THE WORD Became Flesh

In the beginning was THE WORD, and THE WORD was with GOD, and THE WORD was GOD. HE was with GOD in the beginning.
       Through HIM all things were made; without HIM nothing was made that has been made. In HIM was life, and that life was THE LIGHT OF MEN. THE LIGHT shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.
       There came a man who was sent from GOD; his name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. He himself was not THE LIGHT; he came only as a witness to THE LIGHT. THE TRUE LIGHT that gives light to every man was coming into the world.
       HE was in the world, and though the world was made through HIM, the world did not recognize HIM. HE came to that which was HIS own, but HIS own did not receive HIM. Yet to all who received HIM, to those who believed in HIS name, HE gave the right to become children of GOD--children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of GOD.
       THE WORD became flesh and made HIS dwelling among us. We have seen HIS glory, the glory of THE ONE AND ONLY, who came from THE FATHER, full of grace and truth.
       John testifies concerning HIM. He cries out, saying, "This was HE of whom I said, 'HE who comes after me has surpassed me because HE was before me.'" From the fullness of HIS grace we have all received one blessing after another. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through JESUS CHRIST. No one has ever seen GOD, but GOD THE ONE AND ONLY, who is at THE FATHER'S side, has made HIM known.


The Gospel of John: chapter 1, verses 1 - 18

John the Baptist Denies Being THE CHRIST

       Now this was John's testimony when the Jews of Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, "I am not THE CHRIST."
       They asked him, "Then who are you? Are you Elijah?"
       He said, "I am not."
       "Are you the Prophet?"
       He answered, "No."
       Finally they said, "Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?"
       John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, "I am the voice of one calling in the desert, 'Make straight the way for THE LORD.'"
       Now some Pharisees who had been sent questioned him, "Why then do you baptize if you are not THE CHRIST, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?"
       "I baptize with water," John replied, "but among you stands one you do not know. HE is THE ONE who comes after me, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie."
       This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.


The Gospel of John: chapter 1, verses 19 - 28

JESUS THE LAMB OF GOD

       The next day John saw JESUS coming toward him and said, "Look, THE LAMB OF GOD, who takes away the sin of the world! This is THE ONE I meant when I said, 'A man who comes after me has surpassed me because HE was before me.' I myself did not know HIM, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that HE might be revealed to Israel."
       Then John gave this testimony: "I saw THE SPIRIT come down from heaven as a dove and remain on HIM. I would not have known HIM, except that THE ONE who sent me to baptize with water told me, 'The man on whom you see THE SPIRIT come down and remain is HE who will baptize with THE HOLY SPIRIT.' I have seen and I testify that this is THE SON OF GOD."


The Gospel of John: chapter 1, verses 29 - 34

JESUS' First Disciples

       The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. When he saw JESUS passing by, he said, "Look, THE LAMB OF GOD!"
       When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed JESUS. Turning around, JESUS saw them following and asked, "What do you want?"
       They said, "RABBI" (which means Teacher), "where are YOU staying?"
       "Come," HE replied, "and you will see."
       So they went and saw where HE was staying, and spent that day with HIM. It was about the tenth hour.
       Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed JESUS. The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, "We have found THE MESSIAH" (that is, THE CHRIST). And he brought him to JESUS.
       JESUS looked at him and said, "You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas" (which, when translated, is Peter).


The Gospel of John: chapter 1, verses 35 - 42

JESUS Calls Philip and Nathanael

       The next day JESUS decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, HE said to him, "Follow ME."
       Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. Philip found Nathanael and told him, "We have found THE ONE Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote--JESUS of Nazareth, the son of Joseph."
       "Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?" Nathanael asked.
       "Come and see," said Philip.
       When JESUS saw Nathanael approaching, HE said of him, "Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false."
       "How do YOU know me?" Nathanael asked.
       JESUS answered, "I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you."
       Then Nathanael declared, "RABBI, YOU are THE SON OF GOD; YOU are THE KING OF ISRAEL."
       JESUS said, "You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You shall see greater things than that." HE then added, "I tell you the truth, you shall see heaven open, and the angels of GOD ascending and descending on THE SON OF MAN."


