Read the Gospels in 40 Days

9 On his way out of the temple Jesus saw a man who had been born blind.

² His disciples asked Jesus, `Master, was this man born blind because of the wrong things he did, or was it the wrong things his parents did?'

³ Jesus answered, `It was not that he or his parents did any wrong thing. But it was so that people would see what God will do in him.

⁴ There is one who has sent me. I must do his work while it is still daylight. Night is coming. Then it will be too dark to work.

⁵ As long as I am in the world, I am the Light of the world.'

⁶ When Jesus had said this, he spat on the ground. Then he put some of the wet dirt on the man's eyes.

⁷ And he said, `Go. wash your eyes in that water hole called Siloam.' (Siloam means Sent.) The man went and washed his eyes. After that, he was able to see.

⁸ His neighbours and other people had seen him when he was blind. They said, `Is not this the same man who used to sit here and beg?'

⁹ Some people said, `Yes, this is the same man.' Others said, `He is like that man.' But the man himself said, `I am that man.'

¹⁰ They asked him, `How is it that you can see now?'

¹¹ He answered them, `That man whose name is Jesus made some mud. He rubbed it on my eyes and told me to go and wash them in the water hole Siloam. And when I had washed my eyes, I could see.'

¹² `Where is the man?' they asked. He said, `I do not know.'

¹³ They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind.

¹⁴ The day Jesus made the mud and healed the man was the Sabbath day.

¹⁵ Then the Pharisees also asked the man, `How is it that you can see now?' He answered them, `The man put mud on my eyes. I washed my eyes and now I can see.'

¹⁶ Then some of the Pharisees said, `This man is not from God. He does not obey the Sabbath day law.' The others said, `But how can a bad man do such a big work?' So the Pharisees did not agree together in what they thought about Jesus.

¹⁷ Then they asked the man who had been born blind, `What do you say about the man who healed you?' He answered, `I say he is a prophet from God.'

¹⁸ But the leaders of the Jews did not really believe what they heard about the man. They did not believe that first he had been blind and now was able to see. So they called the parents of the man who could now see.

¹⁹ `Tell us,' they said. `Is this your son who you say was born blind? How is it that now he can see?'

²⁰ The parents answered, `We know that this is our son. And we know that he was born blind.

²¹ But we do not know how it is that he can now see. We do not know who healed him. Ask him. He is old enough to talk for himself.'

²² The parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. They knew that the leaders of the Jews had already agreed that if anyone said Jesus is the Christ, they would be put out of the meeting place.

²³ That is why the parents said, `He is old enough to talk for himself. Ask him.'

²⁴ Then again they called the man who had been blind. They said to him, `You must praise God for this. We know that the man who healed you is a bad man.'

²⁵ He answered them, `I do not know if he is a bad man or not. But one thing I do know. I know that first I was blind, but now I can see.'

²⁶ Then they said to him again, `What did he do to you? How did he heal you?'

²⁷ He answered them, `I told you already. You did not listen. Why do you want me to tell you again? Do you also want to be his disciples?'

²⁸ This made them angry. They said, `You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses.

²⁹ We know that God talked to Moses. But this man, we do not know where he comes from.'

³⁰ The man who had been blind said, `This surprises me! He healed me and yet you do not know where he comes from!

³¹ We know that God does not listen to bad people. But God listens to the person who shows him respect and who obeys him.

³² Before this, no one has ever healed a man who was born blind. Such a thing has not been heard of since the world was made.

³³ If this man did not come from God, he could not do anything like this.'

³⁴ They answered, `You have been a bad man ever since you were born! Now are you trying to teach us?' And with that they put him out of the meeting place.

³⁵ Jesus heard that the people had put him out. When he found him, he said, `Do you believe in the Son of God?'

³⁶ He answered, `Sir, who is the Son of God? Tell me, so that I may believe in him.'

³⁷ Jesus said, `You have already seen him. The person who is talking to you now, he is the Son of God.'

³⁸ The man said, `Sir, I do believe.' He kneeled down in front of Jesus and worshipped him.

³⁹ Jesus said, `I came into the world so that people may be judged. I came so that those who are blind may see. And I came so that those who see may become blind.'

⁴⁰ Some of the Pharisees were with Jesus and heard him say this. They asked him, `You mean to say that we are blind also?'

⁴¹ Jesus answered them, `If you agreed that you were blind, you would not be bad people. But you say, "We can see." So then you are still bad people.'

10 Then Jesus went on to say, `I tell you the truth. A person must get to the sheep through the door. Anyone who climbs over the wall to get in is a bad man and steals things. He has come to steal the sheep.

² But the man who comes in through the door, he is the one who takes care of the sheep.

³ The guard will open the door for him. The sheep will listen to him. He calls his own sheep by their names and leads them out.

⁴ When all his own sheep are out of the house, he goes ahead of them. The sheep come behind him because they know his voice.

⁵ They will not go after a stranger. They will run away from him because they do not know the voice of strangers.'

⁶ Jesus told this story to the Pharisees, but they did not understand what he was trying to tell them.

⁷ So Jesus told them again. He said, `I tell you the truth. I am the door of the sheep house.

⁸ All those who came before me are bad people and steal things. They came to steal the sheep. But the sheep did not listen to them.

⁹ I am the door. Anyone who comes in through me will be saved. He will go in and out as he wants to, and will have food to eat.

¹⁰ The thief comes only to steal the sheep and to kill them and spoil them. I have come so that people may live and that they may enjoy life to the full.

¹¹ `I am the good shepherd. I am the one who really cares for the sheep. The good shepherd is willing to die to save his sheep.

¹² Some people work for pay. The one who does that is not the one who really cares. The sheep do not belong to him. When he sees a bad animal coming, he will leave the sheep and run away. He will let the animal take the sheep and make the sheep run away.

¹³ He does that because he is only working for pay and does not care what happens to the sheep.

¹⁴ `I am the good shepherd, the one who really cares for the sheep. I know my sheep and my sheep know me.

¹⁵ So my Father knows me and I know him. I am willing to die to save the sheep.

¹⁶ `I have some other sheep which are not with these sheep. I must bring them also. They will listen to my voice. Then all the sheep will be together and there will be one person who cares for all of them.

¹⁷ My Father loves me because I am willing to die. But when I die, I will live again.

¹⁸ No one kills me. I die only because I choose to die. I have power to die and I have power to live again. This is what my Father has told me to do.'

¹⁹ The Jews did not all say the same thing because of what Jesus said.

²⁰ Many of them said, `A bad spirit is in him. He is crazy. Why do you listen to him?'

²¹ But others said, `A person who has a bad spirit in him does not say the things this man says. Can a bad spirit make blind people see?'

²² At that time there was a feast in Jerusalem at the temple. It was the cold time of the year.

²³ Jesus was walking in that part of the temple called Solomon's resting place.

²⁴ The Jews came around Jesus and said, `How long will you keep us wondering about this matter? If you are really the Christ, then tell us plainly.'

²⁵ Then Jesus said, `I have already told you and you did not believe it. My Father has given me the power to do big works. These works tell you who I am.

²⁶ And yet you do not believe because you are not my sheep. I told you this before.

²⁷ My sheep listen to me. I know them. They come to me.

²⁸ I give them life that lasts for ever. They will never die. No one will take them out of my hand.

²⁹ My Father gave the sheep to me. He is greater than anyone else. No one is able to take them out of my Father's hand.

³⁰ My Father and I are one.'

³¹ Then the leaders of the Jews picked up stones again to kill him.

³² So Jesus said to them, `I have done many good things that come from my Father. For which one of those are you going to kill me?'

³³ Then the Jewish leaders answered him, `We do not kill you for doing any good thing. But you do not respect God. You are only a man, and yet you say you are God.'

³⁴ Jesus answered them, `In your own books it is written that God said, "You are gods."

³⁶ Nothing can change the words in the holy writings. It is written that God spoke to men and that he called them gods. So he called some men gods. Then why do you say I do not respect God when I say that I am the Son of God? I am the one God chose and sent into the world.

³⁷ If I am not doing my Father's work, then do not believe me.

³⁸ But if I am doing my Father's work, believe the work that I do, even though you do not believe me. Then you will know and you will believe that my Father is in me and I am in him.'

³⁹ Because of what he said, they tried to catch Jesus again. But he got away from them.

⁴⁰ He went away again to the other side of the Jordan River. He went to the place where John [the Baptizer] was when he first baptized people. Jesus stayed there for a while.

⁴¹ Many people came to him there. They said, `John himself did not do any big work. But everything that John said about this man is true.'

⁴² Many people believed on Jesus there.