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John 13-17
New International Version
John 13-17
New International Version
Jesus Washes His Disciples’ Feet
13 It was just before the Passover Festival.(A) Jesus knew that the hour had come(B) for him to leave this world and go to the Father.(C) Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.
2 The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus.(D) 3 Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power,(E) and that he had come from God(F) and was returning to God; 4 so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist.(G) 5 After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet,(H) drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”
7 Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”(I)
8 “No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.”
Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”
9 “Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!”
10 Jesus answered, “Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean,(J) though not every one of you.”(K) 11 For he knew who was going to betray him,(L) and that was why he said not every one was clean.
12 When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. 13 “You call me ‘Teacher’(M) and ‘Lord,’(N) and rightly so, for that is what I am. 14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.(O) 15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.(P) 16 Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master,(Q) nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.(R)
Jesus Predicts His Betrayal
18 “I am not referring to all of you;(S) I know those I have chosen.(T) But this is to fulfill this passage of Scripture:(U) ‘He who shared my bread(V) has turned[a](W) against me.’[b](X)
19 “I am telling you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe(Y) that I am who I am.(Z) 20 Very truly I tell you, whoever accepts anyone I send accepts me; and whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me.”(AA)
21 After he had said this, Jesus was troubled in spirit(AB) and testified, “Very truly I tell you, one of you is going to betray me.”(AC)
22 His disciples stared at one another, at a loss to know which of them he meant. 23 One of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved,(AD) was reclining next to him. 24 Simon Peter motioned to this disciple and said, “Ask him which one he means.”
25 Leaning back against Jesus, he asked him, “Lord, who is it?”(AE)
26 Jesus answered, “It is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish.” Then, dipping the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas,(AF) the son of Simon Iscariot. 27 As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him.(AG)
So Jesus told him, “What you are about to do, do quickly.” 28 But no one at the meal understood why Jesus said this to him. 29 Since Judas had charge of the money,(AH) some thought Jesus was telling him to buy what was needed for the festival,(AI) or to give something to the poor.(AJ) 30 As soon as Judas had taken the bread, he went out. And it was night.(AK)
Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial(AL)
31 When he was gone, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man(AM) is glorified(AN) and God is glorified in him.(AO) 32 If God is glorified in him,[c] God will glorify the Son in himself,(AP) and will glorify him at once.
33 “My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come.(AQ)
34 “A new command(AR) I give you: Love one another.(AS) As I have loved you, so you must love one another.(AT) 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”(AU)
36 Simon Peter asked him, “Lord, where are you going?”(AV)
Jesus replied, “Where I am going, you cannot follow now,(AW) but you will follow later.”(AX)
37 Peter asked, “Lord, why can’t I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.”
38 Then Jesus answered, “Will you really lay down your life for me? Very truly I tell you, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times!(AY)
Jesus Comforts His Disciples
14 “Do not let your hearts be troubled.(AZ) You believe(BA) in God[d];(BB) believe also in me. 2 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there(BC) to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back(BD) and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.(BE) 4 You know the way to the place where I am going.”
Jesus the Way to the Father
5 Thomas(BF) said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”
6 Jesus answered, “I am(BG) the way(BH) and the truth(BI) and the life.(BJ) No one comes to the Father except through me.(BK) 7 If you really know me, you will know[e] my Father as well.(BL) From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”
8 Philip(BM) said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”
9 Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.(BN) How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me?(BO) The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority.(BP) Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. 11 Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves.(BQ) 12 Very truly I tell you, whoever believes(BR) in me will do the works I have been doing,(BS) and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 And I will do whatever you ask(BT) in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.
Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit
15 “If you love me, keep my commands.(BU) 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate(BV) to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth.(BW) The world cannot accept him,(BX) because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be[f] in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans;(BY) I will come to you.(BZ) 19 Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me.(CA) Because I live, you also will live.(CB) 20 On that day(CC) you will realize that I am in my Father,(CD) and you are in me, and I am in you.(CE) 21 Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me.(CF) The one who loves me will be loved by my Father,(CG) and I too will love them and show myself to them.”
22 Then Judas(CH) (not Judas Iscariot) said, “But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?”(CI)
23 Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching.(CJ) My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.(CK) 24 Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.(CL)
25 “All this I have spoken while still with you. 26 But the Advocate,(CM) the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name,(CN) will teach you all things(CO) and will remind you of everything I have said to you.(CP) 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.(CQ) I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled(CR) and do not be afraid.
28 “You heard me say, ‘I am going away and I am coming back to you.’(CS) If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father,(CT) for the Father is greater than I.(CU) 29 I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe.(CV) 30 I will not say much more to you, for the prince of this world(CW) is coming. He has no hold over me, 31 but he comes so that the world may learn that I love the Father and do exactly what my Father has commanded me.(CX)
“Come now; let us leave.
The Vine and the Branches
15 “I am(CY) the true vine,(CZ) and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit,(DA) while every branch that does bear fruit(DB) he prunes[g] so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.(DC) 4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you.(DD) No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit;(DE) apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.(DF) 7 If you remain in me(DG) and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.(DH) 8 This is to my Father’s glory,(DI) that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.(DJ)
9 “As the Father has loved me,(DK) so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands,(DL) you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.(DM) 12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.(DN) 13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.(DO) 14 You are my friends(DP) if you do what I command.(DQ) 15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.(DR) 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you(DS) so that you might go and bear fruit(DT)—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.(DU) 17 This is my command: Love each other.(DV)
The World Hates the Disciples
18 “If the world hates you,(DW) keep in mind that it hated me first. 19 If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you(DX) out of the world. That is why the world hates you.(DY) 20 Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’[h](DZ) If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also.(EA) If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. 21 They will treat you this way because of my name,(EB) for they do not know the one who sent me.(EC) 22 If I had not come and spoken to them,(ED) they would not be guilty of sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin.(EE) 23 Whoever hates me hates my Father as well. 24 If I had not done among them the works no one else did,(EF) they would not be guilty of sin.(EG) As it is, they have seen, and yet they have hated both me and my Father. 25 But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law:(EH) ‘They hated me without reason.’[i](EI)
The Work of the Holy Spirit
26 “When the Advocate(EJ) comes, whom I will send to you from the Father(EK)—the Spirit of truth(EL) who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me.(EM) 27 And you also must testify,(EN) for you have been with me from the beginning.(EO)
16 “All this(EP) I have told you so that you will not fall away.(EQ) 2 They will put you out of the synagogue;(ER) in fact, the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God.(ES) 3 They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me.(ET) 4 I have told you this, so that when their time comes you will remember(EU) that I warned you about them. I did not tell you this from the beginning because I was with you,(EV) 5 but now I am going to him who sent me.(EW) None of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’(EX) 6 Rather, you are filled with grief(EY) because I have said these things. 7 But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate(EZ) will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.(FA) 8 When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 about sin,(FB) because people do not believe in me; 10 about righteousness,(FC) because I am going to the Father,(FD) where you can see me no longer; 11 and about judgment, because the prince of this world(FE) now stands condemned.
12 “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear.(FF) 13 But when he, the Spirit of truth,(FG) comes, he will guide you into all the truth.(FH) He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14 He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. 15 All that belongs to the Father is mine.(FI) That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.”
The Disciples’ Grief Will Turn to Joy
16 Jesus went on to say, “In a little while(FJ) you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me.”(FK)
17 At this, some of his disciples said to one another, “What does he mean by saying, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me,’(FL) and ‘Because I am going to the Father’?”(FM) 18 They kept asking, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We don’t understand what he is saying.”
