John 8-11

New King James Version

Jesus the Light of the World

8 But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.

² Now ^[a]early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and ^(A)taught them. ³ Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, ⁴ they said to Him, “Teacher, ^[b]this woman was caught in ^(B)adultery, in the very act. ^5 (C)Now ^[c]Moses, in the law, commanded us ^[d]that such should be stoned. But what do You ^[e]say?” ⁶ This they said, testing Him, that they ^(D)might have something of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, ^[f]as though He did not hear.

⁷ So when they continued asking Him, He ^[g]raised Himself up and said to them, ^(E)“He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” ⁸ And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. ⁹ Then those who heard it, ^(F)being^[h] convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. ¹⁰ When Jesus had raised Himself up ^[i]and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers ^[j]of yours? Has no one condemned you?”

¹¹ She said, “No one, Lord.”

And Jesus said to her, ^(G)“Neither do I condemn you; go ^[k]and ^(H)sin no more.”

¹² Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, ^(I)“I am the light of the world. He who ^(J)follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”

Jesus Defends His Self-Witness

¹³ The Pharisees therefore said to Him, ^(K)“You bear witness of Yourself; Your witness is not ^[l]true.”

¹⁴ Jesus answered and said to them, “Even if I bear witness of Myself, My witness is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going; but ^(L)you do not know where I come from and where I am going. ^15 (M)You judge according to the flesh; ^(N)I judge no one. ¹⁶ And yet if I do judge, My judgment is true; for ^(O)I am not alone, but I am with the Father who sent Me. ^17 (P)It is also written in your law that the testimony of two men is true. ¹⁸ I am One who bears witness of Myself, and ^(Q)the Father who sent Me bears witness of Me.”

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

Jesus answered, ^(R)“You know neither Me nor My Father. ^(S)If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also.”

²⁰ These words Jesus spoke in ^(T)the treasury, as He taught in the temple; and ^(U)no one laid hands on Him, for ^(V)His hour had not yet come.

Jesus Predicts His Departure

²¹ Then Jesus said to them again, “I am going away, and ^(W)you will seek Me, and ^(X)will die in your sin. Where I go you cannot come.”

²² So the Jews said, “Will He kill Himself, because He says, ‘Where I go you cannot come’?”

²³ And He said to them, ^(Y)“You are from beneath; I am from above. ^(Z)You are of this world; I am not of this world. ^24 (AA)Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; ^(AB)for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”

²⁵ Then they said to Him, “Who are You?”

And Jesus said to them, “Just what I ^(AC)have been saying to you from the beginning. ²⁶ I have many things to say and to judge concerning you, but ^(AD)He who sent Me is true; and ^(AE)I speak to the world those things which I heard from Him.”

²⁷ They did not understand that He spoke to them of the Father.

²⁸ Then Jesus said to them, “When you ^(AF)lift^[m] up the Son of Man, ^(AG)then you will know that I am He, and ^(AH)that I do nothing of Myself; but ^(AI)as My Father taught Me, I speak these things. ²⁹ And ^(AJ)He who sent Me is with Me. ^(AK)The Father has not left Me alone, ^(AL)for I always do those things that please Him.” ³⁰ As He spoke these words, ^(AM)many believed in Him.

The Truth Shall Make You Free

³¹ Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you ^(AN)abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. ³² And you shall know the ^(AO)truth, and ^(AP)the truth shall make you free.”

³³ They answered Him, ^(AQ)“We are Abraham’s descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can You say, ‘You will be made free’?”

³⁴ Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, ^(AR)whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. ³⁵ And ^(AS)a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. ^36 (AT)Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.

Abraham’s Seed and Satan’s

³⁷ “I know that you are Abraham’s descendants, but ^(AU)you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you. ^38 (AV)I speak what I have seen with My Father, and you do what you have ^[n]seen with your father.”

³⁹ They answered and said to Him, ^(AW)“Abraham is our father.”

Jesus said to them, ^(AX)“If you were Abraham’s children, you would do the works of Abraham. ^40 (AY)But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth ^(AZ)which I heard from God. Abraham did not do this. ⁴¹ You do the deeds of your father.”

Then they said to Him, “We were not born of fornication; ^(BA)we have one Father—God.”

⁴² Jesus said to them, ^(BB)“If God were your Father, you would love Me, for ^(BC)I proceeded forth and came from God; ^(BD)nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me. ^43 (BE)Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word. ^44 (BF)You are of your father the devil, and the ^(BG)desires of your father you want to ^(BH)do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and ^(BI)does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. ⁴⁵ But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me. ⁴⁶ Which of you convicts Me of sin? And if I tell the truth, why do you not believe Me? ^47 (BJ)He who is of God hears God’s words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God.”

