the book of John

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THE BOOK OF JOHN

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[My name is John. My father’sname was Zebedee. We made

our living by fishing on the Sea ofGalilee. I am the last eyewitness to thelife of Jesus. All the rest are gone;some long gone. Many died years ago,tragically young, the victims of Romancruelty and persecution. For some rea-son, Jesus chose me to live to be anold man. In fact, some in my commu-nity have taken to calling me “theelder.”

I am the inspiration behind theFourth Gospel. These are my stories,recorded, told to you by my disciples.I’m proud of what they have done. Me?I’ve never done much writing. But thestory is truly mine.

You see my hands. They’ve beenhurting for the past 20 years now. Icouldn’t hold a pen even if I wanted to.Not that I was ever good at writing. Iwas a fisherman, so my hands werecalloused. I could tie ropes, mend nets,and pull the oars, but never make adecent xi (Greek letter). So we usedsecretaries when we wanted to write.There was always a bright young manaround it seems, ready to take a letteror help us put pen to papyrus.

My eyes are too weak to read any-more. I can’t remember the last time Icould see well enough to read a letteror even see the inscriptions. So one ofthe brothers (I call them my “little chil-dren”) reads to me. They are all verygracious to me in my old age, compil-ing my stories, bringing me food,laughing at my jokes, and caring for mymost intimate needs. Time is taking itstoll on me though. I rarely have theenergy to tell the old stories andpreach entire sermons. Instead, I sim-ply remind them of the LiberatingKing’s most vital command, saying asloudly as I can, “Little children, loveone another.”

I’ve outlived all the rest of thetwelve and His other followers. I can’ttell you how lonely it is to be the lastperson with a memory, some would

even say a fuzzy memory, of whatJesus looked like, the sound of Hisvoice, the manner of His walk, the pene-trating look in His eyes. All I can do istell my story.

Now I want to be very clear. This ismy story, but unlike what you hearfrom most storytellers, this is com-pletely true. I am giving you the testi-mony of an eyewitness. And like mybrother disciples, I will swear upon mylife that it is true.

1Before time itself was measured, theVoice was speaking. The Voice was andis God. 2This celestial Voice remained

ever present with the Creator; 3His speechshaped the entire cosmos. Immersed in thepractice of creating, all things that existwere birthed in Him. 4His breath filled allthings with a living, breathing light. 5Lightthat thrives in the depths of darkness, blaz-ing through murky bottoms. It cannot, andwill not, be quenched.

6A man named John, who was sent byGod, was the first to clearly articulate thesource of this unquenchable Light. 7Thiswanderer, John who ritually cleansed,* putin plain words the elusive mystery of theDivine Light that all might believe throughhim. Because John spoke with power, manybelieved in the Light. Others wonderedwhether he might be the Light, 8but Johnwas not the Light. He merely pointed tothe Light; and in doing so, he invited theentire creation to hear the Voice.

9The true Light, who shines upon theheart of everyone, was coming into thecosmos. 10He does not call out from a dis-tant place but draws near. He enters ourworld, a world He made and speaks clearly,yet His creation did not recognize Him.11Though the Voice utters only truth, Hisown people, who have heard the Voicebefore, rebuff this inner calling and refuseto listen. 12But those who hear and trust thebeckoning of the Divine Voice andembrace Him, they shall be reborn as chil-dren of God, 13He bestows this birthrightnot by human power or initiative but by

* 1:7 Literally, immersed, to show repentance

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God’s will. Because we are born of thisworld, we can only be reborn to God byaccepting His call.

14The Voice that had been an enigma inthe heavens chose to become human andlive surrounded by His creations. We haveseen Him. Undeniable splendor envelopedHim—the one true Son of God—evidencedin the perfect balance of grace and truth.15John, the wanderer who testified of theVoice, introduced Him. “This is the oneI’ve been telling you is coming. He is muchgreater than I because He existed longbefore me.” 16Through this man we allreceive gifts of grace beyond our imagina-tion. He is the Voice of God. 17You see,Moses gave us rules to live by, but Jesusthe Liberating King offered the gifts ofgrace and truth which make life worth liv-ing. 18God, unseen until now, is revealed inthe Voice, God’s only Son, straight from theFather’s heart.

Before Jesus came along, manythought John the Immerser might

be the Liberating King. But when Jesusappeared in the wilderness, Johnpointed us to Him. The Immerser knewhis place in God’s redemptive plan.John the Immerser was a man sentfrom God, but Jesus is the Voice ofGod. John rejected any messianicclaim outright. Jesus, though, acceptedit with a smile, but only from a few ofus—at least at first. Don’t get mewrong, John was important, but hewasn’t the Liberating King. Hepreached repentance. He told every-body to get ready for One greater tocome along. The One who comes willimmerse us in fire and power, he said.John even told some of his followers toleave him and go follow Jesus.

19The words of the Immerser were gainingattention, and many had questions, includ-ing Jewish religious leaders fromJerusalem. 28Their entourage approachedJohn in Bethany just beyond the JordanRiver while he was cleansing* followers inwater, and bombarded him with questions:*

Religious Leaders: Who are you?John the Immerser: 20I’m not the Liberator, if

that is what you are asking.Religious Leaders: 21Your words sound famil-

iar, like a prophet’s. Is that how weshould address you? Are you the ProphetElijah?

John the Immerser: No, I am not Elijah.Religious Leaders: Are you the Prophet Moses

told us would come?John the Immerser: No.

They continued to press John, unsatisfiedwith the lack of information.

Religious Leaders: 22Then tell us who you areand what you are about because every-one is asking us, especially the Pharisees,and we must prepare an answer.

23John replied with the words of Isaiah:

John the Immerser: Listen! I am a voice calling out in the

wilderness.Straighten out the road for the

Lord. He’s on His way.*

24-25Then, some priests who were sent bythe Pharisees started in on him again.

Religious Leaders: How can you travel thecountryside cleansing* people for theirsins if you are not the Liberator or Elijahor the Prophet?

John the Immerser: 26Cleansing* with wateris what I do, but the One whom I speakof, whom we all await, is standing amongyou and you have no idea who He is.27Though He comes after me, I am noteven worthy to unlace His sandals.*

* 1:28 Literally, immersing, to show repentance* 1:28 Verse 28 has been inserted here to help retain thecontinuity of events.* 1:23 Isaiah 40:3* 1:24-25 Literally, immersing, to show repentance* 1:26 Literally, immersing, to show repentance* 1:27 Verse 28 has been moved before verse 20 toretain the continuity of events.

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[T he mystery of Jesus’ identityoccupied us and will occupy

generations of believers for centuriesto come. As we journeyed with Him, itgradually became clearer who thisman was, where He came from, andhow His existence would profoundlyaffect the rest of human history. Thequestion of “Who is this man?” wasnot answered overnight.

29The morning after this conversation asJohn is going about his business, he sees theVoice, Jesus, coming toward him. In eagerastonishment he shouts out:

John the Immerser: Look! This man is morethan He seems! He is the Lamb sent fromGod, the sacrifice to erase the sins of theworld! 30He is the One I have been say-ing will come after me, who existed longbefore me and is much greater than I.31No one here recognized Him—myselfincluded. I came ritually cleansing* withwater so that He might be revealed toIsrael. 32-33And, just as the One who sentme told me, I knew who He was themoment I saw the Spirit come downupon Him as a dove and seal itself toHim. Now, He will cleanse* with theHoly Spirit. 34I give my oath that every-thing I have seen is true. If you don’tbelieve now, keep listening. He is theVoice, the Son of God!

35-36The day after, John saw Him again ashe was visiting with two of his disciples. AsJesus walked by, he announced again:

John the Immerser: Do you see Him? Thisman is the Lamb of God; He will be God’ssacrifice to cleanse our sin.

37At that moment the two disciples beganto follow Jesus, 38-39who turned back tothem, saying:

Jesus: What is it that you want?Two Disciples: We’d like to know where You

are staying. Teacher, may we remain atYour side today?

Jesus: Come and see. Follow Me, and we willcamp together.

It was about four o’clock in the afternoonwhen they met Jesus. They came and theysaw where He was staying but they gotmore than they imagined. They remainedwith Him the rest of the day and followedHim for the rest of their lives. 40-41One ofthese new disciples, Andrew, rushed tofind his brother Simon and tell him theyhad found the Christ, the Liberating King,the One who will heal the world. 42AsAndrew approached with Simon, Jesuslooked into him.

Jesus: Your name is Simon, and your fatheris called John. But from this day forwardyou will be known as Peter,* the rock.

43-44The next day Jesus set out to Galilee;and when He came upon Philip, He invitedhim to join them,

Jesus: Follow Me.

Philip, like Andrew and Peter, came from atown called Bethsaida and he decided tomake the journey with Him. 45Philip foundNathanael, a friend, and burst in withexcitement:

Philip: We have found the One. Moses wroteabout Him in the Law; all the prophetsspoke of the day when He would come,and now He is here—His name is Jesus,son of Joseph the carpenter, and Hecomes from Nazareth.

Nathanael: 46How can anything good comefrom a place like Nazareth?

Philip: Come with me. See and hear foryourself.

47As they approached, Jesus saw Nathanaelcoming.

Jesus: Look closely and you will see anIsraelite who is a truth-teller.

* 1:31 Literally, immersing, to show repentance* 1:32-33 Literally, immerse* 1:42 Aramaic Cephas

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Nathanael: 48How would You know thisabout me? We have never met.

Jesus: I have been watching you beforePhilip invited you here. Earlier in the dayyou were enjoying the shade and fruit ofthe fig tree. I saw you then.

Nathanael: 49Teacher, I am sorry—forgiveme. You are the One—God’s own Son andIsrael’s King.

Jesus: 50Nathanael, if all it takes for you tobelieve is My telling you I saw you underthe fig tree, then what you will see latershall astound you. The miracles you willwitness are greater than your imaginationcan comprehend. 51I tell you the truth:before our journey is complete, you willsee the heavens standing open whileheavenly messengers ascend anddescend, swirling around the Son of Man.

21-2Three days after the disciples encoun-tered Jesus for the first time, they wereall invited to celebrate a wedding feast

in Cana of Galilee together with Mary, themother of Jesus. 3While they were cele-brating, the wine ran out and Jesus’mother hurried over to her son.

Mary: The host stands on the brink of embar-rassment; there are many guests and thereis no more wine.

Jesus: 4Dear woman, is it our problem theymiscalculated when buying wine andinviting guests? My time has not arrived.

5But Mary sensed the time was near. So in away that only a mother can, she turned tothe servants.

Mary: Do whatever my son tells you.

6In that area were six massive stone waterpots that could each hold 20 to 30 gallons.*They were typically used for Jewish purifi-cation rites. 7Jesus’ instructions were clear:

Jesus: Fill each water pot with water untilit’s ready to spill over the top, 8then fill acup and deliver it to the headwaiter.

They did exactly as they were instructed.9After tasting the water that had becomewine, the headwaiter couldn’t figure outwhere such wine came from (even thoughthe servants knew) and he called over thebridegroom in amazement.

Headwaiter: 10This wine is delectable. Whywould you save the most exquisite fruitof the vine? A host would generally servethe good wine first and, when his inebri-ated guests don’t notice or care, hewould serve the inferior wine. You haveheld back the best for last.

11Jesus performed this miracle, the first ofHis signs, in Cana of Galilee. They did notknow how this happened, but when the dis-ciples and the servants witnessed this mir-acle, their faith blossomed.

12Jesus then gathered His clan—Hisfamily members and disciples—for a jour-ney to Capernaum where they lingeredseveral days. 13The time was near to cele-brate the Passover, the festival commemo-rating when God rescued His children fromslavery in Egypt, so Jesus went toJerusalem for the celebration. 14Upon arriv-ing, He entered the temple to worship andhonor the Father. But it did not have theappearance of a holy place. The porches andcolonnades were filled with merchants sell-ing sacrificial animals, such as doves, oxen,and sheep, and exchanging money. 15In adisplay that can only be described as a righ-teous anger, Jesus fashioned a whip ofcords and used it with skill driving out ani-mals; He scattered the money and over-turned the tables, emptying profiteers fromthe house of God. 16There were dove mer-chants still standing around, and Jesus rep-rimanded them.

Jesus: What are you still doing here? Get allyour stuff and haul it out of here! Stopmaking My Father’s house a place foryour own profit!

* 2:6 Greek two to three metretes


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17The disciples were astounded, but theyremembered that the Hebrew Scripturessaid “jealous devotion for God’s house con-sumes me.”* 18 Some of the Jews cried outto Him in unison.

Jews: Who gave You the right to shut usdown? If it is God, then show us a sign.

Jesus: 19You want a sign? Here it is. Destroythis temple, and I will rebuild it in threedays.

Jews: 20Three days? This temple took morethan 46 years to complete. You think Youcan replicate that feat in 3 days?

21Jesus was planting seeds of truth in them.The true temple was His body, whichwould be destroyed on the cross and rebuiltin the resurrection. 22His disciples remem-bered this bold prediction after He wasresurrected. Because of this knowledge,their faith in the Hebrew Scriptures and inJesus’ teachings grew.

23During the Passover feast inJerusalem the crowds were watching Jesusclosely, and many began to believe in Himbecause of the signs He was doing. 24-25ButJesus saw through to the heart ofhumankind, and He chose not to give themwhat they requested. He didn’t need any-one to prove to Him the character ofhumanity. He knew what man was madeof—the dust of the earth—and they neededthe seeds He was planting.

3Nicodemus was one of the Pharisees, aman with some clout among his peo-ple. 2He came to Jesus under the cloak

of darkness to question Him.

Nicodemus: Teacher, some of us have beentalking. You are obviously a teacher whohas come from God. The signs You aredoing are proof that God is with You.

A t this time our Roman occu-piers had given a small group

of Pharisees limited powers to rule,and Nicodemus was one of thosePharisees. He held a seat on the ruling

council known as the Sanhedrin, andsurprisingly Nicodemus was amongthose who sought out Jesus for Histeaching. It appeared that he believedmore about Jesus than he wanted oth-ers to know. So he came at night.

Jesus: 3I tell you the truth: only someonewho experiences birth for a second time* can hope to see the kingdom ofGod.

Nicodemus: 4I am a grown man. How cansomeone be born again when they areold like me? Am I to crawl back into mymother’s womb for a second birth?That’s impossible!

Jesus: 5I tell you the truth, if someone doesnot experience water and Spirit birth,there’s no chance they will make it intoGod’s kingdom. 6Like from like.Whatever is born from flesh is flesh;whatever is born from Spirit is spirit.7Don’t be shocked by My words, but I tellyou the truth. Even you, an educated andrespected man among your people, mustbe reborn by the Spirit to enter the king-dom of God. 8The wind* blows all aroundus as if it has a will of its own; we feeland hear it, but we do not understandwhere it has come from or where it willend up. Life in the Spirit is as if it werethe wind of God.

Nicodemus: 9I still do not understand howthis can be.

Jesus: 10Your responsibility is to instructIsrael in matters of faith, but you do notcomprehend the necessity of life in theSpirit? 11I tell you the truth: we speakabout the things we know and we giveevidence about the things we have seen,and you choose to reject the truth of ourwitness. 12If you do not believe when Italk to you about ordinary, earthly reali-ties, then heavenly realities will certainlyelude you. 13No one has ever journeyedto heaven above except the One who hascome down from heaven—the Son of

* 2:17 Psalm 69:9* 3:3 Or “from above.”* 3:8 “Wind” and “spirit” are the same word in Greek.

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Man, who is of heaven. 14Moses lifted upthe serpent in the wilderness. In thesame way, the Son of Man must be liftedup; 15then all those who believe in Himwill experience everlasting life.

16For God expressed His love for theworld in this way: He gave His only Sonso that whoever believes in Him will notface everlasting destruction, but willhave everlasting life. 17Here’s the point.God didn’t send His Son into the worldto judge it; instead, He is here to rescue aworld headed toward certain destruction.

18No one who believes in Him has tofear condemnation; yet condemnation isalready the reality for everyone whorefuses to believe. Whoever embracesunbelief swims in a sea of judgment,because he chooses to ignore the Voice,and in doing so rejects the name of theonly Son of God. 19Why does God allowfor judgment and condemnation?Because the Light, sent from God,pierced through the world’s darkness toexpose ill motives, hatred, gossip, greed,violence, and the like. Still some peoplepreferred the darkness over the lightbecause their actions were dark. 20Someof humankind hated the light and soavoided its warm glow. They scamperedhurriedly back into the darkness wherevices thrive and wickedness flourishes.21Those who abandon deceit and embracewhat is true, they will enter into the lightwhere it will be clear that all their deedscome from God.