19 Jesus saw that they wanted to ask him about this, so he said to them, “Are you asking one another what I meant when I said, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me’? 20 Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn(FN) while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy.(FO) 21 A woman giving birth to a child has pain(FP) because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. 22 So with you: Now is your time of grief,(FQ) but I will see you again(FR) and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.(FS) 23 In that day(FT) you will no longer ask me anything. Very truly I tell you, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.(FU) 24 Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive,(FV) and your joy will be complete.(FW)
25 “Though I have been speaking figuratively,(FX) a time is coming(FY) when I will no longer use this kind of language but will tell you plainly about my Father. 26 In that day you will ask in my name.(FZ) I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf. 27 No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me(GA) and have believed that I came from God.(GB) 28 I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.”(GC)
29 Then Jesus’ disciples said, “Now you are speaking clearly and without figures of speech.(GD) 30 Now we can see that you know all things and that you do not even need to have anyone ask you questions. This makes us believe(GE) that you came from God.”(GF)
31 “Do you now believe?” Jesus replied. 32 “A time is coming(GG) and in fact has come when you will be scattered,(GH) each to your own home. You will leave me all alone.(GI) Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me.(GJ)
33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace.(GK) In this world you will have trouble.(GL) But take heart! I have overcome(GM) the world.”
Jesus Prays to Be Glorified
17 After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven(GN) and prayed:
“Father, the hour has come.(GO) Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you.(GP) 2 For you granted him authority over all people(GQ) that he might give eternal life(GR) to all those you have given him.(GS) 3 Now this is eternal life: that they know you,(GT) the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.(GU) 4 I have brought you glory(GV) on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do.(GW) 5 And now, Father, glorify me(GX) in your presence with the glory I had with you(GY) before the world began.(GZ)
Jesus Prays for His Disciples
6 “I have revealed you[j](HA) to those whom you gave me(HB) out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. 7 Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. 8 For I gave them the words you gave me(HC) and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you,(HD) and they believed that you sent me.(HE) 9 I pray for them.(HF) I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me,(HG) for they are yours. 10 All I have is yours, and all you have is mine.(HH) And glory has come to me through them. 11 I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world,(HI) and I am coming to you.(HJ) Holy Father, protect them by the power of[k] your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one(HK) as we are one.(HL) 12 While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by[l] that name you gave me. None has been lost(HM) except the one doomed to destruction(HN) so that Scripture would be fulfilled.(HO)
13 “I am coming to you now,(HP) but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy(HQ) within them. 14 I have given them your word and the world has hated them,(HR) for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world.(HS) 15 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.(HT) 16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of it.(HU) 17 Sanctify them by[m] the truth; your word is truth.(HV) 18 As you sent me into the world,(HW) I have sent them into the world.(HX) 19 For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.(HY)
Jesus Prays for All Believers
20 “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one,(HZ) Father, just as you are in me and I am in you.(IA) May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.(IB) 22 I have given them the glory that you gave me,(IC) that they may be one as we are one(ID)— 23 I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me(IE) and have loved them(IF) even as you have loved me.
24 “Father, I want those you have given me(IG) to be with me where I am,(IH) and to see my glory,(II) the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.(IJ)
25 “Righteous Father, though the world does not know you,(IK) I know you, and they know that you have sent me.(IL) 26 I have made you[n] known to them,(IM) and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them(IN) and that I myself may be in them.”
Footnotes
- John 13:18 Greek has lifted up his heel
- John 13:18 Psalm 41:9
- John 13:32 Many early manuscripts do not have If God is glorified in him.
- John 14:1 Or Believe in God
- John 14:7 Some manuscripts If you really knew me, you would know
- John 14:17 Some early manuscripts and is
- John 15:2 The Greek for he prunes also means he cleans.
- John 15:20 John 13:16
- John 15:25 Psalms 35:19; 69:4
- John 17:6 Greek your name
- John 17:11 Or Father, keep them faithful to
- John 17:12 Or kept them faithful to
- John 17:17 Or them to live in accordance with
- John 17:26 Greek your name
John 13-17
The Message
John 13-17
The Message
Washing His Disciples’ Feet
13 1-2 Just before the Passover Feast, Jesus knew that the time had come to leave this world to go to the Father. Having loved his dear companions, he continued to love them right to the end. It was suppertime. The Devil by now had Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot, firmly in his grip, all set for the betrayal.
