The Unbelief of Jesus’ Brothers

7 After this, Jesus traveled in Galilee,^(A) since He did not want to travel in Judea^(B) because the Jews^(C) were trying to kill Him.^{(D) 2} The Jewish Festival of Tabernacles^[a][b](E) was near, ³ so His brothers^(F) said to Him, “Leave here and go to Judea so Your disciples can see Your works^(G) that You are doing. ⁴ For no one does anything in secret while he’s seeking public recognition. If You do these things, show Yourself to the world.” ⁵ (For not even His brothers believed in Him.)

⁶ Jesus told them, “My time^(H) has not yet arrived, but your time is always at hand. ⁷ The world cannot hate^(I) you, but it does hate Me because I testify about it—that its deeds are evil. ⁸ Go up to the festival yourselves. I’m not going up to the festival yet,^[c] because My time has not yet fully come.” ⁹ After He had said these things, He stayed in Galilee.

The Journey to Jerusalem

⁵¹ When the days were coming to a close for Him to be taken up,^[a](A) He determined^[b](B) to journey to Jerusalem.^{(C) 52} He sent messengers ahead of Him,^(D) and on the way they entered a village of the Samaritans^(E) to make preparations for Him. ⁵³ But they did not welcome Him, because He determined to journey to Jerusalem.^{(F) 54} When the disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them?”^[c](G)

⁵⁵ But He turned and rebuked them,^{[d] 56} and they went to another village.

Following Jesus

¹⁸ When Jesus saw large crowds^[a](A) around Him, He gave the order to go to the other side of the sea.^{[b] 19} A scribe approached Him and said,^(B) “Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go!”

²⁰ Jesus told him, “Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man^(C) has no place to lay His head.”

²¹ “Lord,” another of His disciples said, “first let me go bury my father.”^[c]

²² But Jesus told him, “Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”

Following Jesus

⁵⁷ As they were traveling on the road someone said to Him,^(A) “I will follow You wherever You go!”

⁵⁸ Jesus told him, “Foxes have dens, and birds of the sky^[a] have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head.” ⁵⁹ Then He said to another, “Follow Me.”

“Lord,” he said, “first let me go bury my father.”^[b]

⁶⁰ But He told him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and spread the news of the kingdom of God.”^(B)

⁶¹ Another also said, “I will follow You, Lord, but first let me go and say good-bye to those at my house.”^(C)

⁶² But Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

Jesus at the Festival of Tabernacles

¹⁰ After His brothers had gone up to the festival, then He also went up, not openly but secretly. ¹¹ The Jews were looking for Him at the festival and saying, “Where is He?” ¹² And there was a lot of discussion about Him among the crowds. Some were saying, “He’s a good^(A) man.” Others were saying, “No, on the contrary, He’s deceiving^(B) the people.” ¹³ Still, nobody was talking publicly about Him because they feared the Jews.

¹⁴ When the festival was already half over, Jesus went up into the temple complex^(C) and began to teach. ¹⁵ Then the Jews were amazed and said, “How does He know the Scriptures,^(D) since He hasn’t been trained?”

¹⁶ Jesus answered them, “My teaching isn’t Mine but is from the One who sent Me.^{(E) 17} If anyone wants to do His will,^(F) he will understand whether the teaching is from God or if I am speaking on My own. ¹⁸ The one who speaks for himself seeks his own glory.^(G) But He who seeks the glory^(H) of the One who sent Him is true,^(I) and there is no unrighteousness in Him.^{(J) 19} Didn’t Moses^(K) give you the law? Yet none of you keeps the law!^(L) Why do you want to kill Me?”

²⁰ “You have a demon!” the crowd responded. “Who wants to kill You?”

²¹ “I did one work,^(M) and you are all amazed,” Jesus answered. ²² “Consider this: Moses has given you circumcision^(N)—not that it comes from Moses but from the fathers^(O)—and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath.^{(P) 23} If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath^(Q) so that the law of Moses^(R) won’t be broken, are you angry at Me because I made a man entirely well on the Sabbath? ²⁴ Stop judging^(S) according to outward appearances; rather judge according to righteous judgment.”

The Identity of the Messiah

²⁵ Some of the people of Jerusalem^(T) were saying, “Isn’t this the man they want to kill? ²⁶ Yet, look! He’s speaking publicly and they’re saying nothing to Him. Can it be true that the authorities^(U) know He is the Messiah?^{(V) 27} But we know where this man is from.^(W) When the Messiah comes, nobody will know where He is from.”

²⁸ As He was teaching in the temple complex,^(X) Jesus cried out, “You know Me and you know where I am from. Yet I have not come on My own, but the One who sent Me^(Y) is true. You don’t know Him;^{(Z) 29} I know Him because I am from Him, and He sent Me.”^(AA)

³⁰ Then they tried to seize Him. Yet no one laid a hand on Him because His hour^[a] had not yet come. ³¹ However, many from the crowd believed in Him and said, “When the Messiah comes, He won’t perform more signs than this man has done,^(AB) will He?”

