Bible in 90 Days
20 So they watched for a chance to catch him. And they sent men to spy on him. These men acted as if they were good men. They did this because they wanted to catch him in something that he said. They wanted to give him over to the ruler who would judge and punish him.
21 So they asked Jesus, `Teacher, we know that you talk and teach what is right. You do not fear any person. But you teach the true way of God.
22 Is it right to pay money as taxes to Caesar or is it not?'
23 He knew they were trying to get him into trouble.
24 So he said, `Show me a piece of money. Whose picture and name are on it?' They said, `Caesar's'
25 Then he said to them, `So give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God.'
26 They were not able to catch him in anything he said in front of the people. They were surprised at his answer and they could not say anything.
27 Some of the Sadducees came to Jesus. (They say that people do not rise from death.)
28 They came to ask Jesus a question. `Teacher,' they said, `Moses gave us this law: "If a man dies and leaves a wife but no children, then his brother must marry the wife and raise a family for his brother."
29 There were seven brothers. The first one married. He died and left no children.
30 The second one married the wife.
31 Then the third one married her. All seven brothers married her. They all had no children and they died.
32 Last of all, the woman died also.
33 Now then, when people rise from death, whose wife will she be? All seven of them had married her.'
34 Jesus said to them, `Men and women in this world marry.
35 But men and women who are good enough to have a place in the next world and to be raised from death do not marry.
36 They cannot die again. They are like angels. They are God's children because they have been raised from death.
37 Even Moses showed that people do rise from death. It is in his book where we read about the small tree which burned. Moses says that the Lord is the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.
38 He is not the God of dead people, but of living people. All people are alive to him.'
39 Some of the scribes said to him, `Teacher, what you say is right.'
40 After that, people were afraid to ask him any more questions.
41 But Jesus asked them, `How can people say that Christ is David's son?
43 David himself says in the book of the Psalms, "The Lord said to my Lord, sit beside me until I make you master over your enemies."
44 So David calls Christ his Lord. How can Christ be David's son?'
45 Then Jesus talked to his disciples while all the people could hear him.
46 He said, `Take care. Do not let the scribes fool you. They like to walk about dressed in long gowns. They want people to greet them in the market. They want to have the front seats in the meeting houses. They want to sit in the best places at feasts.
47 They take away the homes of women whose husbands are dead. They cover up their wrong ways by talking to God a long time. They will be punished more!'
21 Jesus looked around in the temple. He saw the place where the people put in their money. Rich people were putting in their money.
2 And he saw a poor woman whose husband was dead. She put in two small pieces of money.
3 Jesus said, `I tell you the truth. This poor woman has given more than all the other people.
4 All these people had plenty of money and they gave only a part of it. She was poor and she gave everything she had. She has nothing left to live on.'
5 Some people were talking about how nice the temple looked. They talked about the fine stones and the things people gave to make the temple.
6 Jesus said, `You see these things. Not one stone here will be left on top of another. They will all be thrown down!'
7 They asked him, `Teacher, when will this happen? What will be the sign when these things are going to be done?
8 He said, `Take care. Do not let anyone fool you. Many men will come in my name. They will say, "I am Christ." And they will say, "The time is now." Do not go after them.
9 When you hear about wars and fighting, do not fear. These things must happen first, but it is not the end right away.'
10 Then he said, `One tribe will fight against another tribe. And one country will fight against another country.
11 In some places the earth will shake very much. In many places the people will have no food to eat. And many people will be sick. There will be things to make people fear. There will be big signs in the sky.
12 `But before all these things happen, people will catch you and trouble you. They will take you to the meeting houses to be judged. They will put you in prison. They will take you to kings and rulers because you are true to me.
13 This will be a chance for you to talk about me.
14 So do not trouble your minds about what you will say.
15 I will give you words and sense. All those who are against you will not be able to answer your words or say they are not true.
16 Even your parents, brothers, family people, and friends will give you over to trouble. They will kill some of you.
17 All people will hate you because you are true to me.
18 But you will not lose one hair from your heads.
19 If you keep on being true to me, you will live for ever.'
20 `When you see soldiers all around Jerusalem, then you will know that it will soon be broken down.
21 Then the people in Judea must go quickly to the hills. Those who are in the city must leave it. Those who are in the country must not come into the city.
22 Those will be days of punishment. All that has been written in the holy writings must happen.
23 In those days it will be very hard for women who are to have a child. It will be very hard for mothers who have babies. There will be big trouble on the earth. God will show his anger to these people.
24 They will be killed by swords or long knives. They will be taken away as prisoners to every country. Jerusalem will be broken down by people who are not Jews. They will walk over it until the end of their allowed time.'
25 `There will be signs in the sun, moon, and stars. And there will be much trouble for the people on earth. They will not know what to do. It will be like the sound of big waves of the sea.
26 Men will be weak with fear. They will be afraid of the things that will be happening to the world. The powers in the sky will be shaken.
27 Then people will see the sign of the Son of Man in a cloud. He will have much power and will be very great.
28 When these things begin to happen, look up. Lift up your heads. You will soon be free.'
29 Jesus told them a story. He said, `Look at a fig tree. Look at all the trees.
30 As soon as you see the leaves coming, you know that it will soon be the warm time of the year.
31 It is the same way when you see all these things happening. You will know that the kingdom of God is near.
32 I tell you the truth. People who are living then will not die before all these things happen.
33 The sky and the earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.'
34 `But take care. Do not think too much about eating, drinking, and things in this life. If you do, that day will come and catch you like a trap.