3-6 Jesus knew that the Father had put him in complete charge of everything, that he came from God and was on his way back to God. So he got up from the supper table, set aside his robe, and put on an apron. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the feet of the disciples, drying them with his apron. When he got to Simon Peter, Peter said, “Master, you wash my feet?”
7 Jesus answered, “You don’t understand now what I’m doing, but it will be clear enough to you later.”
8 Peter persisted, “You’re not going to wash my feet—ever!”
Jesus said, “If I don’t wash you, you can’t be part of what I’m doing.”
9 “Master!” said Peter. “Not only my feet, then. Wash my hands! Wash my head!”
10-12 Jesus said, “If you’ve had a bath in the morning, you only need your feet washed now and you’re clean from head to toe. My concern, you understand, is holiness, not hygiene. So now you’re clean. But not every one of you.” (He knew who was betraying him. That’s why he said, “Not every one of you.”) After he had finished washing their feet, he took his robe, put it back on, and went back to his place at the table.
12-17 Then he said, “Do you understand what I have done to you? You address me as ‘Teacher’ and ‘Master,’ and rightly so. That is what I am. So if I, the Master and Teacher, washed your feet, you must now wash each other’s feet. I’ve laid down a pattern for you. What I’ve done, you do. I’m only pointing out the obvious. A servant is not ranked above his master; an employee doesn’t give orders to the employer. If you understand what I’m telling you, act like it—and live a blessed life.
The One Who Ate Bread at My Table
18-20 “I’m not including all of you in this. I know precisely whom I’ve selected, so as not to interfere with the fulfillment of this Scripture:
The one who ate bread at my table
Will stab me in the back.
“I’m telling you all this ahead of time so that when it happens you will believe that I am who I say I am. Make sure you get this right: Receiving someone I send is the same as receiving me, just as receiving me is the same as receiving the One who sent me.”
21 After he said these things, Jesus became visibly upset, and then he told them why. “One of you is going to betray me.”
22-25 The disciples looked around at one another, wondering who on earth he was talking about. One of the disciples, the one Jesus loved dearly, was reclining against him, his head on his shoulder. Peter motioned to him to ask who Jesus might be talking about. So, being the closest, he said, “Master, who?”
26-27 Jesus said, “The one to whom I give this crust of bread after I’ve dipped it.” Then he dipped the crust and gave it to Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot. As soon as the bread was in his hand, Satan entered him.
“What you must do,” said Jesus, “do. Do it and get it over with.”
28-29 No one around the supper table knew why he said this to him. Some thought that since Judas was their treasurer, Jesus was telling him to buy what they needed for the Feast, or that he should give something to the poor.
30 Judas, with the piece of bread, left. It was night.
A New Command
31-32 When he had left, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man is seen for who he is, and God seen for who he is in him. The moment God is seen in him, God’s glory will be on display. In glorifying him, he himself is glorified—glory all around!
33 “Children, I am with you for only a short time longer. You are going to look high and low for me. But just as I told the Jews, I’m telling you: ‘Where I go, you are not able to come.’
34-35 “Let me give you a new command: Love one another. In the same way I loved you, you love one another. This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples—when they see the love you have for each other.”
36 Simon Peter asked, “Master, just where are you going?”
Jesus answered, “You can’t now follow me where I’m going. You will follow later.”
37 “Master,” said Peter, “why can’t I follow now? I’ll lay down my life for you!”
38 “Really? You’ll lay down your life for me? The truth is that before the rooster crows, you’ll deny me three times.”
The Road
14 1-4 “Don’t let this rattle you. You trust God, don’t you? Trust me. There is plenty of room for you in my Father’s home. If that weren’t so, would I have told you that I’m on my way to get a room ready for you? And if I’m on my way to get your room ready, I’ll come back and get you so you can live where I live. And you already know the road I’m taking.”
5 Thomas said, “Master, we have no idea where you’re going. How do you expect us to know the road?”
6-7 Jesus said, “I am the Road, also the Truth, also the Life. No one gets to the Father apart from me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him. You’ve even seen him!”
8 Philip said, “Master, show us the Father; then we’ll be content.”
9-10 “You’ve been with me all this time, Philip, and you still don’t understand? To see me is to see the Father. So how can you ask, ‘Where is the Father?’ Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I speak to you aren’t mere words. I don’t just make them up on my own. The Father who resides in me crafts each word into a divine act.
11-14 “Believe me: I am in my Father and my Father is in me. If you can’t believe that, believe what you see—these works. The person who trusts me will not only do what I’m doing but even greater things, because I, on my way to the Father, am giving you the same work to do that I’ve been doing. You can count on it. From now on, whatever you request along the lines of who I am and what I am doing, I’ll do it. That’s how the Father will be seen for who he is in the Son. I mean it. Whatever you request in this way, I’ll do.
The Spirit of Truth
15-17 “If you love me, show it by doing what I’ve told you. I will talk to the Father, and he’ll provide you another Friend so that you will always have someone with you. This Friend is the Spirit of Truth. The godless world can’t take him in because it doesn’t have eyes to see him, doesn’t know what to look for. But you know him already because he has been staying with you, and will even be in you!
18-20 “I will not leave you orphaned. I’m coming back. In just a little while the world will no longer see me, but you’re going to see me because I am alive and you’re about to come alive. At that moment you will know absolutely that I’m in my Father, and you’re in me, and I’m in you.
21 “The person who knows my commandments and keeps them, that’s who loves me. And the person who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and make myself plain to him.”
22 Judas (not Iscariot) said, “Master, why is it that you are about to make yourself plain to us but not to the world?”
23-24 “Because a loveless world,” said Jesus, “is a sightless world. If anyone loves me, he will carefully keep my word and my Father will love him—we’ll move right into the neighborhood! Not loving me means not keeping my words. The message you are hearing isn’t mine. It’s the message of the Father who sent me.
25-27 “I’m telling you these things while I’m still living with you. The Friend, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send at my request, will make everything plain to you. He will remind you of all the things I have told you. I’m leaving you well and whole. That’s my parting gift to you. Peace. I don’t leave you the way you’re used to being left—feeling abandoned, bereft. So don’t be upset. Don’t be distraught.
28 “You’ve heard me tell you, ‘I’m going away, and I’m coming back.’ If you loved me, you would be glad that I’m on my way to the Father because the Father is the goal and purpose of my life.
29-31 “I’ve told you this ahead of time, before it happens, so that when it does happen, the confirmation will deepen your belief in me. I’ll not be talking with you much more like this because the chief of this godless world is about to attack. But don’t worry—he has nothing on me, no claim on me. But so the world might know how thoroughly I love the Father, I am carrying out my Father’s instructions right down to the last detail.
“Get up. Let’s go. It’s time to leave here.”
The Vine and the Branches
15 1-3 “I am the Real Vine and my Father is the Farmer. He cuts off every branch of me that doesn’t bear grapes. And every branch that is grape-bearing he prunes back so it will bear even more. You are already pruned back by the message I have spoken.
4 “Live in me. Make your home in me just as I do in you. In the same way that a branch can’t bear grapes by itself but only by being joined to the vine, you can’t bear fruit unless you are joined with me.
5-8 “I am the Vine, you are the branches. When you’re joined with me and I with you, the relation intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant. Separated, you can’t produce a thing. Anyone who separates from me is deadwood, gathered up and thrown on the bonfire. But if you make yourselves at home with me and my words are at home in you, you can be sure that whatever you ask will be listened to and acted upon. This is how my Father shows who he is—when you produce grapes, when you mature as my disciples.
9-10 “I’ve loved you the way my Father has loved me. Make yourselves at home in my love. If you keep my commands, you’ll remain intimately at home in my love. That’s what I’ve done—kept my Father’s commands and made myself at home in his love.
11-15 “I’ve told you these things for a purpose: that my joy might be your joy, and your joy wholly mature. This is my command: Love one another the way I loved you. This is the very best way to love. Put your life on the line for your friends. You are my friends when you do the things I command you. I’m no longer calling you servants because servants don’t understand what their master is thinking and planning. No, I’ve named you friends because I’ve let you in on everything I’ve heard from the Father.