The Gospel of John: chapter 1, verses 43 - 51

JESUS Changes Water to Wine

On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. JESUS' mother was there, and JESUS and HIS disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine was gone, JESUS' mother said to HIM, "They have no more wine."
       "Dear woman, why do you involve ME?" JESUS replied. "MY time has not yet come."
       HIS mother said to the servants, "Do whatever HE tells you."
       Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.
       JESUS said to the servants, "Fill the jars with water"; so they filled them to the brim.
       Then HE told them, "Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet."
       They did so, and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside and said, "Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now."
       This, the first of HIS miraculous signs, JESUS performed at Cana in Galilee. HE thus revealed HIS glory, and HIS disciples put their faith in HIM.


The Gospel of John: chapter 2, verses 1 - 11

JESUS Clears the Temple

       After this HE went down to Capernaum with HIS mother and brothers and HIS disciples. There they stayed for a few days.
       When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, JESUS went up to Jerusalem. In the temple courts HE found men selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. So HE made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple area, both sheep and cattle; HE scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. To those who sold doves HE said, "Get these out of here! How dare you turn MY FATHER'S house into a market!"
       HIS disciples remembered that it is written: "Zeal for YOUR house will consume ME."
       Then the Jews demanded of HIM, "What miraculous sign can YOU show us to prove YOUR authority to do all this?"
       JESUS answered them, "Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days."
       The Jews replied, "It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and YOU are going to raise it in three days?" But the temple HE had spoken of was HIS body. After HE was raised from the dead, HIS disciples recalled what HE had said. Then they believed the Scripture and the words that JESUS had spoken.
       Now while HE was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many people saw the miraculous signs HE was doing and believed in HIS name. But JESUS would not entrust HIMSELF to them, for HE knew all men. HE did not need man's testimony about man, for HE knew what was in a man.


The Gospel of John: chapter 2, verses 12 - 25

JESUS Teaches Nicodemus

Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to JESUS at night and said, "RABBI, we know YOU are a teacher who has come from GOD. For no one could perform the miraculous signs YOU are doing if GOD were not with him."
       In reply JESUS declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of GOD unless he is born again."
       "How can a man be born when he is old?" Nicodemus asked. "Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!"
       JESUS answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of GOD unless he is born of water and THE SPIRIT. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but THE SPIRIT gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at MY saying, 'You must be born again.' The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of THE SPIRIT."
       "How can this be?" Nicodemus asked.
       "You are Israel's teacher," said JESUS, "and do you not understand these things? I tell you the truth, WE speak of what WE know, and WE testify to what WE have seen, but still you people do not accept OUR testimony. I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? No one has ever gone into heaven except THE ONE who came from heaven--THE SON OF MAN. Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so THE SON OF MAN must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in HIM may have eternal life.
       "For GOD so loved the world that HE gave HIS one and only SON, that whoever believes in HIM shall not perish but have eternal life. For GOD did not send HIS SON into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through HIM. Whoever believes in HIM is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of GOD'S one and only SON. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through GOD."


The Gospel of John: chapter 3, verses 1 - 21

John the Baptist's Testimony About JESUS

       After this, JESUS and HIS disciples went out into the Judean countryside, where HE spent some time with them, and baptized. Now John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water, and people were constantly coming to be baptized. (This was before John was put in prison.) An argument developed between some of John's disciples and a certain Jew over the matter of ceremonial washing. They came to John and said to him, "Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan--THE ONE you testified about--well, HE is baptizing, and everyone is going to HIM."
       To this John replied, "A man can receive only what is given him from heaven. You yourselves can testify that I said, 'I am not THE CHRIST but am sent ahead of HIM.' The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom's voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. HE must become greater; I must become less.
       "THE ONE who comes from above is above all; the one who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks as one from the earth. THE ONE who comes from heaven is above all. HE testifies to what HE has seen and heard, but no one accepts HIS testimony. The man who has accepted it has certified that GOD is truthful. For THE ONE whom GOD has sent speaks the words of GOD, for GOD gives THE SPIRIT without limit. THE FATHER loves THE SON and has placed everything in HIS hands. Whoever believes in THE SON has eternal life, but whoever rejects THE SON will not see life, for GOD'S wrath remains on him."