35 That day will come to all people who are living on the whole earth.
36 Watch all the time. Ask God to make you strong to do right so that you will not go through all these things that are going to happen. Ask him to make you able to stand in front of the Son of Man.'
37 Jesus taught in the temple every day. But at night he went out and stayed on the hill called the Mount of Olives.
38 Early in the morning all the people came to hear him in the temple.
22 It was near the time for the feast with bread that has no yeast in it. This is called the Passover Feast.
2 The chief priests and the scribes planned how to kill Jesus. But they feared the people.
3 Satan came into the heart of Judas. Judas was one of the twelve disciples. His other name was Iscariot.
4 Judas went away and talked things over with the chief priests and captains. He told them how he could help them catch Jesus.
5 They were glad, and they said they would give him money for it.
6 He agreed. He watched for a good way to help them catch Jesus when there were not too many people around.
7 It was the day of the feast with bread that has no yeast in it. The sheep had to be killed for the Passover Feast,
8 So Jesus sent Peter and John, saying to them, `Go and get the Passover Feast ready for us to eat.'
9 They asked, `Where do you want us to get it ready?'
10 He said, `When you go into the city, a man carrying a pot of water will meet you. Follow him into the house where he goes.
11 Tell the master of the house, "The Teacher says, `Where is the room where I can eat the Passover Feast with my disciples?' "
12 He will show you a large room upstairs. It will be all fixed up. Make it ready there.'
13 So they went and found everything just the way Jesus had said. Then they made the Passover food ready.
14 When it was time to eat, he sat down at the table and the apostles sat down with him.
15 He said to them, `I have wanted very much to eat this Passover Feast with you before my troubles come.
16 I tell you this. I will not eat it again until the great feast in the kingdom of God.'
17 He took the cup and thanked God. He said, `Take this. All of you drink from this.
18 I tell you this. I will not drink from the fruit of the vine again until the kingdom of God comes.'
19 He took some bread. He thanked God for it and broke it. He gave it to the disciples and said, `This is my body, which is given for you. When you do this, then remember me.'
20 In the same way he took the cup after they had eaten. He said, `This cup is the new agreement made by my blood. It is given for you.
21 `There is a man who will give me over to my enemies. His hand is here at the table with me.
22 The Son of Man will go on as it was planned for him. But the man who gives him over will have trouble!'
23 The disciples began to ask each other, `Which of us will do this?'
24 They started to quarrel among themselves about which of them was the greatest person.
25 Jesus said to them, `The kings of countries make their people obey them. Those who rule give themselves a good name.
26 But it must not be so among you. The one who is greatest among you must be like the most unimportant. And the leader must be like one who helps others.
27 Which man is greater, the man who sits at the table or the man who helps him? Is it not the man who sits at the table? But I am like the man who helps you.
28 `You have stayed with me through my troubles.
29 My Father made me a ruler, and now I make you rulers.
30 You will eat and drink at my table in my kingdom. You will sit on chief chairs or thrones and judge the twelve tribes of Israel.'
31 `Simon, Simon, listen! Satan has asked to have all of you. He wants to shake you like grain with the cleaning fan.
32 But I have talked to God about you, Simon, so that you will keep on believing in me. And when you come back, then help your brothers to be strong.'
33 Simon said, `Lord, I will go with you, even to prison or to die.'
34 Jesus said, `I tell you this, Peter. This very day, before the cock calls, you will say three times that you do not know me.'
35 Jesus said to them, `When I sent you out to the towns, I told you not to carry a money bag, or a bag, or shoes. Did you ever need anything at that time?' They said, `No.'
36 He said, `But this time, anyone who has money should take it and his bag too. Anyone who has no sword should sell his coat and buy one.
37 `The holy writings say, "He was counted as one of the bad people." And I tell you, that means me. And the things that are written about me must happen to me.'
38 The disciples said, `Look, Lord, here are two swords.' And he answered, `That is enough.'
39 Then Jesus went out of the room and went to the hill called the Mount of Olives where he often went. His disciples went with him.
40 He said to them, `Talk with God so that you will not do wrong.'
41 He went away from them about as far as a person can throw a stone. Then he kneeled down to talk with God.
42 He said, `Father, if you will, take this cup away from me. But do not do what I want but what you want.'
43 Then an angel came to him from heaven and helped to make him strong.
44 His heart was troubled very much. So he talked with God more than before. His sweat was like big drops of blood falling on the ground.
45 He stopped talking with God and got up. He went to his disciples and found them sleeping because they were sad.
46 He said to them, `Why are you sleeping? Get up. Talk with God so that you will not do wrong.'
47 As Jesus was saying this, many men came. One of the twelve disciples, named Judas, was leading the people. He came near Jesus to kiss him.