³² The Pharisees^(AC) heard the crowd muttering these things about Him, so the chief priests^(AD) and the Pharisees sent temple police to arrest Him.

³³ Then Jesus said, “I am only with you for a short time.^(AE) Then I’m going to the One who sent Me.^{(AF) 34} You will look for Me, but you will not find Me; and where I am, you cannot come.”^(AG)

³⁵ Then the Jews^(AH) said to one another, “Where does He intend to go so we won’t find Him? He doesn’t intend to go to the Dispersion^[b](AI) among the Greeks^(AJ) and teach the Greeks, does He? ³⁶ What is this remark He made: ‘You will look for Me, and you will not find Me; and where I am, you cannot come’^(AK)?”

The Promise of the Spirit

³⁷ On the last and most important day of the festival,^(AL) Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone is thirsty, he should come to Me^[c](AM) and drink!^{(AN) 38} The one who believes in Me,^(AO) as the Scripture^(AP) has said,^[d] will have streams of living water^(AQ) flow^(AR) from deep within him.” ³⁹ He said this about the Spirit.^(AS) Those who believed in Jesus were going to receive the Spirit,^(AT) for the Spirit^[e] had not yet been received^[f][g] because Jesus had not yet been glorified.

The People Are Divided over Jesus

⁴⁰ When some from the crowd heard these words, they said, “This really is the Prophet!”^{[h](AU) 41} Others said, “This is the Messiah!” But some said, “Surely the Messiah doesn’t come from Galilee, does He? ⁴² Doesn’t the Scripture^(AV) say that the Messiah comes from David’s^(AW) offspring^[i] and from the town of Bethlehem,^(AX) where David once lived?” ⁴³ So a division^(AY) occurred among the crowd because of Him. ⁴⁴ Some of them wanted to seize Him,^(AZ) but no one laid hands on Him.

Debate over Jesus’ Claims

⁴⁵ Then the temple police^(BA) came to the chief priests^(BB) and Pharisees, who asked them, “Why haven’t you brought Him?”

⁴⁶ The police answered, “No man ever spoke like this!”^[j](BC)

⁴⁷ Then the Pharisees responded to them: “Are you fooled^(BD) too? ⁴⁸ Have any of the rulers^(BE) or Pharisees believed in Him? ⁴⁹ But this crowd, which doesn’t know the law, is accursed!”

⁵⁰ Nicodemus^(BF)—the one who came to Him previously, being one of them—said to them, ⁵¹ “Our law doesn’t judge a man before it hears from him and knows what he’s doing, does it?”^(BG)

⁵² “You aren’t from Galilee^(BH) too, are you?” they replied. “Investigate and you will see that no prophet arises from Galilee.”^[k](BI)

[⁵³ So each one went to his house. 8 ¹ But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.^(BJ)

An Adulteress Forgiven

² At dawn He went to the temple complex^(BK) again, and all the people were coming to Him.^(BL) He sat down^(BM) and began to teach them.

³ Then the scribes and the Pharisees^(BN) brought a woman caught in adultery,^(BO) making her stand in the center. ⁴ “Teacher,” they said to Him, “this woman was caught in the act of committing adultery.^{(BP) 5} In the law Moses^(BQ) commanded us to stone such women.^(BR) So what do You say?” ⁶ They asked this to trap Him,^(BS) in order that they might have evidence to accuse Him.

Jesus stooped down and started writing on the ground with His finger. ⁷ When they persisted in questioning Him, He stood up and said to them, “The one without sin^(BT) among you^(BU) should be the first to throw a stone at her.”^(BV)

⁸ Then He stooped down again and continued writing on the ground. ⁹ When they heard this, they left one by one, starting with the older men. Only He was left, with the woman in the center. ¹⁰ When Jesus stood up, He said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”

¹¹ “No one, Lord,”^[l] she answered.

“Neither do I condemn you,”^(BW) said Jesus. “Go, and from now on do not sin anymore.”]^[m]

The Light of the World

¹² Then Jesus spoke to them again: “I am^(BX) the light^(BY) of the world. Anyone who follows Me will never walk in the darkness but will have the light of life.”^(BZ)

¹³ So the Pharisees said to Him, “You are testifying about Yourself. Your testimony is not valid.”^[n]

¹⁴ “Even if I testify about Myself,” Jesus replied, “My testimony is valid,^[o] because I know where I came from and where I’m going. But you don’t know where I come from or where I’m going.^{(CA) 15} You judge^(CB) by human standards.^[p](CC) I judge no one.^{(CD) 16} And if I do judge, My judgment is true, because I am not alone, but I and the Father who sent Me judge^(CE) together.^{(CF) 17} Even in your law it is written that the witness of two men is valid.^{(CG) 18} I am the One who testifies^(CH) about Myself, and the Father who sent Me testifies about Me.”

¹⁹ Then they asked Him, “Where is Your Father?”

“You know neither Me nor My Father,”^(CI) Jesus answered. “If you knew Me, you would also know My Father.”^{(CJ) 20} He spoke these words by the treasury,^[q](CK) while teaching in the temple complex. But no one seized Him, because His hour^[r] had not come.