, ‘He told me everything I’ve ever done.’ 40So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. 41And because of his words many more became believers.
42They said to the woman, ‘We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Saviour of the world.’
Jesus heals an official’s son
43After the two days he left for Galilee. 44(Now Jesus himself had pointed out that a prophet has no honour in his own country.) 45When he arrived in Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him. They had seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival, for they also had been there.
46Once more he visited Cana in Galilee, where he had turned the water into wine. And there was a certain royal official whose son lay ill at Capernaum. 47When this man heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to him and begged him to come and heal his son, who was close to death.
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49The royal official said, ‘Sir, come down before my child dies.’
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The man took Jesus at his word and departed. 51While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living. 52When he enquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him, ‘Yesterday, at one in the afternoon, the fever left him.’
53Then the father realised that this was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him,
54This was the second sign Jesus performed after coming from Judea to Galilee.
Chapter 5
The healing at the pool
1Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish festivals. 2Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. 3Here a great number of disabled people used to lie – the blind, the lame, the paralysed. 45One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. 6When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him,
7‘Sir,’ the invalid replied, ‘I have no-one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.’
8Then Jesus said to him,
The day on which this took place was a Sabbath, 10and so the Jewish leaders said to the man who had been healed, ‘It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat.’
11But he replied, ‘The man who made me well said to me,
12So they asked him, ‘Who is this fellow who told you to pick it up and walk?’
13The man who was healed had no idea who it was, for Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there.
14Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him,
The authority of the Son
16So, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jewish leaders began to persecute him. 17In his defence Jesus said to them,
19Jesus gave them this answer:
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Testimonies about Jesus
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Chapter 6
Jesus feeds the five thousand
1Some time after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias), 2and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the signs he had performed by healing those who were ill. 3Then Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples. 4The Jewish Passover Festival was near.
5When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming towards him, he said to Philip,
7Philip answered him, ‘It would take more than half a year’s wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!’
8Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, 9‘Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?’
10Jesus said,
12When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples,
14After the people saw the sign Jesus performed, they began to say, ‘Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.’ 15Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.
Jesus walks on the water
16When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake, 17where they got into a boat and set off across the lake for Capernaum. By now it was dark, and Jesus had not yet joined them. 18A strong wind was blowing and the waters grew rough. 19When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water; and they were frightened. 20But he said to them,
22The next day the crowd that had stayed on the opposite shore of the lake realised that only one boat had been there, and that Jesus had not entered it with his disciples, but that they had gone away alone. 23Then some boats from Tiberias landed near the place where the people had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. 24Once the crowd realised that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum in search of Jesus.
Jesus the bread of life
25When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, ‘Rabbi, when did you get here?’
26Jesus answered,
28Then they asked him, ‘What must we do to do the works God requires?’
29Jesus answered,
30So they asked him, ‘What sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? 31Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written: “He gave them bread from heaven to eat.”’
32Jesus said to them,
34‘Sir,’ they said, ‘always give us this bread.’
35Then Jesus declared,
41At this the Jews there began to grumble about him because he said,
43
52Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, ‘How can this man give us his flesh to eat?’
53Jesus said to them,
Many disciples desert Jesus
60On hearing it, many of his disciples said, ‘This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?’
61Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them,
66From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.
67
68Simon Peter answered him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.’
70Then Jesus replied,
Chapter 7
Jesus goes to the Festival of Tabernacles
1After this, Jesus went around in Galilee. He did not want to go about in Judea because the Jewish leaders there were looking for a way to kill him. 2But when the Jewish Festival of Tabernacles was near, 3Jesus’ brothers said to him, ‘Leave Galilee and go to Judea, so that your disciples there may see the works you do. 4No-one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world.’ 5For even his own brothers did not believe in him.
6Therefore Jesus told them,
10However, after his brothers had left for the festival, he went also, not publicly, but in secret. 11Now at the festival the Jewish leaders were watching for Jesus and asking, ‘Where is he?’
12Among the crowds there was widespread whispering about him. Some said, ‘He is a good man.’
Others replied, ‘No, he deceives the people.’ 13But no-one would say anything publicly about him for fear of the leaders.