48 Jesus said to him, `Judas, will you give over the Son of Man to his enemies with a kiss?'
49 The disciples around Jesus saw what was going to happen. They said, `Lord, shall we fight with our swords?'
50 One of them hit the servant of the high priest and cut off his right ear.
51 Jesus said, `Just let me do this.' And he touched the man's ear and healed him.
52 The chief priests, the captains of the temple, and the leaders of the people had come to catch Jesus. He said to them, `Have you come to take me with swords and sticks, the way you catch a man who steals?
53 I was with you every day in the temple. You did not try to catch me then. But this is your time now, the time of the power of darkness.'
54 The men caught Jesus and took him away to the high priest's house. Peter followed them far behind.
55 They made a fire in the yard and sat around it. Peter sat down with them.
56 A woman saw Peter sitting by the fire. She looked at him and said, `This man was with him also.'
57 But Peter said, `Woman, I do not know him.'
58 After a while, another person saw him and said, `You are one of them also.' But Peter said, `Man, I am not.'
59 About an hour later another person said, `Surely this man was with him. He comes from Galilee.'
60 Peter said, `Man, I do not know what you are talking about.' And right then, while he was talking, the cock called.
61 The Lord turned and looked at Peter. Then Peter remembered that the Lord had said to him, `Before the cock calls in the morning, you will say three times that you do not know me.'
62 Peter went out and cried very much.
63 The men who guarded Jesus made fun of him and beat him.
64 They tied something over his eyes. Then they hit him in the face and said, `Tell us if you know who hit you!'
65 And they said many other wrong things to him.
66 In the morning the leaders of the people, the chief priests and scribes met together. They took Jesus to their court.
67 They said, `If you are the Christ, tell us.' Jesus said, `If I tell you, you will not believe.
68 And if I ask you anything, you will not answer.
69 From this time on the Son of Man will sit beside God who has all power.'
70 They all said, `Then are you the Son of God?" He said, `Yes, I am.'
71 They said, `We do not need any more proof against him. We ourselves have heard what he said.'
23 Then all the people got up and took Jesus to Pilate.
2 They began to make a complaint against him. They said, `This man is leading our people to do wrong. He says we should not pay taxes to Caesar. He says that he is Christ, a King.'
3 Then Pilate asked Jesus, `Are you the King of the Jews?" Jesus answered, `Yes, I am.'
4 Pilate said to the chief priests and to the people, `I find nothing wrong in this man.'
5 But they said all the more, `He troubles the people by his teaching. He has been teaching people in all the country of Judea. He began in Galilee and has come as far as this city.'
6 When Pilate heard this, he asked, `Is this man from Galilee?'
7 When he knew that he came from Herod's country, he sent him to Herod. Herod was in Jerusalem at that time.
8 He was glad to see Jesus. He had heard about him. And he had wanted to see him for a long time. He was hoping that he would see Jesus do a big work.
9 He asked Jesus many questions. But Jesus did not answer him.
10 The chief priests and the scribes stood near. They brought strong complaints against him.
11 Then Herod and his soldiers laughed at Jesus and made fun of him. He dressed him up in very fine clothes and sent him back to Pilate.
12 Herod and Pilate became friends that day. Before that, they had hated each other.
13 Pilate then called the chief priests, and the rulers, and the people.
14 He said to them, `You brought this man to me. You said he is leading your people to do wrong. I have asked questions here in front of you. I have found nothing wrong in this man.
15 Herod did the same. He sent him back to us. This man has done nothing for which he should die.
16 So I will beat him and let him go.'
17 At the feast Pilate always let one man go free.
18 But they all shouted, `Kill this man! Let Barabbas go free for us!'
19 (Barabbas had been put in prison because he led some people who had been fighting in the city. He had killed a man.)
20 Pilate talked to the people again. He wanted to let Jesus go free.
21 But they shouted, `Nail him to a cross! Nail him to a cross!"
22 Pilate said to them the third time, `Why, what wrong thing has he done? I have not found any wrong thing for which he should die. So I will beat him and let him go.'
23 But they shouted all the more loudly, saying, `Nail him to a cross!' And Pilate gave in to their shouting.
24 So he said they could have it their way.
25 He let the other man go free. (He was the one who had been put in prison because he fought and had killed a man. He was the one the people asked Pilate to let go free.) And Pilate did to Jesus what they wanted him to do.
26 They took Jesus away. On the way, they caught a man who was coming in from the farms. His name was Simon. He was born in the country of Cyrene. They made him walk behind Jesus and carry his cross.
27 Many people followed him. Women cried and were sorry for him.
28 But Jesus turned to them and said, `Daughters of Jerusalem, do not cry for me. But cry for yourselves and for your children.
29 The time will come when people will say, "Happy are the women who have no children or who have never had a child."
30 Then people will begin to say to the big hills, "Fall on us." They will say to the small hills, "Hide us."
31 If this is what people do when the wood is new, what will they do when it is old?'
32 Two men were also led away to be killed with Jesus. They were bad men.
33 They came to the place called Calvary (the head bone.) There they nailed the two bad men to the crosses also. They put one man on the right side of Jesus and one man on the left side of him.
34 Jesus said, `Father, forgive them! They do not know what they are doing.' The soldiers played a game to see how they should divide his clothes.
35 The people stood around watching. But the rulers made fun of him. They said, `He saved other people. He should save himself if he is God's Christ, God's chosen one!'
