John 7–8

1 After this Jesus went about in Galilee. He would mnot go about in Judea, because the Jews1 were nseeking to kill him. 2 Now othe Jews’ pFeast of Booths was at hand. 3 So his brothers2 said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea, that your disciples also may see the works you are doing. 4 For no one works in secret if he seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, qshow yourself to the world.” 5 For rnot even his brothers believed in him. 6 Jesus said to them, s“My time has not yet come, but your time is always here. 7 The world cannot hate you, but it thates me because I testify about it that its works are evil. 8 You go up to the feast. I am not3 going up to this feast, for my time has not yet fully come.” 9 After saying this, he remained in Galilee.

10 But after his brothers had gone up to the feast, then he also went up, not publicly but in private. 11 The Jews were ulooking for him at the feast, and saying, “Where is he?” 12 And there was much muttering about him among the people. While some said, “He is a good man,” vothers said, “No, he is leading the people astray.” 13 Yet wfor fear of the Jews no one spoke openly of him.

14 About the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple xand began teaching. 15 The Jews therefore ymarveled, saying, “How is it that this man has learning,4 zwhen he has never studied?” 16 So Jesus answered them, a“My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me. 17 If anyone’s will is to do God’s5 will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority. 18 The one who speaks on his own authority bseeks his own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood. 19 Has not cMoses given you the law? dYet none of you keeps the law. Why do you seek to kill me?” 20 The crowd answered, “You ehave a demon! Who is seeking to kill you?” 21 Jesus answered them, “I did fone work, and you all marvel at it. 22 gMoses gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but hfrom the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the iSabbath. 23 jIf on the Sabbath a man receives circumcision, so that the law of Moses may not be broken, are you angry with me kbecause on the Sabbath I made a man’s whole body well? 24 Do not judge lby mappearances, but njudge with right judgment.”

25 Some of the people of Jerusalem therefore said, “Is not this the man whom they seek to kill? 26 And here he is, speaking oopenly, and they say nothing to him! Can it be that pthe authorities really know that this is the Christ? 27 But qwe know where this man comes from, and rwhen the Christ appears, no one will know where he comes from.” 28 So Jesus proclaimed, as he taught in the temple, “You know me, and you know where I come from. But sI have not come of my own accord. He who sent me is ttrue, and uhim you do not know. 29 vI know him, for I come wfrom him, and he sent me.” 30 So they were seeking to xarrest him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come. 31 Yet ymany of the people believed in him. They said, “When the Christ appears, will he do more zsigns than this man has done?”

32 The Pharisees heard the crowd muttering these things about him, and the chief priests and Pharisees sent officers to arrest him. 33 Jesus then said, “I will be with you aa little longer, and then I am bgoing to him who sent me. 34 cYou will seek me and you will not find me. Where I am you cannot come.” 35 The Jews said to one another, “Where does this man intend to go that we will not find him? dDoes he intend to go to ethe Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks? 36 What does he mean fby saying, ‘You will seek me and you will not find me,’ and, ‘Where I am you cannot come’?”

37 gOn the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, h“If anyone thirsts, let him icome to me and drink. 38 Whoever jbelieves in me, as6 the Scripture has said, k‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of lliving water.’” 39 Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were mto receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, nbecause Jesus was not yet oglorified.

40 When they heard these words, some of the people said, p“This really is qthe Prophet.” 41 Others said, “This is the Christ.” But some said, r“Is the Christ to come from Galilee? 42 sHas not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the toffspring of David, and comes ufrom Bethlehem, vthe village where David was?” 43 So there was a wdivision among the people over him. 44 Some of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him.

45 The officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, “Why did you not bring him?” 46 The officers answered, x“No one ever spoke like this man!” 47 The Pharisees answered them, “Have you also been ydeceived? 48 zHave any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him? 49 But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed.” 50 Nicodemus, awho had gone to him before, and who was one of them, said to them, 51 “Does our law judge a man without first giving him a hearing and learning what he does?” 52 They replied, “Are you from Galilee too? Search and see that no prophet arises from Galilee.”