Jesus teaches at the festival
14Not until halfway through the festival did Jesus go up to the temple courts and begin to teach. 15The Jews there were amazed and asked, ‘How did this man get such learning without having been taught?’
16Jesus answered,
20‘You are demon-possessed,’ the crowd answered. ‘Who is trying to kill you?’
21Jesus said to them,
Division over who Jesus is
25At that point some of the people of Jerusalem began to ask, ‘Isn’t this the man they are trying to kill? 26Here he is, speaking publicly, and they are not saying a word to him. Have the authorities really concluded that he is the Messiah? 27But we know where this man is from; when the Messiah comes, no-one will know where he is from.’
28Then Jesus, still teaching in the temple courts, cried out,
30At this they tried to seize him, but no-one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come. 31Still, many in the crowd believed in him. They said, ‘When the Messiah comes, will he perform more signs than this man?’
32The Pharisees heard the crowd whispering such things about him. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees sent temple guards to arrest him.
33Jesus said,
35The Jews said to one another, ‘Where does this man intend to go that we cannot find him? Will he go where our people live scattered among the Greeks, and teach the Greeks? 36What did he mean when he said,
37On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice,
40On hearing his words, some of the people said, ‘Surely this man is the Prophet.’
41Others said, ‘He is the Messiah.’
Still others asked, ‘How can the Messiah come from Galilee? 42Does not Scripture say that the Messiah will come from David’s descendants and from Bethlehem, the town where David lived?’ 43Thus the people were divided because of Jesus. 44Some wanted to seize him, but no-one laid a hand on him.
Unbelief of the Jewish leaders
45Finally the temple guards went back to the chief priests and the Pharisees, who asked them, ‘Why didn’t you bring him in?’
46‘No-one ever spoke the way this man does,’ the guards replied.
47‘You mean he has deceived you also?’ the Pharisees retorted. 48‘Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed in him? 49No! But this mob that knows nothing of the law – there is a curse on them.’
50Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus earlier and who was one of their own number, asked, 51‘Does our law condemn a man without first hearing him to find out what he has been doing?’
52They replied, ‘Are you from Galilee, too? Look into it, and you will find that a prophet does not come out of Galilee.’
[The earliest manuscripts and many other ancient witnesses do not have
53
Chapter 8
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Dispute over Jesus’ testimony
12When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said,
13The Pharisees challenged him, ‘Here you are, appearing as your own witness; your testimony is not valid.’
14Jesus answered,
19Then they asked him, ‘Where is your father?’
Dispute over who Jesus is
21Once more Jesus said to them,
22This made the Jews ask, ‘Will he kill himself? Is that why he says,
23But he continued,
25‘Who are you?’ they asked.
27They did not understand that he was telling them about his Father. 28So Jesus said,
Dispute over whose children Jesus’ opponents are
31To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said,
33They answered him, ‘We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?’
34Jesus replied,
39‘Abraham is our father,’ they answered.
‘We are not illegitimate children,’ they protested. ‘The only Father we have is God himself.’
42Jesus said to them,
Jesus’ claims about himself
48The Jews answered him, ‘Aren’t we right in saying that you are a Samaritan and demon-possessed?’
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52At this they exclaimed, ‘Now we know that you are demon-possessed! Abraham died and so did the prophets, yet you say that whoever obeys your word will never taste death. 53Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are?’
54Jesus replied,
57‘You are not yet fifty years old,’ they said to him, ‘and you have seen Abraham!’
58
Chapter 9
Jesus heals a man born blind
1As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2His disciples asked him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’
3
6After saying this, he spat on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. 7
8His neighbours and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, ‘Isn’t this the same man who used to sit and beg?’ 9Some claimed that he was.
Others said, ‘No, he only looks like him.’
But he himself insisted, ‘I am the man.’
10‘How then were your eyes opened?’ they asked.
11He replied, ‘The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see.’
12‘Where is this man?’ they asked him.
‘I don’t know,’ he said.
The Pharisees investigate the healing
13They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. 14Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened the man’s eyes was a Sabbath. 15Therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. ‘He put mud on my eyes,’ the man replied, ‘and I washed, and now I see.’