The Gospel of John: chapter 3, verses 22 - 36

JESUS Talks With a Samaritan Woman

The Pharisees heard that JESUS was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John, although in fact it was not JESUS who baptized, but HIS disciples. When THE LORD learned of this, HE left Judea and went back once more to Galilee.
       Now HE had to go through Samaria. So HE came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob's well was there, and JESUS, tired as HE was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour.
       When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, JESUS said to her, "Will you give ME a drink?" (HIS disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)
       The Samaritan woman said to HIM, "You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can YOU ask me for a drink?" (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)
       JESUS answered her, "If you knew the gift of GOD and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked HIM and HE would have given you living water."
       "Sir," the woman said, "YOU have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can YOU get this living water? Are YOU greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his flocks and herds?"
       JESUS answered, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."
       The woman said to HIM, "Sir, give me this water so that I won't get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water."
       HE told her, "Go, call your husband and come back."
       "I have no husband," she replied.
       JESUS said to her, "You are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true."
       "Sir," the woman said, "I can see that YOU are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem."
       JESUS declared, "Believe ME, woman, a time is coming when you will worship THE FATHER neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship THE FATHER in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers THE FATHER seeks. GOD is spirit, and HIS worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth."
       The woman said, "I know that MESSIAH" (called CHRIST) "is coming. When HE comes, HE will explain everything to us."
       Then JESUS declared, "I who speak to you AM HE."


The Gospel of John: chapter 4, verses 1 - 26

The Disciples Rejoin JESUS

       Just then HIS disciples returned and were surprised to find HIM talking with a woman. But no one asked, "What do YOU want?" or "Why are YOU talking with her?"
       Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, "Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be THE CHRIST?" They came out of the town and made their way toward HIM.
       Meanwhile HIS disciples urged HIM, "Rabbi, eat something."
       But HE said to them, "I have food to eat that you know nothing about."
       Then HIS disciples said to each other, "Could someone have brought HIM food?"
       "MY food," said JESUS, "is to do the will of HIM who sent ME and to finish HIS work. Do you not say, 'Four months more and then the harvest'? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. Even now the reaper draws his wages, even now he harvests the crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. Thus the saying 'One sows and another reaps' is true. I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor."


The Gospel of John: chapter 4, verses 27 - 38

Many Samaritans Believe

       Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in HIM because of the woman's testimony, "HE told me everything I ever did." So when the Samaritans came to HIM, they urged HIM to stay with them, and HE stayed two days. And because of HIS words many more became believers.
       They said to the woman, "We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is THE SAVIOR OF THE WORLD."


The Gospel of John: chapter 4, verses 39 - 42

JESUS Heals the Official's Son

       After the two days HE left or Galilee. (Now JESUS HIMSELF had pointed out that a prophet has no honor in his own country.) When HE arrived in Galilee, the Galileans welcomed HIM. They had seen all that HE had done in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, for they also had been there.
       Once more HE visited Cana in Galilee, where HE had turned the water into wine. And there was a certain royal official whose son lay sick at Capernaum. When this man heard that JESUS had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to HIM and begged HIM to come and heal his son, who was close to death.
       "Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders," JESUS told him, "you will never believe."
       The royal official said, "Sir, come down before my child dies."
       JESUS replied, "You may go. Your son will live."
       The man took JESUS at HIS word and departed. While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living. When he inquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him, "The fever left him yesterday at the seventh hour."
       Then the father realized that this was the exact time at which JESUS had said to him, "Your son will live." So he and all his household believed.
       This was the second miraculous sign that JESUS performed, having come from Judea to Galilee.


The Gospel of John: chapter 4, verses 43 - 54

The Healing at the Pool

Some time later, JESUS went up to Jerusalem for a feast of the Jews. Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. Here a great number of disabled people used to lie--the blind, the lame, the paralyzed. One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When JESUS saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, HE asked him, "Do you want to get well?"
       "Sir," the invalid replied, "I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me."
       Then JESUS said to him, "Get up! Pick up your mat and walk." At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked.
       The day on which this took place was a Sabbath, and so the Jews said to the man who had been healed, "It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat."
       But he replied, "The man who made me well said to me, 'Pick up your mat and walk.'"
       So they asked him, "Who is this fellow who told you to pick it up and walk?"
       The man who was healed had no idea who it was, for JESUS had slipped away into the crowd that was there.
       Later JESUS found him at the temple and said to him, "See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you." The man went away and told the Jews that it was JESUS who had made him well.