36 The soldiers made fun of him. They came and brought him wine to drink.
37 They said, `If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!'
38 The sign that was put above Jesus' head said, `This is the King of the Jews.'
39 One of the bad men who was hanging there said wrong things against Jesus. He said `If you are the Christ, why do you not save yourself and us?'
40 But the other bad man told him to stop. He said, `Do you not even fear God? You are being punished just as he is.
41 It is right for us to be punished because we have done wrong things. But this man has done nothing bad.'
42 He said to Jesus, `Lord, remember me when you become a King.'
43 And Jesus said to him, `I tell you the truth. Today you will be with me in God's garden of paradise.'
44 About noontime the whole land became dark and stayed dark for three hours.
45 The sun did not shine. The big cloth that hung in the temple was torn into two pieces.
46 Jesus called out loud, `Father, I put my spirit into your hands!' When he had said this, he died.
47 The captain saw all this. Then he praised God. He said, `Surely, this was a good man!'
48 Many people were around there to look on. When they saw what happened, they all went home beating their chests [because they were sad].
49 All Jesus' friends and the women who had come with him from Galilee stood far away. They saw all of this.
50 There was a man named Joseph. He was a member of the court. He was a good man who lived the right way.
51 He had not wanted the people to do what they did. He was looking for the kingdom of God. He was from a town of the Jews, called Arimathea.
52 He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.
53 He took the body down from the cross. He wrapped it in a linen cloth and laid it in a grave cut in a rock. No one had ever been put in this grave.
54 It was the day before the Sabbath. And it was almost time for the Sabbath to begin.
55 Some women had come with Jesus from Galilee. They followed and saw the grave where his body was put.
56 Then they went back and got things ready to put on his body. These things were spices that smelled very nice, and sweet kinds of oil. On the Sabbath day they rested as the law said they should.
24 On the first day of the week, early in the morning, the women went to the grave. They took with them the things they had made ready.
2 They saw that the stone was rolled away from the grave.
3 So they went in. But they did not see the body of the Lord Jesus.
4 They were troubled about this. Then they saw two men standing near them. They were dressed in white clothes.
5 The women were afraid and bowed their faces down to the ground. The men said to them, `Why do you look for a living person among dead people?
6 He is not here. He has risen. Remember what he told you when he was still in Galilee.
7 He said that the Son of Man would be given over to bad men. He would be nailed to a cross, and he would rise on the third day.'
8 Then they remembered what he had said.
9 They left the grave and went back. They told all these things to the eleven disciples and to all the other people.
10 The women who told these things to the apostles were Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women who were with them.
11 But Peter got up and ran to the grave. He bowed down and looked in. He saw the linen clothes lying there, but nothing more. Then he left, wondering about what had happened.
12 That same day, two of the disciples were going to the town called Emmaus. It was about two hours walk from Jerusalem.
13 They were talking together about all the things that had happened.
14 While they were talking and asking each other questions, Jesus himself came and walked with them.
15 But even though they saw him, they did not know who he was.
16 Jesus asked them, `What is this that you are talking about as you walk along looking so sad?'
17 One of them named Cleophas answered him. He said, `Are you a stranger in Jerusalem and do not know what has happened there these last days?'
18 Jesus said, `What things?" They said, `All that has happened to Jesus of Nazareth. He was a prophet of God. He had power to do big works and to teach the people. He was respected by God and all the people.
19 Our chief priests and rulers gave him over to be punished by death, and they nailed him to a cross.
20 But we were hoping that he was the one who would free the people of Israel. But that is not all. This is the third day since they did it.
21 Some of our women told us things that surprised us. Early this morning they were at the grave.
22 They did not find his body there. They came back and said that they saw angels. The angels told them that Jesus was living.
23 Some of us went to the grave. And they found everything just as the women said. But they did not see Jesus.'
24 Then he said to them, `You foolish men! Your hearts are slow to believe all that the prophets of God have said long ago.
25 Christ had to have this trouble and go to the place where he will be great, did he not?'
26 Then he told them the meaning of all that Moses and all the prophets of God long ago had written about him.
27 They came near the village to which they were going. It looked as if he was going on further.
28 But they begged him not to go further. They said, `Stay with us. It will soon be night. The day is almost finished.' So he went in to stay with them.
29 He sat down at the table with them. Then he took the bread and thanked God for it. He broke it and gave it to them.
30 Then they saw who he was. They knew him. And then suddenly they could not see him any more.
31 They said to each other, `It was like a fire burning in our hearts when he talked to us on the road and told us the meaning of the holy writings!'
32 They got up right then and went back to Jerusalem. There they found the eleven disciples together. Some other people were with them.
33 These people said, `The Lord has really risen! He came to Simon!'
34 Then the men from Emmaus told them what had happened on the road. They told how they knew Jesus when he broke bread and gave it to them.
35 While they were telling them this, Jesus himself stood there with them. He said to them, `Peace to you!'
36 They were troubled and afraid. They thought they were seeing a spirit.
37 He said to them, `Why are you troubled? Why do you wonder about these things in your hearts?
38 Look at my hands and my feet. You can see that it is I myself. Touch me with your hands and see. A spirit does not have a body and bones as you see I have.'