Before Abraham Was, I AM

⁴⁸ Then the Jews answered and said to Him, “Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and ^(BK)have a demon?”

⁴⁹ Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon; but I honor My Father, and ^(BL)you dishonor Me. ⁵⁰ And ^(BM)I do not seek My own glory; there is One who seeks and judges. ⁵¹ Most assuredly, I say to you, ^(BN)if anyone keeps My word he shall never see death.”

⁵² Then the Jews said to Him, “Now we know that You ^(BO)have a demon! ^(BP)Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and You say, ‘If anyone keeps My word he shall never taste death.’ ⁵³ Are You greater than our father Abraham, who is dead? And the prophets are dead. ^(BQ)Who do You make Yourself out to be?”

⁵⁴ Jesus answered, ^(BR)“If I honor Myself, My honor is nothing. ^(BS)It is My Father who honors Me, of whom you say that He is ^[o]your God. ⁵⁵ Yet ^(BT)you have not known Him, but I know Him. And if I say, ‘I do not know Him,’ I shall be a liar like you; but I do know Him and ^(BU)keep His word. ⁵⁶ Your father Abraham ^(BV)rejoiced to see My day, ^(BW)and he saw it and was glad.”

⁵⁷ Then the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?”

⁵⁸ Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, ^(BX)before Abraham was, ^(BY)I AM.”

⁵⁹ Then ^(BZ)they took up stones to throw at Him; but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple, ^(CA)going^[p] through the midst of them, and so passed by.

A Man Born Blind Receives Sight

9 Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth. ² And His disciples asked Him, saying, “Rabbi, ^(CB)who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”

³ Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, ^(CC)but that the works of God should be revealed in him. ^4 (CD)I^[q] must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is ^(CE)day; the night is coming when no one can work. ⁵ As long as I am in the world, ^(CF)I am the light of the world.”

⁶ When He had said these things, ^(CG)He spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva; and He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay. ⁷ And He said to him, “Go, wash ^(CH)in the pool of Siloam” (which is translated, Sent). So ^(CI)he went and washed, and came back seeing.

⁸ Therefore the neighbors and those who previously had seen that he was ^[r]blind said, “Is not this he who sat and begged?”

⁹ Some said, “This is he.” Others said, ^[s]“He is like him.”

He said, “I am he.”

¹⁰ Therefore they said to him, “How were your eyes opened?”

¹¹ He answered and said, ^(CJ)“A Man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and said to me, ‘Go to ^[t]the pool of Siloam and wash.’ So I went and washed, and I received sight.”

¹² Then they said to him, “Where is He?”

He said, “I do not know.”

The Pharisees Excommunicate the Healed Man

¹³ They brought him who formerly was blind to the Pharisees. ¹⁴ Now it was a Sabbath when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes. ¹⁵ Then the Pharisees also asked him again how he had received his sight. He said to them, “He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and I see.”

¹⁶ Therefore some of the Pharisees said, “This Man is not from God, because He does not ^[u]keep the Sabbath.”

Others said, ^(CK)“How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?” And ^(CL)there was a division among them.

¹⁷ They said to the blind man again, “What do you say about Him because He opened your eyes?”

He said, ^(CM)“He is a prophet.”

¹⁸ But the Jews did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind and received his sight, until they called the parents of him who had received his sight. ¹⁹ And they asked them, saying, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?”

²⁰ His parents answered them and said, “We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; ²¹ but by what means he now sees we do not know, or who opened his eyes we do not know. He is of age; ask him. He will speak for himself.” ²² His parents said these things because ^(CN)they feared the Jews, for the Jews had agreed already that if anyone confessed that He was Christ, he ^(CO)would be put out of the synagogue. ²³ Therefore his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”

²⁴ So they again called the man who was blind, and said to him, ^(CP)“Give God the glory! ^(CQ)We know that this Man is a sinner.”

²⁵ He answered and said, “Whether He is a sinner or not I do not know. One thing I know: that though I was blind, now I see.”

²⁶ Then they said to him again, “What did He do to you? How did He open your eyes?”

²⁷ He answered them, “I told you already, and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become His disciples?”

²⁸ Then they reviled him and said, “You are His disciple, but we are Moses’ disciples. ²⁹ We know that God ^(CR)spoke to ^(CS)Moses; as for this fellow, ^(CT)we do not know where He is from.”

