Jesus Comes to Jerusalem as King^(A)(B)

21 As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives,^(C) Jesus sent two disciples, ² saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. ³ If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”

⁴ This took place to fulfill^(D) what was spoken through the prophet:

⁶ The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. ⁷ They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. ⁸ A very large crowd spread their cloaks^(F) on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. ⁹ The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,

¹⁰ When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?”

¹¹ The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet^(J) from Nazareth in Galilee.”

Jesus at the Temple^(K)

¹² Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying^(L) and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers^(M) and the benches of those selling doves.^{(N) 13} “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’^[e](O) but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’^[f]”^(P)

¹⁴ The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them.^{(Q) 15} But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple courts, “Hosanna to the Son of David,”^(R) they were indignant.^(S)

¹⁶ “Do you hear what these children are saying?” they asked him.

“Yes,” replied Jesus, “have you never read,

¹⁷ And he left them and went out of the city to Bethany,^(U) where he spent the night.

Jesus Teaches Nicodemus

3 Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus^(A) who was a member of the Jewish ruling council.^{(B) 2} He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi,^(C) we know^(D) that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs^(E) you are doing if God were not with him.”^(F)

³ Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.^[a]”^(G)

⁴ “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”

⁵ Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit.^{(H) 6} Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit^[b] gives birth to spirit.^{(I) 7} You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You^[c] must be born again.’ ⁸ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”^[d](J)

⁹ “How can this be?”^(K) Nicodemus asked.

¹⁰ “You are Israel’s teacher,”^(L) said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things? ¹¹ Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know,^(M) and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony.^{(N) 12} I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? ¹³ No one has ever gone into heaven^(O) except the one who came from heaven^(P)—the Son of Man.^{[e](Q) 14} Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness,^(R) so the Son of Man must be lifted up,^{[f](S) 15} that everyone who believes^(T) may have eternal life in him.”^[g](U)

¹⁶ For God so loved^(V) the world that he gave^(W) his one and only Son,^(X) that whoever believes^(Y) in him shall not perish but have eternal life.^{(Z) 17} For God did not send his Son into the world^(AA) to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.^{(AB) 18} Whoever believes in him is not condemned,^(AC) but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.^{(AD) 19} This is the verdict: Light^(AE) has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.^{(AF) 20} Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed.^{(AG) 21} But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.

³ So he left Judea^(A) and went back once more to Galilee.

⁴ Now he had to go through Samaria.^{(B) 5} So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph.^{(C) 6} Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon.

⁷ When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?”^{(D) 8} (His disciples had gone into the town^(E) to buy food.)

⁹ The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan^(F) woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.^[a])

¹⁰ Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”^(G)

¹¹ “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? ¹² Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well^(H) and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?”

¹³ Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, ¹⁴ but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst.^(I) Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water^(J) welling up to eternal life.”^(K)

¹⁵ The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty^(L) and have to keep coming here to draw water.”

¹⁶ He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.”

¹⁷ “I have no husband,” she replied.

Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. ¹⁸ The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.”

¹⁹ “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet.^{(M) 20} Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain,^(N) but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.”^(O)

²¹ “Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming^(P) when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.^{(Q) 22} You Samaritans worship what you do not know;^(R) we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews.^{(S) 23} Yet a time is coming and has now come^(T) when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit^(U) and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. ²⁴ God is spirit,^(V) and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”

²⁵ The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ)^(W) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”

²⁶ Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.”^(X)

The Disciples Rejoin Jesus

²⁷ Just then his disciples returned^(Y) and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?”

²⁸ Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, ²⁹ “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did.^(Z) Could this be the Messiah?”^{(AA) 30} They came out of the town and made their way toward him.

²⁷ “Now my soul is troubled,^(A) and what shall I say? ‘Father,^(B) save me from this hour’?^(C) No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. ²⁸ Father, glorify your name!”

Then a voice came from heaven,^(D) “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.” ²⁹ The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him.

³⁰ Jesus said, “This voice was for your benefit,^(E) not mine. ³¹ Now is the time for judgment on this world;^(F) now the prince of this world^(G) will be driven out. ³² And I, when I am lifted up^[a] from the earth,^(H) will draw all people to myself.”^{(I) 33} He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die.^(J)

³⁴ The crowd spoke up, “We have heard from the Law^(K) that the Messiah will remain forever,^(L) so how can you say, ‘The Son of Man^(M) must be lifted up’?^(N) Who is this ‘Son of Man’?”

³⁵ Then Jesus told them, “You are going to have the light^(O) just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light,^(P) before darkness overtakes you.^(Q) Whoever walks in the dark does not know where they are going. ³⁶ Believe in the light while you have the light, so that you may become children of light.”^(R) When he had finished speaking, Jesus left and hid himself from them.^(S)

Belief and Unbelief Among the Jews

³⁷ Even after Jesus had performed so many signs^(T) in their presence, they still would not believe in him. ³⁸ This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet:

³⁹ For this reason they could not believe, because, as Isaiah says elsewhere:

⁴¹ Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus’ glory^(W) and spoke about him.^(X)

⁴² Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him.^(Y) But because of the Pharisees^(Z) they would not openly acknowledge their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue;^{(AA) 43} for they loved human praise^(AB) more than praise from God.^(AC)

⁴⁴ Then Jesus cried out, “Whoever believes in me does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me.^{(AD) 45} The one who looks at me is seeing the one who sent me.^{(AE) 46} I have come into the world as a light,^(AF) so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.

⁴⁷ “If anyone hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge that person. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world.^{(AG) 48} There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; the very words I have spoken will condemn them^(AH) at the last day. ⁴⁹ For I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me^(AI) to say all that I have spoken. ⁵⁰ I know that his command leads to eternal life.^(AJ) So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say.”^(AK)