John 14-21
New King James Version
The Way, the Truth, and the Life
14 “Let (A)not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 In My Father’s house are many [a]mansions; if it were not so, [b]I would have told you. (B)I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, (C)I will come again and receive you to Myself; that (D)where I am, there you may be also. 4 And where I go you know, and the way you know.”
5 (E)Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?”
6 Jesus said to him, “I am (F)the way, (G)the truth, and (H)the life. (I)No one comes to the Father (J)except through Me.
The Father Revealed
7 (K)“If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him.”
8 Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us.”
9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? (L)He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Do you not believe that (M)I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you (N)I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works. 11 Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, (O)or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves.
The Answered Prayer
12 (P)“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. 13 (Q)And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be (R)glorified in the Son. 14 If you [c]ask anything in My name, I will do it.
Jesus Promises Another Helper
15 (S)“If you love Me, [d]keep My commandments. 16 And I will pray the Father, and (T)He will give you another [e]Helper, that He may abide with you forever— 17 (U)the Spirit of truth, (V)whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you (W)and will be in you. 18 (X)I will not leave you orphans; (Y)I will come to you.
Indwelling of the Father and the Son
19 “A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but (Z)you will see Me. (AA)Because I live, you will live also. 20 At that day you will know that (AB)I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. 21 (AC)He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and [f]manifest Myself to him.”
22 (AD)Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, “Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?”
23 Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, (AE)and We will come to him and make Our home with him. 24 He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and (AF)the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me.
The Gift of His Peace
25 “These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. 26 But (AG)the [g]Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will (AH)send in My name, (AI)He will teach you all things, and bring to your (AJ)remembrance all things that I said to you. 27 (AK)Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. 28 You have heard Me (AL)say to you, ‘I am going away and coming back to you.’ If you loved Me, you would rejoice because [h]I said, (AM)‘I am going to the Father,’ for (AN)My Father is greater than I.
29 “And (AO)now I have told you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe. 30 I will no longer talk much with you, (AP)for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has (AQ)nothing in Me. 31 But that the world may know that I love the Father, and (AR)as the Father gave Me commandment, so I do. Arise, let us go from here.
The True Vine
15 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 (AS)Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He [i]takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear (AT)more fruit. 3 (AU)You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4 (AV)Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.
5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much (AW)fruit; for without Me you can do (AX)nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in Me, (AY)he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If you abide in Me, and My words (AZ)abide in you, (BA)you[j] will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. 8 (BB)By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; (BC)so you will be My disciples.
Love and Joy Perfected
9 “As the Father (BD)loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. 10 (BE)If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.
11 “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and (BF)that your joy may be full. 12 (BG)This is My (BH)commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 (BI)Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. 14 (BJ)You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. 15 No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, (BK)for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you. 16 (BL)You did not choose Me, but I chose you and (BM)appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father (BN)in My name He may give you. 17 These things I command you, that you love one another.
The World’s Hatred
18 (BO)“If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. 19 (BP)If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet (BQ)because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. 20 Remember the word that I said to you, (BR)‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. (BS)If they kept My word, they will keep yours also. 21 But (BT)all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me. 22 (BU)If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have no sin, (BV)but now they have no excuse for their sin. 23 (BW)He who hates Me hates My Father also. 24 If I had not done among them (BX)the works which no one else did, they would have no sin; but now they have (BY)seen and also hated both Me and My Father. 25 But this happened that the word might be fulfilled which is written in their law, (BZ)‘They hated Me without a cause.’
The Coming Rejection
26 (CA)“But when the [k]Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, (CB)He will testify of Me. 27 And (CC)you also will bear witness, because (CD)you have been with Me from the beginning.
Jesus Warns and Comforts His Disciples
16 “These things I have spoken to you, that you (CE)should not be made to stumble. 2 (CF)They will put you out of the synagogues; yes, the time is coming (CG)that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service. 3 And (CH)these things they will do [l]to you because they have not known the Father nor Me. 4 But these things I have told you, that when [m]the time comes, you may remember that I told you of them.
“And these things I did not say to you at the beginning, because I was with you.
The Work of the Holy Spirit
5 “But now I (CI)go away to Him who sent Me, and none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’ 6 But because I have said these things to you, (CJ)sorrow has filled your heart. 7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but (CK)if I depart, I will send Him to you. 8 And when He has (CL)come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9 (CM)of sin, because they do not believe in Me; 10 (CN)of righteousness, (CO)because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; 11 (CP)of judgment, because (CQ)the ruler of this world is judged.
12 “I still have many things to say to you, (CR)but you cannot bear them now. 13 However, when He, (CS)the Spirit of truth, has come, (CT)He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. 14 (CU)He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. 15 (CV)All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He [n]will take of Mine and declare it to you.
Sorrow Will Turn to Joy
16 “A (CW)little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me, (CX)because I go to the Father.”
17 Then some of His disciples said among themselves, “What is this that He says to us, ‘A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me’; and, ‘because I go to the Father’?” 18 They said therefore, “What is this that He says, ‘A little while’? We do not [o]know what He is saying.”
