Bible in 90 Days
6 After this, Jesus crossed over the Sea of Galilee, also known as the Sea of Tiberias. 2-5 And a huge crowd, many of them pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem for the annual Passover celebration, were following him wherever he went, to watch him heal the sick. So when Jesus went up into the hills and sat down with his disciples around him, he soon saw a great multitude of people climbing the hill, looking for him.
Turning to Philip he asked, “Philip, where can we buy bread to feed all these people?” 6 (He was testing Philip, for he already knew what he was going to do.)
7 Philip replied, “It would take a fortune[a] to begin to do it!”
8-9 Then Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up. “There’s a youngster here with five barley loaves and a couple of fish! But what good is that with all this mob?”
10 “Tell everyone to sit down,” Jesus ordered. And all of them—the approximate count of the men only was five thousand—sat down on the grassy slopes. 11 Then Jesus took the loaves and gave thanks to God and passed them out to the people. Afterwards he did the same with the fish. And everyone ate until full!
12 “Now gather the scraps,” Jesus told his disciples, “so that nothing is wasted.” 13 And twelve baskets were filled with the leftovers!
14 When the people realized what a great miracle had happened, they exclaimed, “Surely, he is the Prophet we have been expecting!”
15 Jesus saw that they were ready to take him by force and make him their king, so he went higher into the mountains alone.
16 That evening his disciples went down to the shore to wait for him. 17 But as darkness fell and Jesus still hadn’t come back, they got into the boat and headed out across the lake toward Capernaum. 18-19 But soon a gale swept down upon them as they rowed, and the sea grew very rough. They were three or four miles out when suddenly they saw Jesus walking toward the boat! They were terrified, 20 but he called out to them and told them not to be afraid. 21 Then they were willing to let him in, and immediately the boat was where they were going![b]
22-23 The next morning, back across the lake, crowds began gathering on the shore waiting to see Jesus.[c] 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. Several small boats from Tiberias were nearby, 24 so when the people saw that Jesus wasn’t there, nor his disciples, they got into the boats and went across to Capernaum to look for him.
25 When they arrived and found him, they said, “Sir, how did you get here?” 26 Jesus replied, “The truth of the matter is that you want to be with me because I fed you, not because you believe in me. 27 But you shouldn’t be so concerned about perishable things like food. No, spend your energy seeking the eternal life that I, the Messiah,[d] can give you. For God the Father has sent me for this very purpose.”
28 They replied, “What should we do to satisfy God?”
29 Jesus told them, “This is the will of God, that you believe in the one he has sent.”
30-31 They replied, “You must show us more miracles if you want us to believe you are the Messiah. Give us free bread every day, like our fathers had while they journeyed through the wilderness! As the Scriptures say, ‘Moses gave them bread from heaven.’”
32 Jesus said, “Moses didn’t give it to them. My Father did.[e] And now he offers you true Bread from heaven. 33 The true Bread is a Person—the one sent by God from heaven, and he gives life to the world.”
34 “Sir,” they said, “give us that bread every day of our lives!”
35 Jesus replied, “I am the Bread of Life. No one coming to me will ever be hungry again. Those believing in me will never thirst. 36 But the trouble is, as I have told you before, you haven’t believed even though you have seen me. 37 But some will come to me—those the Father has given me—and I will never, never reject them. 38 For I have come here from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to have my own way. 39 And 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. 40 For it is my Father’s will that everyone who sees his Son and believes on him should have eternal life—that I should raise him at the Last Day.”
41 Then the Jews began to murmur against him because he claimed to be the Bread from heaven.
42 “What?” they exclaimed. “Why, he is merely Jesus the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know. What is this he is saying, that he came down from heaven?”
43 But Jesus replied, “Don’t murmur among yourselves about my saying that. 44 For no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him to me, and at the Last Day I will cause all such to rise again from the dead. 45 As it is written in the Scriptures, ‘They shall all be taught of God.’ Those the Father speaks to, who learn the truth from him, will be attracted to me. 46 (Not that anyone actually sees the Father, for only I have seen him.)
47 “How earnestly I tell you this—anyone who believes in me already has eternal life! 48-51 Yes, I am the Bread of Life! When your fathers in the wilderness ate bread from the skies, they all died. But the Bread from heaven gives eternal life to everyone who eats it. I am that Living Bread that came down out of heaven. Anyone eating this Bread shall live forever; this Bread is my flesh given to redeem humanity.”
52 Then the Jews began arguing with each other about what he meant. “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” they asked.
53 So Jesus said it again, “With all the earnestness I possess I tell you this: Unless you eat the flesh of the Messiah[f] and drink his blood, you cannot have eternal life within you. 54 But anyone who does eat my flesh and drink my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him at the Last Day. 55 For my flesh is the true food, and my blood is the true drink. 56 Everyone who eats my flesh and drinks my blood is in me, and I in him. 57 I live by the power of the living Father who sent me, and in the same way those who partake of me shall live because of me! 58 I am the true Bread from heaven; and anyone who eats this Bread shall live forever, and not die as your fathers did—though they ate bread from heaven.” 59 (He preached this sermon in the synagogue in Capernaum.)
