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John New Living Translation (NLT)

chapter 1

     Christ, the Eternal Word

     1In the beginning the Word already existed. He was with God, and he was God. 2He was in the beginning with

     God. 3He created everything there is. Nothing exists that he didn't make. 4Life itself was in him, and this life

     gives light to everyone. 5The light shines through the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.

     6God sent John the Baptist 7to tell everyone about the light so that everyone might believe because of his

     testimony. 8John himself was not the light; he was only a witness to the light. 9The one who is the true light,

     who gives light to everyone, was going to come into the world.

     10But although the world was made through him, the world didn't recognize him when he came. 11Even in his

     own land and among his own people, he was not accepted. 12But to all who believed him and accepted him,

     he gave the right to become children of God. 13They are reborn! This is not a physical birth resulting from

     human passion or plan--this rebirth comes from God.

     14So the Word became human and lived here on earth among us. He was full of unfailing love and

     faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the only Son of the Father.

     15John pointed him out to the people. He shouted to the crowds, "This is the one I was talking about when I

     said, `Someone is coming who is far greater than I am, for he existed long before I did.' "

     16We have all benefited from the rich blessings he brought to us--one gracious blessing after another. 17For

     the law was given through Moses; God's unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus Christ. 18No one

     has ever seen God. But his only Son, who is himself God, is near to the Father's heart; he has told us about

     him.

     The Testimony of John the Baptist

     19This was the testimony of John when the Jewish leaders sent priests and Temple assistants from Jerusalem

     to ask John whether he claimed to be the Messiah. 20He flatly denied it. "I am not the Messiah," he said.

     21"Well then, who are you?" they asked. "Are you Elijah?"

     "No," he replied.

     "Are you the Prophet?"

     "No."

     22"Then who are you? Tell us, so we can give an answer to those who sent us. What do you have to say

     about yourself?"

     23John replied in the words of Isaiah:

         "I am a voice shouting in the wilderness,

             `Prepare a straight pathway for the Lord's coming!' "

         24Then those who were sent by the Pharisees 25asked him, "If you aren't the Messiah or Elijah or the

     Prophet, what right do you have to baptize?"

     26John told them, "I baptize with water, but right here in the crowd is someone you do not know, 27who will

     soon begin his ministry. I am not even worthy to be his slave." 28This incident took place at Bethany, a

     village east of the Jordan River, where John was baptizing.

     Jesus, the Lamb of God

     29The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look! There is the Lamb of God who takes away

     the sin of the world! 30He is the one I was talking about when I said, `Soon a man is coming who is far

     greater than I am, for he existed long before I did.' 31I didn't know he was the one, but I have been baptizing

     with water in order to point him out to Israel."

     32Then John said, "I saw the Holy Spirit descending like a dove from heaven and resting upon him. 33I didn't

     know he was the one, but when God sent me to baptize with water, he told me, `When you see the Holy

     Spirit descending and resting upon someone, he is the one you are looking for. He is the one who baptizes

     with the Holy Spirit.' 34I saw this happen to Jesus, so I testify that he is the Son of God."

     The First Disciples

     35The following day, John was again standing with two of his disciples. 36As Jesus walked by, John looked at

     him and then declared, "Look! There is the Lamb of God!" 37Then John's two disciples turned and followed

     Jesus.

     38Jesus looked around and saw them following. "What do you want?" he asked them.

     They replied, "Rabbi" (which means Teacher), "where are you staying?"

     39"Come and see," he said. It was about four o'clock in the afternoon when they went with him to the place,

     and they stayed there the rest of the day.

     40Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of these men who had heard what John said and then followed

     Jesus. 41The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother, Simon, and tell him, "We have found the Messiah"

     (which means the Christ).

     42Then Andrew brought Simon to meet Jesus. Looking intently at Simon, Jesus said, "You are Simon, the son

     of John--but you will be called Cephas" (which means Peter).

     43The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, "Come, be my disciple."

     44Philip was from Bethsaida, Andrew and Peter's hometown.

     45Philip went off to look for Nathanael and told him, "We have found the very person Moses and the prophets

     wrote about! His name is Jesus, the son of Joseph from Nazareth."

     46"Nazareth!" exclaimed Nathanael. "Can anything good come from there?"

     "Just come and see for yourself," Philip said.

     47As they approached, Jesus said, "Here comes an honest man--a true son of Israel."

     48"How do you know about me?" Nathanael asked.

     And Jesus replied, "I could see you under the fig tree before Philip found you."

     49Nathanael replied, "Teacher, you are the Son of God--the King of Israel!"

     50Jesus asked him, "Do you believe all this just because I told you I had seen you under the fig tree? You will

     see greater things than this." 51Then he said, "The truth is, you will all see heaven open and the angels of

     God going up and down upon the Son of Man."

chapter 2

     The Wedding at Cana

     1The next day Jesus' mother was a guest at a wedding celebration in the village of Cana in Galilee. 2Jesus

     and his disciples were also invited to the celebration. 3The wine supply ran out during the festivities, so

     Jesus' mother spoke to him about the problem. "They have no more wine," she told him.

     4"How does that concern you and me?" Jesus asked. "My time has not yet come."

     5But his mother told the servants, "Do whatever he tells you."

     6Six stone waterpots were standing there; they were used for Jewish ceremonial purposes and held twenty to

     thirty gallons each. 7Jesus told the servants, "Fill the jars with water." When the jars had been filled to the

     brim, 8he said, "Dip some out and take it to the master of ceremonies." So they followed his instructions.

     9When the master of ceremonies tasted the water that was now wine, not knowing where it had come from

     (though, of course, the servants knew), he called the bridegroom over. 10"Usually a host serves the best

     wine first," he said. "Then, when everyone is full and doesn't care, he brings out the less expensive wines. But

     you have kept the best until now!"

     11This miraculous sign at Cana in Galilee was Jesus' first display of his glory. And his disciples believed in him.

     12After the wedding he went to Capernaum for a few days with his mother, his brothers, and his disciples.

     Jesus Clears the Temple

     13It was time for the annual Passover celebration, and Jesus went to Jerusalem. 14In the Temple area he

     saw merchants selling cattle, sheep, and doves for sacrifices; and he saw money changers behind their

     counters. 15Jesus made a whip from some ropes and chased them all out of the Temple. He drove out the

     sheep and oxen, scattered the money changers' coins over the floor, and turned over their tables. 16Then,

     going over to the people who sold doves, he told them, "Get these things out of here. Don't turn my Father's

     house into a marketplace!"

     17Then his disciples remembered this prophecy from the Scriptures: "Passion for God's house burns within

     me."

     18"What right do you have to do these things?" the Jewish leaders demanded. "If you have this authority from

     God, show us a miraculous sign to prove it."

     19"All right," Jesus replied. "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up."

     20"What!" they exclaimed. "It took forty-six years to build this Temple, and you can do it in three days?"

     21But by "this temple," Jesus meant his body. 22After he was raised from the dead, the disciples remembered

     that he had said this. And they believed both Jesus and the Scriptures.

     23Because of the miraculous signs he did in Jerusalem at the Passover celebration, many people were

     convinced that he was indeed the Messiah. 24But Jesus didn't trust them, because he knew what people

     were really like. 25No one needed to tell him about human nature.

chapter 3

     Jesus and Nicodemus

     1After dark one evening, a Jewish religious leader named Nicodemus, a Pharisee, 2came to speak with Jesus.

     "Teacher," he said, "we all know that God has sent you to teach us. Your miraculous signs are proof enough

     that God is with you."

     3Jesus replied, "I assure you, unless you are born again, you can never see the Kingdom of God."

     4"What do you mean?" exclaimed Nicodemus. "How can an old man go back into his mother's womb and be

     born again?"

     5Jesus replied, "The truth is, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit.

     6Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives new life from heaven. 7So don't be surprised

     at my statement that you must be born again. 8Just as you can hear the wind but can't tell where it comes

     from or where it is going, so you can't explain how people are born of the Spirit."

     9"What do you mean?" Nicodemus asked.

     10Jesus replied, "You are a respected Jewish teacher, and yet you don't understand these things? 11I assure

     you, I am telling you what we know and have seen, and yet you won't believe us. 12But if you don't even

     believe me when I tell you about things that happen here on earth, how can you possibly believe if I tell you

     what is going on in heaven? 13For only I, the Son of Man, have come to earth and will return to heaven

     again. 14And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so I, the Son of Man, must be

     lifted up on a pole, 15so that everyone who believes in me will have eternal life.

     16"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish

     but have eternal life. 17God did not send his Son into the world to condemn it, but to save it.

     18"There is no judgment awaiting those who trust him. But those who do not trust him have already been

     judged for not believing in the only Son of God. 19Their judgment is based on this fact: The light from heaven

     came into the world, but they loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. 20They hate

     the light because they want to sin in the darkness. They stay away from the light for fear their sins will be

     exposed and they will be punished. 21But those who do what is right come to the light gladly, so everyone

     can see that they are doing what God wants."

     John the Baptist Exalts Jesus

     22Afterward Jesus and his disciples left Jerusalem, but they stayed in Judea for a while and baptized there.

     23At this time John the Baptist was baptizing at Aenon, near Salim, because there was plenty of water there

     and people kept coming to him for baptism. 24This was before John was put into prison. 25At that time a

     certain Jew began an argument with John's disciples over ceremonial cleansing. 26John's disciples came to him

     and said, "Teacher, the man you met on the other side of the Jordan River, the one you said was the

     Messiah, is also baptizing people. And everybody is going over there instead of coming here to us."

     27John replied, "God in heaven appoints each person's work. 28You yourselves know how plainly I told you

     that I am not the Messiah. I am here to prepare the way for him--that is all. 29The bride will go where the

     bridegroom is. A bridegroom's friend rejoices with him. I am the bridegroom's friend, and I am filled with joy at

     his success. 30He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less.

     31"He has come from above and is greater than anyone else. I am of the earth, and my understanding is

     limited to the things of earth, but he has come from heaven. 32He tells what he has seen and heard, but how

     few believe what he tells them! 33Those who believe him discover that God is true. 34For he is sent by God.