[The earliest manuscripts do not include 7:53–8:11.]7

[[53 They went each to his own house, 1 but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2 Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and btaught them. 3 The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in cadultery, and placing her in the midst 4 they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. 5 Now din the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” 6 eThis they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. 7 And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, f“Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. 9 But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. 10 Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” 11 She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on gsin no more.”]]

12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, h“I am the ilight of the world. Whoever follows me will not jwalk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” 13 So the Pharisees said to him, “You are kbearing witness about yourself; your testimony is not true.” 14 Jesus answered, “Even if I do bear witness about myself, my testimony is true, for lI know where I came from and mwhere I am going, but nyou do not know where I come from or where I am going. 15 You judge oaccording to the flesh; pI judge no one. 16 Yet even if I do judge, qmy judgment is true, for it is rnot I alone who judge, but I and the Father8 who sent me. 17 sIn your Law it is written that the testimony of two people is true. 18 I am the one who tbears witness about myself, and the Father who sent me ubears witness about me.” 19 They said to him therefore, “Where is your Father?” Jesus answered, “You know neither me vnor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” 20 These words he spoke in the treasury, as he taught in the temple; but no one warrested him, because xhis hour had not yet come.

21 So he said to them yagain, “I am going away, and you will seek me, and you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come.” 22 So the Jews said, z“Will he kill himself, since he says, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come’?” 23 He said to them, “You are from below; I am afrom above. You are bof this world; I am cnot of this world. 24 I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you dbelieve that I am he you will die in your sins.” 25 So they said to him, “Who are you?” Jesus said to them, “Just what I have been telling you from the beginning. 26 I have much to say about you and much to judge, but he who sent me is etrue, and fI declare to the world what I have heard from him.” 27 They gdid not understand that he had been speaking to them about the Father. 28 So Jesus said to them, “When you have hlifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and that iI do nothing on my own authority, but speak jjust as the Father taught me. 29 And he who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him.” 30 As he was saying these things, kmany believed in him.

31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you labide in my word, myou are truly my disciples, 32 and you will nknow the truth, and the truth will set you ofree.” 33 They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?”

34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a pslave9 to sin. 35 qThe slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. 37 I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet you rseek to kill me because my word finds no place in you. 38 I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from syour father.”

39 They answered him, t“Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing the works Abraham did, 40 but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. uThis is not what Abraham did. 41 You are doing the works your father did.” They said to him, “We were not born of sexual immorality. vWe have one Father—even God.” 42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, wyou would xlove me, for I came from God and I am here. yI came not of my own accord, but he sent me. 43 Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. 44 You are of zyour father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a amurderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and bthe father of lies. 45 But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. 46 Which one of you convicts me of sin? cIf I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? 47 dWhoever is of God hears the words of God. eThe reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.”

48 The Jews answered him, “Are we not right in saying that you are a fSamaritan and ghave a demon?” 49 Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon, but I honor my Father, and you dishonor me. 50 Yet I do not hseek my own glory; there is One who seeks it, and ihe is the judge. 51 Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone jkeeps my word, khe will never see death.” 52 The Jews said to him, “Now we know that you have a demon! lAbraham died, mas did the prophets, yet you say, ‘If anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death.’ 53 Are you greater nthan our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died! Who do you omake yourself out to be?” 54 Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who pglorifies me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God.’10 55 But you have not qknown him. rI know him. If I were to say that I do not know him, I would be a sliar like you, but I do know him and I keep his word. 56 Your father Abraham trejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.” 57 So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?”11 58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, ubefore Abraham was, vI am.” 59 wSo xthey picked up stones to throw at him, ybut Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.

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2 View All Leviticus 19:27
ch. 21:5; [Isa. 15:2; Jer. 9:26; 48:37]