The Gospel of John: chapter 5, verses 1 - 15

Life Through THE SON

       So, because JESUS was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jews persecuted HIM. JESUS said to them, "MY FATHER is always at HIS work to this very day, and I, too, am working." For this reason the Jews tried all the harder to kill HIM; not only was HE breaking the Sabbath, but HE was even calling GOD HIS own FATHER, making HIMSELF equal with GOD.
       JESUS gave them this answer: "I tell you the truth, THE SON can do nothing by HIMSELF; HE can do only what HE sees HIS FATHER doing, because whatever THE FATHER does THE SON also does. For THE FATHER loves THE SON and shows HIM all HE does. Yes, to your amazement HE will show HIM even greater things than these. For just as THE FATHER raises the dead and gives them life, even so THE SON gives life to whom HE is pleased to give it. Moreover, THE FATHER judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to THE SON, that all may honor THE SON just as they honor THE FATHER. He who does not honor THE SON does not honor THE FATHER, who sent HIM.
       "I tell you the truth, whoever hears MY word and believes HIM who sent ME has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life. I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of THE SON OF GOD and those who hear will live. For as THE FATHER has life in HIMSELF, so HE has granted THE SON to have life in HIMSELF. And HE has given HIM authority to judge because HE is THE SON OF MAN.
       "Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear HIS voice and come out--those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned. By MYSELF I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and MY judgment is just, for I seek not to please MYSELF but HIM who sent ME.


The Gospel of John: chapter 5, verses 16 - 30

Testimonies About JESUS

       "If I testify about MYSELF, MY testimony is not valid. There is another who testifies in MY favor, and I know that HIS testimony about ME is valid.
       "You have sent to John and he has testified to the truth. Not that I accept human testimony; but I mention it that you may be saved. John was a lamp that burned and gave light, and you chose for a time to enjoy his light.
       "I have testimony weightier than that of John. For the very work that THE FATHER has given ME to finish, and which I AM doing, testifies that THE FATHER has sent ME. And THE FATHER who sent ME has HIMSELF testified concerning ME. You have never heard HIS voice nor seen HIS form, nor does HIS word dwell in you, for you do not believe THE ONE HE sent. You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about ME, yet you refuse to come to ME to have life.
       "I do not accept praise from men, but I know you. I know that you do not have the love of GOD in your hearts. I have come in MY FATHER'S name, and you do not accept ME; but if someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him. How can you believe if you accept praise from one another, yet make no effort to obtain the praise that comes from THE ONLY GOD?
       "But do not think I will accuse you before THE FATHER. Your accuser is Moses, on whom your hopes are set. If you believed Moses, you would believe ME, for he wrote about ME. But since you do not believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I say?"


The Gospel of John: chapter 5, verses 31 - 47

JESUS Feeds the Five Thousand

Some time after this, JESUS crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias), and a great crowd of people followed HIM because they saw the miraculous signs HE had performed on the sick. Then JESUS went up on a mountainside and sat down with HIS disciples. The Jewish Passover Feast was near.
       When JESUS looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward HIM, HE said to Philip, "Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?" HE asked this only to test him, for HE already had in mind what HE was going to do.
       Philip answered HIM, "Eight months' wages would not buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!"
       Another of HIS disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, spoke up, "Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?"
       JESUS said, "Have the people sit down." There was plenty of grass in that place, and the men sat down, about five thousand of them. JESUS then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. HE did the same with the fish.
       When they had all had enough to eat, HE said to HIS disciples, "Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted." So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.
       After the people saw the miraculous sign that JESUS did, they began to say, "Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world." JESUS, knowing that they intended to come and make HIM king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by HIMSELF.


The Gospel of John: chapter 6, verses 1 - 15

JESUS Walks on the Water

       When evening came, HIS disciples went down to the lake, where they got into a boat and set off across the lake for Capernaum. By now it was dark, and JESUS had not yet joined them. A strong wind was blowing and the waters grew rough. When they had rowed three or three and a half miles, they saw JESUS approaching the boat, walking on the water; and they were terrified. But HE said to them, "It is I; don't be afraid." Then they were willing to take HIM into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading.
       The next day the crowd that had stayed on the opposite shore of the lake realized that only one boat had been there, and that JESUS had not entered it with HIS disciples, but that they had gone away alone. Then some boats from Tiberias landed near the place where the people had eaten the bread after THE LORD had given thanks. Once the crowd realized that neither JESUS nor HIS disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum in search of JESUS.