19 Now Jesus knew that they desired to ask Him, and He said to them, “Are you inquiring among yourselves about what I said, ‘A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me’? 20 Most assuredly, I say to you that you will weep and (CY)lament, but the world will rejoice; and you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into (CZ)joy. 21 (DA)A woman, when she is in labor, has sorrow because her hour has come; but as soon as she has given birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. 22 Therefore you now have sorrow; but I will see you again and (DB)your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you.
23 “And in that day you will ask Me nothing. (DC)Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you. 24 Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, (DD)that your joy may be (DE)full.
Jesus Christ Has Overcome the World
25 “These things I have spoken to you in figurative language; but the time is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figurative language, but I will tell you (DF)plainly about the Father. 26 In that day you will ask in My name, and I do not say to you that I shall pray the Father for you; 27 (DG)for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me, and (DH)have believed that I came forth from God. 28 (DI)I came forth from the Father and have come into the world. Again, I leave the world and go to the Father.”
29 His disciples said to Him, “See, now You are speaking plainly, and using no figure of speech! 30 Now we are sure that (DJ)You know all things, and have no need that anyone should question You. By this (DK)we believe that You came forth from God.”
31 Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe? 32 (DL)Indeed the hour is coming, yes, has now come, that you will be scattered, (DM)each to his [p]own, and will leave Me alone. And (DN)yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me. 33 These things I have spoken to you, that (DO)in Me you may have peace. (DP)In the world you [q]will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, (DQ)I have overcome the world.”
Jesus Prays for Himself
17 Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: “Father, (DR)the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, 2 (DS)as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He [r]should give eternal life to as many (DT)as You have given Him. 3 And (DU)this is eternal life, that they may know You, (DV)the only true God, and Jesus Christ (DW)whom You have sent. 4 (DX)I have glorified You on the earth. (DY)I have finished the work (DZ)which You have given Me to do. 5 And now, O Father, glorify Me together [s]with Yourself, with the glory (EA)which I had with You before the world was.
Jesus Prays for His Disciples
6 (EB)“I have [t]manifested Your name to the men (EC)whom You have given Me out of the world. (ED)They were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. 7 Now they have known that all things which You have given Me are from You. 8 For I have given to them the words (EE)which You have given Me; and they have received them, (EF)and have known surely that I came forth from You; and they have believed that (EG)You sent Me.
9 “I pray for them. (EH)I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours. 10 And all Mine are Yours, and (EI)Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them. 11 (EJ)Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, (EK)keep[u] through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one (EL)as We are. 12 While I was with them [v]in the world, (EM)I kept them in [w]Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and (EN)none of them is [x]lost (EO)except the son of [y]perdition, (EP)that the Scripture might be fulfilled. 13 But now I come to You, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves. 14 I have given them Your word; (EQ)and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, (ER)just as I am not of the world. 15 I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but (ES)that You should keep them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 17 (ET)Sanctify[z] them by Your truth. (EU)Your word is truth. 18 (EV)As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. 19 And (EW)for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth.
Jesus Prays for All Believers
20 “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who [aa]will believe in Me through their word; 21 (EX)that they all may be one, as (EY)You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. 22 And the (EZ)glory which You gave Me I have given them, (FA)that they may be one just as We are one: 23 I in them, and You in Me; (FB)that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.
24 (FC)“Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; (FD)for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. 25 O righteous Father! (FE)The world has not known You, but (FF)I have known You; and (FG)these have known that You sent Me. 26 (FH)And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love (FI)with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”
Betrayal and Arrest in Gethsemane(FJ)
18 When Jesus had spoken these words, (FK)He went out with His disciples over (FL)the Brook Kidron, where there was a garden, which He and His disciples entered. 2 And Judas, who betrayed Him, also knew the place; (FM)for Jesus often met there with His disciples. 3 (FN)Then Judas, having received a detachment of troops, and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, came there with lanterns, torches, and weapons. 4 Jesus therefore, (FO)knowing all things that would come upon Him, went forward and said to them, “Whom are you seeking?”
5 They answered Him, (FP)“Jesus [ab]of Nazareth.”
Jesus said to them, “I am He.” And Judas, who (FQ)betrayed Him, also stood with them. 6 Now when He said to them, “I am He,” they drew back and fell to the ground.
7 Then He asked them again, “Whom are you seeking?”
And they said, “Jesus of Nazareth.”
8 Jesus answered, “I have told you that I am He. Therefore, if you seek Me, let these go their way,” 9 that the saying might be fulfilled which He spoke, (FR)“Of those whom You gave Me I have lost none.”
10 (FS)Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant’s name was Malchus.
11 So Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword into the sheath. Shall I not drink (FT)the cup which My Father has given Me?”
Before the High Priest
12 Then the detachment of troops and the captain and the officers of the Jews arrested Jesus and bound Him. 13 And (FU)they led Him away to (FV)Annas first, for he was the father-in-law of (FW)Caiaphas who was high priest that year. 14 (FX)Now it was Caiaphas who advised the Jews that it was [ac]expedient that one man should die for the people.