16Some of the Pharisees said, ‘This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.’
But others asked, ‘How can a sinner perform such signs?’ So they were divided.
17Then they turned again to the blind man, ‘What have you to say about him? It was your eyes he opened.’
The man replied, ‘He is a prophet.’
18They still did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they sent for the man’s parents. 19‘Is this your son?’ they asked. ‘Is this the one you say was born blind? How is it that now he can see?’
20‘We know he is our son,’ the parents answered, ‘and we know he was born blind. 21But how he can see now, or who opened his eyes, we don’t know. Ask him. He is of age; he will speak for himself.’ 22His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders, who already had decided that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue. 23That was why his parents said, ‘He is of age; ask him.’
24A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. ‘Give glory to God by telling the truth,’ they said. ‘We know this man is a sinner.’
25He replied, ‘Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!’
26Then they asked him, ‘What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?’
27He answered, ‘I have told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples too?’
28Then they hurled insults at him and said, ‘You are this fellow’s disciple! We are disciples of Moses! 29We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this fellow, we don’t even know where he comes from.’
30The man answered, ‘Now that is remarkable! You don’t know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. 31We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly person who does his will. 32Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. 33If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.’
34To this they replied, ‘You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us!’ And they threw him out.
Spiritual blindness
35Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said,
36‘Who is he, sir?’ the man asked. ‘Tell me so that I may believe in him.’
37Jesus said,
38Then the man said, ‘Lord, I believe,’ and he worshipped him.
39Jesus said,
40Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, ‘What? Are we blind too?’
41Jesus said,
Chapter 10
The good shepherd and his sheep
1
7Therefore Jesus said again,
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19The Jews who heard these words were again divided. 20Many of them said, ‘He is demon-possessed and raving mad. Why listen to him?’
21But others said, ‘These are not the sayings of a man possessed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?’
Further conflict over Jesus’ claims
22Then came the Festival of Dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter, 23and Jesus was in the temple courts walking in Solomon’s Colonnade. 24The Jews who were there gathered round him, saying, ‘How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.’
25Jesus answered,
31Again his Jewish opponents picked up stones to stone him, 32but Jesus said to them,
33‘We are not stoning you for any good work,’ they replied, ‘but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.’
34Jesus answered them,
40Then Jesus went back across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptising in the early days. There he stayed, 41and many people came to him. They said, ‘Though John never performed a sign, all that John said about this man was true.’ 42And in that place many believed in Jesus.
Chapter 11
The death of Lazarus
1Now a man named Lazarus was ill. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2(This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay ill, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.) 3So the sisters sent word to Jesus, ‘Lord, the one you love is ill.’
4When he heard this, Jesus said,
8‘But Rabbi,’ they said, ‘a short while ago the Jews there tried to stone you, and yet you are going back?’
9Jesus answered,
11After he had said this, he went on to tell them,
12His disciples replied, ‘Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better.’ 13Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep.
14So then he told them plainly,
16Then Thomas (also known as Didymus) said to the rest of the disciples, ‘Let us also go, that we may die with him.’
Jesus comforts the sisters of Lazarus
17On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. 18Now Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, 19and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. 20When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.
21‘Lord,’ Martha said to Jesus, ‘if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.’
23Jesus said to her,
24Martha answered, ‘I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.’
25Jesus said to her,
27‘Yes, Lord,’ she replied, ‘I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.’
28After she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. ‘The Teacher is here,’ she said, ‘and is asking for you.’ 29When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him. 30Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. 31When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there.
32When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.’
33When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. 34
‘Come and see, Lord,’ they replied.
35Jesus wept.
36Then the Jews said, ‘See how he loved him!’
37But some of them said, ‘Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?’
Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead
38Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. 39
‘But, Lord,’ said Martha, the sister of the dead man, ‘by this time there is a bad odour, for he has been there four days.’
40Then Jesus said,
41So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said,
43When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice,
Jesus said to them,
The plot to kill Jesus
45Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him. 46But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. 47Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin.
‘What are we accomplishing?’ they asked. ‘Here is this man performing many signs. 48If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our temple and our nation.’
49Then one of them, named Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, spoke up, ‘You know nothing at all! 50You do not realise that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.’
51He did not say this on his own, but as high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation, 52and not only for that nation but also for the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one. 53So from that day on they plotted to take his life.
54Therefore Jesus no longer moved about publicly among the people of Judea. Instead he withdrew to a region near the wilderness, to a village called Ephraim, where he stayed with his disciples.
55When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, many went up from the country to Jerusalem for their ceremonial cleansing before the Passover. 56They kept looking for Jesus, and as they stood in the temple courts they asked one another, ‘What do you think? Isn’t he coming to the festival at all?’ 57But the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that anyone who found out where Jesus was should report it so that they might arrest him.
Chapter 12
Jesus anointed at Bethany
1Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honour. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. 3Then Mary took about half a litre of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.
4But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, 5‘Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.’ 6He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.
7
9Meanwhile a large crowd of Jews found out that Jesus was there and came, not only because of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. 10So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well, 11for on account of him many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and believing in him.
Jesus comes to Jerusalem as king
12The next day the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. 13They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting,
‘Hosanna!’
‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’
‘Blessed is the king of Israel!’
14Jesus found a young donkey and sat upon it, as it is written:
15‘Do not be afraid, Daughter Zion;
see, your king is coming,
seated on a donkey’s colt.’
16At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realise that these things had been written about him and that these things had been done to him.
17Now the crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to spread the word. 18Many people, because they had heard that he had performed this sign, went out to meet him. 19So the Pharisees said to one another, ‘See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!’
Jesus predicts his death
20Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the festival. 21They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. ‘Sir,’ they said, ‘we would like to see Jesus.’ 22Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus.
23Jesus replied,
27
Then a voice came from heaven, ‘I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.’ 29The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him.
30Jesus said,
34The crowd spoke up, ‘We have heard from the Law that the Messiah will remain for ever, so how can you say,
35Then Jesus told them,
Belief and unbelief among the Jews
37Even after Jesus had performed so many signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him. 38This was to fulfil the word of Isaiah the prophet:
‘Lord, who has believed our message
and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?’
39For this reason they could not believe, because, as Isaiah says elsewhere:
40‘He has blinded their eyes
and hardened their hearts,
so they can neither see with their eyes,
nor understand with their hearts,
nor turn – and I would heal them.’
41Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus’ glory and spoke about him.
42Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not openly acknowledge their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; 43for they loved human praise more than praise from God.
44Then Jesus cried out,
47
Chapter 13
Jesus washes his disciples’ feet
1It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.
2The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. 3Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; 4so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel round his waist. 5After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped round him.
6He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, ‘Lord, are you going to wash my feet?’
7Jesus replied,
8‘No,’ said Peter, ‘you shall never wash my feet.’
Jesus answered,
9‘Then, Lord,’ Simon Peter replied, ‘not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!’
10Jesus answered,
12When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place.
Jesus predicts his betrayal
18
19
21After he had said this, Jesus was troubled in spirit and testified,
22His disciples stared at one another, at a loss to know which of them he meant. 23One of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved, was reclining next to him. 24Simon Peter motioned to this disciple and said, ‘Ask him which one he means.’
25Leaning back against Jesus, he asked him, ‘Lord, who is it?’
26Jesus answered,
So Jesus told him,
Jesus predicts Peter’s denial
31When he was gone, Jesus said,
33
34
36Simon Peter asked him, ‘Lord, where are you going?’
Jesus replied,
37Peter asked, ‘Lord, why can’t I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.’
38Then Jesus answered,
Chapter 14
Jesus comforts his disciples
1
Jesus the way to the Father
5Thomas said to him, ‘Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?’
6Jesus answered,
8Philip said, ‘Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.’
9Jesus answered:
Jesus promises the Holy Spirit
15
22Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, ‘But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?’
