CHAPTER 13

It was time to celebrate Israel’s journey from Egypt to the Promised Land at the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem.

The brothers of Jesus said to him, “Leave Galilee and go to Judea, so that your disciples can see the miraculous works you are doing. For no one who wants to become a public figure hides what he does. Since you are doing these miracles, show yourself to the world!” For even Jesus’ brothers refused to believe in him.

Jesus said to his brothers, “It is not God’s time for me, but any time is right for you. This world does not hate you, but it hates me because I testify that the ways of this world are evil. You go to the Feast. I’m not going, for my time has not yet fully come.” After Jesus said this, he stayed in Galilee. However, after Jesus’ brothers had left for the Feast of Tabernacles, he also walked to Jerusalem in secret.

Now the Jewish religious leaders were looking for Jesus in Jerusalem. They asked the people, “Where is Jesus?” The crowds of people were whispering many things about Jesus. Some said, “He is a good man.” Others said, “No, he deceives the people.” But no one would talk about Jesus in public, for they were afraid of the religious leaders.

When the week-long Feast of Tabernacles was about half over, Jesus entered the temple courts and began to teach.

The Jews who heard him were amazed and asked, “How does this man have such learning, for he has never been formally taught?” Jesus said, “My teaching is not my own, but it comes from the one who sent me into this world. Whoever chooses to do the will of God discovers whether my teaching is from God or whether I speak on my own authority. Whoever speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory, but who- ever seeks the glory of the one who sent him is a man of truth for there is no falsehood in him. Moses gave you the law, but none of you obey it. So why are you trying to kill me?”

The crowd of people said, “You are demon-possessed! Who is trying to kill you?” Jesus said to them, “You were amazed at one miracle that I did. Yet, because the patriarchs gave you circumcision, you circumcise a boy on the Sabbath day. Now if you circumcise a boy on the Sabbath so that the law will not be broken, why are you angry with me for healing a man’s body on the Sabbath? Stop judging by outward appearances, but judge according to what is right.”

At this time some of the people in Jerusalem began to ask, “Isn’t this the man who the religious leaders are trying to kill? Look! He is teaching publicly, and they are not trying to stop him. Do the authorities now believe that he is the Messiah? But we know he comes from Galilee, and no one knows where the Messiah will come from.”

Then while Jesus was still teaching in the temple courts, he shouted out, “Yes, you know me, and you know I am from Galilee! I am not here on my own authority, but he who sent me is true. You do not know him, but I know him because I came from him. He sent me into this world. I am with you for only a short time more, and then I am going back to the one who sent me. You will look for me, but you will not find me. Where I am going, you cannot come.”

The Jews said to one another, “Where is Jesus planning to go that we cannot find him? Does he plan to go where our people live scattered among the non-Jews? Is he going to teach the non-Jews? What is he talking about?’”

On the last and greatest day of the Feast of Tabernacles, Jesus stood up in the temple courts and shouted with a loud voice, “Whoever is thirsty come to me and drink! Whoever believes in me, as it is written in Isaiah 58:11, ‘Out of their hearts will flow rivers of living water.’”

By this Jesus was talking about the Holy Spirit that people who believed in him would later receive at Pentecost. Up to that time the Holy Spirit had not been given, for Jesus had not yet been glorified.

When some of the people heard Jesus, they said, “This man is truly the Prophet that Moses told us about.” Others said, “He is the Messiah!” Still others said, “How can the Messiah come from Galilee? Doesn’t the Bible tell us that the Messiah will be a descendant of David and come from Bethlehem, the town where David lived?” Therefore, the people were divided about Jesus.

The religious leaders wanted to arrest Jesus, but they did not touch him because God’s time had not yet come.

Many in the crowd of people believed in Jesus. They said, “When the Messiah comes, will he do more miracles than this man?” The reli- gious leaders heard the people whispering these things about Jesus, so they sent temple guards to arrest him. But when the temple guards re- turned to them without Jesus, the religious leaders asked them, “Why didn’t you bring Jesus to us?” The guards said, “We have not heard anyone speak the way he does.” The religious leaders snapped back saying, “You mean you have been fooled too? Have any of the religious rulers believed in him? No! But this mob of people that knows nothing about the law of Moses is under a curse!”

Nicodemus, who had previously talked with Jesus and who was a member of the Jewish religious council said, “Our law does not condemn a man until we first hear from him and learn what he is doing.” The religious leaders yelled back and said, “Nicodemus, are you from Galilee, too? Search through the Bible! For no prophet comes from Galilee.”

Then the religious leaders left for their homes.

Early the next morning, Jesus again entered the temple courts, sat down, and began teaching a crowd of people that had gathered around him. The religious leaders brought in a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. They made her stand in front of the people and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. As you know, the law of Moses commands us to kill her with rocks. Do you agree with Moses?” They were using this question to trap Jesus, so that they could have evidence to bring charges against him. But Jesus bent down and began to write on the ground with his finger.

When the religious leaders continued questioning him, Jesus stood up and said to them, “Whoever among you is without sin should throw the first rock at her.” Then Jesus bent down again and continued to write on the ground.

Those who heard Jesus’ words began to leave one by one—the older ones left first, until Jesus was left alone with the woman standing there. Jesus stood up and asked her, “Woman, where are your accusers? Did any of them condemn you?” She said, “Sir, no one.” Jesus replied, “I don’t condemn you either. Go now and leave your life of sin.”

At that time a crowd of people gathered around Jesus in the area of the temple where the offerings were given. He declared to them, “I am the light of this world! Whoever follows me will never live in darkness, but will have the light that gives life.” When some of the re- ligious leaders heard Jesus they confronted him saying, “You are giv- ing witness about yourself. Your testimony is false.”

Jesus said, “Even if I testify about myself, my testimony is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going. But you do not know where I came from or where I am going. You judge me by human standards, but I do not judge anyone. Yet, if I do judge anyone, my judgments are true, be- cause I am not alone. I judge with the Father, who sent me into this world. As Moses wrote in Deuteronomy 17:6, ‘The testimony of two witnesses is true.’ I am one who testifies about myself, and my other witness is the Father.” Then the religious leaders asked Jesus, “Where is your father?” Jesus said, “You don’t know me or my Father. If you knew me, you would also know my Father.”

Yet no one tried to arrest him, for God’s time had not yet come.

Jesus began to teach once again saying, “I am going away, and you will search for me, but you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come.” The Jews asked one another, “Where is he going? Is he going to kill himself?

Jesus said, “You are from this world below, but I am from heaven above. You are of this world, but I am not of this world. I tell you the truth: You will die in your sins if you refuse to believe that I am the Messiah. Yes, you will die in your sins.” They said, “Who are you?” Jesus said, “From the beginning, I have told you many times. I have much more to say in judgment of you, but the one who sent me into this world is true, and what I have heard from him I have told this world.”

They did not understand that Jesus was speaking to them about his Father.

So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he and that I do nothing on my own authority. For I speak only what I have learned from the Father. The one who sent me into this world is with me; he has never left me alone, for I always do what pleases him.”

Even while Jesus was speaking, many people believed in him.

Jesus said to those who had believed in him, “If you continue to follow my teaching, then you are truly my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” But they said, “We are Abraham’s descendants, and we have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we can be set free?” Jesus said, “I tell you the truth: Whoever sins is a slave to sin. A slave has no permanent status in the family, but a son always belongs to the family. So if the Son sets you free, you will be truly free.”

Then Jesus said to the religious leaders, “I know that you are Abraham’s descendants, but you are looking for a way to kill me because my teaching finds no place in your hearts. I tell you what I have seen in the Father’s presence, but you are doing what you have heard from your father.”

But they said to Jesus, “Our father is Abraham.” Jesus said, “If you were Abraham’s children then you would live the life that Abraham did. But instead, you are looking for a way to kill me, even though I tell you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do these things. You are doing the works of your real father.” They said, “We aren’t illegitimate children, for God alone is our father.”

Jesus said, “If God were your Father, you would love me, because I came into this world from God. He sent me into this world, I did not come on my own authority. You are not able to understand what I am saying because you are not able to hear my teaching. I tell you the truth: You belong to your true father, the devil, and your desire is to do your father’s will. He was a murderer from the beginning, never holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. He is a liar and the father of lies. Yet, even though I tell you the truth, you still refuse to believe me! Which one of you can prove that I am guilty of sin? If I am telling you the truth, why don’t you believe me? Whoever belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear God is because you do not belong to God.”

The religious leaders were angry and said to Jesus, “Aren’t we right to say that you are a Samaritan and demon-possessed?” Jesus said, “I’m not possessed by a demon, but I honor my Father and you dishonor me. I do not seek my own glory, but there is one who seeks it, and he is the true judge. I tell you the truth: Whoever obeys my teaching will never die.” They declared, “Now we know that you are demon-possessed! Abraham died and so did the prophets, but you say that whoever obeys your teaching will never die. Who do you think you are? Are you greater than our father Abraham and the prophets who died?”

Jesus said, “If I glorify myself, it is worth nothing. But my Father—whom you claim is your God—is the one who glorifies me. I know God, but you do not. I would be a liar like you if I said I did not know him. For I do know him and obey his word. Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day. And indeed he did see it and was glad.” The religious leaders said, “You are not yet 50 years of age, and you have seen Abraham?” Jesus said, “I tell you the truth: Before Abraham was born, I AM. For as Moses wrote in Exodus 3:14, ‘I AM WHO I AM.’”

When they heard this, they picked up rocks to kill Jesus, but he hid himself and left the temple courts.

While Jesus was walking away from the temple, he saw a man who was blind from birth. His disciples asked Jesus, “Teacher, why was this man born blind? Was it because of his sins or the sins of his parents?” Jesus said, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but he was born blind so that the acts of God would be seen in what happens to him. While it is still day, we must do the work of him who sent me into this world. The darkness of night is coming, when no one can work. As long as I am in this world, I am the light of the world!”

After saying this, Jesus spit on the ground, made mud with his saliva, and smeared it on the blind man’s eyes. Jesus said to him, “Go, wash the mud from your eyes in the Pool of Siloam.” So the man went and washed the mud off his eyes, and he went to his home seeing. His neighbors and those who knew him as a blind man said, “Look! Isn’t this the blind beggar?” Some said he was. Others said, “No, he only looks like him.” But the healed blind man kept insisting, “I am the man!” They asked him, “How can you now see?” He said to them, “The man called Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go wash my eyes in the Pool of Siloam. So I went and after I washed my eyes I could see.” They asked, “Where is this Jesus?” The man said, “I don’t know.”

Then they took the man who was once blind to the religious leaders. Now it was on the Sabbath day that Jesus had healed his eyes. Therefore, they asked the man how he had received his sight. The man said, “Jesus put mud on my eyes, and after I washed my eyes I could see.” Some of the religious leaders said, “This Jesus is not from God, for he violated the Sabbath.” But others said, “How can a sinner do these miracles?” Then they turned again to the man and asked, “Since it was your eyes that were healed, what do you think about this man Jesus?” The man said, “He is a prophet!”

The religious leaders still would not believe that the man was born blind and that his eyes were healed, so they sent for his parents. They asked his parents, “Is this your son? Was he born blind? How can he now see?” His parents said, “Yes, this is our son, and he was born blind. But we don’t know how he can now see, nor who it was that healed him. Ask him; he is an adult. He can speak for himself.” His parents said this because they were afraid of the religious leaders, who had already said that anyone who believed that Jesus was the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue.

Now a second time, the religious leaders called for the man born blind and they told him, “Give all the glory to God by telling the truth, for we know that this Jesus is a sinner.” The man said, “I don’t know whether he is a sinner or not, but one thing I do know: I was once blind, and now I see!” Then the religious leaders asked him again, “What did this man Jesus do to you? How did he heal your eyes?” The man said, “I have told you already, but you refuse to listen. Why do you want me to tell you over and over again? Do you want to become his disciples too?” Then the religious leaders heaped insults on him saying, “You are this man’s disciple! But we are disciples of Moses! We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this man, we don’t even know where he comes from.” The man said, “I am amazed! He healed my eyes, and you say you don’t know where he comes from? We all know that God does not listen to sinners. He only listens to those who worship him and do his will. Nobody has ever heard of someone who heals the eyes of a man born blind. If this Jesus did not come from God, he could not do anything.” The religious leaders said, “You were completely steeped in sin at birth! How dare you lecture us?”

And they threw the man out of the synagogue.

Jesus heard that the religious leaders had thrown the man out of the synagogue. When Jesus found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” The man said, “Sir, who is he? Tell me so that I can believe in him.” Jesus said, “You are now looking at him; he is the one speak- ing with you.” Then the man said, “Lord, I believe in you,” and he wor- shiped Jesus. Jesus said to him, “I came into this world to bring judgment so the blind will see, and those who see will become blind.”

Some religious leaders who were with him heard Jesus say this and asked him, “What? Are you saying that we are blind?” Jesus said, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin. But since you claim you can see, you remain guilty in your sins.”

Jesus said, “You religious hypocrites, I tell you the truth: Whoever does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by any other way, that one is a thief and a robber. The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his sheep by name and leads them out. When the shepherd brings out all his sheep, he walks ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But his sheep will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.

“I tell you the truth: I am the gate of the sheep! All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep would not listen to them. I am the gate! Whoever enters through me will be saved. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy, but I have come into this world that they will have life abundantly.

“I am the good shepherd! The good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep. A hired worker is not the shep- herd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees a wolf coming, he runs away and leaves the sheep. Then the wolf attacks and kills the sheep and scatters them. The hired worker runs away because he is simply an employee and does not care about the life of 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. I lay down my life for my sheep! I have other sheep that are not from this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, so there will be one flock under one shepherd. The reason my Father loves me is because I lay down my life, and I will take it up again. No one takes my life from me, but I lay it down by my own choice. I have authority to lay my life down, and I have the authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”

Once again, the Jews were divided over who Jesus was and what he was saying. Many of them said, “He is demon-possessed! He is insane! Why even listen to him?” But others said, “These are not the sayings of someone who is possessed by a demon. A demon cannot heal a man who was born blind.”