The Healing at the Pool on the Sabbath

5 After this there was a ^(A)feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

² Now there is in Jerusalem by ^(B)the Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic^[a] called Bethesda,^[b] which has five roofed colonnades. ³ In these lay a multitude of invalids—blind, lame, and ^(C)paralyzed.^{[c] 5} One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. ⁶ When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be healed?” ⁷ The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.” ⁸ Jesus said to him, ^(D)“Get up, take up your bed, and walk.” ^9 (E)And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked.

^(F)Now that day was the Sabbath. ¹⁰ So the Jews^[d] said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath, and ^(G)it is not lawful for you to take up your bed.” ¹¹ But he answered them, “The man who healed me, that man said to me, ‘Take up your bed, and walk.’” ¹² They asked him, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Take up your bed and walk’?” ¹³ Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for ^(H)Jesus had withdrawn, as there was a crowd in the place. ¹⁴ Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, “See, you are well! ^(I)Sin no more, ^(J)that nothing worse may happen to you.” ¹⁵ The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had healed him. ¹⁶ And this was why the Jews ^(K)were persecuting Jesus, ^(L)because he was doing these things on the Sabbath. ¹⁷ But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.”

Jesus Is Equal with God

¹⁸ This was why the Jews ^(M)were seeking all the more to kill him, ^(N)because not only was he ^(O)breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God ^(P)his own Father, ^(Q)making himself equal with God.

The Authority of the Son

¹⁹ So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, ^(R)the Son ^(S)can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father^[e] does, that the Son does likewise. ²⁰ For ^(T)the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And ^(U)greater works than these will he show him, so that ^(V)you may marvel. ²¹ For as the Father ^(W)raises the dead and ^(X)gives them life, so ^(Y)also the Son gives life ^(Z)to whom he will. ^22 (AA)For the Father judges no one, but ^(AB)has given all judgment to the Son, ²³ that all may honor the Son, just as they ^(AC)honor the Father. ^(AD)Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. ²⁴ Truly, truly, I say to you, ^(AE)whoever hears my word and ^(AF)believes him who sent me has eternal life. He ^(AG)does not come into judgment, but ^(AH)has passed from death to life.

²⁵ “Truly, truly, I say to you, ^(AI)an hour is coming, and is now here, when ^(AJ)the dead will hear ^(AK)the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear ^(AL)will live. ^26 (AM)For as the Father has life in himself, ^(AN)so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. ²⁷ And he ^(AO)has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. ²⁸ Do not marvel at this, for ^(AP)an hour is coming when ^(AQ)all who are in the tombs will hear his voice ²⁹ and come out, ^(AR)those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.

Witnesses to Jesus

^30 (AS)“I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and ^(AT)my judgment is just, because ^(AU)I seek not my own will ^(AV)but the will of him who sent me. ^31 (AW)If I alone bear witness about myself, my testimony is not true. ³² There is ^(AX)another who bears witness about me, and ^(AY)I know that the testimony that he bears about me is true. ^33 (AZ)You sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth. ³⁴ Not that ^(BA)the testimony that I receive is from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved. ³⁵ He was a burning and ^(BB)shining lamp, and ^(BC)you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light. ³⁶ But ^(BD)the testimony that I have is greater than that of John. For ^(BE)the works that the Father has given me ^(BF)to accomplish, the very works that I am doing, ^(BG)bear witness about me that ^(BH)the Father has sent me. ³⁷ And the Father who sent me ^(BI)has himself borne witness about me. His voice you have never heard, ^(BJ)his form you have never seen, ³⁸ and ^(BK)you do not have his word abiding in you, for you do not believe the one whom he has sent. ^39 (BL)You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and ^(BM)it is they that bear witness about me, ⁴⁰ yet ^(BN)you refuse to come to me that you may have life. ^41 (BO)I do not receive glory from people. ⁴² But ^(BP)I know that you do not have ^(BQ)the love of God within you. ⁴³ I have come ^(BR)in my Father's name, and ^(BS)you do not receive me. ^(BT)If another comes in his own name, you will receive him. ⁴⁴ How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and ^(BU)do not seek the glory that comes from ^(BV)the only God? ⁴⁵ Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you: Moses, ^(BW)on whom you have set your hope. ⁴⁶ For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for ^(BX)he wrote of me. ⁴⁷ But ^(BY)if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?”

8 ¹ but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. ^2 (A)Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and ^(B)he sat down and taught them. ³ The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst ⁴ they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. ⁵ Now ^(C)in the Law, Moses commanded us ^(D)to stone such women. So what do you say?” ⁶ This they said ^(E)to test him, ^(F)that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. ⁷ And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, ^(G)“Let him who is without sin among you ^(H)be the first to throw a stone at her.” ⁸ And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. ⁹ But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. ¹⁰ Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” ¹¹ She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, ^(I)“Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on ^(J)sin no more.”]]

I Am the Light of the World

^12 (K)Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, ^(L)“I am the light of the world. Whoever ^(M)follows me will not ^(N)walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” ¹³ So the Pharisees said to him, ^(O)“You are bearing witness about yourself; your testimony is not true.” ¹⁴ Jesus answered, “Even if I do bear witness about myself, ^(P)my testimony is true, for I know ^(Q)where I came from and ^(R)where I am going, but ^(S)you do not know where I come from or where I am going. ^15 (T)You judge according to the flesh; ^(U)I judge no one. ¹⁶ Yet even if I do judge, ^(V)my judgment is true, for ^(W)it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father^[a] who sent me. ^17 (X)In your Law it is written that the testimony of two people is true. ¹⁸ I am the one who bears witness about myself, and ^(Y)the Father who sent me bears witness about me.” ¹⁹ They said to him therefore, “Where is your Father?” Jesus answered, ^(Z)“You know neither me nor my Father. ^(AA)If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” ²⁰ These words he spoke in ^(AB)the treasury, as he taught in the temple; but ^(AC)no one arrested him, because ^(AD)his hour had not yet come.

²¹ So he said to them again, ^(AE)“I am going away, and ^(AF)you will seek me, and ^(AG)you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come.” ²² So the Jews said, ^(AH)“Will he kill himself, since he says, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come’?” ²³ He said to them, ^(AI)“You are from below; I am from above. ^(AJ)You are of this world; ^(AK)I am not of this world. ²⁴ I told you that you ^(AL)would die in your sins, for ^(AM)unless you believe that ^(AN)I am he you will die in your sins.” ²⁵ So they said to him, ^(AO)“Who are you?” Jesus said to them, “Just what I have been telling you from the beginning. ²⁶ I have much to say about you and much to judge, but ^(AP)he who sent me is true, and I declare ^(AQ)to the world ^(AR)what I have heard from him.” ²⁷ They did not understand that ^(AS)he had been speaking to them about the Father. ²⁸ So Jesus said to them, “When you have ^(AT)lifted up the Son of Man, ^(AU)then you will know that ^(AV)I am he, and that ^(AW)I do nothing on my own authority, but ^(AX)speak just as the Father taught me. ²⁹ And ^(AY)he who sent me is with me. ^(AZ)He has not left me alone, for ^(BA)I always do the things that are pleasing to him.” ³⁰ As he was saying these things, ^(BB)many believed in him.

The Truth Will Set You Free

³¹ So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, ^(BC)“If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, ³² and you will ^(BD)know the truth, and the truth ^(BE)will set you free.” ³³ They answered him, ^(BF)“We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?”

³⁴ Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, ^(BG)everyone who practices sin is a slave^[b] to sin. ^35 (BH)The slave does not remain in the house forever; ^(BI)the son remains forever. ³⁶ So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. ³⁷ I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet ^(BJ)you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you. ^38 (BK)I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard ^(BL)from your father.”

You Are of Your Father the Devil

³⁹ They answered him, ^(BM)“Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, ^(BN)“If you were Abraham's children, you would be doing the works Abraham did, ⁴⁰ but now ^(BO)you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth ^(BP)that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did. ⁴¹ You are doing the works your father did.” They said to him, ^(BQ)“We were not born of sexual immorality. We have ^(BR)one Father—even God.” ⁴² Jesus said to them, ^(BS)“If God were your Father, you would love me, for ^(BT)I came from God and ^(BU)I am here. ^(BV)I came not of my own accord, but ^(BW)he sent me. ^43 (BX)Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot ^(BY)bear to hear my word. ^44 (BZ)You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. ^(CA)He was a murderer from the beginning, and ^(CB)does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. ^(CC)When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. ⁴⁵ But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. ⁴⁶ Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? ^47 (CD)Whoever is of God hears the words of God. ^(CE)The reason why you do not hear them is that ^(CF)you are not of God.”

Before Abraham Was, I Am

⁴⁸ The Jews answered him, “Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and ^(CG)have a demon?” ⁴⁹ Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon, but ^(CH)I honor my Father, and you dishonor me. ⁵⁰ Yet ^(CI)I do not seek my own glory; there is One who seeks it, and he is the judge. ⁵¹ Truly, truly, ^(CJ)I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never ^(CK)see death.” ⁵² The Jews said to him, “Now we know that you have a demon! ^(CL)Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet ^(CM)you say, ‘If anyone keeps my word, he will never ^(CN)taste death.’ ^53 (CO)Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died! Who do you make yourself out to be?” ⁵⁴ Jesus answered, ^(CP)“If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. ^(CQ)It is my Father who glorifies me, ^(CR)of whom you say, ‘He is our God.’^{[c] 55} But ^(CS)you have not known him. ^(CT)I know him. If I were to say that I do not know him, I would be ^(CU)a liar ^(CV)like you, but I do know him and I keep his word. ^56 (CW)Your father Abraham ^(CX)rejoiced ^(CY)that he would see my day. ^(CZ)He saw it and was glad.” ⁵⁷ So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?”^{[d] 58} Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, ^(DA)I am.” ⁵⁹ So ^(DB)they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.