23Jesus replied,
25
28
Chapter 15
The vine and the branches
1
5
9
The world hates the disciples
18
The work of the Holy Spirit
26
Chapter 16
1
12
The disciples’ grief will turn to joy
16Jesus went on to say,
17At this, some of his disciples said to one another, ‘What does he mean by saying,
19Jesus saw that they wanted to ask him about this, so he said to them,
25
29Then Jesus’ disciples said, ‘Now you are speaking clearly and without figures of speech. 30Now we can see that you know all things and that you do not even need to have anyone ask you questions. This makes us believe that you came from God.’
31
33
Chapter 17
Jesus prays to be glorified
1After Jesus said this, he looked towards heaven and prayed:
Jesus prays for his disciples
6
13
Jesus prays for all believers
20
24
25
Chapter 18
Jesus arrested
1When he had finished praying, Jesus left with his disciples and crossed the Kidron Valley. On the other side there was a garden, and he and his disciples went into it.
2Now Judas, who betrayed him, knew the place, because Jesus had often met there with his disciples. 3So Judas came to the garden, guiding a detachment of soldiers and some officials from the chief priests and the Pharisees. They were carrying torches, lanterns and weapons.
4Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them,
5‘Jesus of Nazareth,’ they replied.
7Again he asked them,
‘Jesus of Nazareth,’ they said.
8Jesus answered,
10Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant, cutting off his right ear. (The servant’s name was Malchus.)
11Jesus commanded Peter,
12Then the detachment of soldiers with its commander and the Jewish officials arrested Jesus. They bound him 13and brought him first to Annas, who was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest that year. 14Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jewish leaders that it would be good if one man died for the people.
Peter’s first denial
15Simon Peter and another disciple were following Jesus. Because this disciple was known to the high priest, he went with Jesus into the high priest’s courtyard, 16but Peter had to wait outside at the door. The other disciple, who was known to the high priest, came back, spoke to the servant-girl on duty there and brought Peter in.
17‘You aren’t one of this man’s disciples too, are you?’ she asked Peter.
He replied, ‘I am not.’
18It was cold, and the servants and officials stood round a fire they had made to keep warm. Peter also was standing with them, warming himself.
The high priest questions Jesus
19Meanwhile, the high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching.
20
22When Jesus said this, one of the officials near by slapped him in the face. ‘Is this the way you answer the high priest?’ he demanded.
23
Peter’s second and third denials
25Meanwhile, Simon Peter was still standing there warming himself. So they asked him, ‘You aren’t one of his disciples too, are you?’
He denied it, saying, ‘I am not.’
26One of the high priest’s servants, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, challenged him, ‘Didn’t I see you with him in the garden?’ 27Again Peter denied it, and at that moment a cock began to crow.
Jesus before Pilate
28Then the Jewish leaders took Jesus from Caiaphas to the palace of the Roman governor. By now it was early morning, and to avoid ceremonial uncleanness they did not enter the palace, because they wanted to be able to eat the Passover. 29So Pilate came out to them and asked, ‘What charges are you bringing against this man?’
30‘If he were not a criminal,’ they replied, ‘we would not have handed him over to you.’
31Pilate said, ‘Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law.’
‘But we have no right to execute anyone,’ they objected. 32This took place to fulfil what Jesus had said about the kind of death he was going to die.
33Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, ‘Are you the king of the Jews?’
34
35‘Am I a Jew?’ Pilate replied. ‘Your own people and chief priests handed you over to me. What is it you have done?’
36Jesus said,
37‘You are a king, then!’ said Pilate.
Jesus answered,
38‘What is truth?’ retorted Pilate. With this he went out again to the Jews gathered there and said, ‘I find no basis for a charge against him. 39But it is your custom for me to release to you one prisoner at the time of the Passover. Do you want me to release “the king of the Jews”?’
40They shouted back, ‘No, not him! Give us Barabbas!’ Now Barabbas had taken part in an uprising.
Chapter 19
Jesus sentenced to be crucified
1Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. 2The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe 3and went up to him again and again, saying, ‘Hail, king of the Jews!’ And they slapped him in the face.
4Once more Pilate came out and said to the Jews gathered there, ‘Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against him.’ 5When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, ‘Here is the man!’
6As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him, they shouted, ‘Crucify! Crucify!’