39 They gave him a piece of cooked fish.
40 He took the fish and ate it in front of them.
41 Then he said, `I told you this while I was with you. I told you that things were written about me in the books of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms. And I told you that all of these things must come true.'
42 Then he taught them so that they understood the things in the holy writings.
43 He said, `It is written that the Christ must have trouble. On the third day he will rise from death.
44 Men will talk in his name to people in all countries. They will tell them to stop their wrong ways and ask to be forgiven. They will begin in Jerusalem.
45 You are the men who have seen these things, and will tell people about them.
46 I will send you what the Father has promised to give you. So wait in the city of Jerusalem until you have been given power from God.'
47 Jesus led the disciples out as far as the town of Bethany. He put up his hands and blessed them.
48 While he was blessing them, he left them. He was taken up into heaven.
49 They bowed down and worshipped him. They were very happy and went back to Jerusalem.
50 Every day they were in the temple praising God.
1 The Word already was, way back before anything began to be. The Word and God were together. The Word was God.
2 Before anything began to be, the Word was there with God.
3 God made everything by the Word. Nothing has been made without him.
4 Life was in the Word. That life was Light for people.
5 The Light shone where it was dark and the darkness did not stop the Light from shining.
6 God sent a man named John.
7 He came to talk about the Light, so that all people might believe in the Light by what he said.
8 He himself was not that Light, but he was sent to talk about the Light.
9 The true Light which gives light to every person who comes into the world.
10 He, the Word, was in the world. Yes, he even made the world. And yet the world did not know him.
11 He came into the world that was his own, but his own people did not receive him.
12 But there were people who did believe in his name. They did receive him. He gave all those who received him and believed him the right to become children of God.
13 They were born into God's family by God. That is, they were not born into his family in the way a person is born into this world. It was not by any person's will.
14 The Word became man and he lived among us. We saw with our own eyes that he is great. He is great the way God the Father made his only Son great. We saw that he is full of loving kindness and truth.
15 John talked about him. He called out saying, `Here is the man I told you about. I said that the one who is coming after me is greater than I am, because he lived before I lived.'
16 He was full of loving kindness, and we have all received so much kindness from him.
17 Moses gave the law, but Jesus Christ gave this loving kindness and truth.
18 No one has ever seen God. But his only Son is very near to his Father's heart. He has told us plainly about God.
19 The leaders of the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem. They asked John, `Who are you?' John told them.
20 He did not hide the truth, but he told people plainly. He said, `I am not the Christ.'
21 So they asked him, `Well then, are you Elijah?' He answered, `No, I am not.' They asked, `Are you the Prophet?' He answered, `No.'
22 Then those priests said, `Who are you? We want to give an answer to the people who sent us. What do you say about yourself?'
23 John said, `I am a voice calling in the desert, "Make the road straight for the Lord." This is what was said by Isaiah, the prophet of God long ago.'
24 It was the Pharisees who had sent these people to John.
25 So they asked him, `If you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet, why then are you baptizing?'
26 John answered, `I baptize people in water. But there is a man standing among you whom you do not know.
27 He is the one coming after me who is greater than I am. I am not even good enough to untie his shoe strings.'
28 The place where John was baptizing was Bethany on the other side of the Jordan River.
29 The next day John saw Jesus coming to him. `Look,' said John. `See God's special Lamb! He takes away the wrong ways of the world.
30 Here is the man I told you about. I said that the one who is coming after me is greater than I am, because he lived before I lived.
31 I myself did not know who he was. But I came and baptized people in water so that the people of Israel would know who he was.'
32 John also said, `I saw the Spirit coming from the sky. He came down on him like a dove. It stayed on him.
33 I myself did not know who he was. But he who sent me to baptize people in water told me. He said, "You will see the Spirit coming from the sky on a man. That man will baptize people in the Holy Spirit."
34 I saw the Spirit coming on him, and I have told you. This man is the Son of God.'
35 The next day, John was standing with two of his followers.
36 Jesus walked by. When John saw him, he said, `Look, see God's Lamb!'
37 The two followers heard what John said, so they went after Jesus.
38 Jesus turned. He saw them coming after him. He said to them, `What are you looking for?' They said, `Teacher, where do you live?'
39 Jesus said, `Come and see.' They went and saw the place where Jesus was staying. The time was about four o'clock in the afternoon. They stayed with Jesus the rest of the day.
40 Andrew was one of those two followers of John who heard John speak and went after Jesus. He was Simon Peter's brother.
41 The first thing Andrew did then was to find his brother Simon. He said, `We have found the Messiah!' (Messiah means the Christ, the messenger of God.)
42 Andrew brought Simon to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, `You are Simon, the son of John. Your name will be Cephas.' (Cephas means Peter, a rock or stone.)
43 The next day Jesus said, `I will go to Galilee.' He found Philip and said to him, `Come with me.'
44 Philip was from the town of Bethsaida. Andrew and Peter were also from that town.
45 Philip went to find Nathanael. He said `We have found the man about whom Moses wrote in the books of the law. The prophets also wrote about him. He is Jesus, from Nazareth. He is the son of Joseph.'
46 Nathanael said, `From Nazareth? Can any good thing come from there?' Philip said, `Come and see for yourself.'
47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him. He said, `Here is a man who is truly of Israel. He does not fool people.'
48 Nathanael asked, `How do you know me?' Jesus answered, `I saw you when you were under the fig tree. That was before Philip called you.'
49 Nathanael said, `Teacher, you are the Son of God. You are the King of Israel.'
50 Jesus answered, `I told you that I saw you under the fig tree. Is that why you believe in me now? You will see more wonderful things than that!
51 I tell you the truth,' said Jesus. `You will see heaven open. You will see God's angels going up and down to the Son of Man.'
2 Two days later there was a wedding in the town of Cana in the country of Galilee. Jesus' mother was there.
2 Jesus and his disciples were also asked to the wedding.
3 The people needed more wine. Then Jesus' mother said to him, `They have no wine.'
4 Jesus said, `Woman, why are you telling me about it? It is not yet the time for me to do something.'
5 His mother said to the servants, `Do all that he tells you to do.'
6 Six very large water pots made of stone were standing there. The pots were there because the Jews had a certain law about washing themselves.
7 Jesus said, `Fill the pots with water.' So they filled them to the very top.
8 Jesus said, `Now take some out. Carry it to the one in charge of the feast.' They did what he said.
9 The man in charge of the feast tasted the water that was now turned into wine. He did not know where it came from, but the servants who drew the water knew. When the man had tasted it, he called the man who was being married.
10 He said, `Other people give the good wine at the beginning of the feast. When people have had all they want, then they give the wine which is not so good. But you have kept the good wine until now.'
11 This was the first big work that Jesus did. It was in Cana in Galilee. He showed that he was great. And his disciples believed in him.
12 After this he went to the town called Capernaum. His mother, his brothers, and his disciples also went with him. They stayed there for a few days.
13 The time for the Passover Feast of the Jews was near. So Jesus went to Jerusalem.
14 In the temple he found people buying and selling things. They were selling cows, sheep, and doves. Others were sitting at tables changing money for the people.
15 Jesus tied some pieces of cord together to make a whip. Then he drove out all the people who were buying and selling in the temple. And he drove out the sheep and the cows. He threw down the tables of the money changers and their money.
16 He said to the people who sold doves, `Take these things out of here. Do not make my Father's house into a market place.'
17 His disciples remembered that God's word says, `My love for your house is like a fire burning in me.'
18 The leaders of the Jews said to Jesus, `Who gave you the right to do this? What big work will prove it to us?'
19 Jesus answered them, `Break down this temple and in three days I will raise it up.'
20 The Jewish leaders said, `It took forty-six years to build this temple. Do you say you will raise it in three days?'
21 But Jesus was talking about the temple which was his body.
22 After Jesus died and had been raised from death, the disciples remembered that he had said this to them. Then they believed what the holy writings say. They also believed what Jesus had said to them.
23 Many people believed in Jesus' name when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast. They believed in him because they saw the big works he did.
24 But Jesus would not trust himself to them.
25 He knew what all people are like. He did not need anyone to tell him about any person, because he knew what was in a person's heart.
3 There was a man named Nicodemus. He was a Pharisee, a ruler and leader of the Jews.
2 One night Nicodemus came to Jesus. He said, `Master, we know you are a teacher sent by God. We know this because no person could do the big works you are doing if God did not help him.'
3 Jesus said, `I tell you the truth. No person can see God's kingdom if he is not born again.'
4 Nicodemus said, `How can a man be born when he is old? Can he go inside of his mother again and be born?'
5 Jesus said, `I tell you the truth. This new birth is by water and by the Spirit. No person can enter God's kingdom if he has not been born that way.
6 That which is born of a person is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
7 You must not be surprised when I say, "You must be born again."
8 The wind blows where it wants to blow. You can hear the sound of it. But you do not know where it comes from, and you do not know where it goes. It is the same way with everyone who is born of the Spirit.'
9 Nicodemus asked Jesus, `How can such things be?
10 Jesus answered, `Are you a teacher of the people of Israel and you do not know this?
11 I tell you the truth. We know what we are talking about. We talk about the things we have seen. But you will not believe what we tell you.
12 You do not believe what I have told you about things on earth. So how will you believe if I tell you about things in heaven?
13 No one has ever gone up to heaven - only the One who came down from heaven. That One is the Son of Man who is in heaven.
14 Moses lifted up a snake on a piece of wood in the desert. So the Son of Man must be lifted up.
15 Then everyone who believes in him will not die, but will live for ever.
16 `God loved the world so very, very much that he gave his only Son. Because he did that, everyone who believes in him will not lose his life, but will live for ever.
17 God did not send his Son into the world to judge the world. He sent him to save the world.
18 `Everyone who believes in the Son will not be judged. But everyone who does not believe in him is judged already, because he does not believe in the name of God's only Son.
19 Light came into the world. But people wanted to be in the dark because they did wrong things. They did not want the light. That is why they are judged.
20 Everyone who does wrong things hates light. He does not come to the light because he is afraid people will see what he does and will say it is bad.
21 But everyone who does what is right comes to the light. He wants people to see that God helps him to do what is right.'
22 After this, Jesus and his disciples came into the country of Judea. Jesus stayed there with them and baptized people.
23 John was also baptizing people in the river at Aenon, near the town of Salim. There was much water. People came to him and were baptized.