     He speaks God's words, for God's Spirit is upon him without measure or limit. 35The Father loves his Son, and

     he has given him authority over everything. 36And all who believe in God's Son have eternal life. Those who

     don't obey the Son will never experience eternal life, but the wrath of God remains upon them."

chapter 4

     Jesus and the Samaritan Woman

     1Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard, "Jesus is baptizing and making more disciples than John"

     2(though Jesus himself didn't baptize them--his disciples did). 3So he left Judea to return to Galilee.

     4He had to go through Samaria on the way. 5Eventually he came to the Samaritan village of Sychar, near the

     parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. 6Jacob's well was there; and Jesus, tired from the long

     walk, sat wearily beside the well about noontime. 7Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus

     said to her, "Please give me a drink." 8He was alone at the time because his disciples had gone into the village

     to buy some food.

     9The woman was surprised, for Jews refuse to have anything to do with Samaritans. She said to Jesus, "You

     are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. Why are you asking me for a drink?"

     10Jesus replied, "If you only knew the gift God has for you and who I am, you would ask me, and I would give

     you living water."

     11"But sir, you don't have a rope or a bucket," she said, "and this is a very deep well. Where would you get

     this living water? 12And besides, are you greater than our ancestor Jacob who gave us this well? How can

     you offer better water than he and his sons and his cattle enjoyed?"

     13Jesus replied, "People soon become thirsty again after drinking this water. 14But the water I give them

     takes away thirst altogether. It becomes a perpetual spring within them, giving them eternal life."

     15"Please, sir," the woman said, "give me some of that water! Then I'll never be thirsty again, and I won't

     have to come here to haul water."

     16"Go and get your husband," Jesus told her.

     17"I don't have a husband," the woman replied.

     Jesus said, "You're right! You don't have a husband-- 18for you have had five husbands, and you aren't even

     married to the man you're living with now."

     19"Sir," the woman said, "you must be a prophet. 20So tell me, why is it that you Jews insist that Jerusalem

     is the only place of worship, while we Samaritans claim it is here at Mount Gerizim, where our ancestors

     worshiped?"

     21Jesus replied, "Believe me, the time is coming when it will no longer matter whether you worship the Father

     here or in Jerusalem. 22You Samaritans know so little about the one you worship, while we Jews know all

     about him, for salvation comes through the Jews. 23But the time is coming and is already here when true

     worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for anyone who will worship him

     that way. 24For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth."

     25The woman said, "I know the Messiah will come--the one who is called Christ. When he comes, he will

     explain everything to us."

     26Then Jesus told her, "I am the Messiah!"

     27Just then his disciples arrived. They were astonished to find him talking to a woman, but none of them

     asked him why he was doing it or what they had been discussing. 28The woman left her water jar beside the

     well and went back to the village and told everyone, 29"Come and meet a man who told me everything I ever

     did! Can this be the Messiah?" 30So the people came streaming from the village to see him.

     31Meanwhile, the disciples were urging Jesus to eat. 32"No," he said, "I have food you don't know about."

     33"Who brought it to him?" the disciples asked each other.

     34Then Jesus explained: "My nourishment comes from doing the will of God, who sent me, and from finishing

     his work. 35Do you think the work of harvesting will not begin until the summer ends four months from now?

     Look around you! Vast fields are ripening all around us and are ready now for the harvest. 36The harvesters

     are paid good wages, and the fruit they harvest is people brought to eternal life. What joy awaits both the

     planter and the harvester alike! 37You know the saying, `One person plants and someone else harvests.' And

     it's true. 38I sent you to harvest where you didn't plant; others had already done the work, and you will

     gather the harvest."

     Many Samaritans Believe

     39Many Samaritans from the village believed in Jesus because the woman had said, "He told me everything I

     ever did!" 40When they came out to see him, they begged him to stay at their village. So he stayed for two

     days, 41long enough for many of them to hear his message and believe. 42Then they said to the woman,

     "Now we believe because we have heard him ourselves, not just because of what you told us. He is indeed

     the Savior of the world."

     Jesus Heals an Officials Son

     43At the end of the two days' stay, Jesus went on into Galilee. 44He had previously said, "A prophet is

     honored everywhere except in his own country." 45The Galileans welcomed him, for they had been in

     Jerusalem at the Passover celebration and had seen all his miraculous signs.

     46In the course of his journey through Galilee, he arrived at the town of Cana, where he had turned the

     water into wine. There was a government official in the city of Capernaum whose son was very sick. 47When

     he heard that Jesus had come from Judea and was traveling in Galilee, he went over to Cana. He found Jesus

     and begged him to come to Capernaum with him to heal his son, who was about to die.

     48Jesus asked, "Must I do miraculous signs and wonders before you people will believe in me?"

     49The official pleaded, "Lord, please come now before my little boy dies."

     50Then Jesus told him, "Go back home. Your son will live!" And the man believed Jesus' word and started

     home.

     51While he was on his way, some of his servants met him with the news that his son was alive and well. 52He

     asked them when the boy had begun to feel better, and they replied, "Yesterday afternoon at one o'clock his

     fever suddenly disappeared!" 53Then the father realized it was the same time that Jesus had told him, "Your

     son will live." And the officer and his entire household believed in Jesus. 54This was Jesus' second miraculous

     sign in Galilee after coming from Judea.

chapter 5

     Jesus Heals a Lame Man

     1Afterward Jesus returned to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish holy days. 2Inside the city, near the Sheep

     Gate, was the pool of Bethesda, with five covered porches. 3Crowds of sick people--blind, lame, or

     paralyzed--lay on the porches. 5One of the men lying there had been sick for thirty-eight years. 6When Jesus

     saw him and knew how long he had been ill, he asked him, "Would you like to get well?"

     7"I can't, sir," the sick man said, "for I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred up.

     While I am trying to get there, someone else always gets in ahead of me."

     8Jesus told him, "Stand up, pick up your sleeping mat, and walk!"

     9Instantly, the man was healed! He rolled up the mat and began walking! But this miracle happened on the

     Sabbath day. 10So the Jewish leaders objected. They said to the man who was cured, "You can't work on

     the Sabbath! It's illegal to carry that sleeping mat!"

     11He replied, "The man who healed me said to me, `Pick up your sleeping mat and walk.' "

     12"Who said such a thing as that?" they demanded.

     13The man didn't know, for Jesus had disappeared into the crowd. 14But afterward Jesus found him in the

     Temple and told him, "Now you are well; so stop sinning, or something even worse may happen to you."

     15Then the man went to find the Jewish leaders and told them it was Jesus who had healed him.

     Jesus Claims to Be the Son of God

     16So the Jewish leaders began harassing Jesus for breaking the Sabbath rules. 17But Jesus replied, "My

     Father never stops working, so why should I?" 18So the Jewish leaders tried all the more to kill him. In

     addition to disobeying the Sabbath rules, he had spoken of God as his Father, thereby making himself equal

     with God.

     19Jesus replied, "I assure you, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father

     doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does. 20For the Father loves the Son and tells him everything

     he is doing, and the Son will do far greater things than healing this man. You will be astonished at what he

     does. 21He will even raise from the dead anyone he wants to, just as the Father does. 22And the Father

     leaves all judgment to his Son, 23so that everyone will honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. But if

     you refuse to honor the Son, then you are certainly not honoring the Father who sent him.

     24"I assure you, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will

     never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life.

     25"And I assure you that the time is coming, in fact it is here, when the dead will hear my voice--the voice of

     the Son of God. And those who listen will live. 26The Father has life in himself, and he has granted his Son to

     have life in himself. 27And he has given him authority to judge all mankind because he is the Son of Man.

     28Don't be so surprised! Indeed, the time is coming when all the dead in their graves will hear the voice of

     God's Son, 29and they will rise again. Those who have done good will rise to eternal life, and those who have

     continued in evil will rise to judgment. 30But I do nothing without consulting the Father. I judge as I am told.

     And my judgment is absolutely just, because it is according to the will of God who sent me; it is not merely

     my own.

     Witnesses to Jesus

     31"If I were to testify on my own behalf, my testimony would not be valid. 32But someone else is also

     testifying about me, and I can assure you that everything he says about me is true. 33In fact, you sent

     messengers to listen to John the Baptist, and he preached the truth. 34But the best testimony about me is

     not from a man, though I have reminded you about John's testimony so you might be saved. 35John shone

     brightly for a while, and you benefited and rejoiced. 36But I have a greater witness than John--my teachings

     and my miracles. They have been assigned to me by the Father, and they testify that the Father has sent

     me. 37And the Father himself has also testified about me. You have never heard his voice or seen him face to

     face, 38and you do not have his message in your hearts, because you do not believe me--the one he sent to

     you.

     39"You search the Scriptures because you believe they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me!

     40Yet you refuse to come to me so that I can give you this eternal life.

     41"Your approval or disapproval means nothing to me, 42because I know you don't have God's love within

     you. 43For I have come to you representing my Father, and you refuse to welcome me, even though you

     readily accept others who represent only themselves. 44No wonder you can't believe! For you gladly honor

     each other, but you don't care about the honor that comes from God alone.

     45"Yet it is not I who will accuse you of this before the Father. Moses will accuse you! Yes, Moses, on whom

     you set your hopes. 46But if you had believed Moses, you would have believed me because he wrote about

     me. 47And since you don't believe what he wrote, how will you believe what I say?"

chapter 6

     Jesus Feeds Five Thousand

     1After this, Jesus crossed over the Sea of Galilee, also known as the Sea of Tiberias. 2And a huge crowd kept

     following him wherever he went, because they saw his miracles as he healed the sick. 3Then Jesus went up

     into the hills and sat down with his disciples around him. 4(It was nearly time for the annual Passover

     celebration.) 5Jesus soon saw a great crowd of people climbing the hill, looking for him. Turning to Philip, he

     asked, "Philip, where can we buy bread to feed all these people?" 6He was testing Philip, for he already knew

     what he was going to do.

     7Philip replied, "It would take a small fortune to feed them!"

     8Then Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, spoke up. 9"There's a young boy here with five barley loaves and two

     fish. But what good is that with this huge crowd?"

     10"Tell everyone to sit down," Jesus ordered. So all of them--the men alone numbered five thousand--sat

     down on the grassy slopes. 11Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks to God, and passed them out to the

     people. Afterward he did the same with the fish. And they all ate until they were full. 12"Now gather the

     leftovers," Jesus told his disciples, "so that nothing is wasted." 13There were only five barley loaves to start

     with, but twelve baskets were filled with the pieces of bread the people did not eat!