The Gospel of John: chapter 6, verses 16 - 24

JESUS THE BREAD OF LIFE

       When they found HIM on the other side of the lake, they asked HIM, "Rabbi, when did you get here?"
       JESUS answered, "I tell you the truth, you are looking for ME, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which THE SON OF MAN will give you. On HIM GOD THE FATHER has placed HIS seal of approval."
       Then they asked HIM, "What must we do to do the works GOD requires?"
       JESUS answered, "The work of GOD is this: to believe in THE ONE HE has sent."
       So they asked HIM, "What miraculous sign then will YOU give that we may see it and believe YOU? What will YOU do? Our forefathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written: 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.' "
       JESUS said to them, "I tell you the truth, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is MY FATHER who gives you THE TRUE BREAD FROM HEAVEN. For THE BREAD OF GOD is HE who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."
       "Sir," they said, "from now on give us this bread."
       Then JESUS declared, "I AM THE BREAD OF LIFE. He who comes to ME will never go hungry, and he who believes in ME will never be thirsty. But as I told you, you have seen ME and still you do not believe. All that THE FATHER gives ME will come to ME, and whoever comes to ME I will never drive away. For I have come down from heaven not to do MY will but to do the will of HIM who sent ME. And this is the will of HIM who sent ME, that I shall lose none of all that HE has given ME, but raise them up at the last day. For MY FATHER'S will is that everyone who looks to THE SON and believes in HIM shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day."
       At this the Jews began to grumble about HIM because HE said, "I AM THE BREAD THAT CAME DOWN FROM HEAVEN." They said, "Is this not JESUS, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can HE now say, 'I came down from heaven'?"
       "Stop grumbling among yourselves," JESUS answered. "No one can come to ME unless THE FATHER who sent ME draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the Prophets: 'They will all be taught by GOD.' Everyone who listens to THE FATHER and learns from HIM comes to ME. No one has seen THE FATHER except THE ONE who is from GOD; only HE has seen THE FATHER. I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life. I AM THE BREAD OF LIFE. Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die. I AM THE LIVING BREAD that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is MY flesh, which I will give for the life of the world."
       Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, "How can this man give us HIS flesh to eat?"
       JESUS said to them, "I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of THE SON OF MAN and drink HIS blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats MY flesh and drinks MY blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For MY flesh is real food and MY blood is real drink. Whoever eats MY flesh and drinks MY blood remains in ME, and I in him. Just as THE LIVING FATHER sent ME and I live because of THE FATHER, so the one who feeds on ME will live because of ME. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your forefathers ate manna and died, but he who feeds on this bread will live forever." HE said this while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.


The Gospel of John: chapter 6, verses 25 - 59

Many Disciples Desert JESUS

       On hearing it, many of HIS disciples said, "This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?"
       Aware that HIS disciples were grumbling about this, JESUS said to them, "Does this offend you? What if you see THE SON OF MAN ascend to where HE was before! The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life. Yet there are some of you who do not believe." For JESUS had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray HIM. HE went on to say, "This is why I told you that no one can come to ME unless THE FATHER has enabled HIM."
       From this time many of HIS disciples turned back and no longer followed HIM.
       "You do not want to leave too, do you?" JESUS asked the Twelve.
       Simon Peter answered HIM, "LORD, to whom shall we go? YOU have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that YOU are THE HOLY ONE OF GOD."
       Then JESUS replied, "Have I not chosen you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!" (HE meant Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, who, though one of the Twelve, was later to betray HIM.)


The Gospel of John: chapter 6, verses 60 - 71

JESUS Goes to the Feast of Tabernacles

After this, JESUS went around in Galilee, purposely staying away from Judea because the Jews there were waiting to take HIS life. But when the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles was near, JESUS' brothers said to HIM, "YOU ought to leave here and go to Judea, so that YOUR disciples may see the miracles YOU do. No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since YOU are doing these things, show YOURSELF to the world." For even HIS own brothers did not believe in HIM.
       Therefore JESUS told them, "The right time for ME has not yet come; for you any time is right. The world cannot hate you, but it hates ME because I testify that what it does is evil. You go to the Feast. I AM not yet going up to this Feast, because for ME the right time has not yet come." Having said this, HE stayed in Galilee.
       However, after HIS brothers had left for the Feast, HE went also, not publicly, but in secret. Now at the Feast the Jews were watching for HIM and asking, "Where is that man?"
       Among the crowds there was widespread whispering about HIM. Some said, "HE is a good man."
       Others replied, "No, HE deceives the people." But no one would say anything publicly about HIM for fear of the Jews.


The Gospel of John: chapter 7, verses 1 - 13

JESUS Teaches at the Feast

       Not until halfway through the Feast did JESUS go up to the temple courts and begin to teach. The Jews were amazed and asked, "How did this man get such learning without having studied?"
       JESUS answered, "MY teaching is not MY own. It comes from HIM who sent ME. If anyone chooses to do GOD'S will, HE will find out whether MY teaching comes from GOD or whether I speak on MY own. He who speaks on his own does so to gain honor for himself, but he who works for the honor of the one who sent him is a man of truth; there is nothing false about him. Has not Moses given you the law? Yet not one of you keeps the law. Why are you trying to kill ME?"
       "YOU are demon-possessed," the crowd answered. "Who is trying to kill YOU?"
       JESUS said to them, "I did one miracle, and you are all astonished. Yet, because Moses gave you circumcision (though actually it did not come from Moses, but from the patriarchs), you circumcise a child on the Sabbath. Now if a child can be circumcised on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses may not be broken, why are you angry with ME for healing the whole man on the Sabbath? Stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment."


The Gospel of John: chapter 7, verses 14 - 24

Is JESUS THE CHRIST?

       At that point some of the people of Jerusalem began to ask, "Isn't this the man they are trying to kill? Here HE is, speaking publicly, and they are not saying a word to HIM. Have the authorities really concluded that HE is THE CHRIST? But we know where this man is from; when THE CHRIST comes, no one will know where HE is from."
       Then JESUS, still teaching in the temple courts, cried out, "Yes, you know ME, and you know where I AM from. I AM not here on MY own, but HE who sent ME is true. You do not know HIM, but I know HIM because I AM from HIM and HE sent ME."
       At this they tried to seize HIM, but no one laid a hand on HIM, because HIS time had not yet come. Still, many in the crowd put their faith in HIM. They said, "When THE CHRIST comes, will HE do more miraculous signs than this man?"
       The Pharisees heard the crowd whispering such things about HIM. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees sent temple guards to arrest HIM.
       JESUS said, "I AM with you for only a short time, and then I go the THE ONE who sent ME. You will look for ME, but you will not find ME; and where I AM, you cannot come."
       The Jews said to one another, "Where does this man intend to go that we cannot find HIM? Will HE go where our people live scattered among the Greeks, and teach the Greeks? What did HE mean when HE said, 'You will look for ME, but you will not find ME,' and 'Where I AM, you cannot come'?"
       On the last and greatest day of the Feast, JESUS stood and said in a loud voice, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to ME and drink. Whoever believes in ME, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." By this HE meant THE SPIRIT, whom those who believed in HIM were later to receive. Up to that time THE SPIRIT had not been given, since JESUS had not yet been glorified.
       On hearing HIS words, some of the people said, "Surely this man is the Prophet."
       Others said, "HE is THE CHRIST."
       Still others asked, "How can THE CHRIST come from Galilee? Does not the Scripture say that THE CHRIST will come from David's family and from Bethlehem, the town where David lived?" Thus the people were divided because of JESUS. Some wanted to seize HIM, but no one laid a hand on HIM.


The Gospel of John: chapter 7, verses 25 - 44

Unbelief of the Jewish Leaders

       Finally the temple guards went back to the chief priests and Pharisees, who asked them, "Why didn't you bring HIM in?"
       "No one ever spoke the way this man does," the guards declared.
       "You mean HE has deceived you also?" the Pharisees retorted. "Has any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed in HIM? No! But this mob that knows nothing of the law--there is a curse on them."
       Nicodemus, who had gone to JESUS earlier and who was one of their own number, asked, "Does our law condemn anyone without first hearing him to find out what he is doing?"
       They replied, "Are you from Galilee, too? Look into it, and you will find that a prophet does not come out of Galilee."

       Then each went to his own home.
But JESUS went to the Mount of Olives. At dawn HE appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around HIM, and HE sat down to teach them. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to JESUS, "TEACHER, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do YOU say?" They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing HIM.
       But JESUS bent down and started to write on the ground with HIS finger. When they kept on questioning HIM, HE straightened up and said to them, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." Again HE stooped down and wrote on the ground.
       At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only JESUS was left, with the woman still standing there. JESUS straightened up and asked her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?"
       "No one, sir," she said.
       "Then neither do I condemn you," JESUS declared. "Go now and leave your life of sin."


The Gospel of John: chapter 7, verses 45 - 52 & chapter 8, verses 1 - 11

The Validity of JESUS' Testimony

       When JESUS spoke again to the people, HE said, "I AM THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD. Whoever follows ME will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."
       The Pharisees challenged HIM, "Here YOU are, appearing as YOUR own witness; YOUR testimony is not valid."
       JESUS answered, "Even if I testify on MY own behalf, MY testimony is valid, for I know where I came from and where I AM going. But you have no idea where I come from or where I AM going. You judge by human standards; I pass judgment on no one. But if I do judge, MY decisions are right, because I AM not alone. I stand with THE FATHER, who sent ME. In your own Law it is written that the testimony of two men is valid. I AM one who testifies for MYSELF; MY other witness is THE FATHER, who sent ME."
       Then they asked HIM, "Where is YOUR FATHER?"
       "You do not know ME or MY FATHER," JESUS replied. "If you knew ME, you would know MY FATHER also." HE spoke these words while teaching in the temple area near the place where the offerings were put. Yet no one seized HIM, because HIS time had not yet come.
       Once more JESUS said to them, "I AM going away, and you will look for ME, and you will die in your sin. Where I go, you cannot come."
       This made the Jews ask, "Will HE kill HIMSELF? Is that why HE says, 'Where I go, you cannot come'?"
       But HE continued, "You are from below; I AM from above. You are of this world; I AM not of this world. I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I AM THE ONE I claim to be, you will indeed die in your sins."
       "Who are YOU?" they asked.
       "Just what I have been claiming all along," JESUS replied. "I have much to say in judgment of you. But HE who sent ME is reliable, and what I have heard from HIM I tell the world."
       They did not understand that HE was telling them about HIS FATHER. So JESUS said, "When you have lifted up THE SON OF MAN, then you will know that I AM THE ONE I claim to be and that I do nothing on MY own but speak just what THE FATHER has taught ME. THE ONE who sent ME is with ME; HE has not left ME alone, for I always do what pleases HIM." Even as HE spoke, many put their faith in HIM.


The Gospel of John: chapter 8, verses 12 - 30

The Children of Abraham

       To the Jews who had believed HIM, JESUS said, "If you hold to MY teaching, you are really MY disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."
       They answered HIM, "We are Abraham's descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can YOU say that we shall be set free?"
       JESUS replied, "I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if THE SON sets you free, you will be free indeed. I know you are Abraham's descendants. Yet you are ready to kill ME, because you have no room for MY word. I AM telling you what I have seen in THE FATHER'S presence, and you do what you have heard from your father."
       "Abraham is our father," they answered.
       "If you were Abraham's children," said JESUS, "then you would do the things Abraham did. As it is, you are determined to kill ME, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from GOD. Abraham did not do such things. You are doing the things your own father does."
       "We are not illegitimate children," they protested. "The only Father we have is GOD HIMSELF."


The Gospel of John: chapter 8, verses 31 - 41

The Children of the Devil

       JESUS said to them, "If GOD were your FATHER, you would love ME, for I came from GOD and now am here. I have not come on MY own; but HE sent ME. Why is MY language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe ME! Can any of you prove ME guilty of sin? If I AM telling the truth, why don't you believe ME? He who belongs to GOD hears what GOD says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to GOD."


The Gospel of John: chapter 8, verses 42 - 47

The Claims of JESUS About HIMSELF

       The Jews answered HIM, "Aren't we right in saying that YOU are a Samaritan and demon-possessed?"
       "I AM not possessed by a demon," said JESUS, "but I honor MY FATHER and you dishonor ME. I AM not seeking glory for MYSELF; but there is one who seeks it, and HE is the judge. I tell you the truth, if anyone keeps MY word, he will never see death."
       At this the Jews exclaimed, "Now we know that YOU are demon-possessed! Abraham died and so did the prophets, yet YOU say that if anyone keeps YOUR word, he will never taste death. Are YOU greater than our father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets. Who do YOU think YOU are?"
       JESUS replied, "If I glorify MYSELF, MY glory means nothing. MY FATHER, whom you claim as your GOD, is THE ONE who glorifies ME. Though you do not know HIM, I know HIM. If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you, but I do know HIM and keep HIS word. Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing MY day; he saw it and was glad."
       "YOU are not yet fifty years old," the Jews said to HIM, "and YOU have seen Abraham!"
       "I tell you the truth," JESUS answered, "before Abraham was born, I AM!" At this, they picked up stones to stone HIM, but JESUS hid HIMSELF, slipping away from the temple grounds.


The Gospel of John: chapter 8, verses 48 - 59

JESUS Heals a Man Born Blind

As HE went along, HE saw a man blind from birth. HIS disciples asked HIM, "RABBI, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"
       "Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said JESUS, "But this happened so that the work of GOD might be displayed in his life. As long as it is day, we must do the work of HIM who sent ME. Night is coming, when no one can work. While I AM in the world, I AM THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD."
       Having said this, HE spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man's eyes. "Go," HE told him, "wash in the Pool of Siloam" (this word means Sent). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.
       His neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, "Isn't this the same man who used to sit and beg?" Some claimed that he was.
       Others said, "No, he only looks like him."
       But he himself insisted, "I am the man."
       "How then were your eyes opened?" they demanded.
       He replied, "The man they call JESUS made some mud and put it on my eyes. HE told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see."
       "Where is this man?" they asked him.
       "I don't know," he said.


The Gospel of John: chapter 9, verses 1 - 12

The Pharisees Investigate the Healing

       They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. Now the day on which JESUS had made the mud and opened the man's eyes was a Sabbath. Therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. "HE put mud on my eyes," the man replied, "and I washed, and now I see."
       Some of the Pharisees said, "This man is not from GOD, for HE does not keep the Sabbath."
       But others asked, "How can a sinner do such miraculous signs?" So they were divided.
       Finally they turned again to the blind man, "What have you to say about HIM? It was your eyes HE opened."
       The man replied, "HE is a prophet."
       The Jews still did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they sent for the man's parents. "Is this your son?" they asked. "Is this the one you say was born blind? How is it that now he can see?"
       "We know he is our son," the parents answered, "and we know he was born blind. But how he can see now, or who opened his eyes, we don't know. Ask him. He is of age, he will speak for himself." His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews, for already the Jews had decided that anyone who acknowledged that JESUS was THE CHRIST would be put out of the synagogue. That was why his parents said, "He is of age; ask him."
       A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. "Give glory to GOD," they said. "We know this man is a sinner."
       He replied, "Whether HE is a sinner or not, I don't know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!"
       Then they asked him, "What did HE do to you? How did HE open your eyes?"
       He answered, "I have told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become HIS disciples, too?"
       Then they hurled insults at him and said, "You are this fellow's disciple! We are disciples of Moses! We know that GOD spoke to Moses, but as for this fellow, we don't even know where HE comes from."
       The man answered, "Now that is remarkable! You don't know where HE comes from, yet HE opened my eyes. We know that GOD does not listen to sinners. HE listens to the godly man who does HIS will. Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. If this man were not from GOD, HE could do nothing."
       To this they replied, "You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us!" And they threw him out.


The Gospel of John: chapter 9, verses 13 - 34

Spiritual Blindness

       JESUS heard that they had thrown him out, and when HE found him, HE said, "Do you believe in THE SON OF MAN?"
       "Who is HE, sir?" the man asked. "Tell me so that I may believe in HIM."
       JESUS said, "You have now seen HIM; in fact, HE is THE ONE speaking with you."
       Then the man said, "LORD, I believe," and he worshiped HIM.
       JESUS said, "For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind."
       Some Pharisees who were with HIM heard HIM say this and asked, "What? Are we blind too?"
       JESUS said, "If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains."


The Gospel of John: chapter 9, verses 35 - 41

The Shepherd and His Flock

       "I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. The watchmen opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice." JESUS used this figure of speech, but they did not understand what HE was telling them.
       Therefore JESUS said again, "I tell you the truth, I AM THE GATE FOR THE SHEEP. All who ever came before ME were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I AM THE GATE; whoever enters through ME will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
       "I AM THE GOOD SHEPHERD. THE GOOD SHEPHERD lays down HIS life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.
       "I AM THE GOOD SHEPHERD; I know MY sheep and MY sheep know ME--just as THE FATHER knows ME and I know THE FATHER--and I lay down MY life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to MY voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. The reason MY FATHER loves ME is that I lay down MY life--only to take it up again. No one takes it from ME, but I lay it down of MY own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from MY FATHER."
       At these words the Jews were again divided. Many of them said, "HE is demon-possessed and raving mad. Why listen to HIM?"
       But others said, "These are not the sayings of a man possessed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?"


The Gospel of John: chapter 10, verses 1 - 21