60 Even his disciples said, “This is very hard to understand. Who can tell what he means?”
61 Jesus knew within himself that his disciples were complaining and said to them,
65 And he remarked, “That is what I meant when I said that no one can come to me unless the Father attracts him to me.”
66 At this point many of his disciples turned away and deserted him.
67 Then Jesus turned to the Twelve and asked, “Are you going too?”
68 Simon Peter replied, “Master, to whom shall we go? You alone have the words that give eternal life, 69 and we believe them and know you are the holy Son of God.”
70 Then Jesus said, “I chose the twelve of you, and one is a devil.” 71 He was speaking of Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, one of the Twelve, who would betray him.
7 After this, Jesus went to Galilee, going from village to village, for he wanted to stay out of Judea where the Jewish leaders were plotting his death. 2 But soon it was time for the Tabernacle Ceremonies, one of the annual Jewish holidays, 3 and Jesus’ brothers urged him to go to Judea for the celebration.
“Go where more people can see your miracles!” they scoffed. 4 “You can’t be famous when you hide like this! If you’re so great, prove it to the world!” 5 For even his brothers didn’t believe in him.
6 Jesus replied, “It is not the right time for me to go now. But you can go anytime and it will make no difference, 7 for the world can’t hate you; but it does hate me, because I accuse it of sin and evil. 8 You go on, and I’ll come later[h] when it is the right time.” 9 So he remained in Galilee.
10 But after his brothers had left for the celebration, then he went too, though secretly, staying out of the public eye. 11 The Jewish leaders tried to find him at the celebration and kept asking if anyone had seen him. 12 There was a lot of discussion about him among the crowds. Some said, “He’s a wonderful man,” while others said, “No, he’s duping the public.” 13 But no one had the courage to speak out for him in public for fear of reprisals from the Jewish leaders.
14 Then, midway through the festival, Jesus went up to the Temple and preached openly. 15 The Jewish leaders were surprised when they heard him. “How can he know so much when he’s never been to our schools?” they asked.
16 So Jesus told them, “I’m not teaching you my own thoughts, but those of God who sent me. 17 If any of you really determines to do God’s will, then you will certainly know whether my teaching is from God or is merely my own. 18 Anyone presenting his own ideas is looking for praise for himself, but anyone seeking to honor the one who sent him is a good and true person. 19
20 The crowd replied, “You’re out of your mind! Who’s trying to kill you?”
21-23 Jesus replied, “I worked on the Sabbath by healing a man, and you were surprised. But you work on the Sabbath, too, whenever you obey Moses’ law of circumcision (actually, however, this tradition of circumcision is older than the Mosaic law); for if the correct time for circumcising your children falls on the Sabbath, you go ahead and do it, as you should. So why should I be condemned for making a man completely well on the Sabbath? 24 Think this through and you will see that I am right.”
25 Some of the people who lived there in Jerusalem said among themselves, “Isn’t this the man they are trying to kill? 26 But here he is preaching in public, and they say nothing to him. Can it be that our leaders have learned, after all, that he really is the Messiah? 27 But how could he be? For we know where this man was born; when Christ comes, he will just appear and no one will know where he comes from.”
28 So Jesus, in a sermon in the Temple, called out, “Yes, you know me and where I was born and raised, but I am the representative of one you don’t know, and he is Truth. 29 I know him because I was with him, and he sent me to you.”
30 Then the Jewish leaders sought to arrest him; but no hand was laid on him, for God’s time had not yet come.
31 Many among the crowds at the Temple believed on him. “After all,” they said, “what miracles do you expect the Messiah to do that this man hasn’t done?”
32 When the Pharisees heard that the crowds were in this mood, they and the chief priests sent officers to arrest Jesus. 33 But Jesus told them, “Not yet![i] I am to be here a little longer. Then I shall return to the one who sent me. 34 You will search for me but not find me. And you won’t be able to come where I am!”
35 The 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 as a missionary among the Jews in other lands, or maybe even to the Gentiles! 36 What does he mean about our looking for him and not being able to find him, and, ‘You won’t be able to come where I am’?”
37 On the last day, the climax of the holidays, Jesus shouted to the crowds, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. 38 For the Scriptures declare that rivers of living water shall flow from the inmost being of anyone who believes in me.” 39 (He was speaking of the Holy Spirit, who would be given to everyone believing in him; but the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not yet returned to his glory in heaven.)
40 When the crowds heard him say this, some of them declared, “This man surely is the prophet who will come just before the Messiah.” 41-42 Others said, “He is the Messiah.” Still others, “But he can’t be! Will the Messiah come from Galilee? For the Scriptures clearly state that the Messiah will be born of the royal line of David, in Bethlehem, the village where David was born.” 43 So the crowd was divided about him. 44 And some wanted him arrested, but no one touched him.