But Pilate answered, ‘You take him and crucify him. As for me, I find no basis for a charge against him.’
7The Jewish leaders insisted, ‘We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God.’
8When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid, 9and he went back inside the palace. ‘Where do you come from?’ he asked Jesus, but Jesus gave him no answer. 10‘Do you refuse to speak to me?’ Pilate said. ‘Don’t you realise I have power either to free you or to crucify you?’
11Jesus answered,
12From then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jewish leaders kept shouting, ‘If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar.’
13When Pilate heard this, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judge’s seat at a place known as the Stone Pavement (which in Aramaic is Gabbatha). 14It was the day of Preparation of the Passover; it was about noon.
‘Here is your king,’ Pilate said to the Jews.
15But they shouted, ‘Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!’
‘Shall I crucify your king?’ Pilate asked.
‘We have no king but Caesar,’ the chief priests answered.
16Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified.
The crucifixion of Jesus
So the soldiers took charge of Jesus. 17Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). 18There they crucified him, and with him two others – one on each side and Jesus in the middle.
19Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read:
Jesus of Nazareth, the king of the Jews.
20Many of the Jews read this sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek. 21The chief priests of the Jews protested to Pilate, ‘Do not write “The King of the Jews”, but that this man claimed to be king of the Jews.’
22Pilate answered, ‘What I have written, I have written.’
23When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom.
24‘Let’s not tear it,’ they said to one another. ‘Let’s decide by lot who will get it.’
This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled that said,
‘They divided my clothes among them
and cast lots for my garment.’
So this is what the soldiers did.
25Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing near by, he said to her,
The death of Jesus
28Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said,
31Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jewish leaders did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down. 32The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. 33But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. 34Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. 35The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe. 36These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: ‘Not one of his bones will be broken,’37and, as another scripture says, ‘They will look on the one they have pierced.’
The burial of Jesus
38Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jewish leaders. With Pilate’s permission, he came and took the body away. 39He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about thirty-five kilograms. 40Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs. 41At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no-one had ever been laid. 42Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was near by, they laid Jesus there.
Chapter 20
The empty tomb
1Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. 2So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, ‘They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!’
3So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. 4Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. 6Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7as well as the cloth that had been wrapped round Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. 8Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. 9(They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) 10Then the disciples went back to where they were staying.
Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene
11Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb 12and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.
13They asked her, ‘Woman, why are you crying?’
‘They have taken my Lord away,’ she said, ‘and I don’t know where they have put him.’ 14At this, she turned round and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realise that it was Jesus.
15He asked her,
Thinking he was the gardener, she said, ‘Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.’
16Jesus said to her,
She turned towards him and cried out in Aramaic,
17Jesus said,
18Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: ‘I have seen the Lord!’ And she told them that he had said these things to her.
Jesus appears to his disciples
19On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said,
21Again Jesus said,
Jesus appears to Thomas
24Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25So the other disciples told him, ‘We have seen the Lord!’
But he said to them, ‘Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.’
26A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said,
28Thomas said to him, ‘My Lord and my God!’
29Then Jesus told him,
The purpose of John’s gospel
30Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
Chapter 21
Jesus and the miraculous catch of fish
1Afterwards Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Galilee. It happened this way: 2Simon Peter, Thomas (also known as Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. 3‘I’m going out to fish,’ Simon Peter told them, and they said, ‘We’ll go with you.’ So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.
4Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realise that it was Jesus.
5He called out to them,
‘No,’ they answered.
6He said,
7Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, ‘It is the Lord!’ As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, ‘It is the Lord,’ he wrapped his outer garment round him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water. 8The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred metres. 9When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread.
10Jesus said to them,
Jesus reinstates Peter
15When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter,
‘Yes, Lord,’ he said, ‘you know that I love you.’
Jesus said,
16Again Jesus said,
He answered, ‘Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.’
Jesus said,
17The third time he said to him,
Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time,
Jesus said,
20Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them. (This was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and had said, ‘Lord, who is going to betray you?’) 21When Peter saw him, he asked, ‘Lord, what about him?’
22Jesus answered,
24This is the disciple who testifies to these things and who wrote them down. We know that his testimony is true.
25Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.
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