Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

²¹ Jesus talked to them again. He said, `I am going away. You will try to find me and will die doing wrong things. You cannot come where I am going.'

²² Then the Jews said, `Will he kill himself? He says, "You cannot come where I am going." '

²³ Jesus said to them, `You are from below. I am from above. You belong to this world. I do not belong to this world.

²⁴ That is why I said, "You will die doing wrong things." If you do not believe that I am who I said I am, then you will die doing wrong things.'

²⁵ They said to him, `Who are you?' Jesus answered, `I am what I told you from the beginning.

²⁶ I have many things to say to you and to judge you in many things. But he who sent me is true. I tell the world what he has told me.'

²⁷ The people did not understand that Jesus was talking to them about his Father.

²⁸ So Jesus said, `When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he. You will know that I do nothing by my own power, but I talk the way my Father taught me.

²⁹ He who sent me is with me always. I always do what he wants me to do.'

³⁰ Many people believed in Jesus while he was talking this way.

³¹ Jesus said to the Jews who believed in him, `If you obey my word, you are truly my disciples.

³² And you will understand the truth and the truth will make you free.'

³³ They said to him, `We are Abraham's children. We have always been free. Why do you say to us, "You will be free"?'

³⁴ Jesus answered them, `I tell you the truth. People who do wrong things are not free. They become a slave of the wrong things they do.

³⁵ A slave does not belong to the family for ever. But a son belongs for ever.

³⁶ So if the Son makes you free, you will be truly free.

³⁷ I know that you come from Abraham. But you want to kill me because you do not like what I tell you.

³⁸ I tell you about the things that I have seen where my Father is, and you do what you have seen your father do.'