John 8:31-10:21

New King James Version

The Truth Shall Make You Free

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

³³ They answered Him, ^(D)“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, ^(E)whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. ³⁵ And ^(F)a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. ^36 (G)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 ^(H)you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you. ^38 (I)I speak what I have seen with My Father, and you do what you have ^[a]seen with your father.”

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

Jesus said to them, ^(K)“If you were Abraham’s children, you would do the works of Abraham. ^40 (L)But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth ^(M)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; ^(N)we have one Father—God.”

⁴² Jesus said to them, ^(O)“If God were your Father, you would love Me, for ^(P)I proceeded forth and came from God; ^(Q)nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me. ^43 (R)Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word. ^44 (S)You are of your father the devil, and the ^(T)desires of your father you want to ^(U)do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and ^(V)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 (W)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 ^(X)have a demon?”

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

⁵² Then the Jews said to Him, “Now we know that You ^(AB)have a demon! ^(AC)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. ^(AD)Who do You make Yourself out to be?”

⁵⁴ Jesus answered, ^(AE)“If I honor Myself, My honor is nothing. ^(AF)It is My Father who honors Me, of whom you say that He is ^[b]your God. ⁵⁵ Yet ^(AG)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 ^(AH)keep His word. ⁵⁶ Your father Abraham ^(AI)rejoiced to see My day, ^(AJ)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, ^(AK)before Abraham was, ^(AL)I AM.”

⁵⁹ Then ^(AM)they took up stones to throw at Him; but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple, ^(AN)going^[c] 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, ^(AO)who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”

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

⁶ When He had said these things, ^(AT)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 ^(AU)in the pool of Siloam” (which is translated, Sent). So ^(AV)he went and washed, and came back seeing.

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

⁹ Some said, “This is he.” Others said, ^[f]“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, ^(AW)“A Man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and said to me, ‘Go to ^[g]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 ^[h]keep the Sabbath.”

Others said, ^(AX)“How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?” And ^(AY)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, ^(AZ)“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 ^(BA)they feared the Jews, for the Jews had agreed already that if anyone confessed that He was Christ, he ^(BB)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, ^(BC)“Give God the glory! ^(BD)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 ^(BE)spoke to ^(BF)Moses; as for this fellow, ^(BG)we do not know where He is from.”

³⁰ The man answered and said to them, ^(BH)“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 ^(BI)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 (BJ)If this Man were not from God, He could do nothing.”

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

True Vision and True Blindness

³⁵ Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when He had ^(BL)found him, He said to him, “Do you ^(BM)believe in ^(BN)the Son of ^[j]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 ^(BO)it is He who is talking with you.”

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

³⁹ And Jesus said, ^(BQ)“For judgment I have come into this world, ^(BR)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, ^(BS)and said to Him, “Are we blind also?”

⁴¹ Jesus said to them, ^(BT)“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 ^(BU)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 ^(BV)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 ^[k]before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. ^9 (BW)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 (BX)“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. ¹² But a ^[l]hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and ^(BY)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 ^(BZ)I know My sheep, and ^(CA)am known by My own. ^15 (CB)As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; ^(CC)and I lay down My life for the sheep. ¹⁶ And ^(CD)other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; ^(CE)and there will be one flock and one shepherd.

¹⁷ “Therefore My Father ^(CF)loves Me, ^(CG)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 ^(CH)have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. ^(CI)This command I have received from My Father.”

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

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