45 The Temple police who had been sent to arrest him returned to the chief priests and Pharisees. “Why didn’t you bring him in?” they demanded.
46 “He says such wonderful things!” they mumbled. “We’ve never heard anything like it.”
47 “So you also have been led astray?” the Pharisees mocked. 48 “Is there a single one of us Jewish rulers or Pharisees who believes he is the Messiah? 49 These stupid crowds do, yes; but what do they know about it? A curse upon them anyway!”[j]
50 Then Nicodemus spoke up. (Remember him? He was the Jewish leader who came secretly to interview Jesus.) 51 “Is it legal to convict a man before he is even tried?” he asked.
52 They replied, “Are you a wretched Galilean too? Search the Scriptures and see for yourself—no prophets will come from Galilee!”
53 [k] Then the meeting broke up and everybody went home.
8 Jesus returned to the Mount of Olives, 2 but early the next morning he was back again at the Temple. A crowd soon gathered, and he sat down and talked to them. 3 As he was speaking, the Jewish leaders and Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery and placed her out in front of the staring crowd.
4 “Teacher,” they said to Jesus, “this woman was caught in the very act of adultery. 5 Moses’ law says to kill her. What about it?”
6 They 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. 7 They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, “All right, hurl the stones at her until she dies. But only he who never sinned may throw the first!”
8 Then he stooped down again and wrote some more in the dust. 9 And the Jewish leaders slipped away one by one, beginning with the eldest, until only Jesus was left in front of the crowd with the woman.
10 Then Jesus stood up again and said to her, “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?”
11 “No, sir,” she said.
And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.”
12 Later, in one of his talks, Jesus said to the people, “I am the Light of the world. So if you follow me, you won’t be stumbling through the darkness, for living light will flood your path.”
13 The Pharisees replied, “You are boasting—and lying!”
14 Jesus told them, “These claims are true even though I make them concerning myself. For I know where I came from and where I am going, but you don’t know this about me. 15 You pass judgment on me without knowing the facts. I am not judging you now; 16 but if I were, it would be an absolutely correct judgment in every respect, for I have with me the Father who sent me. 17 Your laws say that if two men agree on something that has happened, their witness is accepted as fact. 18 Well, I am one witness, and my Father who sent me is the other.”
19 “Where is your father?” they asked.
Jesus answered, “You don’t know who I am, so you don’t know who my Father is. If you knew me, then you would know him too.”
20 Jesus made these statements while in the section of the Temple known as the Treasury. But he was not arrested, for his time had not yet run out.
21 Later he said to them again, “I am going away; and you will search for me, and die in your sins. And you cannot come where I am going.”
22 The Jews asked, “Is he planning suicide? What does he mean, ‘You cannot come where I am going’?”
23 Then he said to them, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not. 24 That is why I said that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am the Messiah, the Son of God, you will die in your sins.”
25 “Tell us who you are,” they demanded.
He replied, “I am the one I have always claimed to be. 26 I could condemn you for much and teach you much, but I won’t, for I say only what I am told to by the one who sent me; and he is Truth.” 27 But they still didn’t understand that he was talking to them about God.[l]
28 So Jesus said, “When you have killed the Messiah,[m] then you will realize that I am he and that I have not been telling you my own ideas, but have spoken what the Father taught me. 29 And he who sent me is with me—he has not deserted me—for I always do those things that are pleasing to him.”
30-31 Then many of the Jewish leaders who heard him say these things began believing him to be the Messiah.
Jesus said to them, “You are truly my disciples if you live as I tell you to, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
33 “But we are descendants of Abraham,” they said, “and have never been slaves to any man on earth! What do you mean, ‘set free’?”
34 Jesus replied, “You are slaves of sin, every one of you. 35 And slaves don’t have rights, but the Son has every right there is! 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will indeed be free— 37 (Yes, 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 home within your hearts. 38
39 “Our father is Abraham,” they declared.
“No!” Jesus replied, “for if he were, you would follow his good example. 40 But instead you are trying to kill me—and all because I told you the truth I heard from God. Abraham wouldn’t do a thing like that! 41
They replied, “We were not born out of wedlock—our true Father is God himself.”
42 Jesus told them, “If that were so, then you would love me, for I have come to you from God. I am not here on my own, but he sent me. 43 Why can’t you understand what I am saying? It is because you are prevented from doing so! 44 For 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 a hater of truth—there is not an iota of truth in him. When he lies, it is perfectly normal; for he is the father of liars. 45 And so when I tell the truth, you just naturally don’t believe it!
46 “Which of you can truthfully accuse me of one single sin? No one![n] And since I am telling you the truth, why don’t you believe me? 47 Anyone whose Father is God listens gladly to the words of God. Since you don’t, it proves you aren’t his children.”
48 “You Samaritan! Foreigner! Devil!” the Jewish leaders snarled. “Didn’t we say all along 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. 50 And though I have no wish to make myself great, God wants this for me and judges those who reject me.[o] 51 With all the earnestness I have I tell you this—no one who obeys me shall ever die!”
