Book of Common Prayer

Christ is our advocate. Of true love, and how it is tried.

2 My little children, these things I write to you so that you do not sin. Yet if anyone sins, we have an advocate with the Father: Jesus Christ the Righteous, ² and he is the propitiation for our sins; and not for our sins only, but also for the sins of all the world. 

³ And hereby are we sure that we know him: if we keep his commandments. ⁴ He who says, I know him, and does not keep his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. ⁵ Whoever keeps his word, in him is the love of God perfected in deed. And thereby we know that we are in him. ⁶ He who says he abides in him ought to walk even as he walked.

⁷ Brethren, I write no new commandment to you, but that old commandment that you heard from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you heard from the beginning. ⁸ Again, a new commandment I write to you, a thing that is true in him and also in you. For the darkness is past and the true light now shines. ⁹ He who says that he is in the light and yet hates his brother, is in darkness even until this time. ¹⁰ He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no occasion of evil in him. ¹¹ He who hates his brother is in darkness, and walks in darkness, and does not know where he goes because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

¹⁸ But the Jews did not believe concerning the fellow, that he had been blind and received his sight, until they called the father and mother of him who had received his sight. ¹⁹ And they asked them, saying, Is this your son, whom you say was born blind? How then does he now see?

²⁰ His father and mother answered them and said, We know well that this is our son and that he was born blind. ²¹ But by what means he now sees, that we do not know. Or who has opened his eyes, we do not know. He is old enough; ask him. Let him answer for himself.

²² His father and mother spoke such words because they feared the Jews. For the Jews had decided already that if anyone confessed that Jesus was the Christ, he would be excommunicated out of the synagogue. ²³ Therefore his father and mother said, He is old enough; ask him.

²⁴ Then again they called the man who had been blind and said to him, Give God the praise. 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 am sure of: I was blind, and 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 hear. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to be his disciples?

²⁸ Then they berated him and said, You are his disciple. We are Moses’ disciples. ²⁹ We are sure that God spoke with Moses. This fellow, we do not know where he is from.

³⁰ The man answered and said to them, This is a marvellous thing, that you do not where he is from, seeing he has opened my eyes. ³¹ For we are sure that God does not hear sinners. But if anyone is a worshipper of God and does his will, him he hears. ³² Since the world began it has never been heard that any man opened the eyes of someone that was born blind. ³³ If this man were not of God, he could have done nothing.

³⁴ They answered and said to him, You are altogether born in sin, and do you teach us? And they cast him out.

³⁵ Jesus heard that they had excommunicated the man, and as soon as he found him, he said to him, Do you believe on the Son of God? ³⁶ He answered and said, Who is it, Lord, so that I can believe on him? ³⁷ And Jesus said to him, You have seen him, and he it is who talks with you.

³⁸ And he said, Lord, I believe! and worshipped him.

³⁹ Jesus said, I have come for judgment into this world, so that those who do not see may see, and those who see, may be made blind.

⁴⁰ And some of the Pharisees who were with him heard these words and said to him, Are we then blind? ⁴¹ Jesus said to them, If you were blind, you would have no sin. But now you say, We see. Therefore your sin remains.