³⁰ The man answered and said to them, ^(CU)“Why, this is a marvelous thing, that you do not know where He is from; yet He has opened my eyes! ³¹ Now we know that ^(CV)God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, He hears him. ³² Since the world began it has been unheard of that anyone opened the eyes of one who was born blind. ^33 (CW)If this Man were not from God, He could do nothing.”

³⁴ They answered and said to him, ^(CX)“You were completely born in sins, and are you teaching us?” And they ^[v]cast him out.

True Vision and True Blindness

³⁵ Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when He had ^(CY)found him, He said to him, “Do you ^(CZ)believe in ^(DA)the Son of ^[w]God?”

³⁶ He answered and said, “Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?”

³⁷ And Jesus said to him, “You have both seen Him and ^(DB)it is He who is talking with you.”

³⁸ Then he said, “Lord, I believe!” And he ^(DC)worshiped Him.

³⁹ And Jesus said, ^(DD)“For judgment I have come into this world, ^(DE)that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind.”

⁴⁰ Then some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these words, ^(DF)and said to Him, “Are we blind also?”

⁴¹ Jesus said to them, ^(DG)“If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, ‘We see.’ Therefore your sin remains.

Jesus the True Shepherd

10 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. ² But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. ³ To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by ^(DH)name and leads them out. ⁴ And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. ⁵ Yet they will by no means follow a ^(DI)stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” ⁶ Jesus used this illustration, but they did not understand the things which He spoke to them.

Jesus the Good Shepherd

⁷ Then Jesus said to them again, “Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. ⁸ All who ever came ^[x]before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. ^9 (DJ)I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. ¹⁰ The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

^11 (DK)“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. ¹² But a ^[y]hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and ^(DL)leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them. ¹³ The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep. ¹⁴ I am the good shepherd; and ^(DM)I know My sheep, and ^(DN)am known by My own. ^15 (DO)As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; ^(DP)and I lay down My life for the sheep. ¹⁶ And ^(DQ)other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; ^(DR)and there will be one flock and one shepherd.

¹⁷ “Therefore My Father ^(DS)loves Me, ^(DT)because I lay down My life that I may take it again. ¹⁸ No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I ^(DU)have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. ^(DV)This command I have received from My Father.”

¹⁹ Therefore ^(DW)there was a division again among the Jews because of these sayings. ²⁰ And many of them said, ^(DX)“He has a demon and is ^[z]mad. Why do you listen to Him?”

²¹ Others said, “These are not the words of one who has a demon. ^(DY)Can a demon ^(DZ)open the eyes of the blind?”

The Shepherd Knows His Sheep

²² Now it was the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem, and it was winter. ²³ And Jesus walked in the temple, ^(EA)in Solomon’s porch. ²⁴ Then the Jews surrounded Him and said to Him, “How long do You keep us in ^[aa]doubt? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.”

²⁵ Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. ^(EB)The works that I do in My Father’s name, they ^(EC)bear witness of Me. ²⁶ But ^(ED)you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, ^[ab]as I said to you. ^27 (EE)My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. ²⁸ And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. ^29 (EF)My Father, ^(EG)who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. ^30 (EH)I and My Father are one.”

Renewed Efforts to Stone Jesus

³¹ Then ^(EI)the Jews took up stones again to stone Him. ³² Jesus answered them, “Many good works I have shown you from My Father. For which of those works do you stone Me?”

³³ The Jews answered Him, saying, “For a good work we do not stone You, but for ^(EJ)blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, ^(EK)make Yourself God.”

³⁴ Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your law, ^(EL)‘I said, “You are gods” ’? ³⁵ If He called them gods, ^(EM)to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture ^(EN)cannot be broken), ³⁶ do you say of Him ^(EO)whom the Father sanctified and ^(EP)sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ ^(EQ)because I said, ‘I am ^(ER)the Son of God’? ^37 (ES)If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; ³⁸ but if I do, though you do not believe Me, ^(ET)believe the works, that you may know and ^[ac]believe ^(EU)that the Father is in Me, and I in Him.” ^39 (EV)Therefore they sought again to seize Him, but He escaped out of their hand.

The Believers Beyond Jordan

⁴⁰ And He went away again beyond the Jordan to the place ^(EW)where John was baptizing at first, and there He stayed. ⁴¹ Then many came to Him and said, “John performed no sign, ^(EX)but all the things that John spoke about this Man were true.” ⁴² And many believed in Him there.

The Death of Lazarus

11 Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of ^(EY)Mary and her sister Martha. ^2 (EZ)It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. ³ Therefore the sisters sent to Him, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.”

⁴ When Jesus heard that, He said, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”

⁵ Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. ⁶ So, when He heard that he was sick, ^(FA)He stayed two more days in the place where He was. ⁷ Then after this He said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.”

⁸ The disciples said to Him, “Rabbi, lately the Jews sought to ^(FB)stone You, and are You going there again?”

⁹ Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? ^(FC)If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the ^(FD)light of this world. ¹⁰ But ^(FE)if one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.” ¹¹ These things He said, and after that He said to them, “Our friend Lazarus ^(FF)sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up.”

¹² Then His disciples said, “Lord, if he sleeps he will get well.” ¹³ However, Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought that He was speaking about taking rest in sleep.

¹⁴ Then Jesus said to them plainly, “Lazarus is dead. ¹⁵ And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe. Nevertheless let us go to him.”

¹⁶ Then ^(FG)Thomas, who is called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with Him.”

I Am the Resurrection and the Life

¹⁷ So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days. ¹⁸ Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about ^[ad]two miles away. ¹⁹ And many of the Jews had joined the women around Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother.

²⁰ Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met Him, but Mary was sitting in the house. ²¹ Now Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. ²² But even now I know that ^(FH)whatever You ask of God, God will give You.”

²³ Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”

²⁴ Martha said to Him, ^(FI)“I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”

²⁵ Jesus said to her, “I am ^(FJ)the resurrection and the life. ^(FK)He who believes in Me, though he may ^(FL)die, he shall live. ²⁶ And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

²⁷ She said to Him, “Yes, Lord, ^(FM)I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”

Jesus and Death, the Last Enemy

²⁸ And when she had said these things, she went her way and secretly called Mary her sister, saying, “The Teacher has come and is calling for you.” ²⁹ As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly and came to Him. ³⁰ Now Jesus had not yet come into the town, but ^[ae]was in the place where Martha met Him. ^31 (FN)Then the Jews who were with her in the house, and comforting her, when they saw that Mary rose up quickly and went out, followed her, ^[af]saying, “She is going to the tomb to weep there.”

³² Then, when Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him, she ^(FO)fell down at His feet, saying to Him, ^(FP)“Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.”

³³ Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled. ³⁴ And He said, “Where have you laid him?”

They said to Him, “Lord, come and see.”

^35 (FQ)Jesus wept. ³⁶ Then the Jews said, “See how He loved him!”

³⁷ And some of them said, “Could not this Man, ^(FR)who opened the eyes of the blind, also have kept this man from dying?”

Lazarus Raised from the Dead

³⁸ Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a ^(FS)stone lay against it. ³⁹ Jesus said, “Take away the stone.”

Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, “Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days.”

⁴⁰ Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would ^(FT)see the glory of God?” ⁴¹ Then they took away the stone ^[ag]from the place where the dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. ⁴² And I know that You always hear Me, but ^(FU)because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me.” ⁴³ Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth!” ⁴⁴ And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with ^(FV)graveclothes, and ^(FW)his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Loose him, and let him go.”

The Plot to Kill Jesus^(FX)

⁴⁵ Then many of the Jews who had come to Mary, ^(FY)and had seen the things Jesus did, believed in Him. ⁴⁶ But some of them went away to the Pharisees and ^(FZ)told them the things Jesus did. ^47 (GA)Then the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered a council and said, ^(GB)“What shall we do? For this Man works many signs. ⁴⁸ If we let Him alone like this, everyone will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and nation.”

⁴⁹ And one of them, ^(GC)Caiaphas, being high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all, ^50 (GD)nor do you consider that it is expedient for ^[ah]us that one man should die for the people, and not that the whole nation should perish.” ⁵¹ Now this he did not say on his own authority; but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, ⁵² and ^(GE)not for that nation only, but ^(GF)also that He would gather together in one the children of God who were scattered abroad.

⁵³ Then, from that day on, they plotted to ^(GG)put Him to death. ^54 (GH)Therefore Jesus no longer walked openly among the Jews, but went from there into the country near the wilderness, to a city called ^(GI)Ephraim, and there remained with His disciples.

^55 (GJ)And the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went from the country up to Jerusalem before the Passover, to ^(GK)purify themselves. ^56 (GL)Then they sought Jesus, and spoke among themselves as they stood in the temple, “What do you think—that He will not come to the feast?” ⁵⁷ Now both the chief priests and the Pharisees had given a command, that if anyone knew where He was, he should report it, that they might ^(GM)seize Him.