24 This was before John was put in prison.
25 John's disciples and the leaders of the Jews were talking about how to be clean, the way God wants us to be clean.
26 They came to John and said, `Teacher, there was a man with you on the other side of the Jordan River. You were telling people about him. Now he himself is baptizing and all the people are going to him.'
27 John answered, `A man cannot get anything unless God in heaven gives it to him.
28 You yourselves heard what I said. I am not the Christ but I have been sent ahead of the Christ.
29 The wife belongs to the man who has married her. The man's best friend may stand and listen. And when he hears what that man says, he is very glad for him. So what I hear makes me very glad in the same way.
30 He must become more and more great, but I must become less and less great.
31 `The one who comes from heaven is greater than all other people. The one who is of the earth talks about things on earth. So the one who comes from heaven is greater than all.
32 He tells what he has seen and heard, but no one wants to believe what he says.
33 If a person believes what the one from heaven says, then he also says God is true.
34 The one God sent speaks the words of God. God does not give him the Spirit little by little, but he gives the Spirit in full.
35 The Father loves his Son and has put everything in his hand.
36 He who believes in the Son will live for ever. He who does not believe in the Son will not live. God will be very angry with him for ever.'
4 The Pharisees heard that Jesus was getting people to follow him and was baptizing them. (Jesus' disciples baptized them, not he himself.) He now had more followers than John.
2 The Lord knew that they had heard about it. So he left Judea and went back to Galilee again.
3 He had to pass through the country of Samaria.
4 He came to a town in Samaria called Sychar. It was near the field that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.
5 Jacob's well was there. Jesus was very tired from walking on the road. So he sat down by the well. It was about midday.
6 A woman from Samaria came to the well to draw water. Jesus said, `Please give me a drink of water.'
7 His disciples had gone into the town to buy some food.
8 The woman said to Jesus, `Why do you ask me for a drink of water? You are a Jew and I am from Samaria.' (The Jews are not friends with the people of Samaria.)
9 Jesus answered her, `You do not know what God gives people. And you do not know who is asking you for a drink. If you knew him, then it is you who would have asked for a drink of water. He would give you living water.'
10 The woman said, `Sir, you have nothing to draw with. The well is deep. Where do you get that living water?
11 Are you greater than our father Jacob who gave us this well? He drank water from this well, also his children and cattle.'
12 Jesus answered her, `Anyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again.
13 But anyone who drinks the water that I will give him will never be thirsty. The water I give him will become a well inside of him that will never be dry. It will give him life for ever.'
14 The woman said, `Sir, give me this water. Then I will never be thirsty again. I will not need to come here to draw water.'
15 Jesus said, `Go, call your husband, then come here.'
16 She said, `I have no husband.' Jesus said, `You say, "I have no husband." That is true.
17 You have had five husbands, but the man you are living with now is not your husband. You have told the truth.'
18 The woman said, `Sir, this shows me you are a prophet of God.
19 Our fathers came to this mountain to worship God. But you people say Jerusalem is the place people must go to worship him.'
20 Jesus said, `Woman, believe what I say. The time is coming when you will not come to this mountain or to Jerusalem to worship my Father.
21 You worship one whom you do not know. But we know whom we worship. The Saviour will come of the Jews.
22 But the time is coming, yes, the time is here already, when those who worship God will worship him in spirit and in a true way. My Father is looking for that kind of people to worship him.
23 God is Spirit. Those who worship him must do so in spirit and in a true way.'
24 The woman said to Jesus, `I know that Messiah is coming. His name is Christ. When he comes he will tell us everything.'
25 Jesus said to her, `I who am talking to you am he.'
26 When Jesus had said this, his disciples came back. They were surprised to hear him talking to a woman. But not one of them asked, `What do you want?' or, `Why are you talking to her?'
27 The woman left her water-pot and went back to the town.
28 She said to the people, `Come, I will show you a man who has told me everything I have done. Can this be the Christ?'
29 The people left the town and went to him.
30 While they were on the way coming to Jesus, the disciples asked him, `Teacher, will you please eat.'
31 Jesus said to them, `I have food that you do not know about.'
32 So the disciples asked one another, `Has anyone brought him food to eat?'
33 Jesus said to them, `My food is to obey the one who sent me and to finish his work.
34 Do you not say, "In four months it will be harvest time"? Listen, I say. Look up and see the fields. The harvest is ready to cut now.
35 The one who gathers the harvest receives a reward for it. He gathers a harvest that will live for ever. Then the one who sows and the one who gathers will both be happy.
36 This saying is true here: "One sows and another gathers."
37 I sent you to gather what you did not help to plant. Other people have worked hard and you have been helped through their work.'
38 Many of the people of the town believed in Jesus because of what the woman told them. She said, `He told me everything I have done.'
39 When the people from Samaria came, they begged him to stay with them. So he stayed with them for two days.
40 Many more people believed in Jesus because of his own word.
41 They said to the woman, `Now we believe, not because of what you told us, but because of what he himself has told us. We know it is true. This is the Saviour of the world.'
42 Two days after this, Jesus left Samaria and went to Galilee.
43 Jesus himself said, `No prophet is honoured by the people in his own country.'
44 When he came to Galilee, the people of that country were glad to see him. They had seen all the things he did when he was at the feast in Jerusalem. They had been at the feast also.