52 The leaders of the Jews said, “Now we know you are possessed by a demon. Even Abraham and the mightiest prophets died, and yet you say that obeying you will keep a man from dying! 53 So you are greater than our father Abraham, who died? And greater than the prophets, who died? Who do you think you are?” 54 Then Jesus told them this: “If I am merely boasting about myself, it doesn’t count. But it is my Father—and you claim him as your God—who is saying these glorious things about me. 55 But you do not even know him. I do. If I said otherwise, I would be as great a liar as you! But it is true—I know him and fully obey him. 56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day. He knew I was coming and was glad.”
57 The Jewish leaders: “You aren’t even fifty years old—sure, you’ve seen Abraham!”
58 Jesus: “The absolute truth is that I was in existence before Abraham was ever born!”
59 At that point the Jewish leaders picked up stones to kill him. But Jesus was hidden from them, and walked past them and left the Temple.
9 As he was walking along, he saw a man blind from birth.
2 “Master,” his disciples asked him, “why was this man born blind? Was it a result of his own sins or those of his parents?”
3 “Neither,” Jesus answered. “But to demonstrate the power of God. 4 All of us must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent me, for there is little time left before the night falls and all work comes to an end. 5 But while I am still here in the world, I give it my light.”
6 Then he spat on the ground and made mud from the spittle and smoothed the mud over the blind man’s eyes, 7 and told him, “Go and wash in the Pool of Siloam” (the word Siloam means “Sent”). So the man went where he was sent and washed and came back seeing!
8 His neighbors and others who knew him as a blind beggar asked each other, “Is this the same fellow—that beggar?”
9 Some said yes, and some said no. “It can’t be the same man,” they thought, “but he surely looks like him!”
And the beggar said, “I am the same man!”
10 Then they asked him how in the world he could see. What had happened?
11 And he told them, “A man they call Jesus made mud and smoothed it over my eyes and told me to go to the Pool of Siloam and wash off the mud. I did, and I can see!”
12 “Where is he now?” they asked.
“I don’t know,” he replied.
13 Then they took the man to the Pharisees. 14 Now as it happened, this all occurred on a Sabbath.[p] 15 Then the Pharisees asked him all about it. So he told them how Jesus had smoothed the mud over his eyes, and when it was washed away, he could see!
16 Some of them said, “Then this fellow Jesus is not from God because he is working on the Sabbath.”
Others said, “But how could an ordinary sinner do such miracles?” So there was a deep division of opinion among them.
17 Then the Pharisees turned on the man who had been blind and demanded, “This man who opened your eyes—who do you say he is?”
“I think he must be a prophet sent from God,” the man replied.
18 The Jewish leaders wouldn’t believe he had been blind, until they called in his parents 19 and asked them, “Is this your son? Was he born blind? If so, how can he see?”
20 His parents replied, “We know this is our son and that he was born blind, 21 but we don’t know what happened to make him see, or who did it. He is old enough to speak for himself. Ask him.”
22-23 They said this in fear of the Jewish leaders who had announced that anyone saying Jesus was the Messiah would be excommunicated.
24 So for the second time they called in the man who had been blind and told him, “Give the glory to God, not to Jesus, for we know Jesus is an evil person.”
25 “I don’t know whether he is good or bad,” the man replied, “but I know this: I was blind, and now I 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?”
28 Then they cursed him and said, “You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. 29 We know God has spoken to Moses, but as for this fellow, we don’t know anything about him.”
30 “Why, that’s very strange!” the man replied. “He can heal blind men, and yet you don’t know anything about him! 31 Well, God doesn’t listen to evil men, but he has open ears to those who worship him and do his will. 32 Since the world began there has never been anyone who could open the eyes of someone born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, he couldn’t do it.”
34 “You illegitimate bastard,[q] you!” they shouted. “Are you trying to teach us?” And they threw him out.
35 When Jesus heard what had happened, he found the man and said, “Do you believe in the Messiah?”[r]
36 The man answered, “Who is he, sir, for I want 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.
39 Then Jesus told him, “I have come into the world to give sight to those who are spiritually blind and to show those who think they see that they are blind.”
40 The Pharisees who were standing there asked, “Are you saying we are blind?”
41 “If you were blind, you wouldn’t be guilty,” Jesus replied. “But your guilt remains because you claim to know what you are doing.
10 “Anyone refusing to walk through the gate into a sheepfold, who sneaks over the wall, must surely be a thief! 2 For a shepherd comes through the gate. 3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice and come to him; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 He walks ahead of them; and they follow him, for they recognize his voice. 5 They won’t follow a stranger but will run from him, for they don’t recognize his voice.”