     14When the people saw this miraculous sign, they exclaimed, "Surely, he is the Prophet we have been

     expecting!" 15Jesus saw that they were ready to take him by force and make him king, so he went higher into

     the hills alone.

     Jesus Walks on Water

     16That evening his disciples went down to the shore to wait for him. 17But as darkness fell and Jesus still

     hadn't come back, they got into the boat and headed out across the lake toward Capernaum. 18Soon a gale

     swept down upon them as they rowed, and the sea grew very rough. 19They were three or four miles out

     when suddenly they saw Jesus walking on the water toward the boat. They were terrified, 20but he called

     out to them, "I am here! Don't be afraid." 21Then they were eager to let him in, and immediately the boat

     arrived at their destination!

     Jesus, the Bread of Life

     22The next morning, back across the lake, crowds began gathering on the shore, waiting to see Jesus. For

     they knew that he and his disciples had come over together and that the disciples had gone off in their boat,

     leaving him behind. 23Several boats from Tiberias landed near the place where the Lord had blessed the bread

     and the people had eaten. 24When the crowd saw that Jesus wasn't there, nor his disciples, they got into

     the boats and went across to Capernaum to look for him. 25When they arrived and found him, they asked,

     "Teacher, how did you get here?"

     26Jesus replied, "The truth is, you want to be with me because I fed you, not because you saw the

     miraculous sign. 27But you shouldn't be so concerned about perishable things like food. Spend your energy

     seeking the eternal life that I, the Son of Man, can give you. For God the Father has sent me for that very

     purpose."

     28They replied, "What does God want us to do?"

     29Jesus told them, "This is what God wants you to do: Believe in the one he has sent."

     30They replied, "You must show us a miraculous sign if you want us to believe in you. What will you do for

     us? 31After all, our ancestors ate manna while they journeyed through the wilderness! As the Scriptures say,

     `Moses gave them bread from heaven to eat.' "

     32Jesus said, "I assure you, Moses didn't give them bread from heaven. My Father did. And now he offers you

     the true bread from heaven. 33The true bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life

     to the world."

     34"Sir," they said, "give us that bread every day of our lives."

     35Jesus replied, "I am the bread of life. No one who comes to me will ever be hungry again. Those who

     believe in me will never thirst. 36But you haven't believed in me even though you have seen me. 37However,

     those the Father has given me will come to me, and I will never reject them. 38For I have come down from

     heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to do what I want. 39And this is the will of God, that I should

     not lose even one of all those he has given me, but that I should raise them to eternal life at the last day.

     40For it is my Father's will that all who see his Son and believe in him should have eternal life--that I should

     raise them at the last day."

     41Then the people began to murmur in disagreement because he had said, "I am the bread from heaven."

     42They said, "This is Jesus, the son of Joseph. We know his father and mother. How can he say, `I came

     down from heaven'?"

     43But Jesus replied, "Don't complain about what I said. 44For people can't come to me unless the Father who

     sent me draws them to me, and at the last day I will raise them from the dead. 45As it is written in the

     Scriptures, `They will all be taught by God.' Everyone who hears and learns from the Father comes to me.

     46(Not that anyone has ever seen the Father; only I, who was sent from God, have seen him.)

     47"I assure you, anyone who believes in me already has eternal life. 48Yes, I am the bread of life! 49Your

     ancestors ate manna in the wilderness, but they all died. 50However, the bread from heaven gives eternal life

     to everyone who eats it. 51I am the living bread that came down out of heaven. Anyone who eats this bread

     will live forever; this bread is my flesh, offered so the world may live."

     52Then the people began arguing with each other about what he meant. "How can this man give us his flesh

     to eat?" they asked.

     53So Jesus said again, "I assure you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you

     cannot have eternal life within you. 54But those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I

     will raise them at the last day. 55For my flesh is the true food, and my blood is the true drink. 56All who eat

     my flesh and drink my blood remain in me, and I in them. 57I live by the power of the living Father who sent

     me; in the same way, those who partake of me will live because of me. 58I am the true bread from heaven.

     Anyone who eats this bread will live forever and not die as your ancestors did, even though they ate the

     manna."

     59He said these things while he was teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.

     Many Disciples Desert Jesus

     60Even his disciples said, "This is very hard to understand. How can anyone accept it?"

     61Jesus knew within himself that his disciples were complaining, so he said to them, "Does this offend you?

     62Then what will you think if you see me, the Son of Man, return to heaven again? 63It is the Spirit who

     gives eternal life. Human effort accomplishes nothing. And the very words I have spoken to you are spirit and

     life. 64But some of you don't believe me." (For Jesus knew from the beginning who didn't believe, and he knew

     who would betray him.) 65Then he said, "That is what I meant when I said that people can't come to me

     unless the Father brings them to me."

     66At this point many of his disciples turned away and deserted him. 67Then Jesus turned to the Twelve and

     asked, "Are you going to leave, too?"

     68Simon Peter replied, "Lord, to whom would we go? You alone have the words that give eternal life. 69We

     believe them, and we know you are the Holy One of God."

     70Then Jesus said, "I chose the twelve of you, but one is a devil." 71He was speaking of Judas, son of Simon

     Iscariot, one of the Twelve, who would betray him.

chapter 7

     Jesus and His Brothers

     1After this, Jesus stayed in Galilee, going from village to village. He wanted to stay out of Judea where the

     Jewish leaders were plotting his death. 2But soon it was time for the Festival of Shelters, 3and Jesus'

     brothers urged him to go to Judea for the celebration. "Go where your followers can see your miracles!" they

     scoffed. 4"You can't become a public figure if you hide like this! If you can do such wonderful things, prove it

     to the world!" 5For even his brothers didn't believe in him.

     6Jesus replied, "Now is not the right time for me to go. But you can go anytime, and it will make no

     difference. 7The world can't hate you, but it does hate me because I accuse it of sin and evil. 8You go on. I

     am not yet ready to go to this festival, because my time has not yet come." 9So Jesus remained in Galilee.

     Jesus Teaches Openly at the Temple

     10But after his brothers had left for the festival, Jesus also went, though secretly, staying out of public view.

     11The Jewish leaders tried to find him at the festival and kept asking if anyone had seen him. 12There was a

     lot of discussion about him among the crowds. Some said, "He's a wonderful man," while others said, "He's

     nothing but a fraud, deceiving the people." 13But no one had the courage to speak favorably about him in

     public, for they were afraid of getting in trouble with the Jewish leaders.

     14Then, midway through the festival, Jesus went up to the Temple and began to teach. 15The Jewish leaders

     were surprised when they heard him. "How does he know so much when he hasn't studied everything we've

     studied?" they asked.

     16So Jesus told them, "I'm not teaching my own ideas, but those of God who sent me. 17Anyone who wants

     to do the will of God will know whether my teaching is from God or is merely my own. 18Those who present

     their own ideas are looking for praise for themselves, but those who seek to honor the one who sent them are

     good and genuine. 19None of you obeys the law of Moses! In fact, you are trying to kill me."

     20The crowd replied, "You're demon possessed! Who's trying to kill you?"

     21Jesus replied, "I worked on the Sabbath by healing a man, and you were offended. 22But you work on the

     Sabbath, too, when you obey Moses' law of circumcision. (Actually, this tradition of circumcision is older than

     the law of Moses; it goes back to Abraham.) 23For if the correct time for circumcising your son falls on the

     Sabbath, you go ahead and do it, so as not to break the law of Moses. So why should I be condemned for

     making a man completely well on the Sabbath? 24Think this through and you will see that I am right."

     Is Jesus the Messiah?

     25Some of the people who lived there in Jerusalem said among themselves, "Isn't this the man they are trying

     to kill? 26But here he is, speaking in public, and they say nothing to him. Can it be that our leaders know that

     he really is the Messiah? 27But how could he be? For we know where this man comes from. When the Messiah

     comes, he will simply appear; no one will know where he comes from."

     28While Jesus was teaching in the Temple, he called out, "Yes, you know me, and you know where I come

     from. But I represent one you don't know, and he is true. 29I know him because I have come from him, and

     he sent me to you." 30Then the leaders tried to arrest him; but no one laid a hand on him, because his time

     had not yet come.

     31Many among the crowds at the Temple believed in him. "After all," they said, "would you expect the

     Messiah to do more miraculous signs than this man has done?"

     32When the Pharisees heard that the crowds were murmuring such things, they and the leading priests sent

     Temple guards to arrest Jesus. 33But Jesus told them, "I will be here a little longer. Then I will return to the

     one who sent me. 34You will search for me but not find me. And you won't be able to come where I am."

     35The Jewish leaders were puzzled by this statement. "Where is he planning to go?" they asked. "Maybe he is

     thinking of leaving the country and going to the Jews in other lands, or maybe even to the Gentiles! 36What

     does he mean when he says, `You will search for me but not find me,' and `You won't be able to come where

     I am'?"

     Jesus Promises Living Water

     37On the last day, the climax of the festival, Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, "If you are thirsty,

     come to me! 38If you believe in me, come and drink! For the Scriptures declare that rivers of living water will

     flow out from within." 39(When he said "living water," he was speaking of the Spirit, who would be given to

     everyone believing in him. But the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not yet entered into his

     glory.)

     Division and Unbelief

     40When the crowds heard him say this, some of them declared, "This man surely is the Prophet." 41Others

     said, "He is the Messiah." Still others said, "But he can't be! Will the Messiah come from Galilee? 42For the

     Scriptures clearly state that the Messiah will be born of the royal line of David, in Bethlehem, the village

     where King David was born." 43So the crowd was divided in their opinion about him. 44And some wanted him

     arrested, but no one touched him.

     45The Temple guards who had been sent to arrest him returned to the leading priests and Pharisees. "Why

     didn't you bring him in?" they demanded.

     46"We have never heard anyone talk like this!" the guards responded.

     47"Have you been led astray, too?" the Pharisees mocked. 48"Is there a single one of us rulers or Pharisees

     who believes in him? 49These ignorant crowds do, but what do they know about it? A curse on them

     anyway!"

     50Nicodemus, the leader who had met with Jesus earlier, then spoke up. 51"Is it legal to convict a man before

     he is given a hearing?" he asked.