J esus made the point clear: stayconnected to Him, and you will

have no reason to fear. Jesus doesn’tmean that the instant you have faithfear simply vanishes or only goodthings happen in your life. In fact, theblessings that come with eternal lifeoften have nothing to do with presentor future circumstances; but they haveeverything to do with our connectionsto God and one another. That is mymessage to all of you. God came toearth wrapped in flesh, and then Hereached His greatest acclaim through a

torturous death. If this is all true, thenwe will find strength and beauty inplaces we never imagined. Abiding inJesus the Liberator is the good life,regardless of the external circum-stances.

22Not long after, Jesus and His disciplestraveled to the Judean countryside wherethey could enjoy one another’s companyand ritually cleanse* new followers. 23-24About the same time, Jesus’ cousinJohn—the wandering prophet who had notyet been imprisoned—was upriver at Aenonnear Salim ritually cleansing* scores ofpeople in the abundant waters there.25John’s activities raised questions aboutthe nature of purification among his fol-lowers and a religious leader, 26so theyapproached him with their questions.

John’s Followers: Teacher, the One who waswith you earlier on the other side of theJordan, the One whom you have beenpointing to is ritually washing* the mul-titudes who are coming to Him.

John the Immerser: 27Apart from the giftsthat come from heaven, no one canreceive anything at all. 28I have said itmany times, and you have heard me—Iam not the Liberating King; I am the onewho comes before Him. 29If you are con-fused, consider this: the groom is the onewith the bride. The best man takes hisplace close by and listens for him. Whenhe hears the voice of the groom, he isswept up in the joy of the moment. Sohear me. My joy could not be more com-plete. 30He, the groom, must take centerstage, and I, the best man, must step toHis side.

31If someone comes from heaven above, heranks above it all and speaks of heavenlythings. If someone comes from the earth,he speaks of earthly things. The One fromthe heavens is superior; He is over all. 32He

* 3:22 Literally, immerse, to show repentance* 3:23-24 Literally, immersing, to show repentance* 3:26 Literally, immersing, to show repentance


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reveals the mysteries seen and realitiesheard of the heavens above, but no onebelow is listening. 33Those who are listen-ing and accept His witness to these truthshave gone on record. They acknowledgethe fact that God is true! 34The One sentfrom God speaks with the very words ofGod and abounds with the very Spirit andessence of God. 35The Father loves the Sonand withholds nothing from Him. 36Thosewho believe in the Son will bask in eternallife, but those who disobey the Son willnever experience life. They will know onlyGod’s lingering wrath.

41-3The picture was becoming clear tothe Pharisees that Jesus, whose disci-ples were busy ritually cleansing*

many new disciples, had gained a followingmuch larger than John, the wanderingprophet. Because the Lord could see thatthe Pharisees were beginning to plot againstHim, He chose to leave Judea where mostPharisees lived and return to a safer loca-tion in Galilee, 4a trip that would take themthrough Samaria.

F or us, Samaria was a place to beavoided. Before Solomon’s death

1,000 years earlier, the regions ofSamaria and Judea were part of aunited Israel. After the rebellion thatdivided the kingdom, Samaria becamea hotbed of idol worship. The northernkings made alliances that corruptedthe people by introducing foreign cus-toms and strange gods. They even hadthe nerve to build a temple to the trueGod on Mt. Gerizim to rival the one inJerusalem. By the time we were travel-ing with Jesus, it was evident that theSamaritans had lost their way. By mar-rying outsiders, they had polluted theland. We considered them to be half-breeds—mongrels—and we knew wehad to watch out for them or else wemight be bitten.

5-8In a small Samaritan town known asSychar, Jesus and His entourage stopped to

rest at the historic well that Jacob gave hisson Joseph. It was about noon when Jesusfound a spot to sit close to the well whilethe disciples ventured off to find provi-sions. From His vantage He watched as aSamaritan woman approached to drawsome water. Unexpectedly, He spoke to her.

Jesus: Would you draw water and give Me adrink?

Woman: 9I cannot believe that You, a Jew,would associate with me, a Samaritanwoman, much less ask me to give You adrink.

Jews, you see, have no dealings withSamaritans. Besides, a man would neverapproach a woman like this in public. Jesuswas breaking accepted social barriers withthis confrontation.

Jesus: 10You don’t know the gift of God orwho is asking you for a drink of thiswater from Jacob’s well. Because if youdid, you would have asked Him for some-thing greater and He would have givenyou the living water.

Woman: 11Sir, You sit by this deep well athirsty man without a bucket in sight.Where does this living water come from?Do You believe You can draw water andshare it with me? 12Are You claimingsuperiority to our father Jacob wholabored long and hard to dig and main-tain this well so that he could shareclean water with his sons, grandchildren,and cattle?

Jesus: 13Drink this water, and your thirst isquenched only for a moment. You mustreturn to this well again and again. 14Ioffer water that will become a wellspringwithin you that gives life throughouteternity. You will never be thirsty again.

Woman: 15Please, Sir, give me some of thiswater, so I’ll never be thirsty and neveragain have to make the trip to this well.

Jesus: 16Then bring your husband to Me.Woman: 17-18I do not have a husband.Jesus: Technically you are telling the truth.

But you have had five husbands and are

* 4:1-3 Literally, immersing, to show repentance

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currently living with a man you are notmarried to.

Woman: 19Sir, it is obvious to me that Youare a prophet. Maybe You can explain tome why our peoples disagree about how toworship: 20Our fathers worshiped hereon this mountain, but Your people saythat Jerusalem is the only place for all toworship. Which is it?

Jesus: 21-24Woman, I tell you that neither isso. Believe this: a new day is coming—infact, it’s already here—when the impor-tance will not be placed on the time andplace of worship but on the truthfulhearts of worshipers. You worship whatyou don’t know while we worship whatwe do know, for God’s salvation is com-ing through the Jews. The Father isspirit, and He is seeking followers whoseworship is sourced in truth and deeplyspiritual as well. Regardless of whetheryou are in Jerusalem or on this moun-tain, if you do not seek the Father, thenyou do not worship.

Woman: 25These mysteries will be madeclear by the coming Liberator, theAnointed One.

J esus is often called “Christ.” But“Christ” is not a name; it is the

Greek translation of the Hebrew title“Messiah,” which means in English“Liberating King.” To call Jesus “theChrist” is to confess “Jesus is theLiberating King” or “the Anointed.” Theterm “Liberating King” refers to ahuman being, God’s end-time agentdestined to bring universal peace andjustice to our world. Jesus did just thatwhen He spoke with the Samaritanwoman. As the Liberating King, Hecould speak with her regardless of herheritage, lifestyle, or gender and offerher freedom from sin and peace.

Jesus: 26The Liberating King speaks to you.I am the One you have been looking for.

27The disciples returned to Him and gath-ered around Him in amazement that Hewould openly break their customs by speak-

ing to this woman, but none of them wouldask Him what He was looking for or whyHe was speaking with her. 28The womanwent back to the town, leaving her waterpot behind. She stopped men and womenon the streets and told them about whathad happened.

Woman: 29I met a stranger who knew every-thing about me. Come and see for your-selves; can He be the Liberating King?

30A crowd came out of the city andapproached Jesus. 31During all of this thedisciples were urging Jesus to eat the foodthey gathered.

Jesus: 32I have food to eat that you knownothing about.

Disciples (to one another): 33Is it possiblesomeone else has brought Him foodwhile we were away?

Jesus: 34I receive My nourishment by serv-ing the will of the Father who sent Meand completing His work. 35You haveheard others say, “Be patient; we havefour more months to wait until the cropsare ready for the harvest.” I say, take acloser look and you will see that thefields are ripe and ready for the harvest.36The harvester is collecting his pay, har-vesting fruit ripe for eternal life. So evennow he and the sower are celebratingtheir fortune. 37The saying may be old,but it is true: “One person sows, andanother reaps.” 38I sent you to harvestwhere you have not labored; someoneelse took the time to plant and cultivate,and you feast on the fruit of their labor.

39Meanwhile, because one woman sharedwith her neighbors how Jesus exposed herpast and present, the village of Sychar wastransformed—many Samaritans heard andbelieved. 40The Samaritans approachedJesus and repeatedly invited Him to staywith them, so He lingered there for twodays on their account. 41With the wordsthat came from His mouth there weremany more believing Samaritans. 42Theybegan their faith journey because of thetestimony of the woman beside the well,


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but when they heard for themselves theywere convinced the One they were hearingwas and is the Savior sent to rescue theentire world.

43-45After two days of teaching and con-versation, Jesus proceeded to Galilee,where His countrymen received Him withfamiliar smiles. These old friends shouldhave been the first to believe; after all, theywitnessed His miracle at the feast inJerusalem. But Jesus understood and oftenquoted the maxim: “No one honors ahometown prophet.” It took outsiders likethe Samaritans to recognize Him.

46-47As Jesus traveled to Cana (the vil-lage in Galilee where He transformed thewater into fine wine), He was met by a gov-ernment official at one o’clock in the after-noon. This man heard a rumor that Jesusleft Judea and was heading to Galilee; andhe came in desperation begging for Jesus’help because his young son was neardeath. He was fearful that unless Jesuswould go with him to Capernaum, his sonwould have no hope.

Jesus (to the official): 48My word is notenough; you only believe when you seemiraculous signs.

Official: 49Sir, this is my son; please comewith me before he dies.

Jesus (interrupting him): 50Go home and bewith your son; you have My word that hewill live.

When he heard the voice of Jesus, faithtook hold of him and he turned to gohome. 51Before he reached his village, hisservants met him on the road celebratinghis son’s miraculous recovery.

Servants (to the official): One moment yourson was hunched over burning with fever;then suddenly every sign of illness wasgone.

Official: 52What time did this happen?Servants: Yesterday about one o’clock in the

afternoon.

53At that moment, it dawned on the fatherthe exact time that Jesus spoke the words“he will live.” After that, he believed; and

when he told his family about his amazingencounter with the Liberating King, theybelieved too. 54This was the second sign-miracle Jesus performed when He cameback to Galilee from Judea.

5When these events were completed,Jesus led His followers to Jerusalemwhere they would celebrate a Jewish

feast* together.

J esus took our little group of disci-ples into one of the most miser-

able places I have ever seen. It was aseries of pools where the crippled anddiseased would gather hoping to behealed. The stench was unbearable,and no sane person would willinglymarch into an area littered with suchwretched and diseased bodies. Weknew what could happen, what theyhad could have easily rubbed off on us.That kind of impurity was frightening,but we followed Him as Heapproached a crippled man on his mat.

2-3In Jerusalem, they came upon a pool bythe sheep gate surrounded by five coveredporches. In Hebrew, this place is calledBethesda.

Crowds of people lined the area, lyingaround the porches. As they walked amongthe crowds, it became clear that all of thesepeople were disabled in some way; somewere blind, lame, paralyzed, or plagued bydiseases [and they were waiting for thewaters to move. 4From time to time, aheavenly messenger would come to stir thewater in the pool. Whoever reached thewater first and got in after it was agitatedwould be healed of his or her disease.]*5-6In the crowd, Jesus noticed one particu-lar man who had been living with his dis-ability for 38 years. He knew this man hadbeen waiting here a long time.

* 5:1 Perhaps Passover.* 5:4 Some ancient manuscripts omit the end of verse 3and all of verse 4.

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Jesus (to the disabled man): Are you here inthis place hoping to be healed?

Disabled Man: 7Kind Sir, I wait, like all ofthese people, for the waters to stir, but Icannot walk. If I am to be healed in thewaters, someone must carry me into thepool. So the answer to Your question isyes—but I cannot be healed here unlesssomeone will help me. Without a helpinghand, someone else beats me to thewater’s edge each time it is stirred.

Jesus: 8Stand up, carry your mat, and walk.

9At the moment Jesus uttered these words,a healing energy coursed through the manand returned life to his limbs—he stoodand walked for the first time in 38 years.But this was the Sabbath Day; and anywork, including carrying a mat, was prohib-ited on this day.

Y ou can’t even begin to imaginethis man’s excitement. His entire

life had been defined by his illness.Now he was free from it. Free from thepain and weakness. Free from thedepression that gripped his soul. Freetoo from the shame he had alwaysknown. Now he did not just walk—heran and celebrated with friends andfamily. Everyone was rejoicing withhim, except for some of the Jewishleaders. Instead, they drilled him withquestions as if they could disregardthis miracle.

Jewish Leaders (to the man who had beenhealed): 10Must you be reminded that it isthe Sabbath? You are not allowed tocarry your mat today!

Formerly Disabled Man: 11The man whohealed me gave me specific instructionsto carry my mat and go.

Jewish Leaders: 12Who is the man who gaveyou these instructions? How can we iden-tify Him?

13The man genuinely did not know who itwas that healed him. In the midst of thecrowd and the excitement of his renewedhealth, Jesus had slipped away. 14Some

time later Jesus found him in the templeand again spoke to him.

Jesus: Take a look at your body; it has beenmade whole and strong. So avoid a life ofsin or else a calamity greater than anydisability may befall you.

15The man went immediately to tell theJewish leaders that Jesus was the mysteri-ous healer. 16So they began pursuing andattacking Jesus because He performedthese miracles on the Sabbath.

Jesus (to His attackers): 17My Father is atwork. So I too am working.

T his issue kept arising from theJewish leaders. They did not

appreciate the good things that Jesusdid on the Sabbath. But Jesus was veryclear about this. He cared for the poor,the sick, the marginalized more thanHe cared for how some people mightinterpret and apply God’s law. You see,it is easy to turn law into a set of rules;it is much harder to care for the thingsof the heart. He also made it clear tous who followed His path—we werehere to serve. Our service came out oflove for our Liberator. All who followedHim were to love and to serve, espe-cially on the Sabbath.

18Most Jews cowered at the rebuke fromthese men, but Jesus did not. In fact, He wasjustifying the importance of His work onthe Sabbath, claiming God as His Father inways that suggested He was equal to God.These pious religious leaders sought anopportunity to kill Jesus, and these wordsfueled their hatred.

Jesus: 19The truth is that the Son does noth-ing on His own; all these actions are ledby the Father. The Son watches theFather closely and then mimics the workof the Father. 20The Father loves the Son,so He does not hide His actions. Instead,He shows Him everything, and thethings not yet revealed by the Father will


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dumbfound you. 21The Father can givelife to those who are dead; in the sameway, the Son can give the gift of life tothose He chooses.

22The Father does not exert His powerto judge anyone. Instead, He has giventhe authority as Judge to the Son. 23So allof creation will honor and worship theSon as they do the Father. If you do nothonor the Son, then you dishonor theFather who sent Him.

24I tell you the truth: eternal lifebelongs to those who hear My voice andbelieve in the One who sent Me. Thesepeople have no reason to fear judgmentbecause they have already left death andentered life.

25I tell you the truth: a new day isimminent—in fact, it has arrived—whenthe voice of the Son of God will pene-trate death’s domain and everyone whohears will live. 26-27You see, the Fatherradiates with life, and He also animatesthe Son of God with the same life-givingbeauty and power to exercise judgmentover all of creation. Indeed, the Son ofGod is also the Son of Man. 28If thissounds amazing to you, what is evenmore amazing is that when the timecomes, those buried long ago will hearHis voice through all the rocks, sod, andsoil 29and step out of decay into resurrec-tion. When this hour arrives, those whodid good will be resurrected to life, andthose who did evil will be resurrected tojudgment.

30I have not ever, and will not in thefuture, act on My own. I listen to thedirections of the One who sent Me and acton these divine instructions. For this rea-son, My judgment is always fair andnever self-serving. I’m committed topursuing God’s agenda and not My own.

31If I stand as the lone witness to Mytrue identity, then I can be dismissed as aliar. 32But if you listen, you will hearanother testify about Me and I knowwhat He says about Me is genuine andtrue. 33You sent messengers to John, andhe told the truth to everyone who wouldlisten. 34Still his message about Me origi-nated in heaven not in mortal man. I am

telling you these things for one reason—so that you might be rescued. 35The voiceof John, the wandering prophet, is like alight in the darkness; and for a time, youtook great joy and pleasure in the lighthe offered.