6 Those who heard Jesus use this illustration didn’t understand what he meant, 7 so he explained it to them.
“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. 9 Yes, I am the Gate. Those who come in by way of the Gate will be saved and will go in and out and find green pastures. 10 The thief’s purpose is to steal, 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. 12 A hired man will run when he sees a wolf coming and will leave the sheep, for they aren’t his and he isn’t their shepherd. And so the wolf leaps on them and scatters the flock. 13 The hired man runs because he is hired and has no real concern for the sheep.
14 “I am the Good Shepherd and know my own sheep, and they know me, 15 just as my Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep, too, in another fold. I must bring them also, and they will heed 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. 18 No one can kill me without my consent—I lay down my life voluntarily. For I have the right and power to lay it down when I want to and also the right and power to take it again. For the Father has given me this right.”
19 When he said these things, the Jewish leaders were again divided in their opinions about him. 20 Some of them said, “He has a demon or else is crazy. Why listen to a man like that?”
21 Others said, “This doesn’t sound to us like a man possessed by a demon! Can a demon open the eyes of blind men?”
22-23 It was winter,[s] and Jesus was in Jerusalem at the time of the Dedication Celebration. He was at the Temple, walking through the section known as Solomon’s Hall. 24 The Jewish leaders surrounded him and asked, “How long are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.”
25 “I have already told you,[t] and you don’t believe me,” Jesus replied. “The proof is in the miracles I do in the name of my Father. 26 But you don’t believe me because you are not part of my flock. 27 My sheep recognize my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life and they shall never perish. No one shall snatch them away from me, 29 for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else, so no one can kidnap them from me. 30 I and the Father are one.”
31 Then again the Jewish leaders picked up stones to kill him.
32 Jesus said, “At God’s direction I have done many a miracle to help the people. For which one are you killing me?”
33 They replied, “Not for any good work, but for blasphemy; you, a mere man, have declared yourself to be God.”
34-36 “In your own Law it says that men are gods!” he replied. “So if the Scripture, which cannot be untrue, speaks of those as gods to whom the message of God came, do you call it blasphemy when the one sanctified and sent into the world by the Father says, ‘I am the Son of God’? 37 Don’t believe me unless I do miracles of God. 38 But if I do, believe them even if you don’t believe me. Then you will become convinced that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.”
39 Once again they started to arrest him. But he walked away and left them, 40 and went beyond the Jordan River to stay near the place where John was first baptizing. 41 And many followed him.
“John didn’t do miracles,” they remarked to one another, “but all his predictions concerning this man have come true.” 42 And many came to the decision that he was the Messiah.[u]
11 1-2 Do you remember Mary, who poured the costly perfume on Jesus’ feet and wiped them with her hair?[v] Well, her brother Lazarus, who lived in Bethany with Mary and her sister Martha, was sick. 3 So the two sisters sent a message to Jesus telling him, “Sir, your good friend is very, very sick.”
4 But when Jesus heard about it he said, “The purpose of his illness is not death, but for the glory of God. I, the Son of God, will receive glory from this situation.”
5 Although Jesus was very fond of Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, 6 he stayed where he was for the next two days and made no move to go to them. 7 Finally, after the two days, he said to his disciples, “Let’s go to Judea.”
8 But his disciples objected. “Master,” they said, “only a few days ago the Jewish leaders in Judea were trying to kill you. Are you going there again?”
9 Jesus replied, “There are twelve hours of daylight every day, and during every hour of it a man can walk safely and not stumble. 10 Only at night is there danger of a wrong step, because of the dark.” 11 Then he said, “Our friend Lazarus has gone to sleep, but now I will go and waken him!”
12-13 The disciples, thinking Jesus meant Lazarus was having a good night’s rest, said, “That means he is getting better!” But Jesus meant Lazarus had died.
14 Then he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead. 15 And for your sake, I am glad I wasn’t there, for this will give you another opportunity to believe in me. Come, let’s go to him.”
16 Thomas, nicknamed “The Twin,” said to his fellow disciples, “Let’s go too—and die with him.”
17 When they arrived at Bethany, they were told that Lazarus had already been in his tomb for four days. 18 Bethany was only a couple of miles down the road from Jerusalem, 19 and many of the Jewish leaders had come to pay their respects and to console Martha and Mary on their loss. 20 When Martha got word that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him. But Mary stayed at home.
21 Martha said to Jesus, “Sir, if you had been here, my brother wouldn’t have died. 22 And even now it’s not too late, for I know that God will bring my brother back to life again, if you will only ask him to.”
23 Jesus told her, “Your brother will come back to life again.”
24 “Yes,” Martha said, “when everyone else does, on Resurrection Day.”
25 Jesus told her, “I am the one who raises the dead and gives them life again. Anyone who believes in me, even though he dies like anyone else, shall live again. 26 He is given eternal life for believing in me and shall never perish. Do you believe this, Martha?”
27 “Yes, Master,” she told him. “I believe you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one we have so long awaited.”
28 Then she left him and returned to Mary and, calling her aside from the mourners, told her, “He is here and wants to see you.” 29 So Mary went to him at once.
30 Now Jesus had stayed outside the village, at the place where Martha met him. 31 When the Jewish leaders who were at the house trying to console Mary saw her leave so hastily, they assumed she was going to Lazarus’ tomb to weep; so they followed her.
32 When Mary arrived where Jesus was, she fell down at his feet, saying, “Sir, if you had been here, my brother would still be alive.”
33 When Jesus saw her weeping and the Jewish leaders wailing with her, he was moved with indignation and deeply troubled. 34 “Where is he buried?” he asked them.
They told him, “Come and see.” 35 Tears came to Jesus’ eyes.
36 “They were close friends,” the Jewish leaders said. “See how much he loved him.”
37-38 But some said, “This fellow healed a blind man—why couldn’t he keep Lazarus from dying?”
And again Jesus was moved with deep anger. Then they came to the tomb. It was a cave with a heavy stone rolled across its door.
39 “Roll the stone aside,” Jesus told them.
But Martha, the dead man’s sister, said, “By now the smell will be terrible, for he has been dead four days.”
40 “But didn’t I tell you that you will see a wonderful miracle from God if you believe?” Jesus asked her.
41 So they rolled the stone aside. Then Jesus looked up to heaven and said, “Father, thank you for hearing me. 42 (You always hear me, of course, but I said it because of all these people standing here, so that they will believe you sent me.)” 43 Then he shouted, “Lazarus, come out!”
44 And Lazarus came—bound up in the gravecloth, his face muffled in a head swath. Jesus told them, “Unwrap him and let him go!”
45 And so at last many of the Jewish leaders who were with Mary and saw it happen, finally believed on him. 46 But some went away to the Pharisees and reported it to them.
47 Then the chief priests and Pharisees convened a council to discuss the situation.
“What are we going to do?” they asked each other. “For this man certainly does miracles. 48 If we let him alone the whole nation will follow him—and then the Roman army will come and kill us and take over the Jewish government.”
49 And one of them, Caiaphas, who was High Priest that year, said, “You stupid idiots— 50 let this one man die for the people—why should the whole nation perish?”
51 This prophecy that Jesus should die for the entire nation came from Caiaphas in his position as High Priest—he didn’t think of it by himself, but was inspired to say it. 52 It was a prediction that Jesus’ death would not be for Israel only, but for all the children of God scattered around the world. 53 So from that time on the Jewish leaders began plotting Jesus’ death.
54 Jesus now stopped his public ministry and left Jerusalem; he went to the edge of the desert, to the village of Ephraim, and stayed there with his disciples.
55 The Passover, a Jewish holy day, was near, and many country people arrived in Jerusalem several days early so that they could go through the cleansing ceremony before the Passover began. 56 They wanted to see Jesus, and as they gossiped in the Temple, they asked each other, “What do you think? Will he come for the Passover?” 57 Meanwhile the chief priests and Pharisees had publicly announced that anyone seeing Jesus must report him immediately so that they could arrest him.
12 Six days before the Passover ceremonies began, Jesus arrived in Bethany where Lazarus was—the man he had brought back to life. 2 A banquet was prepared in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, and Lazarus sat at the table with him. 3 Then Mary took a jar of costly perfume made from essence of nard, and anointed Jesus’ feet with it and wiped them with her hair. And the house was filled with fragrance.
4 But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples—the one who would betray him—said, 5 “That perfume was worth a fortune. It should have been sold and the money given to the poor.” 6 Not that he cared for the poor, but he was in charge of the disciples’ funds and often dipped into them for his own use!
7 Jesus replied, “Let her alone. She did it in preparation for my burial. 8 You can always help the poor, but I won’t be with you very long.”
9 When the ordinary people of Jerusalem heard of his arrival, they flocked to see him and also to see Lazarus—the man who had come back to life again. 10 Then the chief priests decided to kill Lazarus too, 11 for it was because of him that many of the Jewish leaders had deserted and believed in Jesus as their Messiah.
12 The next day, the news that Jesus was on the way to Jerusalem swept through the city, and a huge crowd of Passover visitors 13 took palm branches and went down the road to meet him, shouting, “The Savior! God bless the King of Israel! Hail to God’s Ambassador!”
14 Jesus rode along on a young donkey, fulfilling the prophecy that said: 15 “Don’t be afraid of your King, people of Israel, for he will come to you meekly, sitting on a donkey’s colt!”
16 (His disciples didn’t realize at the time that this was a fulfillment of prophecy; but after Jesus returned to his glory in heaven, then they noticed how many prophecies of Scripture had come true before their eyes.)
17 And those in the crowd who had seen Jesus call Lazarus back to life were telling all about it. 18 That was the main reason why so many went out to meet him—because they had heard about this mighty miracle.
19 Then the Pharisees said to each other, “We’ve lost. Look—the whole world has gone after him!”
20 Some Greeks who had come to Jerusalem to attend the Passover 21 paid a visit to Philip,[w] who was from Bethsaida, and said, “Sir, we want to meet Jesus.” 22 Philip told Andrew about it, and they went together to ask Jesus.
23-24 Jesus replied that the time had come for him to return to his glory in heaven, and that “I must fall and die like a kernel of wheat that falls into the furrows of the earth. Unless I die I will be alone—a single seed. But my death will produce many new wheat kernels—a plentiful harvest of new lives. 25 If you love your life down here—you will lose it. If you despise your life down here—you will exchange it for eternal glory.
26 “If these Greeks[x] want to be my disciples, tell them to come and follow me, for my servants must be where I am. And if they follow me, the Father will honor them. 27 Now my soul is deeply troubled. Shall I pray, ‘Father, save me from what lies ahead’? But that is the very reason why I came! 28 Father, bring glory and honor to your name.”
Then a voice spoke from heaven saying, “I have already done this, and I will do it again.” 29 When the crowd heard the voice, some of them thought it was thunder, while others declared an angel had spoken to him.
30 Then Jesus told them, “The voice was for your benefit, not mine. 31 The time of judgment for the world has come—and the time when Satan,[y] the prince of this world, shall be cast out. 32 And when I am lifted up on the cross,[z] I will draw everyone to me.” 33 He said this to indicate how he was going to die.
34 “Die?” asked the crowd. “We understood that the Messiah would live forever and never die. Why are you saying he will die? What Messiah are you talking about?”
35 Jesus replied, “My light will shine out for you just a little while longer. Walk in it while you can, and go where you want to go before the darkness falls, for then it will be too late for you to find your way. 36 Make use of the Light while there is still time; then you will become light bearers.”[aa]
After saying these things, Jesus went away and was hidden from them.
37 But despite all the miracles he had done, most of the people would not believe he was the Messiah. 38 This is exactly what Isaiah the prophet had predicted: “Lord, who will believe us? Who will accept God’s mighty miracles as proof?”[ab] 39 But they couldn’t believe, for as Isaiah also said: 40 “God[ac] has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts so that they can neither see nor understand nor turn to me to heal them.” 41 Isaiah was referring to Jesus when he made this prediction, for he had seen a vision of the Messiah’s glory.
42 However, even many of the Jewish leaders believed him to be the Messiah but wouldn’t admit it to anyone because of their fear that the Pharisees would excommunicate them from the synagogue; 43 for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.
44 Jesus shouted to the crowds, “If you trust me, you are really trusting God. 45 For when you see me, you are seeing the one who sent me. 46 I have come as a Light to shine in this dark world, so that all who put their trust in me will no longer wander in the darkness. 47 If 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. 48 But all who reject me and my message will be judged at the Day of Judgment by the truths I have spoken. 49 For these are not my own ideas, but I have told you what the Father said to tell you. 50 And I know his instructions lead to eternal life; so whatever he tells me to say, I say!”
13 1-3 Jesus knew on the evening of Passover Day that it would be his last night on earth before returning to his Father. During supper the devil had already suggested to Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, that this was the night to carry out his plan to betray Jesus. Jesus knew that the Father had given him everything and that he had come from God and would return to God. And how he loved his disciples! 4 So he got up from the supper table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his loins,[ad] 5 poured water into a basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel he had around him.
6 When he came to Simon Peter, Peter said to him, “Master, you shouldn’t be washing our feet like this!”
7 Jesus replied, “You don’t understand now why I am doing it; some day you will.”
8 “No,” Peter protested, “you shall never wash my feet!”
“But if I don’t, you can’t be my partner,” Jesus replied.
9 Simon Peter exclaimed, “Then wash my hands and head as well—not just my feet!”
10 Jesus replied, “One who has bathed all over needs only to have his feet washed to be entirely clean. Now you are clean—but that isn’t true of everyone here.” 11 For Jesus knew who would betray him. That is what he meant when he said, “Not all of you are clean.”
12 After washing their feet he put on his robe again and sat down and asked, “Do you understand what I was doing? 13 You call me ‘Master’ and ‘Lord,’ and you do well to say it, for it is true. 14 And since I, the Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet. 15 I have given you an example to follow: do as I have done to you. 16 How true it is that a servant is not greater than his master. Nor is the messenger more important than the one who sends him. 17 You know these things—now do them! That is the path of blessing.
18 “I am not saying these things to all of you; I know so well each one of you I chose. The Scripture declares, ‘One who eats supper with me will betray me,’ and this will soon come true. 19 I tell you this now so that when it happens, you will believe on me.
20 “Truly, anyone welcoming my messenger is welcoming me. And to welcome me is to welcome the Father who sent me.”
21 Now Jesus was in great anguish of spirit and exclaimed, “Yes, it is true—one of you will betray me.” 22 The disciples looked at each other, wondering whom he could mean. 23 Since I[ae] was sitting next to Jesus at the table, being his closest friend, 24 Simon Peter motioned to me to ask him who it was who would do this terrible deed.
25 So I turned and[af] asked him, “Lord, who is it?”
26 He told me, “It is the one I honor by giving the bread dipped in the sauce.”[ag]
And when he had dipped it, he gave it to Judas, son of Simon Iscariot.
27 As soon as Judas had eaten it, Satan entered into him. Then Jesus told him, “Hurry—do it now.”
28 None of the others at the table knew what Jesus meant. 29 Some thought that since Judas was their treasurer, Jesus was telling him to go and pay for the food or to give some money to the poor. 30 Judas left at once, going out into the night.
31 As soon as Judas left the room, Jesus said, “My time has come; the glory of God will soon surround me—and God shall receive great praise because of all that happens to me. 32 And God shall give me his own glory, and this so very soon. 33 Dear, dear 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.
34 “And so I am giving a new commandment to you now—love each other just as much as I love you. 35 Your strong love for each other will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”
36 Simon Peter said, “Master, 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?” he asked, “for I am ready to die for you.”
38 Jesus answered, “Die for me? No—three times before the cock crows tomorrow morning, you will deny that you even know me!
14 “Let not your heart be troubled. You are trusting God, now trust in me. 2-3 There are many homes up there where my Father lives, and I am going to prepare them for your coming. When everything is ready, then I will come and get you, so that you can always be with me where I am. If this weren’t so, I would tell you plainly. 4 And you know where I am going and how to get there.”
5 “No, we don’t,” Thomas said. “We haven’t any idea where you are going, so how can we know the way?”
6 Jesus told him, “I am the Way—yes, and the Truth and the Life. No one can get to the Father except by means of me. 7 If 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!”
8 Philip said, “Sir, show us the Father and we will be satisfied.”
9 Jesus replied, “Don’t you even yet know who I am, Philip, even after all this time I have been with you? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father! So why are you asking to see him? 10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words I say are not my own but are from my Father who lives in me. And he does his work through me. 11 Just believe it—that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. Or else believe it because of the mighty miracles you have seen me do.
12-13
15-16 “If you love me, obey me; and I will ask the Father and he will give you another Comforter, and he will never leave you. 17 He is the Holy Spirit, the Spirit who leads into all truth. The world at large cannot receive him, for it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you do, for he lives with you now and some day shall be in you. 18 No, I will not abandon you or leave you as orphans in the storm—I will come to you. 19 In just a little while I will be gone from the world, but I will still be present with you. For I will live again—and you will too. 20 When I come back to life again, you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. 21 The one who obeys me is the one who loves me; and because he loves me, my Father will love him; and I will too, and I will reveal myself to him.”
22 Judas (not Judas Iscariot, but his other disciple with that name) said to him, “Sir, why are you going to reveal yourself only to us disciples and not to the world at large?”
23 Jesus replied, “Because I will only reveal myself to those who love me and obey me. The Father will love them too, and we will come to them and live with them. 24 Anyone who doesn’t obey me doesn’t love me. And remember, I am not making up this answer to your question! It is the answer given by the Father who sent me.
25 “I am telling you these things now while I am still with you. 26 But when the Father sends the Comforter[ah] instead of me—and by the Comforter I mean the Holy Spirit—he will teach you much, as well as 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 fragile like the peace the world gives. So don’t be troubled or afraid.[ai] 28 Remember 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, for now I can go to the Father, who is greater than I am. 29 I have told you these things before they happen so that when they do, you will believe in me.[aj]
30 “I don’t have much more time to talk to you, for the evil prince of this world approaches. He has no power over me, 31 but I will freely do what the Father requires of me so that the world will know that I love the Father. Come, let’s be going.
15 “I am the true Vine, and my Father is the Gardener. 2 He lops off every branch that doesn’t produce. And he prunes those branches that bear fruit for even larger crops. 3 He has already tended you by pruning you back for greater strength and usefulness by means of the commands I gave you. 4 Take care to live in me, and let me live in you. For a branch can’t produce fruit when severed from the vine. Nor can you be fruitful apart from me.
5 “Yes, I am the Vine; you are the branches. Whoever lives in me and I in him shall produce a large crop of fruit. For apart from me you can’t do a thing. 6 If anyone separates from me, he is thrown away like a useless branch, withers, and is gathered into a pile with all the others and burned. 7 But if you stay in me and obey my commands, you may ask any request you like, and it will be granted! 8 My true disciples produce bountiful harvests. This brings great glory to my Father.
9 “I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Live within my love. 10 When you obey me you are living in my love, just as I obey my Father and live in his love. 11 I have told you this so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your cup of joy will overflow! 12 I demand that you love each other as much as I love you. 13 And here is how to measure it—the greatest love is shown when a person lays down his life for his friends; 14 and you are my friends if you obey me. 15 I no longer call you slaves, for a master doesn’t confide in his slaves; now you are my friends, proved by the fact that I have told you everything the Father told me.
16 “You didn’t choose me! I chose you! I appointed you to go and produce lovely fruit always, so that no matter what you ask for from the Father, using my name, he will give it to you. 17 I demand that you love each other,
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.