45 So Jesus came back to the town of Cana in Galilee. That was the place where he had changed water into wine. One of the king's officers was there. His son was sick in the town of Capernaum.
46 He heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, and he went to Jesus and said, `I beg you, come and heal my son. He is dying.'
47 Jesus said to him, `If you do not see some signs and big works, then you will not believe.'
48 The officer said, `Sir, I beg you. Come right away before my son dies.'
49 Jesus said, `Go home. Your son will not die.' The man believed what Jesus said and went home.
50 On the way, his servants met him. They said, `Your son is living.'
51 He asked, `What time did he begin to get well?' They said, `Yesterday at one hour after midday the fever left him.'
52 The father knew that was the time when Jesus said to him `Your son will not die.' So he and all his family believed in Jesus.
53 This was the second big work that Jesus did after he came back from Judea to Galilee.
5 After that, the Jews had a feast and Jesus went to Jerusalem.
2 In Jerusalem, near the Sheep Gate, there is a wide water hole. The Jews called this water hole Bethesda. It had five places with roofs for people to stand under.
3 Many sick people were lying on these places. Some of them were blind. Some were lame. Some were very thin and stiff so that they could not move by themselves. All of them were waiting for the water to move.
4 An angel came down into the water at a certain time and made it move. The first person who stepped into the water when it moved was healed of any sickness that he had.
5 A man was there who had been sick for thirty eight years.
6 Jesus saw the man lying there. He knew that he had been sick for a long time. He said to him, `Do you want to be healed?'
7 The sick man said to him, `Sir, I have no man to put me into the water when it moves. While I am trying to get in, some other person comes and gets in before me.'
8 Jesus said, `Get up. Take up your bed and walk!'
9 The man was healed right away. He took up his bed and walked. This happened on the Sabbath day.
10 So the leaders of the Jews talked to the man who was healed. They said, `It is the Sabbath day. It is not right for you to carry your bed.'
11 But he answered them, `The man who healed me said to me, "Take up your bed and walk." '
12 They asked him, `Who is the man who told you to take up your bed and walk?'
13 The man who was healed said, `I do not know who he is.' Many people were at the place and Jesus had gone away.
14 After that, Jesus saw the man in the temple. He said to him, `See, you are healed. Do no more wrong things. If you do, something worse may happen to you.'
15 The man went away and told the leaders of the Jews that it was Jesus who had healed him.
16 The Jewish leaders made trouble for Jesus because he did this on the Sabbath day.
17 But Jesus answered them, `My Father is still working and I am working also.'
18 This was why the leaders of the Jews tried much more to kill Jesus. He had broken the law of the Sabbath day. And also he called God his Father. In that way, he was making himself equal with God.
19 Jesus said to them, `l tell you the truth. The Son cannot do anything alone. He sees what his Father is doing and he does the same.
20 My Father loves his Son. He shows him all that he himself is doing. He will show his Son bigger works than these so that you may be surprised.
21 My Father raises people who were dead, and gives them life. So his Son gives life to anyone he wants to.
22 My Father judges no one, but he has made his Son to be the judge of everything.
23 He did this so that all people would respect the Son, just as they respect his Father. My Father has sent his Son. Anyone who does not respect his Son does not respect the Father.
24 `I tell you the truth. The person who hears what I say and believes in him that sent me will live for ever. He will not be judged. He has already passed from death to life.
25 `I tell you the truth. The time is coming. Yes, the time is here when the dead people will hear the voice of the Son of God. Those who hear his voice will live.
26 My Father has life in himself. And so he has made his Son to have life in himself.
27 He has given his Son power also to judge because he is the Son of Man.
28 Do not be surprised at what I say. The time is coming when all who are in the graves will hear his voice.
29 They will come out of the graves. Those who have done what is good will come out to live. But those who have done what is wrong will come out to be punished.
30 `I have no right to do anything myself. I judge the way I am told to judge. The way I judge people is right. I do not do what I myself want to do, but I do what my Father wants me to do. He sent me.
31 `If I talk about myself, then what I say is not true.
32 But someone else also speaks about me. I know what he says about me is true.
33 You sent someone to John and he has told you the truth about me.
34 I do not need to listen to what a person says about me. But I tell you this so that you may be saved.
35 John was a light burning and shining. For a while you were happy to be in his light.
36 But I have something greater than John to talk for me. It is the works that I do. My Father has given me works to finish. The works that I do tell that he sent me.
37 And my Father who sent me has himself talked about me. You have never heard him speak and you do not know what he is like.
38 The word he talks is not in your hearts, because you do not believe the one he sent to you.
39 `You read holy writings carefully. You think that there you will find out how to live for ever. In the same writings you will read about me.
40 And yet you will not come to me for that life.
41 I do not want people to call me great.
42 But I know that you do not love God in your hearts.
43 I have come in my Father's name, but you will not receive me. If another person comes in his own name, then you will receive him.
44 How can you believe? You are always calling each other great, but you do not want the only God to make you great.
45 Do not think that I will carry a complaint against you to my Father. Moses has already carried the complaint against you. He is the very one you trust.
46 If you really believed Moses, you would believe me too, because he wrote about me.
47 But if you do not believe what he wrote, how will you believe what I say?'
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