36There’s another witness standing inMy corner who is greater than John, orany other man. The mission that bringsMe here, and the things I am called todo, demonstrate the authenticity of Mycalling, which comes directly from theFather. 37In the act of sending Me, theFather has endorsed Me. None of youknows the Father. You have never heardHis voice or seen His profile. 38His worddoes not abide in you because you do notbelieve in the One sent by the Father.

39Here you are scouring through theScriptures, hoping that you will findeternal life among a pile of scrolls. Whatyou don’t seem to understand is that theScriptures point to Me. 40Here I am withyou, and still you reject the truth con-tained in the law and prophets by refusingto come to Me so that you can have life. Iam the source of life, the animating energyof creation that you desperately lack.

41This kind of glory does not comefrom mortal men. 42I stand before youwith eyes that penetrate your soul, and Isee that you do not possess the love ofGod. 43I have pursued you, coming herein My Father’s name, and you haveturned Me away. If someone else were toapproach you with a different set of cre-dentials, you would welcome him.44That’s why it is hard to see how truefaith is even possible for you: you areconsumed by the approval of other men,longing to look good in their eyes, and yetyou disregard the approval of the onetrue God. 45Don’t worry that I mightbring you up on charges before MyFather. Moses is your accuser eventhough you’ve put your hope in him;46because if you believed what Moseshad to say, then you would believe in Mebecause he wrote about Me. 47But if youignore Moses and the deeper meaning ofhis writings, then how will you everbelieve what I have to say?

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6Once this had transpired, Jesus madeHis way to the other side of the Sea ofGalilee (which some these days call

the Sea of Tiberias). 2As Jesus walked, alarge crowd pursued Him hoping to seenew signs and miracles; His healings of thesick and lame were garnering great atten-tion. 3Jesus went up a mountain and founda place to sit down and teach. His disciplesgathered around. 4The celebration of thePassover, one of the principal Jewishfeasts, would take place soon. 5But whenJesus looked up, He could see an immensecrowd coming toward Him. Jesusapproached Philip.

Jesus (to Philip): Where is a place to buybread so these people may eat?

6Jesus knew what He was planning to do,but He asked Philip nonetheless. He hadsomething to teach, and it started with atest.

Philip: 7I could work for more than half of ayear* and still not have the money to buyenough bread to give each person a verysmall piece.

8Andrew, the disciple who was SimonPeter’s brother, spoke up.

Andrew: 9I met a young boy in the crowdcarrying five barley loaves and two fish,but that is practically useless in feeding acrowd this large.

Jesus: 10Tell the people to sit down.

They all sat together on a large grassy area.Those counting the people reported approxi-mately 5,000 men—not counting the womenand children—sitting in the crowd. 11Jesuspicked up the bread, gave thanks to God,and passed it to everyone. He repeated thisritual with the fish. Men, women, and chil-dren all ate to their heart’s content. 12Whenthe people had all they could eat, He toldthe disciples to gather the leftovers.

Jesus: Go and collect the leftovers, so weare not wasteful.

13They filled 12 baskets with fragments ofthe five barley loaves. 14After witnessingthis sign-miracle that Jesus did, the peoplestirred in conversation.

Crowd: This man must be the Prophet Godsaid was coming into the world.

15Jesus sensed the people were planning tomount a revolution against Israel’s Romanoccupiers and make Him king, so He with-drew further up the mountain by Himself.

Y ou have to remember what wehad experienced as a people.

Since the Babylonians seized Judah in586 B.C., we, the Jews, had one foreignoccupier after another in our land. Asconquerors go, the Romans weren’t allthat bad. They allowed us to worshipGod in His temple, and they appointedcertain ones of us to govern. Ofcourse, we still longed to rule our-selves and throw the Roman rulers out.Some of our people thought Jesus wasjust the man to lead that revolution.But political upheaval wasn’t what Hewas teaching, and it wasn’t why Hecame to earth.

16Later that evening the disciples walkeddown to the sea, 17boarded a boat, and setsail toward Capernaum. Twilight gave wayto darkness. Jesus had not yet joined them.18Suddenly, the waves rose and a fiercewind began to rock the boat. 19After rowingthree or four miles* through the stormyseas, they spotted Jesus approaching theboat walking mysteriously upon the deepwaters that surrounded them. They pan-icked.

Jesus (to the disciples): 20I am the One.Don’t be afraid.

21They welcomed Jesus aboard their smallvessel; and when He stepped into the boat,

* 6:7 Greek 200 denarii* 6:19 Greek 25 or 30 stadia


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the next thing they knew, they were ashoreat their destination.

22The following day some people gath-ered on the other side of the sea and sawthat only one boat had been there; theywere perplexed. They remembered seeingthe disciples getting into the boat withoutJesus, but somehow Jesus was gone. Howdid He cross the sea without a boat?

23Other boats were arriving fromTiberias near the grassy area where theLord offered thanks and passed out bread.24When this crowd could not find Him orHis disciples, they boarded their smallboats and crossed the sea to Capernaumlooking for Him. 25When they found Jesusacross the sea, they questioned Him.

Crowd: Teacher, when did You arrive atCapernaum?

Jesus: 26I tell you the truth—you are track-ing Me down because I fed you, notbecause you saw signs from God. 27Don’tspend your life chasing food that spoilsand rots. Instead, seek the food that lastsinto all the ages and comes from the Sonof Man, the One on whom God theFather has placed His seal.

Crowd: 28What do we have to do to accom-plish the Father’s works?

Jesus: 29If you want to do God’s work, thenbelieve in the One He sent.

Crowd: 30Can You show us a miraculoussign? Something spectacular? If we seesomething like that, it will help us tobelieve. 31Our fathers ate manna whenthey wandered in the desert. TheHebrew Scriptures say, “He gave thembread from heaven to eat.”*

Jesus: 32I tell you the truth, Moses did notgive you bread from heaven; it is MyFather who offers you true bread fromheaven. 33The bread of God comes downout of heaven and breathes life into thecosmos.

Crowd: 34Master, we want a boundless sup-ply of this bread.

Jesus: 35I am the bread that gives life. If youcome to My table and eat, you will nevergo hungry. Believe in Me, and you willnever go thirsty. 36Here I am standing infront of you, and still you don’t believe.

37All that My Father gives to Me comesto Me. I will receive everyone; I will notsend away anyone who comes to Me.38And here’s the reason: I have comedown from heaven not to pursue Myown agenda but to do what He desires. Iam here on behalf of the Father who sentMe. 39He sent Me to care for all He hasgiven Me, so that nothing and no one willperish. In the end, on the last day Hewants everything to be resurrected intonew life. 40So if you want to know thewill of the Father, know this: everyonewho sees the Son and believes in Himwill live eternally, and on the last day Iam the One who will resurrect him.

41Some of the Jews began to quietly grum-ble against Him because He said “I am thebread that came down from heaven.”Wasn’t He a human just like everyone else?

Crowd: 42Isn’t Jesus the son of Joseph? Weknow His parents! We know where Hecame from, so how can He claim to have“come down from heaven”?

Jesus: 43Stop grumbling under your breaths.44If the Father who sent Me does notdraw you, then there’s no way you cancome to Me. But I will resurrect every-one who does come on the last day.45Among the prophets it’s written,“Everyone will be taught of God.”* Soeveryone who has heard and learnedfrom the Father finds Me. 46No one hasseen the Father, except the One sentfrom God. He has seen the Father. 47I amtelling you the truth: the one whoaccepts these things has eternal life. 48Iam the life-bread. 49Your fathers atemanna in the wilderness, and they diedas you know. 50But there is another breadthat comes from heaven; if you eat thisbread, you will not die. 51I am the livingbread that has come down from heavento rescue those who eat it. Anyone whoeats this bread will live forever. Thebread that I will give breathes life intothe cosmos. This bread is My flesh.

* 6:31 Exodus 16:4* 6:45 Isaiah 54:13

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52The low whispers of some of Jesus’detractors turned into an out-and-outdebate.

Crowd: What is He talking about? How is Heable to give us His flesh to eat?

Jesus: 53I tell you the truth; unless you eatthe flesh of the Son of Man and drinkHis blood, you will not know life. 54Ifyou eat My flesh and drink My blood,then you will have eternal life, and I willraise you up at the end of time. 55Myflesh and blood provide true nourish-ment. 56If you eat My flesh and drink Myblood, you will abide in Me and I willabide in you. 57The Father of life whosent Me has given life to Me; and as youeat My flesh, I will give life to you. 58Thisis bread that came down from heaven; Iam not like the manna that your fathersate and then died! If you eat this bread,your life will never end.

H ow is it that we can follow thispath and believe these truths?

To be honest, it is not easy. In fact,some found this so hard that they leftJesus for good. The rest of us wouldreadily admit that we’re still workingon what it means to follow Him. SoJesus left behind a number of practicesto help us. One of these is known asthe Lord’s Supper. Jesus instructed usto break bread and share wine toremember how He allowed His body tobe broken for all humankind. In somebeautiful, mysterious way, Jesus ispresent for us in the simple elementsof bread and wine. Touch Him; tasteHis richness; remember His most glori-ous hour on the cross. In that moment,He embraced all darkness and shameand transformed them into light. As Icome to the table with my communityand we feast on His light, life seemsmore hopeful and complete. As youtake the bread and the wine, youaffirm the reality that the LiberatingKing is among and within you.

59He spoke these words in the synagogueas part of His teaching mission in

Capernaum. 60Many disciples heard whatHe said, and they had questions of theirown.

Disciples: How are we supposed to under-stand all of this? It is a hard teaching.

61Jesus was aware that even His discipleswere murmuring about this.

Jesus: Has My teaching offended you?62What if you were to see the Son of Manascend to return to where He camefrom? 63The Spirit brings life. The fleshhas nothing to offer. The words I havebeen teaching you are spirit and life.64But some of you do not believe.

From the first day Jesus began to call disci-ples, He knew those who did not have gen-uine faith. He knew too who would betrayHim.

Jesus: 65This is why I have been telling youthat no one comes to Me without theFather’s blessing and guidance.

66After hearing these teachings, many ofHis disciples walked away and no longerfollowed Jesus.

Jesus (to the twelve): 67Do you want to walkaway too?

Simon Peter: 68Lord, if we were to go, whowould we follow? You speak the wordsthat give everlasting life. 69We believeand recognize You as the Holy One ofGod.

Jesus: 70I chose each one of you, the twelve,Myself. But one of you is a devil.

71This cryptic comment referred to Judasthe son of Simon Iscariot, for he was theone of the twelve who was going to betrayHim.

7 After these events, it was time forJesus to move on. He began a longwalk through the Galilean country-

side. He was purposefully avoiding Judeabecause of the violent threats made against


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Him by the Jews there who wanted to killHim. 2It was fall, the time of year when theJews celebrated the Festival of Booths.

W e always looked forward to thisweek-long festival filled with

food, worship, prayer, and celebration.On this holiday, everyone moved out oftheir homes and camped in temporaryquarters, called booths, to rememberthat God was with us as our ancestorswandered for 40 years without ahome. It was common for us to cele-brate these holidays with family, so thebrothers of Jesus were with us as wediscussed our destination. Wherewould we celebrate?

Brothers of Jesus (to Jesus): 3Let’s get out ofhere and go south to Judea so You canshow Your disciples there what You arecapable of doing. 4No one who seeks thepublic eye is content to work in secret. IfYou want to perform these signs, thenstep forward on the world’s stage; don’thide up here in the hills, Jesus.

5Jesus’ own brothers were speaking con-temptuously; they did not yet believe inHim, just as the people in His hometown didnot see Him as anything more than Joseph’sson.

Jesus: 6My time has not yet arrived, but foryou My brothers, by all means, it isalways the right time. 7You have nothingto worry about because the world doesn’thate you, but it despises Me because Iam always exposing the dark evil in itsworks. 8Go on to the feast without Me; Iam not going right now because My timeis not yet at hand.

9This conversation came to an abrupt end,and Jesus stayed in Galilee 10until Hisbrothers were gone. Then He too went upto Jerusalem. But He traveled in secret toavoid drawing any public attention. 11SomeJewish leaders were searching for Him atthe feast and asking the crowds where theycould find Him. 12The crowds would talk

in groups: some favored Jesus and thoughtHe was a good man; others disliked Himand thought He was leading people astray.13All of these conversations took place inwhispers. No one was willing to speakopenly about Jesus for fear of the religiousleaders.

14In the middle of the festival, Jesusmarched directly into the temple andstarted to teach. 15Some of the Jews whoheard Him were amazed at Jesus’ ability,and people questioned repeatedly:

Jews: How can this man be so wise aboutthe Hebrew Scriptures? He has never hada formal education.

Jesus: 16I do not claim ownership of Mywords; they are a gift from the One whosent Me. 17If anyone is willing to actaccording to His purposes and is open tohearing truth, he will know the source ofMy teaching. Does it come from God orfrom Me? 18If a man speaks his ownwords, constantly quoting himself, he isafter adulation. But I chase only afterglory for the One who sent Me. Myintention is authentic and true. You’llfind no wrong motives in Me.

19Moses gave you the law, didn’t he?Then how can you blatantly ignore thelaw and look for an opportunity to mur-der Me?

N otice how Jesus changed intone and subject. This shift

seemed abrupt to us because we didn’tknow anything about the Pharisees’plotting.

Crowd: 20You must be possessed with ademon! Who is trying to kill You?

Jesus: 21Listen, all it took was for Me to doone thing, heal a crippled man, and youall were astonished. 22Don’t you remem-ber how Moses passed down circumci-sion as a tradition of our ancestors?When you pick up a knife to circumciseon the Sabbath, isn’t that work? 23If amale is circumcised on the Sabbath tokeep the law of Moses intact, how canmaking one man whole on the Sabbath

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be a cause for your violent rage? 24Youshould not judge by outward appearance.When you judge, search for what is rightand just.

Some People of Jerusalem: 25There is the manthey are seeking to kill; surely He mustbe the one. 26But here He is, speaking outin the open to the crowd, while theyhave not spoken a word to stop or chal-lenge Him. Do you think they’ve changedtheir minds? Do these leaders nowbelieve He is the Liberating King? 27ButHe can’t be; we know where this mancomes from, but the true origin of theLiberator will be a mystery to all of us.

Jesus (speaking aloud as He teaches on thetemple’s porch): 28You think you know Meand where I have come from, but I havenot come here on My own. I have beensent by the One who embodies truth. Youdo not know Him. 29I know Him becauseI came from Him. He has sent Me.

30Some were trying to seize Him becauseof His words, but no one laid as much as afinger on Him—His time had not yetarrived. 31In the crowd, there were many inwhom faith was taking hold.

Believers in the Crowd: When the Liberatorarrives, will He perform any more signsthan this man has done?

32Some Pharisees were hanging back in thecrowd, overhearing the gossip about Him.The temple authorities and the Phariseestook action and sent officers to arrest Jesus.

Jesus: 33I am going to be with you for a lit-tle while longer; then I will return to theOne who sent Me. 34You will look forMe, but you will not be able to find Me.Where I am, you are unable to come.

Some Jews in the Crowd (to each other):35Where could He possibly go that wecould not find Him? You don’t think He’sabout to go into the Dispersion* andteach our people scattered among theGreeks, do you? 36What do you think Hemeans, “You will look for Me, but not beable to find Me,” and “Where I am, youare not able to come”?

37On the last day, the biggest day of the fes-tival, Jesus stood again and spoke aloud.

Jesus: If any of you is thirsty, come to Meand drink. 38If you believe in Me, theHebrew Scriptures say that rivers of liv-ing water will flow from within you.*

39Jesus was referring to the realities of lifein the Spirit made available to everyonewho believes in Him. But the Spirit hadnot yet arrived because Jesus had not beenglorified.

T he Holy Spirit connects us to theFather and His Son, the

Liberating King. So lay down any fearyou have about being disconnectedfrom God; the Creator of the Universedwells within you, sustains you, andwill accomplish the impossible throughyou.

After Jesus’ exit, we, the church,take on our most important role as webecome His body here on earth. Weare intimately connected to the livingGod individually, but it also is impor-tant to remember our journey is to beshared in community.

The church is a redeeming force inthe world: His hands, His feet, Hisbody. If you want to know theLiberator, then you must know Hisbody. Life in Him is not just aboutembracing and loving God; it’s aboutbeing the living body of the church. Wewill find strength, passion, and comfortin our collective mission.

Some of the Crowd (speaking aloud as Heteaches on the temple’s porch): 40Thisman is definitely the Prophet.

Others: 41This is the Liberating King!Still Others: Is it possible for the Liberator

to come from Galilee? 42Don’t theHebrew Scriptures say that He will come

* 7:35 Literally, the Diaspora (Greek for “scattering”).The Diaspora refers to those Jews who were exiled orsettled outside the traditional lands of Israel.* 7:38 For example, Isaiah 44:3; 55:1; 58:11.


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[from Bethlehem,* King David’s village,and be a descendant of King David?

43Rumors and opinions about the trueidentity of Jesus divided the crowd.44Some wanted to arrest Him, but no onedared to touch Him.

45The officers who had been sent by thechief priests and Pharisees to take Jesusinto custody returned empty-handed, andthey faced some hard questions.

Chief Priest and Pharisees: Where is Jesus?Why didn’t you capture Him?

Officers: 46We listened to Him. Never has aman spoken like this man.

Pharisees: 47So you have also been ledastray? 48Can you find one leader or edu-cated Pharisee who believes this man? Ofcourse not. Anyone who has studied theScriptures knows His words are wrongand a threat to our people. 49This crowd isplagued by ignorance about the teach-ings of the law; that is why they will listento Him. That is also why they are underGod’s curse.

50Nicodemus, the Pharisee whoapproached Jesus under the cloak of dark-ness, was present when the officersreturned empty-handed. He addressed theleaders.

Nicodemus: 51Does our law condemn some-one without first giving him a fair hear-ing and learning something about him?

Pharisees (ignoring Nicodemus’s legal point):52Are you from Galilee too? Look it upfor yourself; no real prophet is supposedto come from Galilee.

[53The time came for everyone to gohome.*

8Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2Heawoke early in the morning to returnto the temple. When He arrived, the

people surrounded Him, so He sat downand began to teach them. 3While He wasteaching, the scribes and Pharisees broughtin a woman who was caught in the act ofadultery, and stood her before Jesus.

Pharisees: 4Teacher,

I magine the tension in thatmoment. You can sense the sar-

casm in the air as these men threaten-ing Jesus are now calling Him“Teacher.” Jesus knew this was a test.

Pharisees: This woman was caught in theact of adultery. 5Moses says in the lawthat we are to kill such women by ston-ing. What do You say about it?

6This was all set up as a test for Jesus; Hisanswers would give them grounds toaccuse Him of crimes against Moses’ law.Jesus bent over and wrote something inthe dirt with His finger. 7They persisted inbadgering Jesus, so He stood up straight.

Jesus: Let the first stone be thrown by theone among you who has not sinned.

8Once again Jesus bent down to the groundand resumed writing with His finger. 9ThePharisees who heard Him stood still for afew moments and then began to leaveslowly, one by one, beginning with theolder men. Even the pious Pharisees knewthey had sinned, so there would be no stonesthrown this day. Eventually, only Jesus andthe woman remained, 10and Jesus lookedup.

Jesus: Dear woman, where is everyone? Arewe alone? Did no one step forward tocondemn you?

Woman Caught in Adultery: 11Lord, no one hascondemned me.

Jesus: Well, I do not condemn you either;all I ask is that you go and from now onavoid the sins that plague you.]*

12On another occasion, Jesus spoke to thecrowds again.

* 7:42 For example, Micah 5:1-2* 7:53 The episode recorded in John 7:53—8:11 is notcontained in many ancient manuscripts. * 7:53–8:11 Many ancient manuscripts omit theseverses.

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Jesus: I am the light that shines through thecosmos; if you walk with Me, you willthrive in the nourishing light that giveslife and will not know darkness.

Pharisees: 13Jesus, what You are claimingabout Yourself cannot possibly be true.The only person bearing witness is You.

Jesus: 14Even if I am making bold claimsabout Myself—who I am, what I havecome to do—I am speaking the truth. Yousee, I know where I came from andwhere I will go when I am done here. Youknow neither where I come from norwhere I will go. 15You spend your timejudging by the wrong criteria, by humanstandards, but I am not here to judgeanyone. 16If I were to judge, then Myjudgment would be based on truth, but Iwould not judge anyone alone. I act inharmony with the One who sent Me.17Your law states that if the testimoniesof two witnesses agree, their testimony istrue. 18Well, I testify about Myself, andso does the Father who sent Me here.

Pharisees: 19Where is the Father who testi-fies on Your behalf?

Jesus: You don’t know the Father or Me. Ifyou knew Me, then you would also knowthe Father.

20Jesus said all of these things in the trea-sury while He was teaching in the temple;followers and opponents alike gathered tohear Him, but none of His enemies tried toseize Him because His time had not yetcome.

Jesus (to the crowds): 21I am leaving thisplace, and you will look for Me and diein your sin. For where I am going, youare not able to come.

Jews: 22Is He suicidal? He keeps saying,“Where I am going, you are not able tocome.” Surely He does not have plans tokill Himself.

Jesus: 23You originate from the earth below,and I have come from the heavens above.You are from this world, and I am not.24That’s why I told you that you will diehere as a result of your sins. Unless youbelieve I am who I have said I am, yoursins will lead to your death.

Jews: 25Who exactly are You?Jesus: From the beginning of My mission I

have been telling you who I am. 26I haveso much to say about you, so many judg-ments to render, but if you hear one thing,hear that the One who sent Me is true,and all the things I have heard from HimI speak into the world.

27The people had not understood thatJesus was teaching about the Father.

Jesus: 28Whenever the day comes and youlift up the Son of Man, then you willknow that I am He. It will be clear thenthat I am not acting alone, but that I amspeaking the things I have learneddirectly from the Father. 29The One whosent Me is with Me; He has not aban-doned Me because I always do whatpleases Him.

30As Jesus was speaking, many in thecrowd believed in Him. But they could notimagine what He meant about the lifting upof the Son of Man.

Jesus (to the new Jewish believers): 31If youhear My voice and abide in My word, youare truly My disciples; 32and you willknow the truth, and that truth will giveyou freedom.

Jewish Believers: 33We are Abraham’s chil-dren, and we have never been enslavedto anyone. How can You say to us, “Youwill be set free”?

Jesus: 34I tell you the truth: everyone whocommits sin surrenders his freedom tosin. He is a slave to sin’s power. 35Even ahousehold slave does not live in thehome like a member of the family, but ason belongs there forever. 36So think of itthis way, if the Son comes to make youfree, you will really be free.

Jesus noticed that some of His opponentswere listening, so He spoke louder andturned His remarks to them.

Jesus: 37I know you are descendants ofAbraham, but here you are plotting tomurder Me. You want Me dead, and for


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what reason? Because you do not wel-come My voice into your lives. 38As Ispeak, I am painting you a picture ofwhat I have seen with My Father; hereyou are repeating the things you haveseen from your father.

Jews: 39Abraham is our father.Jesus: If you are truly Abraham’s children,

then act like Abraham! 40From what Isee you are trying to kill Me, a manwho has told you the truth that comesfrom the Father. This is not somethingAbraham would do, 41but you are doingwhat you have learned from yourfather.

Jews: We were not born from adulterousparents; we have one Father: God.

Jesus: 42I come from the one true God, andI’m not here on My own. He sent Me ona mission. If God were your Father, youwould know that and you would love Me.43You don’t even understand what I’msaying. Do you? Why? It is because Youcannot stand to hear My voice. 44You arejust like your true father, the devil, andyou spend your time pursuing the thingsyour father loves. He started out as akiller, and he cannot tolerate truthbecause he is void of anything true. Atthe core of his character, he is a liar; andeverything he speaks originates in theselies because he is the father of lies. 45Sowhen I speak truth, you don’t believeMe. 46-47If I speak the truth, why don’tyou believe Me? If you belong to God’sfamily, then why can’t you hear Godspeak? The answer is clear; you are notin God’s family. I speak truth, and youdon’t believe Me. Can any of you convictMe of sin?

Jews: 48We were right when we called Youa demon-possessed Samaritan.

Jesus: 49-50I’m not taken by demons. Youdishonor Me, but I give all glory andhonor to the Father. But I am not pursu-ing My own fame. There is only One whopursues and renders justice. 51I tell youthe truth, anyone who hears My voiceand keeps My word will never experi-ence death.

Jews: 52We are even more confident nowthat You are demon-possessed. Just go

down the list: Abraham died, theprophets all died. Yet You say, “If youkeep My word, you won’t taste death.”53Are you greater than our fatherAbraham? He died; remember?Prophets—are any of them still alive? No.Who do You think You are?

Jesus: 54If I were trying to make Myselfsomebody important, it would be a wasteof time. That kind of fame is worth noth-ing. It is the Father who is behind Me,urging Me on, giving Me praise. You say,“He is our God,” 55but you are not inrelationship with Him. I know Him inti-mately; even if I said anything other thanthe truth, I would be a liar, like you. Iknow Him, and I do as He says. 56Yourfather Abraham anticipated the timewhen I would come, and he celebratedMy coming.

Jews: 57You aren’t even 50 years old, yetYou have seen and talked with Abraham?

Jesus: 58I tell you the truth; I AM beforeAbraham was born.

59The people picked up stones to hurl atHim, but Jesus slipped out of the temple.Their murderous rage would have to wait.

I have had a few things to say about“the Jews.” You all seem to cringe

every time the subject arises. Peopleare overly sensitive about that. Thefact is: I am a Jew. I am a son ofAbraham, as are many in my commu-nity, so when I criticize certain Jewishleaders I am not criticizing a wholepeople. I’m not stereotyping or makinggeneralizations. When I use the term“the Jews,” I am talking about a cor-rupt group of power brokers who con-spired against Jesus with the Romansto have Him crucified and who laterhad my people expelled from the syna-gogue. They are members of my fam-ily, and I can’t stand what they did toJesus and what they are doing to myother family, my faith family. Don’t youremember the prophets? Men likeMicah, Isaiah, and Amos? Prophetshave the duty—Jeremiah said he had

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“a fire in his bones”*—to speak forGod and condemn hypocrisy andunbelief wherever it is found. Wheninjustice and unbelief are found closeto home, prophets must speak. That’smy call. That’s what I’m doing.

9While walking together along the road,Jesus saw a man who was blind sincehis birth.

Disciples: 2Teacher, who sinned? Who isresponsible for this man’s blindness? Didhe commit sins that merited this punish-ment? If not his sins, is it the sins of hisparents?

Jesus: 3Neither. His blindness cannot beexplained or traced to any particular per-son’s sins. He is blind so the deeds ofGod may be put on display. 4While it isdaytime, we must do the works of theOne who sent Me. But when the sun setsand night falls, this work is impossible.5Whenever I am in the world, I am thelight of the world.

C ertainly Jesus knew the Phariseesfrowned on His Sabbath healings,

but their opinions were not His motiva-tion to finish before sunset. Jesus usedthe sunset to make a point to us: justas the sun illuminates the world, Hebrings enlightenment; just as the sun isup for a short time each day, His timeon earth is short.

6After He said these things, He spat on theground and mixed saliva and dirt to formmud, which He smeared across the blindman’s eyes.

Jesus (to the blind man): 7Go, wash yourselfin the pool of Siloam.

Siloam means “sent,” and its namereminded us that his healing was sent byGod. The man went, washed, and returnedto Jesus, his eyes now alive with sight.8Then neighbors and others who knewhim were confused to see a man so closelyresembling the blind beggar running about.

Townspeople: Isn’t this the man we see everyday sitting and begging in the streets?

Others: 9This is the same man.Still Others: This cannot be him. But this fel-

low bears an uncanny resemblance to theblind man.

Formerly Blind Man: I am the same man. It’sme!

Townspeople: 10How have your lifeless eyesbeen opened?

Formerly Blind Man: 11A man named Jesusapproached me and made mud from theground and applied it to my eyes. Hethen said to me, “Go, wash yourself inthe pool of Siloam.” I went and washed,and suddenly I could see.

Townspeople: 12Where is this man whohealed you?

Formerly Blind Man: I don’t know.

13-14The townspeople brought the formerlyblind beggar to appear before thePharisees the same day Jesus healed him,which happened to be on the Sabbath Day.15The Pharisees began questioning him,looking for some explanation for how hecould now see.

Formerly Blind Man: He smeared mud on myeyes, and I washed; now I see.

Some Pharisees: 16God can’t possibly bebehind this man because He is breakingthe rules of the Sabbath.

Other Pharisees: How can such a lawbreak-ing scoundrel do something like this?

The Pharisees were at odds with oneanother about Jesus and could not agreewhether His power came from God or thedevil.

Pharisees (to the formerly blind man):17What do you say about this man, aboutthe fact He opened your eyes so youcould see?

Formerly Blind Man: I have no doubt—thisman is a prophet.

18Some of the Jews suspected the wholesituation was a charade, that this man was

* Note Jeremiah 20:9


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[

never blind. So they summoned the man’sparents to testify about his condition.

Pharisees: 19Is this man your son? Do youtestify that he has been blind from birth?How therefore does he now see?

Parents: 20We can tell you this much: he isour son, and he was born blind. 21But hisnew sight is a complete mystery to us!We do not know the man who openedhis eyes. Why don’t you ask our son? Heis old enough to speak for himself.

22The man’s parents were a bit evasivebecause they were afraid of the Jewishleaders. It had been rumored that anyonewho spoke of Jesus as the Liberating Kingwould be expelled from the synagogue.23So they deferred the thorny question totheir son, 24and the Pharisees called onhim a second time.

Pharisees: Give God the credit. He’s the Onewho healed you. All glory belongs to God.We are persuaded this man you speak ofis a sinner who defies God.

Formerly Blind Man: 25If this man is a sinner,I don’t know. I am not qualified to say. Ionly know one thing: I was blind andnow I see.

Pharisees: 26What did He do to you? Howdid He give you sight?

Formerly Blind Man: 27Listen, I’ve alreadyanswered all these questions and youdon’t like my answers. Do you reallyneed me to say it all over again? Are youthinking about joining up with Him andbecoming His followers?

Pharisees (berating him): 28You’re one of Hisfollowers, but we follow Moses. 29Wehave confidence that God spoke toMoses, but this man you speak of is amystery; we don’t even know where Hecomes from.

Formerly Blind Man: 30Isn’t it ironic that you,our religious leaders, don’t even knowwhere He comes from; yet He gave mesight! 31We know that God does not lis-ten to sinners, but He does respond andwork through those who worship Himand do His will. 32No one has ever heardof someone opening the eyes of any per-

son blind from birth. 33This man mustcome from God; otherwise, this miraclewould not be possible. Only God can dosuch things.

Pharisees: 34You were born under a cloud ofsin. How can you, of all people, lecture us?

The religious leaders banished him fromtheir presence. 35Jesus heard what hadhappened and sought out the man.

Jesus: Do you believe in the Son of Man?Formerly Blind Man: 36I want to believe, Lord.

Who is He? Jesus: 37You have seen His face with your

new eyes, and you are talking to Himnow.

Formerly Blind Man: 38Lord, I do believe.

The man bowed low to worship Jesus.

Jesus: 39I have entered this world toannounce a verdict that changes every-thing. Now those without sight maybegin to see, and those who see maybecome blind.

Some Pharisees (who overheard Jesus):40Surely we are not blind, are we?

Jesus: 41If you were blind, you would bewithout sin. But because you claim youcan see, your sin is ever present.

I t seemed like the Pharisees werefrequently around to challenge

whatever Jesus would say and do. ButHe would always get the better ofthem. Once again, Jesus turned whatthe Pharisees said inside out. Theythought blindness was a curse that evi-denced sin, and they thought visionensured knowledge and understand-ing—even concerning spiritual matters.Instead, the Pharisees’ confidence intheir vision and discernment madethem unable to see the truth aboutJesus. Ironically, they had a blind trustin their sighted leaders. By refusing tobelieve in Him, they were the sinners—not the blind man.

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10Jesus: I tell you the truth: the manwho crawls though the fence ofthe sheep pen, rather than walk-

ing through the gate, is a thief or a van-dal. 2The shepherd walks openly throughthe entrance. 3The guard who is postedto protect the sheep opens the gate forthe shepherd, and the sheep hear hisvoice. He calls his own sheep by nameand leads them out. 4When all the sheephave been gathered, he walks on aheadof them, and they follow him becausethey know his voice. 5The sheep wouldnot be willing to follow a stranger; theyrun because they do not know the voiceof strangers. But they know and follow theshepherd’s voice.

6Jesus explained a profound truth throughthis metaphor, but they did not understandHis teaching. 7So He explained further.

Jesus: I tell you the truth: I am the gate ofthe sheep. 8All who approached thesheep before Me came as thieves androbbers, and the sheep did not listen totheir voices. 9I am the gate; whoeverenters through Me will be liberated, willgo in and go out, and will find pastures.10The thief approaches with maliciousintent, looking to steal, slaughter, anddestroy; I came to give life with joy andabundance.

11I am the good shepherd. The goodshepherd lays down His life for thesheep in His care. 12The hired hand is notlike the shepherd caring for His ownsheep. When a wolf attacks, snatchingand scattering the sheep, he runs for hislife, leaving them defenseless. 13The hiredhand runs because he works only forwages and does not care for the sheep.14I am the good shepherd; I know Mysheep, and My sheep know Me. 15As theFather knows Me, I know the Father; Iwill give My life for the sheep. 16Thereare many more sheep than you can seehere, and I will bring them as well. Theywill hear My voice, and the flock will beunited. One flock. One shepherd. 17TheFather loves Me because I am willing tolay down My life—but I will take it up

again. 18My life cannot be taken away byanybody else; I am giving it of My ownfree will. My authority allows Me to giveMy life and to take it again. All this hasbeen commanded by My Father.

J esus loved to explain truththrough the everyday things we

encountered. He spoke of vines, fruit,fishing, building, and shepherding. Hewas a master communicator. In thismetaphor, Jesus is the shepherd.Eventually, He would become thesheep as well. On the cross He wasdestined to become the innocent sacri-fice that would make all future sin sac-rifices and burnt offeringsunnecessary.

19When He spoke these words, some of theJews began to argue.

Many Jews: 20He has a demon and is a rav-ing maniac. Why are you people listeningto Him?

Other Jews: 21No demon-possessed man everspoke like this. Do demons give sight tothe blind?

22-23It was winter and time for the Festivalof Dedication.* While in Jerusalem, Jesuswas walking through the temple in an areaknown as Solomon’s porch, 24and Jewsgathered around Him.

Jews: How long are You going to keep usguessing? If You are the Liberating King,announce it clearly.

Jesus: 25I have told you, and you do notbelieve. The works I am doing in MyFather’s name tell the truth about Me.You do not listen; 26you lack faith becauseyou are not My sheep. 27My sheeprespond as they hear My voice; I knowthem intimately, and they follow Me. 28Igive them a life that is unceasing, anddeath will not have the last word.Nothing or no one can steal them fromMy hand. 29My Father has given the

* 10:22-23 Or the Festival of Lights or Hanukkah.


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flock to Me, and He is superior to allbeings and things. No one is powerfulenough to snatch the flock from MyFather’s hand. 30 The Father and I areone.

31The Jews gathered stones to executeJesus right then and there.

Jesus: 32I have performed many beautifulworks before you in the name of theFather. Which of these can be judged asan offense that merits My execution?

Jews: 33You are not condemned for per-forming miracles. We demand Your lifebecause You are a man, yet you claim tobe God. This is blasphemy!

Jesus: 34You know what is written in theScriptures. Doesn’t it read, “I said, youare gods”?* 35If the Scriptures calledyour ancestors (mere mortals) gods towhom the word of God came—and theScriptures cannot be set aside—36whatshould you call One who is unique, sanc-tified by and sent from the Father intothe world? I have said, “I am God’s Son.”How can you call that blasphemy? 37Byall means, do not believe in Me, if I amnot doing the things of the Father. 38Butexamine My actions, and you will see thatMy work is the work of the Father.Regardless of whether you believe inMe—believe the miracles. Then you willknow that the Father is in Me, and I amin the Father.

39Once again, some of the Jews again triedto capture Him; but He slipped away, elud-ing their grasp. 40Jesus crossed the JordanRiver and returned to the place whereJohn was ritually cleansing* the people inthe early days. He lingered in the area,41and scores of people gathered aroundHim.

Crowds: John never performed any mira-cles, but every word he spoke about thisman has come to pass. It is all true!

42In that place, many believed in Him.

11There was a certain man who wasvery ill. He was known as Lazarusfrom Bethany, which is the home-

town of Mary and her sister Martha. 2Marydid a beautiful thing for Jesus. She anointedthe Lord with a pleasant-smelling oil andwiped His feet with her hair. Her brotherLazarus became deathly ill, 3so the sistersimmediately sent a message to Jesus whichsaid, “Lord, the one You love is very ill.”4Jesus heard the message:

Jesus: His sickness will not end in his deathbut will bring great glory to God. Asthese events unfold, the Son of God willbe exalted.

5Jesus dearly loved Mary, Martha, andLazarus. 6However, after receiving thisnews, He waited two more days where Hewas.

Jesus (speaking to the disciples): 7It is timeto return to Judea.

Disciples: 8Teacher, the last time You werethere, some Jews attempted to executeYou by crushing You with stones. Whywould You go back?

Jesus: 9There are 12 hours of daylight, cor-rect? If anyone walks in the day, thatperson does not stumble because he orshe sees the light of the world. 10If any-one walks at night, he will trip and fall,because he does not have the lightwithin. 11(Jesus briefly pauses.) Ourfriend Lazarus has gone to sleep, so Iwill go to awaken him.

Disciples: 12Lord, if he is sleeping, then hewill be all right.

13Jesus used “sleep” as a metaphor fordeath, but the disciples took Him literallyand did not understand. 14Then, Jesusspoke plainly.

* 10:34 Psalm 82:6* 10:40 Literally, immersing, to show repentance

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Jesus: Lazarus is dead, 15and I am gratefulfor your sakes that I was not there whenhe died. Now you will see and believe. Itdoes not matter if the people there want tokill Me. Gather yourselves, and let’s go tohim.

Thomas, Didymus the Twin (to the disciples):16Let’s go so we can die with Him.

17-18As Jesus was approaching Bethany(which is about two miles east ofJerusalem), He heard that Lazarus hadbeen in the tomb four days. 19Now, manypeople had come to comfort Mary andMartha as they mourned the loss of theirbrother. 20Martha went to meet Jesuswhen word arrived that He was approach-ing Bethany, but Mary stayed behind at thehouse.

Martha: 21Lord, if You had been with us, mybrother would not have died. 22Even so, Istill believe that anything You ask of Godwill be done.

Jesus: 23Your brother will rise to life.Martha: 24I know. He will rise again when

everyone is resurrected on the last day.Jesus: 25I am the resurrection and the

source of all life; those who believe inMe will live even in death. 26Everyonewho lives and believes in Me will nevertruly die. Do you believe this?

Martha: 27Yes, Lord, I believe that You arethe Liberating King, God’s own Son whowe have heard is coming into the world.

28After this, Martha ran home to Mary.

Martha (whispering to Mary): Come withme. The Teacher is here, and He hasasked for you.

29Mary did not waste a minute. She got upand went 30to the same spot where Marthahad found Jesus outside the village. 31Thepeople gathered in her home offering sup-port and comfort assumed she was goingback to the tomb to cry and mourn, so theyfollowed her. 32Mary approached Jesus,saw Him, and fell at His feet.

Mary: Lord, if only You had been here, mybrother would still be alive.

33When Jesus saw Mary’s profound griefand the moaning and weeping of her com-panions, He was deeply moved by theirpain in His spirit and was intensely trou-bled.

Jesus: 34Where have you laid his body?Jews: Come and see, Lord.

35As they walked, Jesus wept; 36and every-one noticed how much Jesus must haveloved Lazarus. 37But others were skeptical.

Others: If this man can give sight to theblind, He could have kept him fromdying. Why wasn’t He here sooner if Heloved Lazarus so much?

38Then Jesus, who was intensely troubledby all of this, approached the tomb—a small cave covered by a massive stone.

Jesus: 39Remove the stone.Martha: Lord, he has been dead four days;

the stench will be unbearable.Jesus: 40Remember, I told you that if you

believe, you will see the glory of God.

41They removed the stone, and Jesus liftedHis eyes toward heaven.

Jesus: Father, I am grateful that You haveheard Me. 42I know that You are alwayslistening, but I proclaim it loudly so thateveryone here will believe You have sentMe.

43After these words, He called out in athunderous voice.

Jesus: Lazarus, come out!

44Then, the man who was dead walked outof his tomb bound from head to toe in aburial shroud.

Jesus: Untie him, and let him go.


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[O nce again, Jesus amazed us. Howcould He raise Lazarus? What

kind of man was this who could speaklife into death’s darkness? ThroughoutHis time with us, we were continuallysurprised by Jesus. He was obviouslyunique. He was unlike anyone we hadmet before. I remember the time Jesuswas awakened from a peaceful restand rose to face a fierce gale of windand the stinging spray that came offthe Sea of Galilee. Even the seasonedsailors among us were panicking. Jesusrebuked the storm and said, “That’senough! Be still!” Immediately thewind subsided. The rough sea becamecalm. Jesus turned to us and rebukedus for our lack of faith. In the wake ofthat storm, we talked among our-selves, asking, “Who is this Jesus?How can it be that He has power overeven the wind and the waves? Andhow could He have power overdeath?”* It took us a while, but moreand more we became convinced thiswas no ordinary man.

45As a result, many of the Jews who hadcome with Mary saw what happened andbelieved in Him. 46But some went to thePharisees to report what they witnessedJesus doing. 47As a result of these reports—and on short notice—the chief priests andPharisees called a meeting of the highcouncil.

Pharisees: What are we going to do aboutthis man? He is performing many mira-cles. 48If we don’t stop this now, everyman, woman, and child will believe inHim. You know what will happen next?The Romans will think He’s mounting arevolution and will destroy our temple. Itwill be the end of our nation.

Caiaphas, the High Priest that year: 49You haveno idea what you are talking about; 50what you don’t understand is that it’sbetter for you that one man should diefor the people so the whole nation won’tperish.

51His speech was more than it seemed. Ashigh priest that year, Caiaphas prophesied(without knowing it) that Jesus would dieon behalf of the entire nation, 52and notjust for the children of Israel—He woulddie so all God’s children could be gatheredfrom the four corners of the world into onepeople. 53In that moment, they cementedtheir intentions to have Jesus executed.

54From that day forward, Jesusrefrained from walking publicly among thepeople in Judea. He withdrew to a smalltown known as Ephraim, a rural area nearthe wilderness, where He set up campwith His disciples.

55The Passover was approaching, andJews everywhere traveled to Jerusalemearly so they could purify themselves andprepare for Passover. 56People were look-ing for Jesus, hoping to catch a glimpse ofHim in the city. All the while some Jewswere discussing Him in the temple.

Some Jews: Do you think He will decide not tocome to Jerusalem this year for the feast?

57In the midst of this confusion, thePharisees and the chief priests orderedthat if anyone knew the whereabouts ofJesus of Nazareth, it must be reportedimmediately so they could arrest Him.

12Six days before the Passover feast,Jesus journeyed to the village ofBethany, to the home of Lazarus,

who had recently been raised from thedead, 2where they hosted Him for dinner.Martha was busy serving as the hostess,Lazarus reclined at the table with Him,3and Mary took a pound of fine ointment,pure nard (which is both rare and expen-sive), and anointed Jesus’ feet with it, andthen wiped them with her hair. As thepleasant fragrance of this extravagant oint-ment filled the entire house, 4JudasIscariot, one of His disciples (who wasplotting to betray Jesus), began to speak.

Judas Iscariot: 5How could she pour out thisvast amount of fine oil? Why didn’t she

* Note Mark 4:35-41

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sell it? It is worth nearly a year’s wages;*the money could have been given to thepoor.

6This had nothing to do with Judas’s desireto help the poor. The truth is he served asthe treasurer, and he helped himself to themoney from the common pot at everyopportunity.

Jesus: 7Leave her alone. She has observedthis custom in anticipation of the day ofMy burial. 8The poor are ever present,but I will be leaving.

9Word spread of Jesus’ presence, and alarge crowd was gathering to see Jesus andthe formerly deceased Lazarus, whom Hehad brought back from the dead. 10Thechief priests were secretly plottingLazarus’s murder since, 11because of him,many Jews were leaving their teachingsand believing in Jesus.

12The next day, a great crowd of peoplewho had come to the festival heard thatJesus was coming to Jerusalem, 13so theygathered branches of palm trees to wave asthey celebrated His arrival.

Crowds (shouting): Hosanna!He who comes in the name of the

Lord is truly blessed*and is King of all Israel.

14Jesus found a young donkey, sat on it, androde through the crowds mounted on thissmall beast. The Scriptures foretold of thisday:

15Daughter of Zion, do not be afraid.Watch! Your King is coming.You will find Him seated on the

colt of a donkey.*

16The disciples did not understand anyof this at the time; these truths did not sinkin until Jesus had been glorified. As theyreflected on their memories of Jesus, theyrealized these things happened just as theywere written. 17Those who witnessed theresurrection of Lazarus enthusiastically

spoke of Jesus to all who would listen,18and that is why the crowd went out tomeet Him. They had heard of the miracu-lous sign He had done.

W e suspected during our timewith Jesus that He was more

than a man, but it took the power andglory of the resurrection to convinceus completely that Jesus was divine.When we saw Him, when we touchedHim, when the sound of His voicethundered in our souls, we knew wewere face-to-face with God’simmense glory, the unique Son ofGod. As we read and reread theScriptures in light of our experienceof Him, we found that Jesus’ life andstory were the climax of God’scovenants with His people.

Pharisees (to one another): 19Our efforts tosquelch Him have not worked, but now isnot the time for action. Look, the world isfollowing after Him.

20Among the crowds traveling toJerusalem were Greeks seeking to followGod and worship at the great feast. 21-22Some of them came to Philip with animportant request.

Greek Pilgrims (to Philip): Sir, we are hopingto meet Jesus.

Philip, a disciple from the Galilean villageof Bethsaida, told Andrew that theseGreeks were wanting to see Jesus. TogetherAndrew and Philip approached Jesus toinform Him about the request.

Jesus (to Philip and Andrew): 23The timehas come for the Son of Man to be glori-fied. 24I tell you the truth: unless a grainof wheat is planted in the ground anddies, it remains a solitary seed. But whenit is planted, it produces in death a great

* 12:5 Greek 300 denarii* 12:13 Psalm 118:26* 12:15 Zechariah 9:9


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harvest. 25The one who loves this lifewill lose it, and the one who despises itin this world will have life forevermore.26Anyone who serves Me must follow Mypath; anyone who serves Me will want tobe where I am, and he will be honoredby the Father. 27My spirit is low andunsettled. How can I ask the Father tosave Me from this hour? This hour is thepurpose for which I have come into theworld. But what I can say is this:28“Father, glorify Your name!”

Suddenly, a voice echoed from the heavens.

The Father: I have glorified My name. Andagain I will bring glory in this hour thatwill resound throughout time.

29The crowd of people surrounding Jesuswere confused.

Some in the Crowd: It sounded like thunder. Others: A heavenly messenger spoke to Him.Jesus: 30The Voice you hear has not spoken

for My benefit, but for yours. 31Nowjudgment comes upon this world, andeverything will change. The tyrant of thisworld, Satan, will be thrown out. 32WhenI am lifted up from the earth, then all ofhumanity will be drawn to Me.

33These words foreshadowed the nature ofHis death.

Crowd: 34The law teaches that theLiberating King is the One who willremain without end. How can You say itis essential that the Son of Man be liftedup? Who is this Son of Man You are talk-ing about?

Jesus: 35Light is among you, but very soon itwill flicker out. Walk as you have thelight; and then the darkness will not sur-round you. Those who walk in darknessdon’t know where they are going.36While the light is with you, believe inthe light and you will be reborn as sonsand daughters of the light.

After speaking these words, Jesus left thepeople to go to a place of seclusion.

37Despite all the signs He performed, theystill did not believe in Him. 38Isaiah spokeof this reality, saying,

Lord, who could accept what we’vebeen told?

And who has seen the awesomepower of the Lord revealed?*

39This is the reason they are unable tobelieve. 40Isaiah also said,

God has blinded their eyes, and hardened their hearts

So that their eyes cannot seeproperly

and their hearts cannotunderstand,

and be persuadedby the truth to turn to Meand be reconciled by My healing

hand.*

41Isaiah could say this because he had seenthe glory of the Lord with his own eyes anddeclared His beauty aloud. 42Yet manyleaders secretly believed in Him, butwould not declare their faith because thePharisees continued their threats to expelall His followers from the synagogue;43here’s why: they loved to please menmore than they desired to glorify God.

Jesus (crying out before the people):44Anyone who believes in Me is not plac-ing his faith in Me, but in the One whosent Me here. 45If one sees Me, he seesthe One who sent Me. 46I am here tobring light in this world, freeing every-one who believes in Me from the dark-ness that blinds him. 47If anyone listeningto My teachings chooses to ignore them,so be it: I have come to liberate theworld, not to judge it. 48However, thosewho reject Me and My teachings will bejudged: in the last day, My words will betheir judge. 49Because I am not speakingof My own volition and from My ownauthority; the Father who sent Me has

* 12:38 Isaiah 53:1* 12:40 Isaiah 6:10

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commanded Me what to say and speak.50I know His command is eternal life, soevery word I utter originates in Him.

13Before the Passover festival began,Jesus was keenly aware that Hishour had come to depart from this

world and to return to the Father. Frombeginning to end, Jesus’ days were markedby His love for His people. 2Before Jesusand His disciples gathered for dinner, theadversary filled Judas Iscariot’s heart withplans of deceit and betrayal. 3Jesus, know-ing that He had come from God and wasgoing away to God, 4stood up from dinnerand removed His outer garments. He thenwrapped Himself in a towel, 5poured waterin a basin, and began to wash the feet ofthe disciples, drying them with His towel.

Simon Peter (as Jesus approaches): 6Lord, areYou going to wash my feet?

Jesus: 7Peter, you don’t realize what I amdoing, but you will understand later.

Peter: 8You will not wash my feet, now orever!

Jesus: If I don’t wash you, you will havenothing to do with Me.

Peter: 9Then wash me but don’t stop withmy feet. Cleanse my hands and head aswell.

Jesus: 10Listen, anyone who has bathed isclean all over except for the feet. But Itell you this, not all of you are clean.

My life changed that day; therewas a new clarity about how I

was supposed to live. I saw the worldin a totally new way. The dirt, grime,sin, pain, rebellion, and tormentaround me were no longer impedi-ments to the spiritual path.

Where I saw pain and filth, I foundan opportunity to extend God’s king-dom through an expression of love,humility, and service. This simple actof washing feet is a metaphor for thelens that Jesus gives us to see theworld. He sees the people, the worldHe created—which He loves—He sees

the filth, the corruption in the worldthat torments us. His mission is tocleanse those whom He loves from thehorrors that torment them. This is Hisredemptive work with feet, families,disease, famine, and our hearts.

When Jesus saw disease, He sawthe opportunity to heal. When He sawsin, He saw a chance to forgive andredeem. When He saw dirty feet, Hesaw a chance to wash them.

What do you see when you wanderthrough the market, along the streets,on the beaches, and through theslums? Are you disgusted? Or do youseize the opportunity to expand God’sreign of love in the cosmos? This iswhat Jesus did. The places we avoid,Jesus seeks.

11He knew the one with plans of betrayingHim, which is why He said, “not all of youare clean.” 12After washing their feet andpicking up His garments, He reclined atthe table again.

Jesus: Do you understand what I have doneto you? 13You call Me Teacher and Lord,and truly, that is who I am. 14So if yourLord and Teacher washes your feet, thenyou should wash one another’s feet. 15Iam your example; keep doing what I do.16I tell you the truth: an emissary is notgreater than the master. Those who aresent are not greater than the One whosends them. 17If you know these things,and if you put them into practice, youwill find happiness. 18I am not speakingabout all of you. I know whom I havechosen, but let the Hebrew Scripture befulfilled that says, “The very same manwho eats My bread with Me will stab Mein the back.”* 19Assuredly, I tell you these truths before they happen, so thatwhen it all transpires you will believethat I am. 20I tell you the truth: anyonewho accepts the ones I send accepts Me.

* 13:18 Psalm 41:9


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In turn, the ones who accept Me alsoaccept the One who sent Me.

21Jesus was becoming visibly distressed.

Jesus: I tell you the truth: one of you willbetray Me.

22The disciples began to stare at oneanother, wondering who was the unfaithfuldisciple. 23One disciple in particular, whowas loved by Jesus, reclined next to Him atthe table. 24Peter motioned to the discipleat Jesus’ side.

Peter (to the beloved disciple): Find out whothe betrayer is.

Beloved Disciple (leaning in to Jesus): 25Lord,who is it?

Jesus: 26I will dip a piece of bread in Mycup and give it to the one who willbetray Me.

He dipped one piece in the cup and gave itto Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. 27Afterthis occurred, Satan entered into Judas.

Jesus (to Judas): Make haste, and do whatyou are going to do.

28No one understood Jesus’ instructions toJudas. 29Because Judas carried the money,some thought he was being instructed tobuy the necessary items for the feast, orgive some money to the poor. 30So Judastook his piece of bread and departed intothe night.

31Upon Judas’s departure, Jesus spoke:

Jesus: Now the Son of Man will be glorifiedas God is glorified in Him. 32If God’sglory is in Him, His glory is also in God.The moment of this astounding glory isimminent. 33My children, My time hereis brief. You will be searching for Me,and as I told the Jews, “You cannot gowhere I am going.” 34So I give you a newcommand: Love each other deeply andfully. Remember the ways that I haveloved you, and demonstrate your love forothers in those same ways. 35Everyone

will know you as My followers if youdemonstrate your love to others.

Simon Peter: 36Lord, where are You going?Jesus: Peter, you cannot come with Me now,

but later you will join Me.Peter: 37Why can’t I go now? I’ll give my life

for You!Jesus: 38Will you really give your life for

Me? I tell you the truth: you will denyMe three times before the rooster crows.

U ltimately, Peter was telling thetruth. He was more than willing

to lay down his life. But none of usunderstood the magnitude of the per-secution and hatred that was about tobe unleashed on all of us.

Even Peter, dear Peter, was afraid.He protested any inference to Jesus’impending departure. We all wouldhave done the same. Jesus calmed ourfears over and over again with stories,metaphors, and outright promises, say-ing, “I would never abandon you likeorphans. I will return to be with you.”*

14Jesus: Don’t get lost in despair;believe in God and keep on believ-ing in Me. 2My Father’s home is

designed to accommodate all of you. Ifthere were not room for everyone, Iwould have told you that. I am going tomake arrangements for your arrival. 3Iwill be there to personally greet you andwelcome you home, where we will betogether. 4You know where I am goingand how to get there.

Thomas: 5Lord, we don’t know where Youare going, so how can we know the path?

Jesus: 6I am the path, the truth, and theenergy of life. No one comes to theFather except through Me. 7If you knowMe, you know the Father. Rest assurednow; you know Him and have seen Him.

Philip: 8Lord, all I am asking is that Youshow us the Father.

Jesus (to Philip): 9I have lived with you allthis time and you still don’t know who I

* Note John 14:18

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am? If you have seen Me, you have seenthe Father. How can you keep asking tosee the Father? 10Don’t you believe Mewhen I say I abide in the Father and theFather dwells in Me? I’m not making thisup as I go along. The Father has givenMe these truths that I have been speak-ing to you, and He empowers all Myactions. 11Accept these truths: I am in theFather and the Father is in Me. If youhave trouble believing based on Mywords, believe because of the things Ihave done. 12I tell you the truth: whoeverbelieves in Me will be able to do what Ihave done, but they will do even greaterthings, because I will return to be withthe Father. 13Whatever you ask for in Myname, I will do it so that the Father willget glory from the Son. 14Let Me say itagain: if you ask for anything in Myname, I will do it. 15If you love Me, obeythe commandments I have given you. 16Iwill ask the Father to send you anotherHelper, the Spirit of truth, who willremain constantly with you. 17The worlddoes not recognize the Spirit of truth,because it does not know the Spirit andis unable to receive Him. But you doknow the Spirit because He lives withyou, and He will dwell in you. 18I willnever abandon you like orphans; I willreturn to be with you. 19In a little while,the world will not see Me, but I will notvanish completely from your sight.Because I live, you will also live. 20Atthat time, you will know that I am in theFather, you are in Me, and I am in you.21The one who loves Me will do thethings I have commanded. My Fatherloves everyone who loves Me, and I willlove you and reveal My heart, will, andnature to you.

G od became flesh and livedamong us, not just to have a

transaction with us and ultimately die,but to continue to be with us evenwhen He didn’t have to and to sendHis Spirit to be present with us. So, inthat, God calls us to somethinggreater, something more significant:

We are here as redeeming forces onthis earth; our time here is aboutreclaiming the things He has created.We believe that God has created theentire cosmos; our work here is to say,“This belongs to God,” and to helppoint out the beauty of creation toeveryone we know, everyone we meet.And most of all, to live in it ourselves.

The Other Judas: 22Lord, why will You revealYourself to us, but not to the world?

Jesus: 23Anyone who loves Me will listen toMy voice and obey. The Father will lovehim, and We will draw close to him andmake a dwelling place within him. 24Theone who does not love Me ignores Mymessage, which is not from Me, but fromthe Father who sent Me.

25I have spoken these words while Iam here with you. 26The Father is send-ing a great Helper, the Holy Spirit, in Myname to teach you everything and toremind you of all I have said to you. 27Mypeace is the legacy I leave to you. I don’tgive gifts like those of this world. Do notlet your heart be troubled or fearful.28You were listening when I said, “I willgo away, but I will also return to be withyou.” If you love Me, celebrate the factthat I am going to be with the Fatherbecause He is far greater than I am. 29Ihave told you all these things in advanceso that your faith will grow as thesethings come to pass. 30I am almost fin-ished speaking to you. The one whorules the world is stepping forward andhe has no part in Me, 31but to demon-strate to the cosmos My love for theFather, I will do just as He commands.Stand up. It is time for us to leave thisplace.

T he Holy Spirit planted theteachings of our Lord into our

very beings. God would now dwell inthe hearts of all true believers, and thechasm between God and humanitywould be bridged. As you can imagine,the idea of Jesus leaving us created awhirlwind of fear and doubt. But once


John 14[


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again, Jesus reached in gently andcalmed our storms when He said, “Iwill now dwell inside of you.” A con-nection is made between God and us,much like the first days in the garden—God the Creator strolling in paradisewith Adam. God is, once again in Jesusand the Holy Spirit, present amid suf-fering, hope, sin, and friendship.

15Jesus: I am the true vine, and MyFather is the keeper of the vine-yard. 2My Father examines every

branch in Me and cuts away those whodo not bear fruit. He leaves those bearingfruit and carefully prunes them so thatthey will bear more fruit; 3already, youare clean because you have heard Myvoice. 4Abide in Me, and I will abide inyou. A branch cannot bear fruit if it isdisconnected from the vine, and neitherwill you if you are not connected to Me.

5I am the vine, and you are thebranches. If you abide in Me and I inyou, you will bear great fruit. WithoutMe, you will accomplish nothing. 6If any-one does not abide in Me, he is like abranch that is tossed out and shrivels up,and is later gathered to be tossed into thefire to burn. 7If you abide in Me and Myvoice abides in you, anything you askwill come to pass for you. 8Your abun-dant growth and your faithfulness as Myfollowers will bring glory to the Father.

A t a time when all of us werefeeling as if we were about to

be uprooted, Jesus sketched out a pic-ture for us of this new life as a flourish-ing vineyard—a labyrinth of vines andstrong branches steeped in rich soil,abundant grapes hanging from theirvines ripening in the sun. Jesussculpted out a new garden of Eden inour imaginations—one that wasbustling with fruit, sustenance, andsatisfying aromas. This is the Kingdomlife. It is all about connection, suste-nance, and beauty.

Jesus: 9I have loved you as the Father hasloved Me. Abide in My love. 10Follow Myexample in obeying the Father’s com-mandments and receiving His love. Ifyou obey My commandments, you willstay in My love. 11I want you to know thedelight I experience, to find ultimate sat-isfaction, which is why I am telling youall of this.

12My commandment to you is this:love others as I have loved you. 13Thereis no greater way to love than to giveyour life for your friends. 14You celebrateour friendship if you obey this command.15I don’t call you servants any longer;servants don’t know what the master isdoing, but I have told you everything theFather has said to Me. I call you friends.16You did not choose Me. I chose you,and I orchestrated all of this so that youwould be sent out and bear great andperpetual fruit. As you do this, anythingyou ask the Father in My name will bedone. 17This is My command to you: loveone another.

18If you find that the world despisesyou, remember that before it despisedyou, it first despised Me. 19If you were aproduct of the world order, then it wouldlove you. But you are not a product of theworld because I have taken you out of it,and it despises you for that very reason.20Don’t forget what I have spoken to you:“a servant is not superior to the master.”If I was mistreated, you should expectnothing less. If they accepted what Ihave spoken, they will also hear you.21Everything they do to you they will doon My account because they do notknow the One who has sent Me. 22If Ihad not spoken within their hearing,they would not be guilty of sin, but nowthey have no excuse for ignoring Myvoice.

23If someone despises Me, he alsodespises My Father. 24If I had notdemonstrated things for them that havenever been done, they would not beguilty of sin. But the reality is they havestared Me in the face, and they havedespised Me and the Father nonetheless.

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25Yet, their law, which says, “Theydespised Me without any cause,”* hasagain been proven true.

26I will send a great Helper to youfrom the Father, one known as the Spiritof truth. He comes from the Father andwill point to the truth as it concerns Me.27But you will also point others to thetruth about My identity, because youhave journeyed with Me since this allbegan.

A s Jesus warns us of the mis-treatment we can expect, He

disarms our fears by reminding us ofthe most important things. If the Spiritis in us, we have no reason to fear. Infact, the church will thrive under per-secution. Yet we are obsessed withpower and political prominence as ameans to influence the culture. AsChristian citizens, we have an obliga-tion to actively strive for justice andfreedom. But how will that happen?

Listen carefully, for this is the wis-dom God has given to each generation.Lasting justice and morality cannot belobbied for or legislated. It is a result ofthe Holy Spirit’s work in the lives ofthose of us who learn that God lovesus. So take heed, lest we forget theseimportant labors are always secondaryto the gospel and at times even affectthe cause of the Liberating King nega-tively. True Christianity, the real workof the Kingdom, often thrives underfierce attack and opposition. Jesusannounced this coming persecution tous, His followers, believing this willlead to our finest hour.

16Jesus: I am telling you all of this sothat you may avoid the offensesthat are coming. 2The time will

come when they will kick you out of thesynagogue because some believe Goddesires them to execute you as an act offaithful service. 3They will do thisbecause they don’t know the Father, orelse they would know Me. 4I’m tellingyou all this so that when it comes to pass

you will remember what you have heard.It was not important for Me to give youthis information in the beginning when Iwas with you. 5But now, I am going tothe One who has sent Me, and none ofyou ask Me, “Where are You going?”

6I know that hearing news like this isoverwhelming and sad. 7But the truth isthat My departure will be a gift that willserve you well, because if I don’t leave,the great Helper will not come to youraid. When I leave, I will send Him toyou. 8-9When He arrives, He will uncoverthe sins of the world, expose unbelief assin, and allow all to see their sins in thelight of righteousness for the first time.10This new awareness of righteousness isimportant because I am going to theFather and will no longer be presentwith you. 11The Spirit will also carry Myjudgment because the one who rules inthis world has already been defeated.

12I have so much more to say, but youcannot absorb it right now. 13-15The Spiritof truth will come and guide you in alltruth. He will not speak His own wordsto you; He will speak what He hears,revealing to you the things to come andbringing glory to Me. The Spirit hasunlimited access to Me, to all that I pos-sess and know, just as everything theFather has is Mine. That is the reason Iam confident He will care for My ownand reveal the path to you. 16For a littlewhile you will not see Me, but after that,a time will come when you will see Meagain.

Some of His Disciples: 17What does He mean?“I’ll be here, and then I won’t be here,because I’ll be with the Father.”

Other Disciples: 18What is He saying? “A lit-tle while”? We don’t understand.

T he promise of eternity is areminder that we were made for

another world. We found great com-fort amid our fear, knowing we wouldbe reunited with our Liberating Kingand joined with the Father. As we labor

* 15:25 Psalm 35:19


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together in this world—enduring pain,loss, and unfulfilled desires—beencouraged that in eternity all ourneeds will be fulfilled in the presenceof God.

19Jesus knew they had questions to ask ofHim, so He approached them.

Jesus: Are you trying to figure out what Imean when I say you will see Me in a lit-tle while? 20I tell you the truth, a time isapproaching when you will weep andmourn while the world is celebrating.You will grieve, but that grief will givebirth to great joy. 21-22In the same waythat a woman labors in great pain duringchildbirth, only to forget the intensity ofthe pain when she holds her child, whenI return, your labored grief will alsochange into a joy that cannot be stolen.

23When all this transpires, you willfinally have the answers you have beenseeking. I tell you the truth, anything youask of the Father in My name, He willgive to you. 24Until this moment, youhave not sought after anything in Myname. Ask and you will receive, so thatyou will be filled with joy.

25I have been teaching you all of thesetruths through stories and metaphors,but the time is coming for Me to speakopenly and directly of the Father.

26The day is coming when you willmake a request in My name, but I willnot represent you before the Father.27You will be heard directly by the Father.The Father loves you because you loveMe and know that I come from theFather. 28I came from the Father into thecosmos, but soon I will leave it andreturn to the Father.

A ll of us disciples mournedJesus’ refusal to take His right-

ful place as a king and lead a revolu-tion. Jesus knew that political might,brute force, and earthly governmentsare not helpful tools in a battle forhearts. Spiritual revolutions are sub-

versive. They are led by defiant acts oflove (e.g., healing, foot washing, andmartyrdom). Laws do not changehearts, and violence induces hatredand fear. But a sincere community offaith in which love and hope aredemonstrated even in the darkesthours will lead a spiritual revolution. Itis time we go forward with open eyesand continue to labor as Christian citi-zens, placing our hope only in theredemptive work of the gospel.

Disciples: 29We hear You speaking clearlyand not in metaphors. How could we mis-understand? 30We see now that You areaware of everything and You revealthings at the proper time. So we do notneed to question You, because we believeYou have come from God.

Jesus: 31So you believe now? 32Be awarethat a time is coming when you will bescattered like seeds. You will return toyour own way, and I will be left alone.But I will not be alone, because theFather will be with Me. 33I have told youthese things so that you will be wholeand at peace. In this world you will beplagued with times of trouble, but youneed not fear; I have triumphed over thiscorrupt world order.

G enerations from now, believerswill struggle to understand how

they are connected to God and oneanother. They will see themselves asautonomous individuals, free agentswho choose whatever allegiances suitthem. Those of us who walked withJesus had a different perspective.Maybe it came from our culture.Maybe it came from our faith. Probablyboth. We already saw ourselves asdependent on and connected to otherpeople. We belonged to a family, atribe, a people. To know who we were,we didn’t look inside ourselves; welooked to others because they knew usand we were part of them. No oneneeded to “find himself” because he

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already knew. Our identities were tiedup completely with others. The verynature of humans is that we grow fromwithin another human, taking on thecharacteristics of our parents whoconnect us back to hundreds of gener-ations. When Jesus entered our lives,none of this changed; yet all of itchanged. He became the center of ourlives. We now belonged to Him.

17 Jesus (lifting His face to the heav-ens): Father, My time has come.Glorify Your Son, and I will bring

You great glory 2-3because You have givenMe total authority over humanity. I havecome bearing the plentiful gifts of God, andall that receive Me will experience ever-lasting life, a new intimate relationshipwith You, the one true God, and Jesus theLiberating King (the One You have sent).4I have glorified You on earth and ful-filled the mission You set before Me.

5In this moment, Father, fuse Our col-lective glory and bring Us together as Wewere before creation existed. 6You haveentrusted Me with these men who havecome out of this corrupt world order. Ihave told them about Your nature anddeclared Your name to them, and theyhave held on to Your words and under-stood that these words, 7like everythingelse You have given Me, come from You.8It is true, that these men You gave Mehave received the words that come fromYou, and not only understood them butalso believed that You sent Me. 9I amnow making an appeal to You on theirbehalf. This request is not for the entireworld; it is for those whom You havegiven to Me because they are Yours.10Yours and Mine, Mine and Yours, forall that are Mine are Yours. Throughthem I have been glorified.

11I will no longer be physically pres-ent in this world, but they will remain inthis world. As I return to be with You,holy Father, remain with them throughYour name, the name You have given Me.May they be one even as We are one.

12While I was physically present withthem, I protected them through Yourname, which You have shared with Me. Iwatched over them closely; and only onewas lost, the one the Scriptures said wasthe son of destruction. 13Now I amreturning to You. I am speaking thisprayer here in the created cosmos along-side friends and foes so that in hearing itthey might be consumed with joy. 14Ihave given them Your word; and theworld has despised them because theyare not products of the world, in thesame way that I am not a product of thecorrupt world order. 15Do not take themout of this world; protect them from theevil one.

16Like Me, they are not products ofthe corrupt world order. 17Immerse themin the truth, the truth Your voice speaks.18In the same way You sent Me into thisworld, I am sending them. 19It is entirelyfor their benefit that I have set Myselfapart, so that they may be set apart bytruth. 20I am not asking solely for theirbenefit; this prayer is also for all thebelievers who will follow them and hearthem speak. 21Father, may they all be oneas You are in Me and I am in You; maythey be in Us, for by this unity the worldwill believe that You sent Me.

22All the glory You have given to Me, Ipass on to them. May that glory unifythem and make them one as We are one,23I in them and You in Me, that they maybe refined so that all will know that Yousent Me, and You love them in the sameway You love Me.

24Father, I long for the time whenthose You have given Me can join Me inMy place so they may witness My glory,which comes from You. You have lovedMe before the foundations of the cosmoswere laid. 25Father, You are just; thoughthis corrupt world order does not knowYou, I do. These followers know that Youhave sent Me. 26I have told them aboutYour nature; and I will continue to speakof Your name, in order that Your love,which was poured out on Me, will be inthem. And I will also be in them.


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18When Jesus finished praying, Hebegan a brief journey with His dis-ciples to the other side of the

Kidron Valley, a deep ravine that floods inthe winter rains, then farther on to a gar-den where He gathered His disciples.

2-3Judas Iscariot (who had already sethis betrayal in motion and knew that Jesusoften met with the disciples in this olivegrove) entered the garden with anentourage of Roman soldiers and officialssent by the chief priests and Pharisees.They brandished their weapons under thelight of torches and lamps. 4Jesus steppedforward. It was clear He was not surprisedbecause He knew all things.

Jesus: Whom are you looking for?Judas’s Entourage: 5Jesus the Nazarene.Jesus: I am the One.

Judas, the betrayer, stood with the militaryforce. 6As Jesus spoke “I am the One,” theforces fell back on the ground. 7Jesus askedthem a second time:

Jesus: Whom are you searching for?Judas’s Entourage: Jesus the Nazarene.Jesus: 8I have already said that I am the

One. If it is I you are looking for, then letthese men go free.

9This happened to fulfill the promise Hemade that none of those entrusted to Himwill be lost.* 10Suddenly Peter lungedtoward Malchus, one of the high priest’sservants, and, with his sword, severed theman’s right ear.

Jesus (to Peter): 11Put down your sword andreturn it to the sheath. Am I to turn awayfrom the cup the Father has given Me todrink?

12So the Roman commander, soldiers, andJewish officials arrested Jesus, cuffed Hishands and feet, 13and brought Him toAnnas (the father-in-law of Caiaphas thehigh priest). 14You may remember thatCaiaphas counseled to the Jews that oneshould die for all people. 15-16Simon Peter

and another disciple followed behindJesus. When they arrived, Peter waited inthe doorway while the other disciple wasgranted access because of his relationshipwith the high priest. That disciple spoke tothe woman at the door, and Peter wasallowed inside.

Servant Girl (to Peter): 17You are one of thisman’s disciples, aren’t you?

Peter: I am not.

18All the servants and officers gatheredaround a charcoal fire to keep warm. Itwas a cold day, and Peter made his wayinto the circle to warm himself.

Annas (to Jesus): 19Who are Your disciples,and what do You teach?

Jesus: 20I have spoken in public where theworld can hear, always teaching in thesynagogue and in the temple where theJewish people gather. I have never spo-ken in secret. 21So why would you needto interrogate Me? Many have heard Meteach. Why don’t you question them?They know what I have taught.

22While Jesus offered His response, anofficer standing nearby struck Jesus withhis hand.

Officer: Is that how You speak to the highpriest?

Jesus: 23If I have spoken incorrectly, whydon’t you point out the untruths that Ispeak? Why do you hit Me if what I havesaid is correct?

24Annas sent Jesus to Caiaphas bound as aprisoner. 25As this was happening, Peterwas still warming himself by the fire.

Servants and Officers: You too are one of Hisdisciples, aren’t you?

Peter: No, I am not.

26One of the high priest’s servants wasrelated to the one assaulted by Peter.

* 18:9 John 6:39

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Servant of the High Priest, a relative of Malchus:Didn’t I see you in the garden with Him?

27Peter denied it again, and instantly arooster crowed.

28Before the sun had risen, Jesus wastaken from Caiaphas to the governor’spalace. The Jewish leaders would notenter the palace because their presence ina Roman office would defile them andcause them to miss the Passover feast.Pilate, the governor, met them outside.

N ow Caiaphas was high priest atthis time. The sacred office he

occupied had been corrupted for morethan a century by Jewish collaborationwith Greeks and Romans. Reformerswere few, and they had been unable tocleanse the high office from its pollu-tants. Because of this, many Jews hadstopped coming to the temple. Howcould God’s holy habitation on earthbe pure if its primary representativewas coddling the enemies of Israel?Caiaphas knew he needed friends inhigh places to put an end to Jesus. Sohe turned to Pilate, the Roman gover-nor. It was his job to look out forRoman interests in Judea. Historyrecords that he was an irritable man,unnecessarily cruel and intentionallyprovocative. Many Jews died on hiswatch. For Pilate, Jesus would be justone more.

Pilate: 29What charges do you bring againstthis man?

Priests and Officials: 30If He weren’t a law-breaker, we wouldn’t have brought Himto you.

Pilate: 31Then judge Him yourselves, byyour own law.

Jews: Our authority does not allow us togive Him the death penalty.

32All these things were a fulfillment of thewords Jesus had spoken indicating the waythat He would die. 33So Pilate reenteredthe governor’s palace and called for Jesusto follow him.

I nitially, Pilate told the Jewish lead-ers to take Jesus and try Him

according to our own laws, but whenthey hinted at capital charges, Pilateagreed to interrogate Jesus. Romereserved the right to decide who livedand died in the provinces. They didn’tdelegate that to the Jewish high coun-cil. The charge of blasphemy carriedno weight in Roman jurisprudence forit was a matter of our Jewish religiouslaw. Rome had no opinion on suchmatters. So a new charge must be con-cocted, a charge that Rome did careabout. Rome did care about taxes, ofcourse, and took a dim view of anyonemaking royal claims under their noses.

Pilate agreed to hear the charge,not wasting a Roman minute. He tookJesus inside and began asking Himabout these charges.

Pilate: Are You the King of the Jews?Jesus: 34Are you asking Me because you

believe this is true, or have others saidthis about Me?

Pilate: 35I’m not a Jew, am I? Your people,including the chief priests, have arrestedYou and placed You in my custody. Whathave You done?

Jesus: 36My kingdom is not recognized inthis world. If this were My kingdom, Myservants would be fighting for My free-dom. But My kingdom is not in thisphysical realm.

Pilate: 37So You are a king?Jesus: You say that I am king. For this I

have been born, and for this I have comeinto the cosmos, to demonstrate thepower of truth. Everyone who seekstruth hears My voice.

Pilate (to Jesus): 38What is truth?

Pilate left Jesus to go and speak to theJewish people.

Pilate (to the Jews): I have not found anycause for charges to be brought againstthis man. 39Your custom is that I shouldrelease a prisoner to you each year in


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honor of the Passover celebration; shall Irelease the King of the Jews to you?

Jews: 40No, not this man! Give us Barabbas!

You should know that Barabbas was a ter-rorist.

I ’d like to have been a fly on thewall when Pilate had that private

moment with Jesus. Pilate was interro-gating Jesus like the man he was: aninsecure and cruel power broker repre-senting Roman interests in our land.Jesus, though, was doing His typicalmustard seed bit, speaking right overthe head of the man who later wouldshow Him no mercy. Pilate couldn’thandle the truth when he asked, “AreYou the King of the Jews?” Jesus wasthe King of the Jews. And that was thetruth. Although Pilate wouldn’t recog-nize it, He was his King too. But asJesus knew, the world didn’t recognizeHis kingdom. That’s because it wassourced in heaven above, not in Rome.His authority came from God theFather, Creator, Sustainer—not fromthe Roman senate.

19Pilate took Jesus and had Himflogged. 2The soldiers twistedthorny branches together as a

crown and placed it onto His brow andwrapped Him in a purple cloth. 3Theydrew near to Him, shouting:

Soldiers (striking at Jesus): Bow down,everyone! This is the King of the Jews!

Pilate (going out to the crowd): 4Listen, Istand in front of you with this man tomake myself clear: I find this man inno-cent of any crimes.

5Then Jesus was paraded out before thepeople, wearing the crown of thorns andthe purple robe.

Pilate: Here is the man!Chief Priests and Officers (shouting): 6Crucify,

crucify!

Pilate: You take Him and crucify Him; Ihave declared Him not guilty of any pun-ishable crime!

Jews: 7Our law says that He should diebecause He claims to be the Son of God.

8Pilate was terrified to hear the Jews mak-ing their claims for His execution, 9so heretired to his court, the Praetorium.

Pilate (to Jesus): Where are You from?

Jesus did not speak.

Pilate: 10How can You ignore me? Are Younot aware that I have the authority toeither free You or crucify You?

Jesus: 11Any authority you have over Mecomes from above, not from your politi-cal position. Because of this the one whohanded Me to you is guilty of the greatersin.

12Pilate listened to Jesus’ words; and, tak-ing them to heart, he attempted to releaseJesus, but the Jews opposed him, shouting:

Jews: If you release this man, you havebetrayed Caesar. Anyone who claims tobe a king threatens Caesar’s throne.

13After Pilate heard these accusations, hesent Jesus out and took his seat in theplace where he rendered judgment. Thisplace was called the Pavement, orGabbatha in Hebrew. 14All this occurred atthe sixth hour on the day everyone pre-pares for the Passover.

Pilate (to the Jews): Look, here is your King!Jews: 15Put Him away; crucify Him!Pilate: You want me to crucify your King?Chief Priests: We have no king but Caesar!

16Pilate handed Him over to his soldiersknowing that He would be crucified.17They sent Jesus out carrying His owninstrument of execution, the cross, to a hillknown as the place of the skull, orGolgotha in Hebrew. 18In that place theycrucified Him along with two others. One

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was on His right and the other on His left.19Pilate ordered that a plaque be placedabove Jesus’ head. It read, “Jesus ofNazareth, King of the Jews.” 20Because thesite was near an urban region, it was writ-ten in three languages (Greek, Latin, andHebrew) so that all could understand.

Chief Priests (to Pilate): 21Don’t write, “TheKing of the Jews.” Write, “He said, ‘I amKing of the Jews’!”

Pilate: 22I have written what I have written.

23As Jesus was being crucified, the soldierstore His outer garments into four pieces,one for each of them. They wanted to dothe same with His tunic; but it was seam-less, one piece of fabric woven from thetop down. 24So they said,

Soldier (to other soldiers): Don’t tear it. Let’scast lots, and the winner will take thewhole thing.

This happened in keeping with theHebrew Scriptures, which said, “Theydivided My outer garments and cast lotsfor My clothes.”* These soldiers didexactly what was foretold in the HebrewScriptures. 25Jesus’ mother was standingnext to His cross along with her sister,Mary the wife of Clopas, and MaryMagdalene. 26Jesus looked to see Hismother, and the disciple He loved, stand-ing nearby.

Jesus (to Mary, His mother): Dear woman,this is your son (motioning to the beloveddisciple)! 27This is now your mother (toHis disciple)!

N ow you know who “the beloveddisciple” is, the last eyewitness to

the life, death, and resurrection ofJesus. Mary became family to me, ful-filling the dying wish of Jesus, mySavior. For those of us who gathered atthe foot of the cross, family was lessabout blood kinship than it was aboutcovenant obedience.

Caring for her was never a burden,and the reality is that she has alwaysbeen a simple and private woman. Godmade her the vessel to bring His Soninto the world, and her love for Himwas warm and beautiful. Part of me isprotective of her, as a son naturally isof his mother. Still, I can see why thosewho didn’t know her would want tolearn more about this remarkablewoman, especially those grieving overtheir own losses. Surely they are look-ing for answers to how to move for-ward in their own lives. The mother ofour Lord served the redemptive pur-poses of her son and the Savior of usall until her last day on earth.

When I would feel sorry for myself,I just had to think about Jesus. Hespent all this time before His death,and through His death, showing ushow to love and how to serve. He wasasking me to do no more in servingMary than He did in serving us.

From that moment the disciple treated herlike his own mother and welcomed herinto his house. 28Jesus knew now that Hiswork had been accomplished, and theHebrew Scriptures were being fulfilled.

Jesus: I am thirsty.

29A jar of sour wine had been left there, sothey took a hyssop branch with a spongesoaked in the vinegar and put it to Hismouth. 30When Jesus drank, He spoke:

Jesus: It is finished!

In that moment, His head fell, and He gaveup the spirit. 31The Jews asked Pilate tohave their legs broken so the bodies wouldnot remain on the crosses on the Sabbath.It was the day of preparation for thePassover, and that year the Passover fell onthe Sabbath. 32The soldiers came andbroke the legs of both the men crucified

* 19:24 Psalm 22:18


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next to Jesus. 33When they came up toJesus’ cross, they could see that He wasdead, so they did not break His legs.34Instead, one soldier took his spear andpierced His abdomen, which brought agush of blood and water.

35This testimony is true; in fact, it is aneyewitness account, and he has reportedwhat he saw so that you also may believe.36It happened this way to fulfill theHebrew Scriptures that “not one of Hisbones shall be broken”*; 37and the HebrewScriptures also say, “they will look uponHim whom they pierced.”*

38After all this, Joseph of Arimathea, adisciple who kept his faith a secret for fearof the Jewish officials, made a request toPilate for the body of Jesus. Pilate grantedhis request, and Joseph retrieved the body.39Nicodemus, who first came to Jesusunder the cloak of darkness, brought over100 pounds of myrrh and ointments forHis burial. 40Together, they took Jesus’body and wrapped Him in linens soaked inessential oils and spices, according toJewish burial customs.

41Near the place He was crucified, therewas a garden with a newly prepared tomb.42Because it was the day of preparation,they arranged to lay Jesus in this tomb sothey could rest on the Sabbath.

A s the lifeless body of Jesus waslaid into the virgin tomb, those

of us who witnessed the spectacleretreated into the city that had claimedthe lives of so many prophets. All of uswere crushed that our teacher andfriend had died such a horrible death.Our hopes were dashed against therocks of Golgotha. In the first hours ofour grief, we huddled together insecret in the city, hoping to avoid ourown arrests and executions. Wemourned. We grieved. We remem-bered. Three days later, some of usventured outside the city and returnedto the place where He was buried.Miraculously, the stone was rolledback and the rock-hewn tomb wasempty. Had someone taken His body?

Were His enemies laying a trap for us?Or perhaps—could it be—that the lastdays were here?

Now I want you to know what Iremember of that glorious day.

20Before the sun had risen onSunday morning, MaryMagdalene made a trip to the

tomb where His body was laid to rest. Inthe darkness, she discovered the coveringhad been rolled away. 2She darted out ofthe garden to find Simon Peter and thedearly loved disciple to deliver this star-tling news.

Mary Magdalene: They have taken the bodyof our Lord, and we cannot find Him!

3Together they all departed for the tomb tosee for themselves. 4They began to run,and Peter could not keep up. The beloveddisciple arrived first 5but did not go in.There was no corpse in the tomb, only thelinens and cloths He was wrapped in.6When Simon Peter finally arrived, hewent into the tomb and observed the same:7the cloth that covered His face appearedto have been folded carefully and placed,not with the linen cloths, but to the side.8After Peter pointed this out, the other dis-ciple (who had arrived long before Peter)also entered the tomb and, based on whathe saw, faith began to well up inside him!9Before this moment, none of them under-stood the Scriptures and why He must beraised from the dead. 10Then they all wentto their homes.

11Mary, however, stood outside thetomb, sobbing, crying, and kneeling at theentrance of the tomb. 12As she cried, twoheavenly messengers appeared before hersitting where Jesus’ head and feet hadbeen laid.

Heavenly Messengers: 13Dear woman, whyare you weeping?

* 19:36 Exodus 12:46; Numbers 9:12; Psalm 34:20* 19:37 Zechariah 12:10

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Mary Magdalene: They have taken away myLord, and I cannot find Him.

14After uttering these words, she turnedaround to see Jesus standing before her;but she did not recognize Him.

Jesus: 15Dear woman, why are you sobbing?Who is it you are looking for?

She still had no idea who it was before her.Thinking He was the gardener, she mut-tered:

Mary Magdalene: Sir, if you are the one whocarried Him away, then tell me where Heis and I will retrieve Him.

Jesus: 16Mary!Mary Magdalene (she turns to Jesus and tries

to hug Him, speaking in Hebrew):Rabboni, my Teacher!

Jesus: 17Mary, you cannot hold Me. I mustrise above this world to be with MyFather, who is also your Father, My God,who is also your God. Go tell this to allMy brothers.

18Mary Magdalene obeyed and wentdirectly to His disciples.

T he hope of resurrection hadoften been a topic on the lips of

Jesus. Now it was taking shape in ourtime. Confusion gave way to convictionas Jesus appeared to us alive over thenext few Sundays. One by one He con-vinced us that God had raised Himfrom the dead.

Mary Magdalene (announcing to thedisciples): I have seen the Lord, and thisis what He said to me . . .

19On that same evening (ResurrectionSunday), the followers gathered togetherbehind locked doors in fear that some ofthe Jewish leaders in Jerusalem were stillsearching for them. Out of nowhere, Jesusappeared in the center of the room.

Jesus: May each one of you be at peace.

20As He was speaking, He revealed thewounds in His hands and side. The disci-ples began to celebrate as it sunk in thatthey were really seeing the Lord.

Jesus: 21I give you the gift of peace. In thesame way the Father sent Me, I am nowsending you.

22Now He drew close enough to each ofthem that they could feel His breath. Hebreathed on them:

Jesus: Welcome the Holy Spirit of the livingGod. 23You now have the mantle of God’sforgiveness. As you go, you are able toshare the life-giving power to forgivesins, or withhold forgiveness.

24All of the eleven were present with theexception of Thomas. 25He heard theaccounts of each brother’s interaction withthe Lord.

The Other Disciples: We have seen the Lord!Thomas: Until I see His hands, feel the

wounds of the nails, and put my hand toHis side, I won’t believe what you aresaying.

26Eight days later, they gathered againbehind locked doors and Jesus reappeared.This time Thomas was with them.

Jesus: May each one of you be at peace.

27He drew close to Thomas and said:

Jesus: Reach out and touch Me. See thepunctures in My hands; reach out yourhand and put it to My side; leave behindyour faithlessness and believe.

Thomas ( filled with emotion): 28You are theone true God and Lord of my life.

Jesus: 29Thomas, you have faith becauseyou have seen Me. Blessed are all thosewho never see Me and yet they stillbelieve.

30Jesus performed many other wondroussigns that are not written in this book.31The accounts are recorded so that you,


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too, might believe that Jesus the LiberatingKing is the Son of God, because believinggrants you the life He came to share.

21There was one other time whenJesus appeared to the disciples—this time by the Sea of Tiberias.

A fter Jesus’ death, we didn’tknow what to do with our-

selves. What we all knew was fishing.So—we went fishing. Jesus nevertaught us how to turn two fish into amound of food that could feed thou-sands, and we had no money. So, if wewanted to eat, then we had to go catchsome fish. Grief has a way of strippingyou down to basic survival skills. Wewere still trying to wrap our brainsaround what happened and why. Wecouldn’t even catch our own bait!

This is how it happened: 2Simon Peter,Thomas (called Didymus), Nathanael (theGalilean from Cana), the sons of Zebedee,and two other disciples were together.

Simon Peter (to disciples): 3I am going fishing.Disciples: Then we will come with you.

W e were a band of fishermen whowere lost and lonely. But just

when we thought things couldn’tbecome stranger, Jesus showed up. Hetold us to fish on the other side of theboat. We did, and we were suddenlyoverwhelmed with fish. The nets werebulging.

What He showed us here, is thatnot only would our old ways of livingleave us as empty as our nets, but ourold habits were not going to work forus anymore. He had impacted our livesin a way that changed us forever. Wecouldn’t go back. And He knew we didn’t know how to go forward.

They went out in the boat and caughtnothing through the night. 4As day wasbreaking, Jesus was standing on the beach,but they did not know it was Jesus.

Jesus: 5My sons, you haven’t caught anyfish, have you?

Disciples: No.Jesus: 6Throw your net on the starboard

side of the boat, and your nets will findthe fish.

They did what He said, and suddenly theycould not lift their net because of the mas-sive weight of the fish that filled it. 7Thedisciple loved by Jesus turned to Peter andsaid:

Beloved Disciple: It is the Lord.

Immediately, when Simon Peter heardthese words, he threw on his shirt (whichhe would take off while he was working)and dove into the sea. 8The rest of the dis-ciples followed him, bringing in the boatand dragging in their net full of fish. Theywere close to the shore, fishing only about100 yards out. 9When they arrived onshore, they saw a charcoal fire laid withfish on the grill. He had bread too.

Jesus (to disciples): 10Bring some of the fishyou just caught.

11Simon Peter went back to the boat tounload the fish from the net. He pulled 153large fish from the net. Despite the numberof the fish, the net held without a tear.

Jesus: 12Come and join Me for breakfast.

A fter spending time with Jesus, Irealize there are no coinci-

dences. He revealed to me a worldwhere God is intimately involved, themain actor in the drama of history. Itwas no accident that we caught thefish. It was no accident the nets didn’tbreak. These fish, all 153, were a sign

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from God representing the communityof believers, men and women trans-formed by faith. Some of us sat downand didn’t say a word as we ponderedall of this. Others busied themselves inwork, their hands moving quickly tostack the catch in baskets and untan-gle the nets. Each in his own waythought, wondered, and prayed. I haveto admit, the prospect of it all stillmakes me smile.

That’s how I always begin and endmy stories of Jesus. I remind my littlechildren that through faith He gives usthe authority to become the sons ofGod. Brother Paul said it’s all grace.He’s right. We are what we arebecause of His wonderful work in us.The challenge we face every day is tobecome what we are—His loving,devoted children. To do that, we haveto strip away every vestige of our oldlives. Like worn out clothes, we findour former lives aren’t able to containthe beauty of this new creation. Beforewe can put on the new life and take upour new calling, we have to set asideevery ugly and broken aspect of ourlives. Repentance, Jesus told us, is notjust about what you put off. It’s aboutwhat you put on. In the human spirit,there is no vacuum. Something willalways occupy you and fill your life. Itis either life from above or death frombelow. If the resurrection of Jesustaught us anything, it’s that He is theresurrection and the life. I’m not talk-ing about life after death. What I meanis that through Jesus we can haveabundant life, a full and meaningfullife, here and now.

Not one of the disciples dared to ask, “Whoare You?” They knew it was the Lord.13Jesus took the bread and gave it to eachof them, and then He did the same withthe fish. 14This was the third time the dis-ciples had seen Jesus since His death andresurrection. 15They finished eating break-fast.

Jesus: Simon, son of John, do you love Memore than these other things?

Simon Peter: Yes, Lord. You know that I loveYou.

Jesus: Take care of My lambs.

16Jesus asked him a second time . . .

Jesus: Simon, son of John, do you love Me?Simon Peter: Yes, Lord. You must surely

know that I love You.Jesus: Shepherd My sheep.Jesus ( for the third time!): 17Simon, son of

John, do you love Me?

Peter was hurt because He asked him thesame question a third time, “Do you loveMe?”

Simon Peter: Lord, You know everything!You know that I love You.

Jesus: Look after My sheep. 18I tell you thetruth, when you were younger, youwould pick up and go wherever youpleased; but when you grow old, some-one else will help you and take youplaces you do not want to go.

W hen Jesus took Simon Peter offto the side to speak to him, the

rest of us knew what was about tohappen. He felt small. He felt he hadbetrayed Jesus. Up to that point, nei-ther Simon nor Jesus had brought itup. They sat far enough away that therest of us couldn’t hear what was said.We tried to look busy, like we didn’tnotice. But we did. Simon told us laterhow it went, what Jesus said. I thinkthat conversation on the beach thatday affected him profoundly. Fromthen on, Simon was one of the mosthumble men I knew.

What got everyone’s attention wasthat Jesus called him “Simon.” He hadn’t done that in years. From thetime that Jesus gave him the nickname“Peter” (“the Rock”), He had alwaysreferred to him by that name. But


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“Peter” hadn’t felt like “the Rock” eversince the night Judas betrayed us. Fordays he felt miserable, like a completetraitor. Jesus knew that, so when itcame time to give him “the talk,” Hecalled him “Simon.”

19Jesus said all this as an indicator of thenature of Peter’s death, which would glo-rify God. After this conversation, Jesussaid,

Jesus: Follow Me!

20Peter turned around to see the discipleloved by Jesus following the two of them,the one who leaned back on Jesus’ sideduring their supper and asked, “Lord, whois going to betray You?”

W hat Jesus did next was nothingshort of brilliant. Three times

He asked Simon whether he loved Him.Simon was perturbed that Jesus askedhim the same question three times.But later he figured it out—with myhelp, I might add. Three times Simondenied Him. Now Jesus gave him threechances to repent, confess his love,and be restored. Face-to-face with HisLord, he declared his love; and as hedid, he felt the burden of his betrayallift. He began to feel more like the rockhe was. Jesus forgave him and thencommissioned him to take care of Hispeople. We all took notice. Our Masterput Peter, the Rock, in charge.

We all learned a lesson that day. Nomatter what we have done, no matterthe weight of our burden and sin, ourMaster wants the miracle of forgive-ness to restore us to be the people Hemade us and called us to be.Something happens when we confessour love for Jesus. We are trans-formed. Our burdens lift. The positiveconfession of our love for God, hearingHis voice, and doing what He asks areas important as confessing our faults.

Peter: 21Lord, and what will happen to thisman?

Jesus: 22If I choose for him to remain till Ireturn, what difference will this make toyou? You follow Me!

23It is from this exchange with Jesus thatsome thought this disciple would not die.But Jesus never said that. He said, “If Ichoose for him to remain till I return, whatdifference will this make to you?” 24Thatvery same disciple is the one offering thistruthful account written just for you.25There are so many other things thatJesus said and did; and if these accountswere also written down, the books couldnot be contained in the entire cosmos.

I nitially, all of us stayed inJerusalem, basking in the glow of

the Spirit and the power of His pres-ence. It took a wave of persecution todislodge us from David’s capital andtake the message to Judea, Samaria,and the ends of the earth. We reallydidn’t know what to expect. The suf-fering we faced was a surprise, but weshould have anticipated it. Jesus suf-fered, so why would it be any differentfor us? What He is showing us is thatthe fruits of our labor will be so muchsweeter when they are rooted in Hismission.

He lays out this choice as He did onthe beach when He laid fish on thegrill: “You can stay here if you want,and drown in grief, spending the rest ofyour days trying to feed your ownhunger. Or you can follow Me, serveMy people, and feast on My endlesslove.” What He is saying is that ourlives are about more than just feedingourselves; they’re about feeding theworld.

I’ve reached the end of my story.This old man is tired and ready for arest. It will come soon enough. You’llgo on without me, but not without mywords. My voice is added to the voicesof the prophets and the witnesses.

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God has become flesh. Somehow thisman, Jesus, manifested God’s life inour midst. Now that’s a pretty big ideafor a fisherman. I’ll let people smarterthan I am figure that one out, but I’ll goto my grave bearing witness that it istrue.

Now it is your turn to pass alongthe faith to your children and grand-children. It’s your turn to leave behindyour former ways, as we all did, toreceive a new life. You have everything

you need. You have the Scriptures. Youhave my account of the good news.You have the church. And you have theHoly Spirit to empower and guide you.You are not alone.

As Jesus prayed for all of us, I prayto God the Father that you will enterinto God’s kingdom, that faith willgrow deep inside you, and that you willexperience eternal life. I invite you tojoin me in this marvelous journey.


John 21[


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