Peter Denies Jesus(FY)
15 (FZ)And Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did (GA)another[ad] disciple. Now that disciple was known to the high priest, and went with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest. 16 (GB)But Peter stood at the door outside. Then the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to her who kept the door, and brought Peter in. 17 Then the servant girl who kept the door said to Peter, “You are not also one of this Man’s disciples, are you?”
He said, “I am (GC)not.”
18 Now the servants and officers who had made a fire of coals stood there, for it was cold, and they warmed themselves. And Peter stood with them and warmed himself.
Jesus Questioned by the High Priest
19 The high priest then asked Jesus about His disciples and His doctrine.
20 Jesus answered him, (GD)“I spoke openly to the world. I always taught (GE)in synagogues and (GF)in the temple, where [ae]the Jews always meet, and in secret I have said nothing. 21 Why do you ask Me? Ask (GG)those who have heard Me what I said to them. Indeed they know what I said.”
22 And when He had said these things, one of the officers who stood by (GH)struck[af] Jesus with the palm of his hand, saying, “Do You answer the high priest like that?”
23 Jesus answered him, “If I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil; but if well, why do you strike Me?”
24 (GI)Then Annas sent Him bound to (GJ)Caiaphas the high priest.
Peter Denies Twice More
25 Now Simon Peter stood and warmed himself. (GK)Therefore they said to him, “You are not also one of His disciples, are you?”
He denied it and said, “I am not!”
26 One of the servants of the high priest, a relative of him whose ear Peter cut off, said, “Did I not see you in the garden with Him?” 27 Peter then denied again; and (GL)immediately a rooster crowed.
In Pilate’s Court(GM)
28 (GN)Then they led Jesus from Caiaphas to the Praetorium, and it was early morning. (GO)But they themselves did not go into the [ag]Praetorium, lest they should be defiled, but that they might eat the Passover. 29 (GP)Pilate then went out to them and said, “What accusation do you bring against this Man?”
30 They answered and said to him, “If He were not [ah]an evildoer, we would not have delivered Him up to you.”
31 Then Pilate said to them, “You take Him and judge Him according to your law.”
Therefore the Jews said to him, “It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death,” 32 (GQ)that the saying of Jesus might be fulfilled which He spoke, (GR)signifying by what death He would die.
33 (GS)Then Pilate entered the [ai]Praetorium again, called Jesus, and said to Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?”
34 Jesus answered him, “Are you speaking for yourself about this, or did others tell you this concerning Me?”
35 Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered You to me. What have You done?”
36 (GT)Jesus answered, (GU)“My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here.”
37 Pilate therefore said to Him, “Are You a king then?”
Jesus answered, “You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, (GV)that I should bear (GW)witness to the truth. Everyone who (GX)is of the truth (GY)hears My voice.”
38 Pilate said to Him, “What is truth?” And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews, and said to them, (GZ)“I find no fault in Him at all.
Taking the Place of Barabbas(HA)
39 (HB)“But you have a custom that I should release someone to you at the Passover. Do you therefore want me to release to you the King of the Jews?”
40 (HC)Then they all cried again, saying, “Not this Man, but Barabbas!” (HD)Now Barabbas was a robber.
The Soldiers Mock Jesus(HE)
19 So then (HF)Pilate took Jesus and scourged Him. 2 And the soldiers twisted a crown of thorns and put it on His head, and they put on Him a purple robe. 3 [aj]Then they said, “Hail, King of the Jews!” And they (HG)struck Him with their hands.
4 Pilate then went out again, and said to them, “Behold, I am bringing Him out to you, (HH)that you may know that I find no fault in Him.”
Pilate’s Decision
5 Then Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate said to them, “Behold the Man!”
6 (HI)Therefore, when the chief priests and officers saw Him, they cried out, saying, “Crucify Him, crucify Him!”
Pilate said to them, “You take Him and crucify Him, for I find no fault in Him.”
7 The Jews answered him, (HJ)“We have a law, and according to [ak]our law He ought to die, because (HK)He made Himself the Son of God.”
8 Therefore, when Pilate heard that saying, he was the more afraid, 9 and went again into the Praetorium, and said to Jesus, “Where are You from?” (HL)But Jesus gave him no answer.
10 Then Pilate said to Him, “Are You not speaking to me? Do You not know that I have [al]power to crucify You, and power to release You?”
11 Jesus answered, (HM)“You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above. Therefore (HN)the one who delivered Me to you has the greater sin.”
12 From then on Pilate sought to release Him, but the Jews cried out, saying, “If you let this Man go, you are not Caesar’s friend. (HO)Whoever makes himself a king speaks against Caesar.”
13 (HP)When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he brought Jesus out and sat down in the judgment seat in a place that is called The Pavement, but in Hebrew, Gabbatha. 14 Now (HQ)it was the Preparation Day of the Passover, and about the sixth hour. And he said to the Jews, “Behold your King!”