16 “You didn’t choose me, remember; I chose you, and put you in the world to bear fruit, fruit that won’t spoil. As fruit bearers, whatever you ask the Father in relation to me, he gives you.
17 “But remember the root command: Love one another.
Hated by the World
18-19 “If you find the godless world is hating you, remember it got its start hating me. If you lived on the world’s terms, the world would love you as one of its own. But since I picked you to live on God’s terms and no longer on the world’s terms, the world is going to hate you.
20 “When that happens, remember this: Servants don’t get better treatment than their masters. If they beat on me, they will certainly beat on you. If they did what I told them, they will do what you tell them.
21-25 “They are going to do all these things to you because of the way they treated me, because they don’t know the One who sent me. If I hadn’t come and told them all this in plain language, it wouldn’t be so bad. As it is, they have no excuse. Hate me, hate my Father—it’s all the same. If I hadn’t done what I have done among them, works no one has ever done, they wouldn’t be to blame. But they saw the God-signs and hated anyway, both me and my Father. Interesting—they have verified the truth of their own Scriptures where it is written, ‘They hated me for no good reason.’
26-27 “When the Friend I plan to send you from the Father comes—the Spirit of Truth issuing from the Father—he will confirm everything about me. You, too, from your side must give your confirming evidence, since you are in this with me from the start.”
16 1-4 “I’ve told you these things to prepare you for rough times ahead. They are going to throw you out of the meeting places. There will even come a time when anyone who kills you will think he’s doing God a favor. They will do these things because they never really understood the Father. I’ve told you these things so that when the time comes and they start in on you, you’ll be well-warned and ready for them.
The Friend Will Come
4-7 “I didn’t tell you this earlier because I was with you every day. But now I am on my way to the One who sent me. Not one of you has asked, ‘Where are you going?’ Instead, the longer I’ve talked, the sadder you’ve become. So let me say it again, this truth: It’s better for you that I leave. If I don’t leave, the Friend won’t come. But if I go, I’ll send him to you.
8-11 “When he comes, he’ll expose the error of the godless world’s view of sin, righteousness, and judgment: He’ll show them that their refusal to believe in me is their basic sin; that righteousness comes from above, where I am with the Father, out of their sight and control; that judgment takes place as the ruler of this godless world is brought to trial and convicted.
12-15 “I still have many things to tell you, but you can’t handle them now. But when the Friend comes, the Spirit of the Truth, he will take you by the hand and guide you into all the truth there is. He won’t draw attention to himself, but will make sense out of what is about to happen and, indeed, out of all that I have done and said. He will honor me; he will take from me and deliver it to you. Everything the Father has is also mine. That is why I’ve said, ‘He takes from me and delivers to you.’
16 “In a day or so you’re not going to see me, but then in another day or so you will see me.”
Joy Like a River Overflowing
17-18 That stirred up a hornet’s nest of questions among the disciples: “What’s he talking about: ‘In a day or so you’re not going to see me, but then in another day or so you will see me’? And, ‘Because I’m on my way to the Father’? What is this ‘day or so’? We don’t know what he’s talking about.”
19-20 Jesus knew they were dying to ask him what he meant, so he said, “Are you trying to figure out among yourselves what I meant when I said, ‘In a day or so you’re not going to see me, but then in another day or so you will see me’? Then fix this firmly in your minds: You’re going to be in deep mourning while the godless world throws a party. You’ll be sad, very sad, but your sadness will develop into gladness.
21-23 “When a woman gives birth, she has a hard time, there’s no getting around it. But when the baby is born, there is joy in the birth. This new life in the world wipes out memory of the pain. The sadness you have right now is similar to that pain, but the coming joy is also similar. When I see you again, you’ll be full of joy, and it will be a joy no one can rob from you. You’ll no longer be so full of questions.
23-24 “This is what I want you to do: Ask the Father for whatever is in keeping with the things I’ve revealed to you. Ask in my name, according to my will, and he’ll most certainly give it to you. Your joy will be a river overflowing its banks!