     52They replied, "Are you from Galilee, too? Search the Scriptures and see for yourself--no prophet ever

     comes from Galilee!"

     [The most ancient Greek manuscripts do not include John 7:53-8:11.]

     53Then the meeting broke up and everybody went home.

chapter 8

     A Woman Caught in Adultery

     1Jesus returned to the Mount of Olives, 2but early the next morning he was back again at the Temple. A

     crowd soon gathered, and he sat down and taught them. 3As he was speaking, the teachers of religious law

     and Pharisees brought a woman they had caught in the act of adultery. They put her in front of the crowd.

     4"Teacher," they said to Jesus, "this woman was caught in the very act of adultery. 5The law of Moses says

     to stone her. What do you say?"

     6They were trying to trap him into saying something they could use against him, but Jesus stooped down and

     wrote in the dust with his finger. 7They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, "All right,

     stone her. But let those who have never sinned throw the first stones!" 8Then he stooped down again and

     wrote in the dust.

     9When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest, until only Jesus was

     left in the middle of the crowd with the woman. 10Then Jesus stood up again and said to her, "Where are

     your accusers? Didn't even one of them condemn you?"

     11"No, Lord," she said.

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

     Jesus, the Light of the World

     12Jesus said to the people, "I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won't be stumbling through the

     darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life."

     13The Pharisees replied, "You are making false claims about yourself!"

     14Jesus told them, "These claims are valid even though I make them about myself. For I know where I came

     from and where I am going, but you don't know this about me. 15You judge me with all your human

     limitations, but I am not judging anyone. 16And if I did, my judgment would be correct in every respect

     because I am not alone--I have with me the Father who sent me. 17Your own law says that if two people

     agree about something, their witness is accepted as fact. 18I am one witness, and my Father who sent me is

     the other."

     19"Where is your father?" they asked.

     Jesus answered, "Since you don't know who I am, you don't know who my Father is. If you knew me, then

     you would know my Father, too." 20Jesus made these statements while he was teaching in the section of the

     Temple known as the Treasury. But he was not arrested, because his time had not yet come.

     The Unbelieving People Warned

     21Later Jesus said to them again, "I am going away. You will search for me and die in your sin. You cannot

     come where I am going."

     22The Jewish leaders asked, "Is he planning to commit suicide? What does he mean, `You cannot come where

     I am going'?"

     23Then he said to them, "You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not. 24That is

     why I said that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am who I say I am, you will die in your

     sins."

     25"Tell us who you are," they demanded.

     Jesus replied, "I am the one I have always claimed to be. 26I have much to say about you and much to

     condemn, but I won't. For I say only what I have heard from the one who sent me, and he is true." 27But

     they still didn't understand that he was talking to them about his Father.

     28So Jesus said, "When you have lifted up the Son of Man on the cross, then you will realize that I am he and

     that I do nothing on my own, but I speak what the Father taught me. 29And the one who sent me is with

     me--he has not deserted me. For I always do those things that are pleasing to him." 30Then many who heard

     him say these things believed in him.

     Jesus and Abraham

     31Jesus said to the people who believed in him, "You are truly my disciples if you keep obeying my teachings.

     32And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

     33"But we are descendants of Abraham," they said. "We have never been slaves to anyone on earth. What do

     you mean, `set free'?"

     34Jesus replied, "I assure you that everyone who sins is a slave of sin. 35A slave is not a permanent member

     of the family, but a son is part of the family forever. 36So if the Son sets you free, you will indeed be free.

     37Yes, I realize that you are descendants of Abraham. And yet some of you are trying to kill me because my

     message does not find a place in your hearts. 38I am telling you what I saw when I was with my Father. But

     you are following the advice of your father."

     39"Our father is Abraham," they declared.

     "No," Jesus replied, "for if you were children of Abraham, you would follow his good example. 40I told you the

     truth I heard from God, but you are trying to kill me. Abraham wouldn't do a thing like that. 41No, you are

     obeying your real father when you act that way."

     They replied, "We were not born out of wedlock! Our true Father is God himself."

     42Jesus told them, "If God were your Father, you would love me, because I have come to you from God. I am

     not here on my own, but he sent me. 43Why can't you understand what I am saying? It is because you are

     unable to do so! 44For you are the children of your father the Devil, and you love to do the evil things he

     does. He was a murderer from the beginning and has always hated the truth. There is no truth in him. When

     he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45So when I tell the truth,

     you just naturally don't believe me! 46Which of you can truthfully accuse me of sin? And since I am telling

     you the truth, why don't you believe me? 47Anyone whose Father is God listens gladly to the words of God.

     Since you don't, it proves you aren't God's children."

     48The people retorted, "You Samaritan devil! Didn't we say all along that you were possessed by a demon?"

     49"No," Jesus said, "I have no demon in me. For I honor my Father--and you dishonor me. 50And though I

     have no wish to glorify myself, God wants to glorify me. Let him be the judge. 51I assure you, anyone who

     obeys my teaching will never die!"

     52The people said, "Now we know you are possessed by a demon. Even Abraham and the prophets died, but

     you say that those who obey your teaching will never die! 53Are you greater than our father Abraham, who

     died? Are you greater than the prophets, who died? Who do you think you are?"

     54Jesus answered, "If I am merely boasting about myself, it doesn't count. But it is my Father who says these

     glorious things about me. You say, `He is our God,' 55but you do not even know him. I know him. If I said

     otherwise, I would be as great a liar as you! But it is true--I know him and obey him. 56Your ancestor

     Abraham rejoiced as he looked forward to my coming. He saw it and was glad."

     57The people said, "You aren't even fifty years old. How can you say you have seen Abraham?"

     58Jesus answered, "The truth is, I existed before Abraham was even born!" 59At that point they picked up

     stones to kill him. But Jesus hid himself from them and left the Temple.

chapter 9

     Jesus Heals a Man Born Blind

     1As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth. 2"Teacher," his disciples asked

     him, "why was this man born blind? Was it a result of his own sins or those of his parents?"

     3"It was not because of his sins or his parents' sins," Jesus answered. "He was born blind so the power of God

     could be seen in him. 4All of us must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent me,

     because there is little time left before the night falls and all work comes to an end. 5But while I am still here

     in the world, I am the light of the world."

     6Then he spit on the ground, made mud with the saliva, and smoothed the mud over the blind man's eyes.

     7He told him, "Go and wash in the pool of Siloam" (Siloam means Sent). So the man went and washed, and

     came back seeing!

     8His neighbors and others who knew him as a blind beggar asked each other, "Is this the same man--that

     beggar?" 9Some said he was, and others said, "No, but he surely looks like him!"

     And the beggar kept saying, "I am the same man!"

     10They asked, "Who healed you? What happened?"

     11He told them, "The man they call Jesus made mud and smoothed it over my eyes and told me, `Go to the

     pool of Siloam and wash off the mud.' I went and washed, and now I can see!"

     12"Where is he now?" they asked.

     "I don't know," he replied.

     13Then they took the man to the Pharisees. 14Now as it happened, Jesus had healed the man on a Sabbath.

     15The Pharisees asked the man all about it. So he told them, "He smoothed the mud over my eyes, and when

     it was washed away, I could see!"

     16Some of the Pharisees said, "This man Jesus is not from God, for he is working on the Sabbath." Others

     said, "But how could an ordinary sinner do such miraculous signs?" So there was a deep division of opinion

     among them.

     17Then the Pharisees once again questioned the man who had been blind and demanded, "This man who

     opened your eyes--who do you say he is?"

     The man replied, "I think he must be a prophet."

     18The Jewish leaders wouldn't believe he had been blind, so they called in his parents. 19They asked them,

     "Is this your son? Was he born blind? If so, how can he see?"

     20His parents replied, "We know this is our son and that he was born blind, 21but we don't know how he can

     see or who healed him. He is old enough to speak for himself. Ask him." 22They said this because they were

     afraid of the Jewish leaders, who had announced that anyone saying Jesus was the Messiah would be

     expelled from the synagogue. 23That's why they said, "He is old enough to speak for himself. Ask him."

     24So for the second time they called in the man who had been blind and told him, "Give glory to God by telling

     the truth, because we know Jesus is a sinner."

     25"I don't know whether he is a sinner," the man replied. "But I know this: I was blind, and now I can see!"

     26"But what did he do?" they asked. "How did he heal you?"

     27"Look!" the man exclaimed. "I told you once. Didn't you listen? Why do you want to hear it again? Do you

     want to become his disciples, too?"

     28Then they cursed him and said, "You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. 29We know God spoke

     to Moses, but as for this man, we don't know anything about him."

     30"Why, that's very strange!" the man replied. "He healed my eyes, and yet you don't know anything about

     him! 31Well, God doesn't listen to sinners, but he is ready to hear those who worship him and do his will.

     32Never since the world began has anyone been able to open the eyes of someone born blind. 33If this man

     were not from God, he couldn't do it."

     34"You were born in sin!" they answered. "Are you trying to teach us?" And they threw him out of the

     synagogue.

     Spiritual Blindness

     35When Jesus heard what had happened, he found the man and said, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?"

     36The man answered, "Who is he, sir, because I would like to."

     37"You have seen him," Jesus said, "and he is speaking to you!"

     38"Yes, Lord," the man said, "I believe!" And he worshiped Jesus.

     39Then Jesus told him, "I have come to judge the world. I have come to give sight to the blind and to show

     those who think they see that they are blind."

     40The Pharisees who were standing there heard him and asked, "Are you saying we are blind?"

     41"If you were blind, you wouldn't be guilty," Jesus replied. "But you remain guilty because you claim you can

     see.

chapter 10

     The Good Shepherd and His Sheep

     1"I assure you, anyone who sneaks over the wall of a sheepfold, rather than going through the gate, must

     surely be a thief and a robber! 2For a shepherd enters through the gate. 3The gatekeeper opens the gate for

     him, and the sheep hear his voice and come to him. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.

     4After he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead of them, and they follow him because they recognize

     his voice. 5They won't follow a stranger; they will run from him because they don't recognize his voice."

     6Those who heard Jesus use this illustration didn't understand what he meant, 7so he explained it to them. "I

     assure you, I am the gate for the sheep," he said. 8"All others who came before me were thieves and robbers.

     But the true sheep did not listen to them. 9Yes, I am the gate. Those who come in through me will be saved.

     Wherever they go, they will find green pastures. 10The thief's purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My

     purpose is to give life in all its fullness.

     11"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12A hired hand will run when

     he sees a wolf coming. He will leave the sheep because they aren't his and he isn't their shepherd. And so the

     wolf attacks them and scatters the flock. 13The hired hand runs away because he is merely hired and has no

     real concern for the sheep.

     14"I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me, 15just as my Father knows me and I

     know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. 16I have other sheep, too, that are not in this

     sheepfold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice; and there will be one flock with one

     shepherd.

     17"The Father loves me because I lay down my life that I may have it back again. 18No one can take my life

     from me. I lay down my life voluntarily. For I have the right to lay it down when I want to and also the power

     to take it again. For my Father has given me this command."

     19When he said these things, the people were again divided in their opinions about him. 20Some of them said,

     "He has a demon, or he's crazy. Why listen to a man like that?" 21Others said, "This doesn't sound like a man

     possessed by a demon! Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?"

     Jesus Claims to Be the Son of God

     22It was now winter, and Jesus was in Jerusalem at the time of Hanukkah. 23He was at the Temple, walking

     through the section known as Solomon's Colonnade. 24The Jewish leaders surrounded him and asked, "How

     long are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly."

     25Jesus replied, "I have already told you, and you don't believe me. The proof is what I do in the name of my

     Father. 26But you don't believe me because you are not part of my flock. 27My sheep recognize my voice; I

     know them, and they follow me. 28I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them

     away from me, 29for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. So no one

     can take them from me. 30The Father and I are one."

     31Once again the Jewish leaders picked up stones to kill him. 32Jesus said, "At my Father's direction I have

     done many things to help the people. For which one of these good deeds are you killing me?"

     33They replied, "Not for any good work, but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, have made yourself

     God."

     34Jesus replied, "It is written in your own law that God said to certain leaders of the people, `I say, you are

     gods!' 35And you know that the Scriptures cannot be altered. So if those people, who received God's

     message, were called `gods,' 36why do you call it blasphemy when the Holy One who was sent into the world

     by the Father says, `I am the Son of God'? 37Don't believe me unless I carry out my Father's work. 38But if I

     do his work, believe in what I have done, even if you don't believe me. Then you will realize that the Father is

     in me, and I am in the Father."

     39Once again they tried to arrest him, but he got away and left them. 40He went beyond the Jordan River to

     stay near the place where John was first baptizing. 41And many followed him. "John didn't do miracles," they

     remarked to one another, "but all his predictions about this man have come true." 42And many believed in him

     there.

chapter 11

     The Death of Lazarus

     1A man named Lazarus was sick. He lived in Bethany with his sisters, Mary and Martha. 2This is the Mary who

     poured the expensive perfume on the Lord's feet and wiped them with her hair. Her brother, Lazarus, was

     sick. 3So the two sisters sent a message to Jesus telling him, "Lord, the one you love is very sick."

     4But when Jesus heard about it he said, "Lazarus's sickness will not end in death. No, it is for the glory of

     God. I, the Son of God, will receive glory from this." 5Although Jesus loved Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, 6he

     stayed where he was for the next two days and did not go to them. 7Finally after two days, he said to his

     disciples, "Let's go to Judea again."

     8But his disciples objected. "Teacher," they said, "only a few days ago the Jewish leaders in Judea were

     trying to kill you. Are you going there again?"

     9Jesus replied, "There are twelve hours of daylight every day. As long as it is light, people can walk safely.

     They can see because they have the light of this world. 10Only at night is there danger of stumbling because

     there is no light." 11Then he said, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but now I will go and wake him up."

     12The disciples said, "Lord, if he is sleeping, that means he is getting better!" 13They thought Jesus meant

     Lazarus was having a good night's rest, but Jesus meant Lazarus had died.

     14Then he told them plainly, "Lazarus is dead. 15And for your sake, I am glad I wasn't there, because this will

     give you another opportunity to believe in me. Come, let's go see him."

     16Thomas, nicknamed the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, "Let's go, too--and die with Jesus."

     17When Jesus arrived at Bethany, he was told that Lazarus had already been in his grave for four days.

     18Bethany was only a few miles down the road from Jerusalem, 19and many of the people had come to pay

     their respects and console Martha and Mary on their loss. 20When Martha got word that Jesus was coming,

     she went to meet him. But Mary stayed at home. 21Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if you had been here, my

     brother would not have died. 22But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask."

     23Jesus told her, "Your brother will rise again."

     24"Yes," Martha said, "when everyone else rises, on resurrection day."

     25Jesus told her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die like

     everyone else, will live again. 26They are given eternal life for believing in me and will never perish. Do you

     believe this, Martha?"

     27"Yes, Lord," she told him. "I have always believed you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who has

     come into the world from God." 28Then she left him and returned to Mary. She called Mary aside from the

     mourners and told her, "The Teacher is here and wants to see you." 29So Mary immediately went to him.

     30Now Jesus had stayed outside the village, at the place where Martha met him. 31When the people who

     were at the house trying to console Mary saw her leave so hastily, they assumed she was going to Lazarus's

     grave to weep. So they followed her there. 32When Mary arrived and saw Jesus, she fell down at his feet and

     said, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died."

     33When Jesus saw her weeping and saw the other people wailing with her, he was moved with indignation

     and was deeply troubled. 34"Where have you put him?" he asked them.

     They told him, "Lord, come and see." 35Then Jesus wept. 36The people who were standing nearby said, "See

     how much he loved him." 37But some said, "This man healed a blind man. Why couldn't he keep Lazarus from

     dying?"

     Jesus Raises Lazarus from the Dead

     38And again Jesus was deeply troubled. Then they came to the grave. It was a cave with a stone rolled

     across its entrance. 39"Roll the stone aside," Jesus told them.

     But Martha, the dead man's sister, said, "Lord, by now the smell will be terrible because he has been dead for

     four days."

     40Jesus responded, "Didn't I tell you that you will see God's glory if you believe?" 41So they rolled the stone

     aside. Then Jesus looked up to heaven and said, "Father, thank you for hearing me. 42You always hear me,

     but I said it out loud for the sake of all these people standing here, so they will believe you sent me." 43Then

     Jesus shouted, "Lazarus, come out!" 44And Lazarus came out, bound in graveclothes, his face wrapped in a

     headcloth. Jesus told them, "Unwrap him and let him go!"

     The Plot to Kill Jesus

     45Many of the people who were with Mary believed in Jesus when they saw this happen. 46But some went to

     the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. 47Then the leading priests and Pharisees called the high

     council together to discuss the situation. "What are we going to do?" they asked each other. "This man

     certainly performs many miraculous signs. 48If we leave him alone, the whole nation will follow him, and then

     the Roman army will come and destroy both our Temple and our nation."

     49And one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said, "How can you be so stupid? 50Why should

     the whole nation be destroyed? Let this one man die for the people."

     51This prophecy that Jesus should die for the entire nation came from Caiaphas in his position as high priest.

     He didn't think of it himself; he was inspired to say it. 52It was a prediction that Jesus' death would be not

     for Israel only, but for the gathering together of all the children of God scattered around the world.

     53So from that time on the Jewish leaders began to plot Jesus' death. 54As a result, Jesus stopped his public

     ministry among the people and left Jerusalem. He went to a place near the wilderness, to the village of

     Ephraim, and stayed there with his disciples.

     55It was now almost time for the celebration of Passover, and many people from the country arrived in

     Jerusalem several days early so they could go through the cleansing ceremony before the Passover began.

     56They wanted to see Jesus, and as they talked in the Temple, they asked each other, "What do you think?

     Will he come for the Passover?" 57Meanwhile, the leading priests and Pharisees had publicly announced that

     anyone seeing Jesus must report him immediately so they could arrest him.

chapter 12

     Jesus Anointed at Bethany

     1Six days before the Passover ceremonies began, Jesus arrived in Bethany, the home of Lazarus--the man he

     had raised from the dead. 2A dinner was prepared in Jesus' honor. Martha served, and Lazarus sat at the

     table with him. 3Then Mary took a twelve-ounce jar of expensive perfume made from essence of nard, and

     she anointed Jesus' feet with it and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with fragrance.

     4But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples--the one who would betray him--said, 5"That perfume was worth a

     small fortune. It should have been sold and the money given to the poor." 6Not that he cared for the

     poor--he was a thief who was in charge of the disciples' funds, and he often took some for his own use.

     7Jesus replied, "Leave her alone. She did it in preparation for my burial. 8You will always have the poor among

     you, but I will not be here with you much longer."

     9When all the people heard of Jesus' arrival, they flocked to see him and also to see Lazarus, the man Jesus

     had raised from the dead. 10Then the leading priests decided to kill Lazarus, too, 11for it was because of him

     that many of the people had deserted them and believed in Jesus.

     The Triumphal Entry

     12The next day, the news that Jesus was on the way to Jerusalem swept through the city. A huge crowd of

     Passover visitors 13took palm branches and went down the road to meet him. They shouted,

         "Praise God!

         Bless the one who comes in the name of the Lord!

         Hail to the King of Israel!"

     14Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, fulfilling the prophecy that said:

     15

         "Don't be afraid, people of Israel.

         Look, your King is coming,

             sitting on a donkey's colt."

     16His disciples didn't realize at the time that this was a fulfillment of prophecy. But after Jesus entered into

     his glory, they remembered that these Scriptures had come true before their eyes.

     17Those in the crowd who had seen Jesus call Lazarus back to life were telling others all about it. 18That was

     the main reason so many went out to meet him--because they had heard about this mighty miracle. 19Then

     the Pharisees said to each other, "We've lost. Look, the whole world has gone after him!"

     Jesus Predicts His Death

     20Some Greeks who had come to Jerusalem to attend the Passover 21paid a visit to Philip, who was from

     Bethsaida in Galilee. They said, "Sir, we want to meet Jesus." 22Philip told Andrew about it, and they went

     together to ask Jesus.

     23Jesus replied, "The time has come for the Son of Man to enter into his glory. 24The truth is, a kernel of

     wheat must be planted in the soil. Unless it dies it will be alone--a single seed. But its death will produce

     many new kernels--a plentiful harvest of new lives. 25Those who love their life in this world will lose it. Those

     who despise their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26All those who want to be my disciples must

     come and follow me, because my servants must be where I am. And if they follow me, the Father will honor

     them. 27Now my soul is deeply troubled. Should I pray, `Father, save me from what lies ahead'? But that is

     the very reason why I came! 28Father, bring glory to your name."

     Then a voice spoke from heaven, saying, "I have already brought it glory, and I will do it again." 29When the

     crowd heard the voice, some thought it was thunder, while others declared an angel had spoken to him.

     30Then Jesus told them, "The voice was for your benefit, not mine. 31The time of judgment for the world has

     come, when the prince of this world will be cast out. 32And when I am lifted up on the cross, I will draw

     everyone to myself." 33He said this to indicate how he was going to die.

     34"Die?" asked the crowd. "We understood from Scripture that the Messiah would live forever. Why are you

     saying the Son of Man will die? Who is this Son of Man you are talking about?"

     35Jesus replied, "My light will shine out for you just a little while longer. Walk in it while you can, so you will

     not stumble when the darkness falls. If you walk in the darkness, you cannot see where you are going.

     36Believe in the light while there is still time; then you will become children of the light." After saying these

     things, Jesus went away and was hidden from them.

     The Unbelief of the People

     37But despite all the miraculous signs he had done, most of the people did not believe in him. 38This is

     exactly what Isaiah the prophet had predicted:

         "Lord, who has believed our message?

             To whom will the Lord reveal his saving power?"

     39But the people couldn't believe, for as Isaiah also said,

     40

         "The Lord has blinded their eyes

             and hardened their hearts--

         so their eyes cannot see,

             and their hearts cannot understand,

         and they cannot turn to me

             and let me heal them."

     41Isaiah was referring to Jesus when he made this prediction, because he was given a vision of the Messiah's

     glory. 42Many people, including some of the Jewish leaders, believed in him. But they wouldn't admit it to

     anyone because of their fear that the Pharisees would expel them from the synagogue. 43For they loved

     human praise more than the praise of God.

     44Jesus shouted to the crowds, "If you trust me, you are really trusting God who sent me. 45For when you

     see me, you are seeing the one who sent me. 46I have come as a light to shine in this dark world, so that all

     who put their trust in me will no longer remain in the darkness. 47If anyone hears me and doesn't obey me, I

     am not his judge--for I have come to save the world and not to judge it. 48But all who reject me and my

     message will be judged at the day of judgment by the truth I have spoken. 49I don't speak on my own

     authority. The Father who sent me gave me his own instructions as to what I should say. 50And I know his

     instructions lead to eternal life; so I say whatever the Father tells me to say!"

chapter 13

     Jesus Washes His Disciples Feet

     1Before the Passover celebration, Jesus knew that his hour had come to leave this world and return to his

     Father. He now showed the disciples the full extent of his love. 2It was time for supper, and the Devil had

     already enticed Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, to carry out his plan to betray Jesus. 3Jesus knew that the

     Father had given him authority over everything and that he had come from God and would return to God. 4So

     he got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, 5and poured water into a

     basin. Then he began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel he had around him.

     6When he came to Simon Peter, Peter said to him, "Lord, why are you going to wash my feet?"

     7Jesus replied, "You don't understand now why I am doing it; someday you will."

     8"No," Peter protested, "you will never wash my feet!"

     Jesus replied, "But if I don't wash you, you won't belong to me."

     9Simon Peter exclaimed, "Then wash my hands and head as well, Lord, not just my feet!"

     10Jesus replied, "A person who has bathed all over does not need to wash, except for the feet, to be entirely

     clean. And you are clean, but that isn't true of everyone here." 11For Jesus knew who would betray him. That

     is what he meant when he said, "Not all of you are clean."

     12After washing their feet, he put on his robe again and sat down and asked, "Do you understand what I was

     doing? 13You call me `Teacher' and `Lord,' and you are right, because it is true. 14And since I, the Lord and

     Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other's feet. 15I have given you an example to

     follow. Do as I have done to you. 16How true it is that a servant is not greater than the master. Nor are

     messengers more important than the one who sends them. 17You know these things--now do them! That is

     the path of blessing.

     Jesus Predicts His Betrayal

     18"I am not saying these things to all of you; I know so well each one of you I chose. The Scriptures declare,

     `The one who shares my food has turned against me,' and this will soon come true. 19I tell you this now, so

     that when it happens you will believe I am the Messiah. 20Truly, anyone who welcomes my messenger is

     welcoming me, and anyone who welcomes me is welcoming the Father who sent me."

     21Now Jesus was in great anguish of spirit, and he exclaimed, "The truth is, one of you will betray me!"

     22The disciples looked at each other, wondering whom he could mean. 23One of Jesus' disciples, the one

     Jesus loved, was sitting next to Jesus at the table. 24Simon Peter motioned to him to ask who would do this

     terrible thing. 25Leaning toward Jesus, he asked, "Lord, who is it?"

     26Jesus said, "It is the one to whom I give the bread dipped in the sauce." And when he had dipped it, he

     gave it to Judas, son of Simon Iscariot. 27As soon as Judas had eaten the bread, Satan entered into him.

     Then Jesus told him, "Hurry. Do it now." 28None of the others at the table knew what Jesus meant. 29Since

     Judas was their treasurer, some thought Jesus was telling him to go and pay for the food or to give some

     money to the poor. 30So Judas left at once, going out into the night.

     Jesus Predicts Peters Denial

     31As soon as Judas left the room, Jesus said, "The time has come for me, the Son of Man, to enter into my

     glory, and God will receive glory because of all that happens to me. 32And God will bring me into my glory

     very soon. 33Dear children, how brief are these moments before I must go away and leave you! Then, though

     you search for me, you cannot come to me--just as I told the Jewish leaders. 34So now I am giving you a

     new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. 35Your love for

     one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples."

     36Simon Peter said, "Lord, where are you going?"

     And Jesus replied, "You can't go with me now, but you will follow me later."

     37"But why can't I come now, Lord?" he asked. "I am ready to die for you."

     38Jesus answered, "Die for me? No, before the rooster crows tomorrow morning, you will deny three times

     that you even know me.

chapter 14

     Jesus, the Way to the Father

     1"Don't be troubled. You trust God, now trust in me. 2There are many rooms in my Father's home, and I am

     going to prepare a place for you. If this were not so, I would tell you plainly. 3When everything is ready, I will

     come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. 4And you know where I am going and how

     to get there."

     5"No, we don't know, Lord," Thomas said. "We haven't any idea where you are going, so how can we know

     the way?"

     6Jesus told him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.

     7If you had known who I am, then you would have known who my Father is. From now on you know him and

     have seen him!"

     8Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father and we will be satisfied."

     9Jesus replied, "Philip, don't you even yet know who I am, even after all the time I have been with you?

     Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father! So why are you asking to see him? 10Don't you believe that I

     am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words I say are not my own, but my Father who lives in me

     does his work through me. 11Just believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. Or at least believe

     because of what you have seen me do.

     12"The truth is, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works,

     because I am going to be with the Father. 13You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, because

     the work of the Son brings glory to the Father. 14Yes, ask anything in my name, and I will do it!

     Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit

     15"If you love me, obey my commandments. 16And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another

     Counselor, who will never leave you. 17He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world at large

     cannot receive him, because it isn't looking for him and doesn't recognize him. But you do, because he lives

     with you now and later will be in you. 18No, I will not abandon you as orphans--I will come to you. 19In just a

     little while the world will not see me again, but you will. For I will live again, and you will, too. 20When I am

     raised to life again, you will know that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21Those who

     obey my commandments are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them, and

     I will love them. And I will reveal myself to each one of them."

     22Judas (not Judas Iscariot, but the other disciple with that name) said to him, "Lord, why are you going to

     reveal yourself only to us and not to the world at large?"

     23Jesus replied, "All those who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come to them

     and live with them. 24Anyone who doesn't love me will not do what I say. And remember, my words are not

     my own. This message is from the Father who sent me. 25I am telling you these things now while I am still

     with you. 26But when the Father sends the Counselor as my representative--and by the Counselor I mean

     the Holy Spirit--he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I myself have told you.

     27"I am leaving you with a gift--peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give isn't like the peace the world

     gives. So don't be troubled or afraid. 28Remember what I told you: I am going away, but I will come back to

     you again. If you really love me, you will be very happy for me, because now I can go to the Father, who is

     greater than I am. 29I have told you these things before they happen so that you will believe when they do

     happen.

     30"I don't have much more time to talk to you, because the prince of this world approaches. He has no power

     over me, 31but I will do what the Father requires of me, so that the world will know that I love the Father.

     Come, let's be going.

chapter 15

     Jesus, the True Vine

     1"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2He cuts off every branch that doesn't produce fruit,

     and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. 3You have already been

     pruned for greater fruitfulness by the message I have given you. 4Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a

     branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful apart from me.

     5"Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit.

     For apart from me you can do nothing. 6Anyone who parts from me is thrown away like a useless branch and

     withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned. 7But if you stay joined to me and my words

     remain in you, you may ask any request you like, and it will be granted! 8My true disciples produce much fruit.

     This brings great glory to my Father.

     9"I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. 10When you obey me, you remain in

     my love, just as I obey my Father and remain in his love. 11I have told you this so that you will be filled with

     my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! 12I command you to love each other in the same way that I love you.

     13And here is how to measure it--the greatest love is shown when people lay down their lives for their

     friends. 14You are my friends if you obey me. 15I no longer call you servants, because a master doesn't

     confide in his servants. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me. 16You

     didn't choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce fruit that will last, so that the Father will

     give you whatever you ask for, using my name. 17I command you to love each other.

     The Worlds Hatred

     18"When the world hates you, remember it hated me before it hated you. 19The world would love you if you

     belonged to it, but you don't. I chose you to come out of the world, and so it hates you. 20Do you remember

     what I told you? `A servant is not greater than the master.' Since they persecuted me, naturally they will

     persecute you. And if they had listened to me, they would listen to you! 21The people of the world will hate

     you because you belong to me, for they don't know God who sent me. 22They would not be guilty if I had not

     come and spoken to them. But now they have no excuse for their sin. 23Anyone who hates me hates my

     Father, too. 24If I hadn't done such miraculous signs among them that no one else could do, they would not

     be counted guilty. But as it is, they saw all that I did and yet hated both of us--me and my Father. 25This

     has fulfilled what the Scriptures said: `They hated me without cause.'

     26"But I will send you the Counselor--the Spirit of truth. He will come to you from the Father and will tell you

     all about me. 27And you must also tell others about me because you have been with me from the beginning.

chapter 16

     1 "I have told you these things so that you won't fall away. 2For you will be expelled from the synagogues,

     and the time is coming when those who kill you will think they are doing God a service. 3This is because they

     have never known the Father or me. 4Yes, I'm telling you these things now, so that when they happen, you

     will remember I warned you. I didn't tell you earlier because I was going to be with you for a while longer.

     The Work of the Holy Spirit

     5"But now I am going away to the one who sent me, and none of you has asked me where I am going.

     6Instead, you are very sad. 7But it is actually best for you that I go away, because if I don't, the Counselor

     won't come. If I do go away, he will come because I will send him to you. 8And when he comes, he will

     convince the world of its sin, and of God's righteousness, and of the coming judgment. 9The world's sin is

     unbelief in me. 10Righteousness is available because I go to the Father, and you will see me no more.

     11Judgment will come because the prince of this world has already been judged.

     12"Oh, there is so much more I want to tell you, but you can't bear it now. 13When the Spirit of truth comes,

     he will guide you into all truth. He will not be presenting his own ideas; he will be telling you what he has

     heard. He will tell you about the future. 14He will bring me glory by revealing to you whatever he receives

     from me. 15All that the Father has is mine; this is what I mean when I say that the Spirit will reveal to you

     whatever he receives from me.

     Sadness Will Be Turned to Joy

     16"In just a little while I will be gone, and you won't see me anymore. Then, just a little while after that, you

     will see me again."

     17The disciples asked each other, "What does he mean when he says, `You won't see me, and then you will

     see me'? And what does he mean when he says, `I am going to the Father'? 18And what does he mean by `a

     little while'? We don't understand."

     19Jesus realized they wanted to ask him, so he said, "Are you asking yourselves what I meant? I said in just a

     little while I will be gone, and you won't see me anymore. Then, just a little while after that, you will see me

     again. 20Truly, you will weep and mourn over what is going to happen to me, but the world will rejoice. You

     will grieve, but your grief will suddenly turn to wonderful joy when you see me again. 21It will be like a woman

     experiencing the pains of labor. When her child is born, her anguish gives place to joy because she has

     brought a new person into the world. 22You have sorrow now, but I will see you again; then you will rejoice,

     and no one can rob you of that joy. 23At that time you won't need to ask me for anything. The truth is, you

     can go directly to the Father and ask him, and he will grant your request because you use my name. 24You

     haven't done this before. Ask, using my name, and you will receive, and you will have abundant joy.

     25"I have spoken of these matters in parables, but the time will come when this will not be necessary, and I

     will tell you plainly all about the Father. 26Then you will ask in my name. I'm not saying I will ask the Father

     on your behalf, 27for the Father himself loves you dearly because you love me and believe that I came from

     God. 28Yes, I came from the Father into the world, and I will leave the world and return to the Father."

     29Then his disciples said, "At last you are speaking plainly and not in parables. 30Now we understand that

     you know everything and don't need anyone to tell you anything. From this we believe that you came from

     God."

     31Jesus asked, "Do you finally believe? 32But the time is coming--in fact, it is already here--when you will be

     scattered, each one going his own way, leaving me alone. Yet I am not alone because the Father is with me.

     33I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and

     sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world."

chapter 17

     The Prayer of Jesus

     1When Jesus had finished saying all these things, he looked up to heaven and said, "Father, the time has

     come. Glorify your Son so he can give glory back to you. 2For you have given him authority over everyone in

     all the earth. He gives eternal life to each one you have given him. 3And this is the way to have eternal

     life--to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth. 4I brought glory to you

     here on earth by doing everything you told me to do. 5And now, Father, bring me into the glory we shared

     before the world began.

     6"I have told these men about you. They were in the world, but then you gave them to me. Actually, they

     were always yours, and you gave them to me; and they have kept your word. 7Now they know that

     everything I have is a gift from you, 8for I have passed on to them the words you gave me; and they

     accepted them and know that I came from you, and they believe you sent me.

     9"My prayer is not for the world, but for those you have given me, because they belong to you. 10And all of

     them, since they are mine, belong to you; and you have given them back to me, so they are my glory! 11Now

     I am departing the world; I am leaving them behind and coming to you. Holy Father, keep them and care for

     them--all those you have given me--so that they will be united just as we are. 12During my time here, I have

     kept them safe. I guarded them so that not one was lost, except the one headed for destruction, as the

     Scriptures foretold.

     13"And now I am coming to you. I have told them many things while I was with them so they would be filled

     with my joy. 14I have given them your word. And the world hates them because they do not belong to the

     world, just as I do not. 15I'm not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the

     evil one. 16They are not part of this world any more than I am. 17Make them pure and holy by teaching them

     your words of truth. 18As you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world. 19And I give myself

     entirely to you so they also might be entirely yours.

     20"I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me because of their

     testimony. 21My prayer for all of them is that they will be one, just as you and I are one, Father--that just

     as you are in me and I am in you, so they will be in us, and the world will believe you sent me.

     22"I have given them the glory you gave me, so that they may be one, as we are-- 23I in them and you in

     me, all being perfected into one. Then the world will know that you sent me and will understand that you love

     them as much as you love me. 24Father, I want these whom you've given me to be with me, so they can see

     my glory. You gave me the glory because you loved me even before the world began!

     25"O righteous Father, the world doesn't know you, but I do; and these disciples know you sent me. 26And I

     have revealed you to them and will keep on revealing you. I will do this so that your love for me may be in

     them and I in them."

chapter 18

     Jesus Is Betrayed and Arrested

     1After saying these things, Jesus crossed the Kidron Valley with his disciples and entered a grove of olive

     trees. 2Judas, the betrayer, knew this place, because Jesus had gone there many times with his disciples.

     3The leading priests and Pharisees had given Judas a battalion of Roman soldiers and Temple guards to

     accompany him. Now with blazing torches, lanterns, and weapons, they arrived at the olive grove.

     4Jesus fully realized all that was going to happen to him. Stepping forward to meet them, he asked, "Whom

     are you looking for?"

     5"Jesus of Nazareth," they replied.

     "I am he," Jesus said. Judas was standing there with them when Jesus identified himself. 6And as he said, "I

     am he," they all fell backward to the ground! 7Once more he asked them, "Whom are you searching for?"

     And again they replied, "Jesus of Nazareth."

     8"I told you that I am he," Jesus said. "And since I am the one you want, let these others go." 9He did this to

     fulfill his own statement: "I have not lost a single one of those you gave me."

     10Then Simon Peter drew a sword and slashed off the right ear of Malchus, the high priest's servant. 11But

     Jesus said to Peter, "Put your sword back into its sheath. Shall I not drink from the cup the Father has given

     me?"

     Annas Questions Jesus

     12So the soldiers, their commanding officer, and the Temple guards arrested Jesus and tied him up. 13First

     they took him to Annas, the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest that year. 14Caiaphas was the one

     who had told the other Jewish leaders, "Better that one should die for all."

     Peters First Denial

     15Simon Peter followed along behind, as did another of the disciples. That other disciple was acquainted with

     the high priest, so he was allowed to enter the courtyard with Jesus. 16Peter stood outside the gate. Then

     the other disciple spoke to the woman watching at the gate, and she let Peter in. 17The woman asked Peter,

     "Aren't you one of Jesus' disciples?"

     "No," he said, "I am not."

     18The guards and the household servants were standing around a charcoal fire they had made because it

     was cold. And Peter stood there with them, warming himself.

     The High Priest Questions Jesus

     19Inside, the high priest began asking Jesus about his followers and what he had been teaching them.

     20Jesus replied, "What I teach is widely known, because I have preached regularly in the synagogues and the

     Temple. I have been heard by people everywhere, and I teach nothing in private that I have not said in

     public. 21Why are you asking me this question? Ask those who heard me. They know what I said."

     22One of the Temple guards standing there struck Jesus on the face. "Is that the way to answer the high

     priest?" he demanded.

     23Jesus replied, "If I said anything wrong, you must give evidence for it. Should you hit a man for telling the

     truth?"

     24Then Annas bound Jesus and sent him to Caiaphas, the high priest.

     Peters Second and Third Denials

     25Meanwhile, as Simon Peter was standing by the fire, they asked him again, "Aren't you one of his disciples?"

     "I am not," he said.

     26But one of the household servants of the high priest, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off,

     asked, "Didn't I see you out there in the olive grove with Jesus?" 27Again Peter denied it. And immediately a

     rooster crowed.

     Jesus Trial before Pilate

     28Jesus' trial before Caiaphas ended in the early hours of the morning. Then he was taken to the

     headquarters of the Roman governor. His accusers didn't go in themselves because it would defile them, and

     they wouldn't be allowed to celebrate the Passover feast. 29So Pilate, the governor, went out to them and

     asked, "What is your charge against this man?"

     30"We wouldn't have handed him over to you if he weren't a criminal!" they retorted.

     31"Then take him away and judge him by your own laws," Pilate told them.

     "Only the Romans are permitted to execute someone," the Jewish leaders replied. 32This fulfilled Jesus'

     prediction about the way he would die.

     33Then Pilate went back inside and called for Jesus to be brought to him. "Are you the King of the Jews?" he

     asked him.

     34Jesus replied, "Is this your own question, or did others tell you about me?"

     35"Am I a Jew?" Pilate asked. "Your own people and their leading priests brought you here. Why? What have

     you done?"

     36Then Jesus answered, "I am not an earthly king. If I were, my followers would have fought when I was

     arrested by the Jewish leaders. But my Kingdom is not of this world."

     37Pilate replied, "You are a king then?"

     "You say that I am a king, and you are right," Jesus said. "I was born for that purpose. And I came to bring

     truth to the world. All who love the truth recognize that what I say is true."

     38"What is truth?" Pilate asked. Then he went out again to the people and told them, "He is not guilty of any

     crime. 39But you have a custom of asking me to release someone from prison each year at Passover. So if

     you want me to, I'll release the King of the Jews."

     40But they shouted back, "No! Not this man, but Barabbas!" (Barabbas was a criminal.)

chapter 19

     Jesus Sentenced to Death

     1Then Pilate had Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip. 2The soldiers made a crown of long, sharp thorns and

     put it on his head, and they put a royal purple robe on him. 3"Hail! King of the Jews!" they mocked, and they

     hit him with their fists.

     4Pilate went outside again and said to the people, "I am going to bring him out to you now, but understand

     clearly that I find him not guilty." 5Then Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe.

     And Pilate said, "Here is the man!"

     6When they saw him, the leading priests and Temple guards began shouting, "Crucify! Crucify!"

     "You crucify him," Pilate said. "I find him not guilty."

     7The Jewish leaders replied, "By our laws he ought to die because he called himself the Son of God."

     8When Pilate heard this, he was more frightened than ever. 9He took Jesus back into the headquarters again

     and asked him, "Where are you from?" But Jesus gave no answer. 10"You won't talk to me?" Pilate demanded.

     "Don't you realize that I have the power to release you or to crucify you?"

     11Then Jesus said, "You would have no power over me at all unless it were given to you from above. So the

     one who brought me to you has the greater sin."

     12Then Pilate tried to release him, but the Jewish leaders told him, "If you release this man, you are not a

     friend of Caesar. Anyone who declares himself a king is a rebel against Caesar."

     13When they said this, Pilate brought Jesus out to them again. Then Pilate sat down on the judgment seat on

     the platform that is called the Stone Pavement (in Hebrew, Gabbatha). 14It was now about noon of the day

     of preparation for the Passover. And Pilate said to the people, "Here is your king!"

     15"Away with him," they yelled. "Away with him--crucify him!"

     "What? Crucify your king?" Pilate asked.

     "We have no king but Caesar," the leading priests shouted back.

     16Then Pilate gave Jesus to them to be crucified.

     The Crucifixion

     So they took Jesus and led him away. 17Carrying the cross by himself, Jesus went to the place called Skull

     Hill (in Hebrew, Golgotha). 18There they crucified him. There were two others crucified with him, one on

     either side, with Jesus between them. 19And Pilate posted a sign over him that read, "Jesus of Nazareth, the

     King of the Jews." 20The place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and the sign was written in

     Hebrew, Latin, and Greek, so that many people could read it.

     21Then the leading priests said to Pilate, "Change it from `The King of the Jews' to `He said, I am King of the

     Jews.' "

     22Pilate replied, "What I have written, I have written. It stays exactly as it is."

     23When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they divided his clothes among the four of them. They also took his

     robe, but it was seamless, woven in one piece from the top. 24So they said, "Let's not tear it but throw dice

     to see who gets it." This fulfilled the Scripture that says, "They divided my clothes among themselves and

     threw dice for my robe." So that is what they did.

     25Standing near the cross were Jesus' mother, and his mother's sister, Mary (the wife of Clopas), and Mary

     Magdalene. 26When Jesus saw his mother standing there beside the disciple he loved, he said to her,

     "Woman, he is your son." 27And he said to this disciple, "She is your mother." And from then on this disciple

     took her into his home.

     The Death of Jesus

     28Jesus knew that everything was now finished, and to fulfill the Scriptures he said, "I am thirsty." 29A jar of

     sour wine was sitting there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put it on a hyssop branch, and held it up to his

     lips. 30When Jesus had tasted it, he said, "It is finished!" Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

     31The Jewish leaders didn't want the victims hanging there the next day, which was the Sabbath (and a very

     special Sabbath at that, because it was the Passover), so they asked Pilate to hasten their deaths by

     ordering that their legs be broken. Then their bodies could be taken down. 32So the soldiers came and broke

     the legs of the two men crucified with Jesus. 33But when they came to Jesus, they saw that he was dead

     already, so they didn't break his legs. 34One of the soldiers, however, pierced his side with a spear, and blood

     and water flowed out. 35This report is from an eyewitness giving an accurate account; it is presented so that

     you also can believe. 36These things happened in fulfillment of the Scriptures that say, "Not one of his bones

     will be broken," 37and "They will look on him whom they pierced."

     The Burial of Jesus

     38Afterward Joseph of Arimathea, who had been a secret disciple of Jesus (because he feared the Jewish

     leaders), asked Pilate for permission to take Jesus' body down. When Pilate gave him permission, he came and

     took the body away. 39Nicodemus, the man who had come to Jesus at night, also came, bringing about

     seventy-five pounds of embalming ointment made from myrrh and aloes. 40Together they wrapped Jesus'

     body in a long linen cloth with the spices, as is the Jewish custom of burial. 41The place of crucifixion was

     near a garden, where there was a new tomb, never used before. 42And so, because it was the day of

     preparation before the Passover and since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there.

chapter 20

     The Resurrection

     1Early Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found that the stone

     had been rolled away from the entrance. 2She ran and found Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one

     whom Jesus loved. She said, "They have taken the Lord's body out of the tomb, and I don't know where they

     have put him!"

     3Peter and the other disciple ran to the tomb to see. 4The other disciple outran Peter and got there first. 5He

     stooped and looked in and saw the linen cloth lying there, but he didn't go in. 6Then Simon Peter arrived and

     went inside. He also noticed the linen wrappings lying there, 7while the cloth that had covered Jesus' head

     was folded up and lying to the side. 8Then the other disciple also went in, and he saw and believed-- 9for

     until then they hadn't realized that the Scriptures said he would rise from the dead. 10Then they went home.

     Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene

     11Mary was standing outside the tomb crying, and as she wept, she stooped and looked in. 12She saw two

     white-robed angels sitting at the head and foot of the place where the body of Jesus had been lying. 13"Why

     are you crying?" the angels asked her.

     "Because they have taken away my Lord," she replied, "and I don't know where they have put him."

     14She glanced over her shoulder and saw someone standing behind her. It was Jesus, but she didn't

     recognize him. 15"Why are you crying?" Jesus asked her. "Who are you looking for?"

     She thought he was the gardener. "Sir," she said, "if you have taken him away, tell me where you have put

     him, and I will go and get him."

     16"Mary!" Jesus said.

     She turned toward him and exclaimed, "Teacher!"

     17"Don't cling to me," Jesus said, "for I haven't yet ascended to the Father. But go find my brothers and tell

     them that I am ascending to my Father and your Father, my God and your God."

     18Mary Magdalene found the disciples and told them, "I have seen the Lord!" Then she gave them his

     message.

     Jesus Appears to His Disciples

     19That evening, on the first day of the week, the disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they

     were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among them! "Peace be with you," he

     said. 20As he spoke, he held out his hands for them to see, and he showed them his side. They were filled

     with joy when they saw their Lord! 21He spoke to them again and said, "Peace be with you. As the Father

     has sent me, so I send you." 22Then he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. 23If

     you forgive anyone's sins, they are forgiven. If you refuse to forgive them, they are unforgiven."

     Jesus Appears to Thomas

     24One of the disciples, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin), was not with the others when Jesus came. 25They

     told him, "We have seen the Lord!" But he replied, "I won't believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his hands,

     put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in his side."

     26Eight days later the disciples were together again, and this time Thomas was with them. The doors were

     locked; but suddenly, as before, Jesus was standing among them. He said, "Peace be with you." 27Then he

     said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don't be

     faithless any longer. Believe!"

     28"My Lord and my God!" Thomas exclaimed.

     29Then Jesus told him, "You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who haven't seen me and

     believe anyway."

     Purpose of the Book

     30Jesus' disciples saw him do many other miraculous signs besides the ones recorded in this book. 31But

     these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in

     him you will have life.

chapter 21

     Jesus Appears to Seven Disciples

     1Later Jesus appeared again to the disciples beside the Sea of Galilee. This is how it happened. 2Several of

     the disciples were there--Simon Peter, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the

     sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples.

     3Simon Peter said, "I'm going fishing."

     "We'll come, too," they all said. So they went out in the boat, but they caught nothing all night.

     4At dawn the disciples saw Jesus standing on the beach, but they couldn't see who he was. 5He called out,

     "Friends, have you caught any fish?"

     "No," they replied.

     6Then he said, "Throw out your net on the right-hand side of the boat, and you'll get plenty of fish!" So they

     did, and they couldn't draw in the net because there were so many fish in it.

     7Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord!" When Simon Peter heard that it was the

     Lord, he put on his tunic (for he had stripped for work), jumped into the water, and swam ashore. 8The

     others stayed with the boat and pulled the loaded net to the shore, for they were only out about three

     hundred feet. 9When they got there, they saw that a charcoal fire was burning and fish were frying over it,

     and there was bread.

     10"Bring some of the fish you've just caught," Jesus said. 11So Simon Peter went aboard and dragged the net

     to the shore. There were 153 large fish, and yet the net hadn't torn.

     12"Now come and have some breakfast!" Jesus said. And no one dared ask him if he really was the Lord

     because they were sure of it. 13Then Jesus served them the bread and the fish. 14This was the third time

     Jesus had appeared to his disciples since he had been raised from the dead.

     Jesus Challenges Peter

     15After breakfast Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?"

     "Yes, Lord," Peter replied, "you know I love you."

     "Then feed my lambs," Jesus told him.

     16Jesus repeated the question: "Simon son of John, do you love me?"

     "Yes, Lord," Peter said, "you know I love you."

     "Then take care of my sheep," Jesus said.

     17Once more he asked him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?"

     Peter was grieved that Jesus asked the question a third time. He said, "Lord, you know everything. You know

     I love you."

     Jesus said, "Then feed my sheep. 18The truth is, when you were young, you were able to do as you liked and

     go wherever you wanted to. But when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and others will direct you

     and take you where you don't want to go." 19Jesus said this to let him know what kind of death he would die

     to glorify God. Then Jesus told him, "Follow me."

     20Peter turned around and saw the disciple Jesus loved following them--the one who had leaned over to

     Jesus during supper and asked, "Lord, who among us will betray you?" 21Peter asked Jesus, "What about him,

     Lord?"

     22Jesus replied, "If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You follow me." 23So the

     rumor spread among the community of believers that that disciple wouldn't die. But that isn't what Jesus said

     at all. He only said, "If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?"

     Conclusion

     24This is that disciple who saw these events and recorded them here. And we all know that his account of

     these things is accurate.

     25And I suppose that if all the other things Jesus did were written down, the whole world could not contain

     the books.