15 But they cried out, “Away with Him, away with Him! Crucify Him!”
Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?”
The chief priests answered, (HR)“We have no king but Caesar!”
16 (HS)Then he delivered Him to them to be crucified. Then they took Jesus [am]and led Him away.
The King on a Cross(HT)
17 (HU)And He, bearing His cross, (HV)went out to a place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha, 18 where they crucified Him, and (HW)two others with Him, one on either side, and Jesus in the center. 19 (HX)Now Pilate wrote a title and put it on the cross. And the writing was:
JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.
20 Then many of the Jews read this title, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin.
21 Therefore the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but, ‘He said, “I am the King of the Jews.” ’ ”
22 Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”
23 (HY)Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His garments and made four parts, to each soldier a part, and also the tunic. Now the tunic was without seam, woven from the top in one piece. 24 They said therefore among themselves, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be,” that the Scripture might be fulfilled which says:
(HZ)“They divided My garments among them,
And for My clothing they cast lots.”
Therefore the soldiers did these things.
Behold Your Mother
25 (IA)Now there stood by the cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of (IB)Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and (IC)the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, (ID)“Woman, behold your son!” 27 Then He said to the disciple, “Behold your mother!” And from that hour that disciple took her (IE)to his own home.
It Is Finished
28 After this, Jesus, [an]knowing that all things were now accomplished, (IF)that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, “I thirst!” 29 Now a vessel full of sour wine was sitting there; and (IG)they filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on hyssop, and put it to His mouth. 30 So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, (IH)“It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.
Jesus’ Side Is Pierced
31 (II)Therefore, because it was the Preparation Day, (IJ)that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a (IK)high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. 32 Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who was crucified with Him. 33 But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. 34 But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately (IL)blood and water came out. 35 And he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is (IM)true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you may (IN)believe. 36 For these things were done that the Scripture should be fulfilled, (IO)“Not one of His bones shall be broken.” 37 And again another Scripture says, (IP)“They shall look on Him whom they pierced.”
Jesus Buried in Joseph’s Tomb(IQ)
38 (IR)After this, Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly, (IS)for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took the body of Jesus. 39 And (IT)Nicodemus, who at first came to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of (IU)myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds. 40 Then they took the body of Jesus, and (IV)bound it in strips of linen with the spices, as the custom of the Jews is to bury. 41 Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. 42 So (IW)there they laid Jesus, (IX)because of the Jews’ Preparation Day, for the tomb was nearby.
The Empty Tomb(IY)
20 Now the (IZ)first day of the week Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the (JA)stone had been taken away from the tomb. 2 Then she ran and came to Simon Peter, and to the (JB)other disciple, (JC)whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him.”
3 (JD)Peter therefore went out, and the other disciple, and were going to the tomb. 4 So they both ran together, and the other disciple outran Peter and came to the tomb first. 5 And he, stooping down and looking in, saw (JE)the linen cloths lying there; yet he did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb; and he saw the linen cloths lying there, 7 and (JF)the [ao]handkerchief that had been around His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by itself. 8 Then the (JG)other disciple, who came to the tomb first, went in also; and he saw and believed. 9 For as yet they did not [ap]know the (JH)Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead. 10 Then the disciples went away again to their own homes.
Mary Magdalene Sees the Risen Lord
11 (JI)But Mary stood outside by the tomb weeping, and as she wept she stooped down and looked into the tomb. 12 And she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. 13 Then they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?”
She said to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.”
14 (JJ)Now when she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and (JK)did not know that it was Jesus. 15 Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?”
She, supposing Him to be the gardener, said to Him, “Sir, if You have carried Him away, tell me where You have laid Him, and I will take Him away.”
16 Jesus said to her, (JL)“Mary!”
She turned and said to [aq]Him, “Rabboni!” (which is to say, Teacher).
17 Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet (JM)ascended to My Father; but go to (JN)My brethren and say to them, (JO)‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to (JP)My God and your God.’ ”
18 (JQ)Mary Magdalene came and told the [ar]disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that He had spoken these things to her.
The Apostles Commissioned(JR)
19 (JS)Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were [as]assembled, for (JT)fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, (JU)“Peace be with you.” 20 When He had said this, He (JV)showed them His hands and His side. (JW)Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.
21 So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! (JX)As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” 22 And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 (JY)If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”
Seeing and Believing
24 Now Thomas, (JZ)called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord.”
So he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”
26 And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, “Peace to you!” 27 Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and (KA)reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be (KB)unbelieving, but believing.”
28 And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!”
29 Jesus said to him, [at]“Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. (KC)Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
That You May Believe
30 And (KD)truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 (KE)but these are written that (KF)you may believe that Jesus (KG)is the Christ, the Son of God, (KH)and that believing you may have life in His name.
Breakfast by the Sea
21 After these things Jesus showed Himself again to the disciples at the (KI)Sea of Tiberias, and in this way He showed Himself: 2 Simon Peter, (KJ)Thomas called the Twin, (KK)Nathanael of (KL)Cana in Galilee, (KM)the sons of Zebedee, and two others of His disciples were together. 3 Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.”
They said to him, “We are going with you also.” They went out and [au]immediately got into the boat, and that night they caught nothing. 4 But when the morning had now come, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples (KN)did not know that it was Jesus. 5 Then (KO)Jesus said to them, “Children, have you any food?”
They answered Him, “No.”
6 And He said to them, (KP)“Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast, and now they were not able to draw it in because of the multitude of fish.
7 Therefore (KQ)that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment (for he had removed it), and plunged into the sea. 8 But the other disciples came in the little boat (for they were not far from land, but about two hundred cubits), dragging the net with fish. 9 Then, as soon as they had come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid on it, and bread. 10 Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish which you have just caught.”
11 Simon Peter went up and dragged the net to land, full of large fish, one hundred and fifty-three; and although there were so many, the net was not broken. 12 Jesus said to them, (KR)“Come and eat breakfast.” Yet none of the disciples dared ask Him, “Who are You?”—knowing that it was the Lord. 13 Jesus then came and took the bread and gave it to them, and likewise the fish.
14 This is now (KS)the third time Jesus showed Himself to His disciples after He was raised from the dead.
Jesus Restores Peter
15 So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of [av]Jonah, do you love Me more than these?”
He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I [aw]love You.”
He said to him, (KT)“Feed My lambs.”
16 He said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of [ax]Jonah, do you love Me?”
He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I [ay]love You.”
(KU)He said to him, “Tend My (KV)sheep.”
17 He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of [az]Jonah, do you [ba]love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?”
And he said to Him, “Lord, (KW)You know all things; You know that I love You.”
Jesus said to him, “Feed My sheep. 18 (KX)Most assuredly, I say to you, when you were younger, you girded yourself and walked where you wished; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish.” 19 This He spoke, signifying (KY)by what death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, (KZ)“Follow Me.”
The Beloved Disciple and His Book
20 Then Peter, turning around, saw the disciple (LA)whom Jesus loved following, (LB)who also had leaned on His breast at the supper, and said, “Lord, who is the one who betrays You?” 21 Peter, seeing him, said to Jesus, “But Lord, what about this man?”
22 Jesus said to him, “If I [bb]will that he remain (LC)till I come, what is that to you? You follow Me.”
23 Then this saying went out among the brethren that this disciple would not die. Yet Jesus did not say to him that he would not die, but, “If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you?”
24 This is the disciple who (LD)testifies of these things, and wrote these things; and we know that his testimony is true.
25 (LE)And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, (LF)I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Amen.
Footnotes
- John 14:2 Lit. dwellings
- John 14:2 NU would I have told you that I go or I would have told you; for I go
- John 14:14 NU ask Me
- John 14:15 NU you will keep
- John 14:16 Comforter, Gr. Parakletos
- John 14:21 reveal
- John 14:26 Comforter, Gr. Parakletos
- John 14:28 NU omits I said
- John 15:2 Or lifts up
- John 15:7 NU omits you will
- John 15:26 Comforter, Gr. Parakletos
- John 16:3 NU, M omit to you
- John 16:4 NU their
- John 16:15 NU, M takes of Mine and will declare
- John 16:18 understand
- John 16:32 own things or place
- John 16:33 NU, M omit will
- John 17:2 M shall
- John 17:5 Lit. alongside
- John 17:6 revealed
- John 17:11 NU, M keep them through Your name which You have given Me
- John 17:12 NU omits in the world
- John 17:12 NU Your name which You gave Me. And I guarded them; (or it;)
- John 17:12 destroyed
- John 17:12 destruction
- John 17:17 Set them apart
- John 17:20 NU, M omit will
- John 18:5 Lit. the Nazarene
- John 18:14 advantageous
- John 18:15 M the other
- John 18:20 NU all the Jews meet
- John 18:22 Lit. gave Jesus a slap,
- John 18:28 The governor’s headquarters
- John 18:30 a criminal
- John 18:33 The governor’s headquarters
- John 19:3 NU And they came up to Him and said
- John 19:7 NU the law
- John 19:10 authority
- John 19:16 NU omits and led Him away
- John 19:28 M seeing
- John 20:7 face cloth
- John 20:9 understand
- John 20:16 NU adds in Hebrew
- John 20:18 NU disciples, “I have seen the Lord,”
- John 20:19 NU omits assembled
- John 20:29 NU, M omit Thomas
- John 21:3 NU omits immediately
- John 21:15 NU John
- John 21:15 have affection for
- John 21:16 NU John
- John 21:16 have affection for
- John 21:17 NU John
- John 21:17 have affection for
- John 21:22 desire
John 14-21
The Message
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.
Seized in the Garden at Night
18 Jesus, having prayed this prayer, left with his disciples and crossed over the brook Kidron at a place where there was a garden. He and his disciples entered it.
2-4 Judas, his betrayer, knew the place because Jesus and his disciples went there often. So Judas led the way to the garden, and the Roman soldiers and police sent by the high priests and Pharisees followed. They arrived there with lanterns and torches and swords. Jesus, knowing by now everything that was imploding on him, went out and met them. He said, “Who are you after?”
They answered, “Jesus the Nazarene.”
5-6 He said, “That’s me.” The soldiers recoiled, totally taken aback. Judas, his betrayer, stood out like a sore thumb.
7 Jesus asked again, “Who are you after?”
They answered, “Jesus the Nazarene.”
8-9 “I told you,” said Jesus, “that’s me. I’m the one. So if it’s me you’re after, let these others go.” (This validated the words in his prayer, “I didn’t lose one of those you gave.”)
10 Just then Simon Peter, who was carrying a sword, pulled it from its sheath and struck the Chief Priest’s servant, cutting off his right ear. Malchus was the servant’s name.
11 Jesus ordered Peter, “Put back your sword. Do you think for a minute I’m not going to drink this cup the Father gave me?”
12-14 Then the Roman soldiers under their commander, joined by the Jewish police, seized Jesus and tied him up. They took him first to Annas, father-in-law of Caiaphas. Caiaphas was the Chief Priest that year. It was Caiaphas who had advised the Jews that it was to their advantage that one man die for the people.
15-16 Simon Peter and another disciple followed Jesus. That other disciple was known to the Chief Priest, and so he went in with Jesus to the Chief Priest’s courtyard. Peter had to stay outside. Then the other disciple went out, spoke to the doorkeeper, and got Peter in.
17 The young woman who was the doorkeeper said to Peter, “Aren’t you one of this man’s disciples?”
He said, “No, I’m not.”
18 The servants and police had made a fire because of the cold and were huddled there warming themselves. Peter stood with them, trying to get warm.
The Interrogation
19-21 Annas interrogated Jesus regarding his disciples and his teaching. Jesus answered, “I’ve spoken openly in public. I’ve taught regularly in meeting places and the Temple, where the Jews all come together. Everything has been out in the open. I’ve said nothing in secret. So why are you treating me like a traitor? Question those who have been listening to me. They know well what I have said. My teachings have all been aboveboard.”
22 When he said this, one of the policemen standing there slapped Jesus across the face, saying, “How dare you speak to the Chief Priest like that!”
23 Jesus replied, “If I’ve said something wrong, prove it. But if I’ve spoken the plain truth, why this slapping around?”
24 Then Annas sent him, still tied up, to the Chief Priest Caiaphas.
25 Meanwhile, Simon Peter was back at the fire, still trying to get warm. The others there said to him, “Aren’t you one of his disciples?”
He denied it, “Not me.”
26 One of the Chief Priest’s servants, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, said, “Didn’t I see you in the garden with him?”
27 Again, Peter denied it. Just then a rooster crowed.
The King of the Jews
28-29 They led Jesus then from Caiaphas to the Roman governor’s palace. It was early morning. They themselves didn’t enter the palace because they didn’t want to be disqualified from eating the Passover. So Pilate came out to them and spoke. “What charge do you bring against this man?”
30 They said, “If he hadn’t been doing something evil, do you think we’d be here bothering you?”
31-32 Pilate said, “You take him. Judge him by your law.”
The Jews said, “We’re not allowed to kill anyone.” (This would confirm Jesus’ word indicating the way he would die.)
33 Pilate went back into the palace and called for Jesus. He said, “Are you the ‘King of the Jews’?”
34 Jesus answered, “Are you saying this on your own, or did others tell you this about me?”
35 Pilate said, “Do I look like a Jew? Your people and your high priests turned you over to me. What did you do?”
36 “My kingdom,” said Jesus, “doesn’t consist of what you see around you. If it did, my followers would fight so that I wouldn’t be handed over to the Jews. But I’m not that kind of king, not the world’s kind of king.”
37 Then Pilate said, “So, are you a king or not?”
Jesus answered, “You tell me. Because I am King, I was born and entered the world so that I could witness to the truth. Everyone who cares for truth, who has any feeling for the truth, recognizes my voice.”
38-39 Pilate said, “What is truth?”
Then he went back out to the Jews and told them, “I find nothing wrong in this man. It’s your custom that I pardon one prisoner at Passover. Do you want me to pardon the ‘King of the Jews’?”
40 They shouted back, “Not this one, but Barabbas!” Barabbas was a Jewish freedom fighter.
The Thorn Crown of the King
19 1-3 So Pilate took Jesus and had him whipped. The soldiers, having braided a crown from thorns, set it on his head, threw a purple robe over him, and approached him with, “Hail, King of the Jews!” Then they greeted him with slaps in the face.
4-5 Pilate went back out again and said to them, “I present him to you, but I want you to know that I do not find him guilty of any crime.” Just then Jesus came out wearing the thorn crown and purple robe.
Pilate announced, “Here he is: the Man.”
6 When the high priests and police saw him, they shouted in a frenzy, “Crucify! Crucify!”
Pilate told them, “You take him. You crucify him. I find nothing wrong with him.”
7 The Jews answered, “We have a law, and by that law he must die because he claimed to be the Son of God.”
8-9 When Pilate heard this, he became even more scared. He went back into the palace and said to Jesus, “Where did you come from?”
Jesus gave no answer.
10 Pilate said, “You won’t talk? Don’t you know that I have the authority to pardon you, and the authority to—crucify you?”
11 Jesus said, “You haven’t a shred of authority over me except what has been given you from heaven. That’s why the one who betrayed me to you has committed a far greater fault.”
12 At this, Pilate tried his best to pardon him, but the Jews shouted him down: “If you pardon this man, you’re no friend of Caesar’s. Anyone setting himself up as ‘king’ defies Caesar.”
13-14 When Pilate heard those words, he led Jesus outside. He sat down at the judgment seat in the area designated Stone Court (in Hebrew, Gabbatha). It was the preparation day for Passover. The hour was noon. Pilate said to the Jews, “Here is your king.”
15 They shouted back, “Kill him! Kill him! Crucify him!”
Pilate said, “I am to crucify your king?”
The high priests answered, “We have no king except Caesar.”
16-19 Pilate caved in to their demand. He turned him over to be crucified.
The Crucifixion
They took Jesus away. Carrying his cross, Jesus went out to the place called Skull Hill (the name in Hebrew is Golgotha), where they crucified him, and with him two others, one on each side, Jesus in the middle. Pilate wrote a sign and had it placed on the cross. It read:
jesus the nazarene
the king of the jews.
20-21 Many of the Jews read the sign because the place where Jesus was crucified was right next to the city. It was written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek. The Jewish high priests objected. “Don’t write,” they said to Pilate, “‘The King of the Jews.’ Make it, ‘This man said, “I am the King of the Jews.”’”
22 Pilate said, “What I’ve written, I’ve written.”
23-24 When they crucified him, the Roman soldiers took his clothes and divided them up four ways, to each soldier a fourth. But his robe was seamless, a single piece of weaving, so they said to each other, “Let’s not tear it up. Let’s throw dice to see who gets it.” This confirmed the Scripture that said, “They divided up my clothes among them and threw dice for my coat.” (The soldiers validated the Scriptures!)
24-27 While the soldiers were looking after themselves, Jesus’ mother, his aunt, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene stood at the foot of the cross. Jesus saw his mother and the disciple he loved standing near her. He said to his mother, “Woman, here is your son.” Then to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that moment the disciple accepted her as his own mother.
28 Jesus, seeing that everything had been completed so that the Scripture record might also be complete, then said, “I’m thirsty.”
29-30 A jug of sour wine was standing by. Someone put a sponge soaked with the wine on a javelin and lifted it to his mouth. After he took the wine, Jesus said, “It’s done . . . complete.” Bowing his head, he offered up his spirit.
31-34 Then the Jews, since it was the day of Sabbath preparation, and so the bodies wouldn’t stay on the crosses over the Sabbath (it was a high holy day that year), petitioned Pilate that their legs be broken to speed death, and the bodies taken down. So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first man crucified with Jesus, and then the other. When they got to Jesus, they saw that he was already dead, so they didn’t break his legs. One of the soldiers stabbed him in the side with his spear. Blood and water gushed out.
35 The eyewitness to these things has presented an accurate report. He saw it himself and is telling the truth so that you, also, will believe.
36-37 These things that happened confirmed the Scripture, “Not a bone in his body was broken,” and the other Scripture that reads, “They will stare at the one they pierced.”
* * *
38 After all this, Joseph of Arimathea (he was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly, because he was intimidated by the Jews) petitioned Pilate to take the body of Jesus. Pilate gave permission. So Joseph came and took the body.
39-42 Nicodemus, who had first come to Jesus at night, came now in broad daylight carrying a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds. They took Jesus’ body and, following the Jewish burial custom, wrapped it in linen with the spices. There was a garden near the place he was crucified, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been placed. So, because it was Sabbath preparation for the Jews and the tomb was convenient, they placed Jesus in it.
Resurrection!
20 1-2 Early in the morning on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone was moved away from the entrance. She ran at once to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, gasping for breath. “They took the Master from the tomb. We don’t know where they’ve put him.”
3-10 Peter and the other disciple left immediately for the tomb. They ran, neck and neck. The other disciple got to the tomb first, outrunning Peter. Stooping to look in, he saw the pieces of linen cloth lying there, but he didn’t go in. Simon Peter arrived after him, entered the tomb, observed the linen cloths lying there, and the kerchief used to cover his head not lying with the linen cloths but separate, neatly folded by itself. Then the other disciple, the one who had gotten there first, went into the tomb, took one look at the evidence, and believed. No one yet knew from the Scripture that he had to rise from the dead. The disciples then went back home.
11-13 But Mary stood outside the tomb weeping. As she wept, she knelt to look into the tomb and saw two angels sitting there, dressed in white, one at the head, the other at the foot of where Jesus’ body had been laid. They said to her, “Woman, why do you weep?”
13-14 “They took my Master,” she said, “and I don’t know where they put him.” After she said this, she turned away and saw Jesus standing there. But she didn’t recognize him.
15 Jesus spoke to her, “Woman, why do you weep? Who are you looking for?”
She, thinking that he was the gardener, said, “Sir, if you took him, tell me where you put him so I can care for him.”
16 Jesus said, “Mary.”
Turning to face him, she said in Hebrew, “Rabboni!” meaning “Teacher!”
17 Jesus said, “Don’t cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go to my brothers and tell them, ‘I ascend to my Father and your Father, my God and your God.’”
18 Mary Magdalene went, telling the news to the disciples: “I saw the Master!” And she told them everything he said to her.
To Believe
19-20 Later on that day, the disciples had gathered together, but, fearful of the Jews, had locked all the doors in the house. Jesus entered, stood among them, and said, “Peace to you.” Then he showed them his hands and side.
20-21 The disciples, seeing the Master with their own eyes, were awestruck. Jesus repeated his greeting: “Peace to you. Just as the Father sent me, I send you.”
22-23 Then he took a deep breath and breathed into them. “Receive the Holy Spirit,” he said. “If you forgive someone’s sins, they’re gone for good. If you don’t forgive sins, what are you going to do with them?”
24-25 But Thomas, sometimes called the Twin, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples told him, “We saw the Master.”
But he said, “Unless I see the nail holes in his hands, put my finger in the nail holes, and stick my hand in his side, I won’t believe it.”
26 Eight days later, his disciples were again in the room. This time Thomas was with them. Jesus came through the locked doors, stood among them, and said, “Peace to you.”
27 Then he focused his attention on Thomas. “Take your finger and examine my hands. Take your hand and stick it in my side. Don’t be unbelieving. Believe.”
28 Thomas said, “My Master! My God!”
29 Jesus said, “So, you believe because you’ve seen with your own eyes. Even better blessings are in store for those who believe without seeing.”
30-31 Jesus provided far more God-revealing signs than are written down in this book. These are written down so you will believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and in the act of believing, have real and eternal life in the way he personally revealed it.
Fishing
21 1-3 After this, Jesus appeared again to the disciples, this time at the Tiberias Sea (the Sea of Galilee). This is how he did it: Simon Peter, Thomas (nicknamed “Twin”), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the brothers Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. Simon Peter announced, “I’m going fishing.”
3-4 The rest of them replied, “We’re going with you.” They went out and got in the boat. They caught nothing that night. When the sun came up, Jesus was standing on the beach, but they didn’t recognize him.
5 Jesus spoke to them: “Good morning! Did you catch anything for breakfast?”
They answered, “No.”
6 He said, “Throw the net off the right side of the boat and see what happens.”
They did what he said. All of a sudden there were so many fish in it, they weren’t strong enough to pull it in.
7-9 Then the disciple Jesus loved said to Peter, “It’s the Master!”
When Simon Peter realized that it was the Master, he threw on some clothes, for he was stripped for work, and dove into the sea. The other disciples came in by boat for they weren’t far from land, a hundred yards or so, pulling along the net full of fish. When they got out of the boat, they saw a fire laid, with fish and bread cooking on it.
10-11 Jesus said, “Bring some of the fish you’ve just caught.” Simon Peter joined them and pulled the net to shore—153 big fish! And even with all those fish, the net didn’t rip.
12 Jesus said, “Breakfast is ready.” Not one of the disciples dared ask, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Master.
13-14 Jesus then took the bread and gave it to them. He did the same with the fish. This was now the third time Jesus had shown himself alive to the disciples since being raised from the dead.
Do You Love Me?
15 After breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?”
“Yes, Master, you know I love you.”
Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”
16 He then asked a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?”
“Yes, Master, you know I love you.”
Jesus said, “Shepherd my sheep.”
17-19 Then he said it a third time: “Simon, son of John, do you love me?”
Peter was upset that he asked for the third time, “Do you love me?” so he answered, “Master, you know everything there is to know. You’ve got to know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Feed my sheep. I’m telling you the very truth now: When you were young you dressed yourself and went wherever you wished, but when you get old you’ll have to stretch out your hands while someone else dresses you and takes you where you don’t want to go.” He said this to hint at the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. And then he commanded, “Follow me.”
20-21 Turning his head, Peter noticed the disciple Jesus loved following right behind. When Peter noticed him, he asked Jesus, “Master, what’s going to happen to him?”
22-23 Jesus said, “If I want him to live until I come again, what’s that to you? You—follow me.” That is how the rumor got out among the brothers that this disciple wouldn’t die. But that is not what Jesus said. He simply said, “If I want him to live until I come again, what’s that to you?”
24 This is the same disciple who was eyewitness to all these things and wrote them down. And we all know that his eyewitness account is reliable and accurate.
25 There are so many other things Jesus did. If they were all written down, each of them, one by one, I can’t imagine a world big enough to hold such a library of books.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson