7 After this, Jesus travelled around in Galilee. He would not travel around in Judea because the leaders of the Jews wanted to kill him.

² Every year the Jews had a feast to remember the time when their fathers lived in tents in the desert. The time was near for that feast.

³ Jesus' brothers said to him, `Go away from here to Judea. Let your disciples also see the work you are doing.

⁴ When a person wants people to know about him, he does not hide what he is doing. If you are doing these big things, let the world see you.'

⁵ Even his brothers did not believe in Jesus.

⁶ Jesus said to them, `It is not yet the time for me to go. But you may go any time you want to.

⁷ The people of the world cannot hate you. But they hate me because I say what they do is wrong.

⁸ Go to the feast yourselves. I am not going to the feast until it is the right time for me to go.'

⁹ He said this to them and stayed in Galilee.

¹⁰ After his brothers went to the feast, Jesus went also. He did not go with the other people, but he went by himself.

¹¹ The leaders of the Jews at the feast tried to find him. They said, `Where is he?'

¹² People were talking among themselves about Jesus. Some said, `He is a good man.' Others said, `No. He is leading people to do wrong things.'

¹³ But they were afraid of the Jewish leaders, so no one talked about him out in the open.

¹⁴ When the feast was half finished, Jesus went to the temple and taught the people.

¹⁵ The Jews were very much surprised. `How can this man know books? He never went to school.'

¹⁶ Jesus answered the people, `I am not teaching you my teaching. It is the teaching of the one who sent me.

¹⁷ If any man wants to do what God wants him to do, he will know the teaching. He will know if it is God's teaching or if I am speaking from my own mind.

¹⁸ The person who speaks from his own mind only wants to be great himself. But the person whom God has sent wants to show that God is great. That person is true. He is not a bad man.

¹⁹ Did not Moses give you the law? Not one of you is keeping the law. Why are you trying to kill me?'

²⁰ The people answered Jesus, `A bad spirit is in you! Who is trying to kill you?'

²¹ Jesus answered them, `I have done one thing. You are all surprised about it.

²² Moses gave you the law of circumcision. You obey the law, not because it came from Moses, but because it came from the fathers long ago. You circumcise a baby boy on the Sabbath day.

²³ You do it on the Sabbath day so that you will not break the law of Moses. If you do that, then why are you angry with me because I healed a man on the Sabbath day?

²⁴ Do not judge by what you see, but judge in the right way.'

²⁵ Some people from Jerusalem said, `Is not this the person they are trying to kill?

²⁶ See, he does not fear to speak and yet they say nothing to him! Do the rulers really know that this man is the Christ?

²⁷ But we know where this man comes from. When the Christ comes, no one will know where he comes from.'

²⁸ Jesus was teaching in the temple. He spoke loudly saying, `You know me and you know where I come from. I have not come in my own power. The one who sent me is true. He is the one you do not know.

²⁹ I know him because I came from him. He sent me.'

³⁰ Then the people wanted to catch him. But no one put a hand on him. It was not yet the time for that.

³¹ Many of the people believed in Jesus. They said, `When Christ comes, will he do greater works than this man has done?'

³² The Pharisees heard what the people said about him. The chief priests and the Pharisees sent soldiers to catch him.

³³ Jesus said, `I will stay with you a short time longer. Then I will go back to him who sent me.

³⁴ You will look for me, but you will not find me. You will not be able to go to the place where I will be.'

³⁵ The Jews said to one another, `Where will he go that we cannot find him? Will he go to our people who are living in other countries? Will he teach them?

³⁶ What does he mean by this: "You will look for me and will not find me. You will not be able to go to the place where I will be"?'

³⁷ The last day of the feast was a big day. On that day Jesus stood up and shouted, `If anyone is thirsty, he may come to me and drink.

³⁸ If anyone believes in me, the holy writings say, "Rivers of water that give life will flow out of his heart." '

³⁹ This is what Jesus meant: those who believe in him would receive the Spirit. At that time no one had received the Holy Spirit because Jesus had not yet been lifted up to heaven

⁴⁰ When some of the people heard this they said, `Truly, this is the Prophet.'

⁴¹ Other people said, `This is the Christ.' But some said, `The Christ will not come from Galilee. Shall Christ come out of Galilee?

⁴² Do not the holy writings say that Christ will be of David's family? Will he not come from Bethlehem where David lived?'

⁴³ The people did not all say the same thing about him.

⁴⁴ Some of them wanted to catch Jesus, but no one put hands on him.

⁴⁵ The soldiers came back to the chief priests and the Pharisees. They asked the soldiers, `Why did you not bring him?'

⁴⁶ The soldiers replied, `No person has ever talked like he does!'

⁴⁷ The Pharisees said, `Has he fooled you also?

⁴⁸ None of the rulers and none of the Pharisees have believed on him, have they?

⁴⁹ These poor people do not know the law. They will die!'

⁵⁰ Nicodemus, the man who came to Jesus by night, was one of them.

⁵¹ He said, `Is it right to judge any man by our law before we hear him and learn what he has done?'

⁵² They answered him, `Are you from Galilee also? Study what is written. You will see that no prophet is to come from Galilee.'

⁵³ Then every one of them went home.