6There appeared a man named John, sent from God;
7he came as a witness to testify to the light,
that all might become believers through him.
8He was not himself the light;
he came to bear witness to the light.
9The real light which enlightens every man
was even then coming into the world.
10He was in the world;
but the world, though it owed its being to him,
did not recognize him.
11He entered his own realm,
and his own would not receive him.
12But to all who did receive him,
to those who have yielded him their allegiance,
he gave the right to become children of God,
13not born of any human stock,
or by the fleshly desire of a human father,
but the offspring of God himself.
14So the Word became flesh;
he came to dwell among us,
and we saw his glory,
such glory as befits the Father's only Son,
full of grace and truth.
15Here is John's testimony to him:
he cried aloud,
'This is the man I meant when I said,
"He comes after me, but takes rank before me";
for before I was born, he already was.'
16Out of his full store we have all received grace upon grace;
17for while the Law was given through Moses,
grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
18No one has ever seen God;
but God's only Son,
he who is nearest to the Father's heart,
he has made him known.
19THIS IS THE TESTIMONY which John gave when the Jews of Jerusalem sent a deputation of priests and Levites to ask him who he was. 20He confessed without reserve and avowed, 'I am not the Messiah.' 21'What then? Are you Elijah?' 'No', he replied. 'Are you the prophet we await?' He answered 'No.' 22'Then who are you?' they asked. 'We must give an answer to those who sent us. What account do you give of yourself?' 23 [ Is.40.3. ] He answered in the words of the prophet Isaiah: 'I am a voice crying aloud in the wilderness, "Make the Lord's highway straight." '
24Some Pharisees who were in the deputation 25asked him, 'If you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the prophet, why then are you baptizing?' 26'I baptize in water,' John replied, 'but among you, though you do not know him, stands the one 27who is to come after me. I am not good enough to unfasten his shoes.' 28This took place at Bethany beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing.
29The next day he saw Jesus coming towards him. 'Look,' he said, 'there is the Lamb of God; it is he who takes away the sin of the world. 30This is he of whom I spoke when I said, "After me a man is coming who takes rank before me"; for before I was born, he already was. 31I myself did not know who he was; but the very reason why I came, baptizing in water, was that he might be revealed to Israel.'
32John testified further: 'I saw the Spirit coming down from heaven like a dove and resting upon him. 33I did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize in water had told me, "When you see the Spirit coming down upon someone and resting upon him you will know that this is he who is to baptize in Holy Spirit." 34I saw it myself, and I have borne witness. This is God's Chosen One.'
35The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples when Jesus passed by. 36John looked towards him and said, 'There is the Lamb of God.' 37The two disciples heard him say this, and followed Jesus. 38When he turned and saw them following him, he asked, 'What are you looking for?' They said, 'Rabbi' (which means a teacher), 'where are you staying?' 'Come and see', he replied. 39So they went and saw where he was staying, and spent the rest of the day with him. It was then about four in the afternoon.
40One of the two who followed Jesus after hearing what John said was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. 41The first thing he did was to find his brother Simon. He said to him, 'We have found the Messiah' (which is the Hebrew for 'Christ'). 42He brought Simon to Jesus, who looked at him, and said, 'You are Simon, son of John. You shall be called Cephas' (that is, Peter, the Rock).
43(43-44)The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. He met Philip, who, like Andrew and Peter, came from Bethsaida, and said to him, 'Follow me.' 45Philip went to find Nathanael, and told him, 'We have met the man spoken of by Moses in the Law, and by the prophets: it is Jesus son of Joseph, from Nazareth.' 'Nazareth!' 46Nathanael exclaimed; 'can anything good come from Nazareth?' Philip said, 'Come and see.' 47When Jesus saw Nathanael coming, he said, 'Here is an Israelite worthy of the name; there is nothing false in him.' 48Nathanael asked him, 'How do you come to know me?' Jesus replied, 'I saw you under the fig-tree before Philip spoke to you.' 49'Rabbi,' said Nathanael, 'you are the Son of God; you are king of Israel.' 50so Jesus answered, 'Is this the ground of your faith, that I told you I saw you under the fig-tree? You shall see greater things than that.' 51 [ Dn.7.13. ] Then he added, 'In truth, in very truth I tell you all, you shall see heaven wide open, and God's angels ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.'
↑ 2.
1ON THE THIRD DAY there was a wedding at Cana-in-Galilee. The mother of Jesus was there, 2and Jesus and his disciples were guests also. 3The wine gave out, so Jesus's mother said to him, 'They have no wine left.' 4He answered, 'Your concern, mother, is not mine. My hour has not yet come.' 5His mother said to the servants, 'Do whatever he tells you.' 6There were six stone water-jars standing near, of the kind used for Jewish rites of purification; each held from twenty to thirty gallons. 7Jesus said to the servants, 'Fill the jars with water', and they filled them to the brim. 8'Now draw some off', he ordered, 'and take it to the steward of the feast'; and they did so. 9The steward tasted the water now turned into wine, not knowing its source; though the servants who had drawn the water knew. He hailed the bridegroom 10and said, 'Everyone serves the best wine first, and waits until the guests have drunk freely before serving the poorer sort; but you have kept the best wine till now.'
11This deed at Cana-in-Galilee is the first of the signs by which Jesus revealed his glory and led his disciples to believe in him.
12AFTER THIS he went down to Capernaum in company with his mother, his brothers, and his disciples, but they did not stay there long.
13As it was near the time of the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14There he found in the temple the dealers in cattle, sheep, and pigeons, and the money-changers seated at their tables. 15Jesus made a whip of cords and drove them out of the temple, sheep, cattle, and all. He upset the tables of the money-changers, scattering their coins. 16Then he turned on the dealers in pigeons: 'Take them out,' he said; 'you must not turn my Father's house into a market.' 17 [ Ps.69.9. ] His disciples recalled the words of Scripture, 'Zeal for thy house will destroy me.' 18The Jews challenged Jesus: 'What sign', they asked, 'can you show as authority for your action?' 19'Destroy this temple,' Jesus replied, 'and in three days I will raise it again.' 20They said, 'It has taken forty-six years to build this temple. Are you going to raise it again in three days?' 21But the temple he was speaking of was his body. 22After his resurrection his disciples recalled what he had said, and they believed the Scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken.
23WHILE HE WAS in Jerusalem for Passover many gave their allegiance to him when they saw the signs that he performed. 24But Jesus for his part would not trust himself to them. He knew men so well, all of them, 25that he needed no evidence from others about a man, for he himself could tell what was in a man.
↑ 3.
1THERE WAS ONE of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish Council, 2who came to Jesus by night. 'Rabbi,' he said, 'we know that you are a teacher sent by God; no one could perform these signs of yours unless God were with him.' 3Jesus answered, 'In truth, in very truth I tell you, unless a man has been born over again he cannot see the kingdom of God.' 4'But how is it possible', said Nicodemus, 'for a man to be born when he is old? Can he enter his mother's womb a second time and be born?' 5Jesus answered, 'In truth I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born from water and spirit. 6Flesh can give birth only to flesh; it is spirit that gives birth to spirit. 7You ought not to be astonished, then, when I tell you that you must be born over again. 8The wind blows where it wills; you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from, or where it is going. So with everyone who is born from spirit.'
9Nicodemus replied, 'How is this possible?' 10'What!' said Jesus. 'Is this famous teacher of Israel ignorant of such things? 11In very truth I tell you, we speak of what we know, and testify to what we have seen, and yet you all reject our testimony. 12If you disbelieve me when I talk to you about things on earth, how are you to believe if I should talk about the things of heaven?
13'No one ever went up into heaven except the one who came down from heaven, the Son of Man whose home is in heaven. 14This Son of Man must be lifted up as the serpent was lifted up by Moses in the wilderness, 15so that everyone who has faith in him may in him possess eternal life.
16'God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, that everyone who has faith in him may not die but have eternal life. 17It was not to judge the world that God sent his Son into the world, but that through him the world might be saved.
18'The man who puts his faith in him does not come under judgement; but the unbeliever has already been judged in that he has not given his allegiance to God's only Son. 19Here lies the test: the light has come into the world, but men preferred darkness to light because their deeds were evil. 20Bad men all hate the light and avoid it, for fear their practices should be shown up. 21The honest man comes to the light so that it may be clearly seen that God is in all he does.'
22AFTER THIS, Jesus went into Judaea with his disciples, stayed there with them, and baptized. 23John too was baptizing at Aenon, near to Salim, because water was plentiful in that region; and people were constantly coming for baptism. 24This was before John's imprisonment.
25Some of John's disciples had fallen into a dispute with Jews about purification; 26so they came to him and said, 'Rabbi, there was a man with you on the other side of the Jordan, to whom you bore your witness. Here he is, baptizing, and crowds are flocking to him.' 27John's answer was: 'A man can have only what God gives him. 28You yourselves can testify that I said, "I am not the Messiah; I have been sent as his forerunner." 29It is the bridegroom to whom the bride belongs. The bridegroom's friend, who stands by and listens to him, is overjoyed at hearing the bridegroom's voice. This joy, this perfect joy, is now mine. 30As he grows greater, I must grow less.'
31He who comes from above is above all others; he who is from the earth belongs to the earth and uses earthly speech. 32He who comes from heaven bears witness to what he has seen and heard, yet no one accepts his witness. 33To accept his witness is to attest that God speaks true; 34for he whom God sent utters the words of God, so measureless is God's gift of the Spirit. 35The Father loves the Son and has entrusted him with all authority. 36He who puts his faith in the Son has hold of eternal life, but he who disobeys the Son shall not see that life; God's wrath rests upon him.
↑ 4.
1A REPORT NOW REACHED the Pharisees: 'Jesus is winning and baptizing more disciples than John'; 2although, in fact, it was only the disciples who were baptizing and not Jesus himself. 3When Jesus learned this, he left Judaea and set out once more for Galilee. 4He had to pass through Samaria, 5and on his way came to a Samaritan town called Sychar, near the plot of ground which Jacob gave to his son Joseph 6and the spring called Jacob's well. It was about noon, and Jesus, tired after his journey, sat down by the well.
7(8) The disciples had gone away to the town to buy food. 8(7) Meanwhile a Samaritan woman came to draw water. 9Jesus said to her, 'Give me a drink.' The Samaritan woman said, 'What! You, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a Samaritan woman?' (Jews and Samaritans, it should be noted, do not use vessels in common. ) 10Jesus answered her, 'If only you knew what God gives, and who it is that is asking you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.' 11'Sir,' the woman said, 'you have no bucket and this well is deep. How can you give me "living water"? 12Are you a greater man than Jacob our ancestor, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, he and his sons, and his cattle too?' 13Jesus said, 'Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14but whoever drinks the water that I shall give him will never suffer thirst any more. The water that I shall give him will be an inner spring always welling up for eternal life.' 15'Sir,' said the woman, 'give me that water, and then I shall not be thirsty, nor have to come all this way to draw.'
16Jesus replied, 'Go home, call your husband and come back.' 17She answered, 'I have no husband.' 'You are right', said Jesus, 'in saying that you have no husband, 18for, although you have had five husbands, the man with whom you are now living is not your husband; you told me the truth there.' 19'Sir,' she replied, 'I can see that you are a prophet. 20Our fathers worshipped on this mountain, but you Jews say that the temple where God should be worshipped is in Jerusalem.' 21'Believe me,' said Jesus, 'the time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem. 22You Samaritans worship without knowing what you worship, while we worship what we know. It is from the Jews that salvation comes. 23But the time approaches, indeed it is already here, when those who are real worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. Such are the worshippers whom the Father wants. 24God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.' 25The woman answered, 'I know that Messiah' (that is Christ) 'is coming. When he comes he will tell us everything.' 26Jesus said, 'I am he, I who am speaking to you now.'
27At that moment his disciples returned, and were astonished to find him talking with a woman; but none of them said, 'What do you want?' or, 'Why are you talking with her?' 28The woman put down her water-jar and went away to the town, where she said to the people, 29'Come and see a man who has told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?' 30They came out of the town and made their way towards him.
31Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, 'Rabbi, have something to eat.' 32But he said, 'I have food to eat of which you know nothing.' 33At this the disciples said to one another, 'Can someone have brought him food?' 34But Jesus said, 'It is meat and drink for me to do the will of him who sent me until I have finished his work.
35'Do you not say, "Four months more and then comes harvest"? But look, I tell you, look round on the fields; they are already white, ripe for harvest. 36The reaper is drawing his pay and gathering a crop for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. 37That is how the saying comes true: "One sows, and another reaps." 38I sent you to reap a crop for which you have not toiled. Others toiled and you have come in for the harvest of their toil.'
39Many Samaritans of that town came to believe in him because of the woman's testimony: 'He told me 40everything I ever did.' So when these Samaritans had come to him they pressed him to stay with them; and 41he stayed there two days. Many more became believers because of what they heard from his own lips. 42They told the woman, 'It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard him ourselves; and we know that this is in truth the Saviour of the world.'
43WHEN THE TWO DAYS were over he set out for Galilee; 44for Jesus himself declared that a prophet is without honour in his own country. 45On his arrival in Galilee the Galileans gave him a welcome, because they had seen all that he did at the festival in Jerusalem; they had been at the festival themselves.
46Once again he visited Cana-in-Galilee, where he had turned the water into wine. An officer in the royal service was there, whose son was lying ill at Capernaum. 47When he heard that Jesus had come from Judaea into Galilee, he came to him and begged him to go down and cure his son, who was at the point of death. 48Jesus said to him, 'Will none of you ever believe without seeing signs and portents?' 49The officer pleaded with him, 'Sir, come down before my boy dies.' 50Then Jesus said, 'Return home; your son will live.' The man believed what Jesus said and started for home. 51When he was on his way down his servants met him with the news, 'Your boy is going to live.' 52So he asked them what time it was when he got better. They said, 'Yesterday at one in the afternoon the fever left him.' 53The father noted that this was the exact time when Jesus had said to him, 'Your son will live', and he and all his household became believers.
54This was now the second sign which Jesus performed after coming down from Judaea into Galilee.
↑ 5.
1LATER ON JESUS WENT UP to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish festivals. 2Now at the Sheep-Pool in Jerusalem there is a place with five colonnades. Its name in the language of the Jews is Bethesda. 3In these colonnades there lay a crowd of sick people, blind, lame, and paralysed. 4 5Among them was a man who had been crippled for thirty-eight years. 6When Jesus saw him lying there and was aware that he had been ill a long time, he asked him, 'Do you want to recover?' 7'Sir,' he replied, 'I have no one to put me in the pool when the water is disturbed, but while I am moving, someone else is in the pool before me.' 8Jesus answered, 'Rise to your feet, take up your bed and walk.' 9The man recovered instantly, took up his stretcher, and began to walk.
10That day was a Sabbath. So the Jews said to the man who had been cured, 'It is the Sabbath. You are not allowed to carry your bed on the Sabbath.' 11He answered, 'The man who cured me said, "Take up your bed and walk." ' 12They asked him, 'Who is the man who told you to take up your bed and walk?' 13But the cripple who had been cured did not know; for the place was crowded and Jesus had slipped away. 14A little later Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, 'Now that you are well again, leave your sinful ways, or you may suffer something worse.' 15The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had cured him.
16It was works of this kind done on the Sabbath that stirred the Jews to persecute Jesus. 17He defended himself by saying, 'My Father has never yet ceased his is work, and I am working too.' 18This made the Jews still more determined to kill him, because he was not only breaking the Sabbath, but, by calling God his own Father, he claimed equality with God.
19To this charge Jesus replied, 'In truth, in very truth I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he does only what he sees the Father doing: what the Father does, the Son does. 20For the Father loves the Son and shows him all his works, and will show greater yet, to fill you with wonder. 21As the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so the Son gives life to men, as he determines. 22And again, the Father does not judge anyone, but has given full jurisdiction to the Son; 23it is his will that all should pay the same honour to the Son as to the Father. To deny honour to the Son is to deny it to the Father who sent him.
24'In very truth, anyone who gives heed to what I say and puts his trust in him who sent me has hold of eternal life, and does not come up for judgement, but has already passed from death to life. 25In truth, in very truth I tell you, a time is coming, indeed it is already here, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and all who hear shall come to life. 26For as the Father has life-giving power in himself, so has the Son, by the Father's gift.
27'As Son of Man, he has also been given the right to pass judgement. 28Do not wonder at this, because the time is coming when all who are in the grave shall hear his voice and come out: 29those who have done right will rise to life; those who have done wrong will rise to hear their doom. 30I cannot act by myself; I judge as I am bidden, and my sentence is just, because my aim is not my own will, but the will of him who sent me.
31'If I testify on my own behalf, that testimony does not hold good. 32There is another who bears witness for me, and I know that his testimony holds. 33Your messengers have been to John; you have his testimony to the truth. 34Not that I rely on human testimony, but I remind you of it for your own salvation. 35John was a lamp, burning brightly, and for a time you were ready to exult in his light. 36But I rely on a testimony higher than John's. There is enough to testify that the Father has sent me, in the works my Father gave me to do and to finish—the very works I have in hand. 37This testimony to me was given by the Father who sent me, although you never heard his voice, or saw his form. 38But his word has found no home in you, for you do not believe the one whom he sent. 39You study the scriptures diligently, supposing that in having them you have eternal life; yet, although their testimony points to me, 40you refuse to come to me for that life.
41'I do not look to men for honour, 42But with you it is different, as I know well, for you have no love for God in you. 43I have come accredited by my Father, and you have no welcome for me; if another comes self-accredited you will welcome him. 44How can you have faith so long as you receive honour from one another, and care nothing for the honour that comes from him who alone is God? 45Do not imagine that I shall be your accuser at the Father's tribunal. Your accuser is Moses, the very Moses on whom you have set your hope. 46If you believed Moses you would believe what I tell you, for it was about me that he wrote. 47But if you do not believe what he wrote, how are you to believe what I say?'
↑ 6.
1SOME TIME LATER Jesus withdrew to the farther shore of the Sea of Galilee (or Tiberias), 2and a large crowd of people followed who had seen the signs he performed in healing the sick. 3Then Jesus went up the hill-side and sat down with his disciples. 4It was near the time of Passover, the great Jewish festival. 5Raising his eyes and seeing a large crowd coming towards him, Jesus said to Philip, 'Where are we to buy bread to feed these people?' 6This he said to test him; Jesus himself knew what he meant to do. 7Philip replied, 'Twenty pounds would not buy enough bread for every one of them to have a little.' 8One of his disciples, Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, said to him, 9'There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fishes; but what is that among so many?' 10Jesus said, 'Make the people sit down.' There was plenty of grass there, so the men sat down, about five thousand of them. 11Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to the people as they sat there. He did the same with the fishes, and they had as much as they wanted. 12When everyone had had enough, he said to his disciples, 'Collect the pieces left over, so that nothing may be lost.' 13This they did, and filled twelve baskets with the pieces left uneaten of the five barley loaves.
14When the people saw the sign Jesus had performed, the word went round, 'Surely this must be the prophet that was to come into the world.' 15Jesus, aware that they meant to come and seize him to proclaim him king, withdrew again to the hills by himself.
16At nightfall his disciples went down to the sea, got into their boat, 17and pushed off to cross the water to Capernaum. Darkness had already fallen, and Jesus is had not yet joined them. 18By now a strong wind was blowing and the sea grew rough. 19When they had rowed three or four miles they saw Jesus walking on the sea and approaching the boat. They were terrified, 20but he called out, 'It is I; do not be afraid.' 21Then they were ready to take him aboard, and immediately the boat reached the land they were making for.
22NEXT MORNING the crowd was standing on the opposite shore. They had seen only one boat there, and Jesus, they knew, had not embarked with his disciples, who had gone away without him. 23Boats from Tiberias, however, came ashore near the place where the people had eaten the bread over which the Lord gave thanks. 24When the people saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were any longer there, they themselves went aboard these boats and made fur Capernaum in search of Jesus. 25They found him on the other side. 'Rabbi,' they said, 'when did you come here?' 26Jesus replied, 'In very truth I know that you have not come looking for me because you saw signs, but because you ate the bread and your hunger was satisfied. 27You must work, not for this perishable food, but for the food that lasts, the food of eternal life.
'This food the Son of Man will give you, for he it is upon whom the Father has set the seal of his authority.' 28'Then what must we do', they asked him, 'if we are to work as God would have us work?' 29Jesus replied, 'This is the work that God requires: believe in the one whom he has sent.'
30They said, 'What sign can you give us to see, so that we may believe you? What is the work you do? 31 [ Ex.16.13-14, Ps.78.24. ] Our ancestors had manna to eat in the desert, as Scripture says, "He gave them bread from heaven to eat."' 32Jesus answered, 'I tell you this: the truth is, not that Moses gave you the bread from heaven, but that my Father gives you the real bread from heaven. 33The bread that God gives comes down from heaven and brings life to the world.' 34They said to him, 'Sir, give us this bread now and always.' 35Jesus said to them, 'I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me shall never be hungry, and whoever believes in me shall never be thirsty. 36But you, as I said, do not believe although you have seen. 37All that the Father gives me will come to me, and the man who comes to me I will never turn away. 38I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me. 39It is his will that I should not lose even one of all that he has given me, but raise them all up on the last day. 40For it is my Father's will that everyone who looks upon the Son and puts his faith in him shall possess eternal life; and I will raise him up on the last day.'
41At this the Jews began to murmur disapprovingly because he said, 'I am the bread which came down from heaven.' 42They said, 'Surely this is Jesus son of Joseph; we know his father and mother. How can he now say, "I have come down from heaven"?' 43Jesus answered, 'Stop murmuring among yourselves. 44No man can come to me unless he is drawn by the Father who sent me; and I will raise him up on the last day. 45 [ Is.54.13, Jr.31.33. ] It is written in the prophets: "And they shall all be taught by God." Everyone who has listened to the Father and learned from him comes to me.
46'I do not mean that anyone has seen the Father. He who has come from God has seen the Father, and he alone. 47In truth, in very truth I tell you, the believer possesses eternal life. 48I am the bread of life. 49Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert and they are dead. 50I am speaking of the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat, and never die. 51I am that living bread which has come down from heaven: if anyone eats this bread he shall live for ever. Moreover, the bread which I will give is my own flesh; I give it for the life of the world.'
52This led to a fierce dispute among the Jews. 'How can this man give us his flesh to eat?' they said. 53Jesus replied, 'In truth, in very truth I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood you can have no life in you. 54Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood possesses eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. 55My flesh is real food; my blood is real drink. 56Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood dwells continually in me and I dwell in him. 57As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats me shall live because of me. 58This is the bread which came down from heaven; and it is not like the bread which our fathers ate: they are dead, but whoever eats this bread shall live for ever,'
59THIS WAS SPOKEN in synagogue when Jesus was teaching in Capernaum.
60Many of his disciples on hearing it exclaimed, 'This is more than we can stomach! Why listen to such talk?' 61Jesus was aware that his disciples were murmuring about it and asked them, 'Does this shock you? 62What if you see the Son of Man ascending to the place where he was before? 63The spirit alone gives life; the flesh is of no avail; the words which I have spoken to you are both spirit and life. 64And yet there are some of you who have no faith.' For Jesus knew all along who were without faith and who was to betray him. 65So he said, 'This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it has been granted to him by the Father.'
66From that time on, many of his disciples withdrew and no longer went about with him. 67So Jesus asked the Twelve, 'Do you also want to leave me?' 68Simon Peter answered him, 'Lord, to whom shall we go? Your words are words of eternal life. 69We have faith, and we know that you are the Holy One of God.' 70Jesus answered, 'Have I not chosen you, all twelve? 71Yet one of you is a devil.' He meant Judas, son of Simon Iscariot. He it was who would betray him, and he was one of the Twelve.
↑ 7.
1AFTERWARDS JESUS went about in Galilee. He wished to avoid Judaea because the Jews were looking for a chance to kill him. 2As the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles was close at hand, 3his brothers said to him, 'You should leave this district and go into Judaea, so that your disciples there may see the great things you are doing. 4Surely no one can hope to be in the public eye if he works in seclusion. If you really are doing such things as these, show yourself to the world.' 5For even his brothers had no faith in him. 6Jesus said to them, 'The right time for me has not yet come, but any time is right for you. 7The world cannot hate you, but it hates me for exposing the wickedness of its ways. 8Go to the festival yourselves. I am not going up to this festival because the right time for me has not yet come.' 9With this answer he stayed behind in Galilee.
10Later, when his brothers had gone to the festival, he went up himself, not publicly, but almost in secret. 11The Jews were looking for him at the festival and asking, 'Where is he?', 12and there was much whispering about him in the crowds. 'He is a good man', said some. 'No,' said others, 'he is leading the people astray.' 13However, no one talked about him openly, for fear of the Jews.
14WHEN THE FESTIVAL was already half over, Jesus went up to the temple and began to teach. 15The Jews were astonished: 'How is it', they said, 'that this untrained man has such learning?' 16Jesus replied, 'The teaching that I give is not my own; it is the teaching of him who sent me. 17Whoever has the will to do the will of God shall know whether my teaching comes from him or is merely my own. 18Anyone whose teaching is merely his own, aims at honour for himself. But if a man aims at the honour of him who sent him he is sincere, and there is nothing false in him.
19'Did not Moses give you the Law? Yet you all break it. Why are you trying to kill me?' 20The crowd answered, 'You are possessed! Who wants to kill you?' 21Jesus replied, 'Once only have I done work on the Sabbath, and you are all taken aback. 22But consider: Moses gave you the law of circumcision (not that it originated with Moses but with the patriarchs) and you circumcise on the Sabbath. 23Well then, if a child is circumcised on the Sabbath to avoid breaking the Law of Moses, why are you indignant with me for giving health on the Sabbath to the whole of a man's body? 24Do not judge superficially, but be just in your judgements.'
25At this some of the people of Jerusalem began to say, 'Is not this the man they want to put to death? 26And here he is, speaking openly, and they have not a word to say to him. Can it be that our rulers have actually decided that this is the Messiah? 27And yet we know where this man comes from, but when the Messiah appears no one is to know where he comes from.' 28Thereupon Jesus cried aloud as he taught in the temple, 'No doubt you know me; no doubt you know where I come from. Yet I have not come of my own accord. I was sent by the One who truly is, and him you do not know. 29I know him because I come from him and he it is who sent me.' 30At this they tried to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him because his appointed hour had not yet come. 31Yet among the people many believed in him. 'When the Messiah comes,' they said, 'is it likely that he will perform more signs than this man?'
32The Pharisees overheard these mutterings of the people about him, so the chief priests and the Pharisees sent temple police to arrest him. 33Then Jesus said, 'For a little longer I shall be with you; then I am going away to him who sent me. 34You will look for me, but you will not find me. Where I am, you cannot come.'
35So the Jews said to one another, 'Where does he intend to go, that we should not be able to find him? Will he go to the Dispersion among the Greeks, and teach the Greeks? 36What did he mean by saying, "You will look for me, but you will not find me. Where I am, you cannot come"?'
37ON THE LAST and greatest day of the festival Jesus stood and cried aloud, 'If anyone is thirsty let him come to me, 38whoever believes in me, let him drink.' As Scripture says, 'Streams of living water shall flow out from within him.' 39He was speaking of the Spirit which believers in him would receive later, for the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not yet been glorified.
40On hearing this some of the people said, 'This must certainly be the expected prophet.' 41Others said, 'This is the Messiah.' Others again, 'Surely the Messiah is not to come from Galilee? 42Does not Scripture say that the Messiah is to be of the family of David, from David's village of Bethlehem?' 43Thus he caused a split among the people. 44Some were for seizing him, but no one laid hands on him.
45The temple police came back to the chief priests and Pharisees, who asked, 'Why have you not brought him?' 46'No man', they answered, 'ever spoke as this man speaks.' 47The Pharisees retorted, 'Have you too been misled? 48Is there a single one of our rulers who has believed in him, or of the Pharisees? 49As for this rabble, which cares nothing for the Law, a curse is on them.' 50Then one of their number, Nicodemus (the man who had once visited Jesus), intervened. 51'Does our law', he asked them, 'permit us to pass judgement on a man unless we have first given him a hearing and learned the facts?' 52'Are you a Galilean too?' they retorted. 'Study the scriptures and you will find that prophets do not come from Galilee.' 53