25-28 “I’ve used figures of speech in telling you these things. Soon I’ll drop the figures and tell you about the Father in plain language. Then you can make your requests directly to him in relation to this life I’ve revealed to you. I won’t continue making requests of the Father on your behalf. I won’t need to. Because you’ve gone out on a limb, committed yourselves to love and trust in me, believing I came directly from the Father, the Father loves you directly. First, I left the Father and arrived in the world; now I leave the world and travel to the Father.”
29-30 His disciples said, “Finally! You’re giving it to us straight, in plain talk—no more figures of speech. Now we know that you know everything—it all comes together in you. You won’t have to put up with our questions anymore. We’re convinced you came from God.”
31-33 Jesus answered them, “Do you finally believe? In fact, you’re about to make a run for it—saving your own skins and abandoning me. But I’m not abandoned. The Father is with me. I’ve told you all this so that trusting me, you will be unshakable and assured, deeply at peace. In this godless world you will continue to experience difficulties. But take heart! I’ve conquered the world.”
Jesus’ Prayer for His Followers
17 1-5 Jesus said these things. Then, raising his eyes in prayer, he said:
Father, it’s time.
Display the bright splendor of your Son
So the Son in turn may show your bright splendor.
You put him in charge of everything human
So he might give real and eternal life to all in his care.
And this is the real and eternal life:
That they know you,
The one and only true God,
And Jesus Christ, whom you sent.
I glorified you on earth
By completing down to the last detail
What you assigned me to do.
And now, Father, glorify me with your very own splendor,
The very splendor I had in your presence
Before there was a world.
* * *
6-12 I spelled out your character in detail
To the men and women you gave me.
They were yours in the first place;
Then you gave them to me,
And they have now done what you said.
They know now, beyond the shadow of a doubt,
That everything you gave me is firsthand from you,
For the message you gave me, I gave them;
And they took it, and were convinced
That I came from you.
They believed that you sent me.
I pray for them.
I’m not praying for the God-rejecting world
But for those you gave me,
For they are yours by right.
Everything mine is yours, and yours mine,
And my life is on display in them.
For I’m no longer going to be visible in the world;
They’ll continue in the world
While I return to you.
Holy Father, guard them as they pursue this life
That you conferred as a gift through me,
So they can be one heart and mind
As we are one heart and mind.
As long as I was with them, I guarded them
In the pursuit of the life you gave through me;
I even posted a lookout.
And not one of them got away,
Except for the rebel bent on destruction
(the exception that proved the rule of Scripture).
* * *
13-19 Now I’m returning to you.
I’m saying these things in the world’s hearing
So my people can experience
My joy completed in them.
I gave them your word;
The godless world hated them because of it,
Because they didn’t join the world’s ways,
Just as I didn’t join the world’s ways.
I’m not asking that you take them out of the world
But that you guard them from the Evil One.
They are no more defined by the world
Than I am defined by the world.
Make them holy—consecrated—with the truth;
Your word is consecrating truth.
In the same way that you gave me a mission in the world,
I give them a mission in the world.
I’m consecrating myself for their sakes
So they’ll be truth-consecrated in their mission.
* * *
20-23 I’m praying not only for them
But also for those who will believe in me
Because of them and their witness about me.
The goal is for all of them to become one heart and mind—
Just as you, Father, are in me and I in you,
So they might be one heart and mind with us.
Then the world might believe that you, in fact, sent me.
The same glory you gave me, I gave them,
So they’ll be as unified and together as we are—
I in them and you in me.
Then they’ll be mature in this oneness,
And give the godless world evidence
That you’ve sent me and loved them
In the same way you’ve loved me.
* * *
24-26 Father, I want those you gave me
To be with me, right where I am,
So they can see my glory, the splendor you gave me,
Having loved me
Long before there ever was a world.
Righteous Father, the world has never known you,
But I have known you, and these disciples know
That you sent me on this mission.
I have made your very being known to them—
Who you are and what you do—
And continue to make it known,
So that your love for me
Might be in them
Exactly as I am in them.
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The Message (MSG)
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson