The Blackaby Study Bible

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THE BLACKABY STUDY BIBLE

Copyright © 2006 by Henry T. Blackaby, G. Richard Blackaby,Thomas W. Blackaby, Melvin D. Blackaby, and Norman C. Blackaby.

Published in association with the literacy agency of Wolgemuth & Associates, Inc.

Holy Bible, New King James Version,copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

The text of the New King James Version® (NKJV®) may be quoted or reprinted without prior written permis-sion with the following qualifications: (1) up to and including 1,000 verses may be quoted in printed form aslong as the verses quoted amount to less than 50% of a complete book of the Bible and make up less than 50%of the total work in which they are quoted; (2) all NKJV quotations must conform accurately to the NKJV text.

Any use of the NKJV text must include a proper acknowledgement as follows:

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®.Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.Used by permission. All rights reserved.

However, when quotations from the NKJV text are used in church bulletins, orders of service, Sunday schoollessons, church newsletters, and similar works in the course of religious instruction or services at a place ofworship or other religious assembly, the following notice may be used at the end of each quotation: NKJV.

For quotation requests not covered by the above guidelines, write to Thomas Nelson, Inc.,Attention: Bible Rights and Permissions, P.O. Box 141000, Nashville, TN 37214-1000.

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2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 – 12 11 10 09 08 07

I N T R O D U C T I O N

The author of John’s Gospel clearly explainshis purpose for writing: “that you may

believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God,and that believing you may have life in Hisname” (John 20:31). Tradition suggests thedisciple John was the author, although his nameis not mentioned. The author refers to “thedisciple whom Jesus loved” (13:23; 19:26; 20:2;21:7, 20). It is clear the author was an eyewitness and probably a member of Jesus’ innercircle. Since Peter is ruled out (21:20), andJames was martyred early in church history, itmay be assumed that John is the author. As aneyewitness to the life and ministry of Jesus,John could write his Gospel from a strongvantage point.

S I G N I F I C A N C EMost scholars conclude that Matthew, Mark,and Luke (the Synoptic Gospels), were writtenearlier than was John. John’s Gospel is moretheological and does not include many of thedetails found in the Synoptics. The writer ofJohn has a number of unique emphases in hisbook. He is the only writer who uses the termagape for love. He also uses the word phileo forlove, more than any other Gospel writer. Johndoes not refer to miracles as demonstrations ofdivine power the way the Synoptics do. Rather,he presents Jesus’ miracles as “signs” that pointto Jesus’ heavenly origin and authority. Johnalso uses the terms “word,” “light,” and“believe” throughout his presentation. John waswritten not to provide an exhaustive chronicleof Jesus’ life (21:25), but rather to present Jesusin a way that convinces readers of His deity.

S T R U C T U R EThe author of John used a thematic presenta-tion to Jesus’ life. He uses seven “I am”statements of Jesus that describe His identitythroughout the book. Jesus says He is “thebread of life” (6:35, 41, 48, 51); “the light ofthe world” (8:12; 9:5); “the door of the sheep”

(10:7, 9); “the Good Shepherd” (10:11, 14);“the resurrection and the life” (11:25), “the way,the truth, and the life” (14:6); and “the truevine” (15:1, 5). The Gospel of John alsoidentifies seven specific signs that clearlyrevealed Jesus’ divinity: changing water to wine(2:1–11); healing a man’s son (4:46–54);healing a lame man (5:1–9); feeding fivethousand (6:1–14); walking on water(6:15–21); healing a blind man (9:1–7); andraising Lazarus from the dead (11:38–44). Johncan be outlined as follows:

Prologue (1:1–18)Jesus’ Early Ministry (1:9—4:54)Controversies (5:1—12:50)Ministry to Jesus’ Disciples (13:1—17:26)Jesus’ Trial and Crucifixion (18:1—19:42)Jesus’ Resurrection and Appearances (20:1—

21:25)

E N C O U N T E R I N G G O DT H R O U G H J O H N

John’s Gospel has long been one of Christen-dom’s most popular Bible books. Perhaps noscripture has been more memorized orinstrumental in more conversions to Christian-ity than John 3:16. As you read you willencounter the contrasts Christians face: lightand darkness, belief and unbelief, life anddeath. You may be convicted by Jesus’emphasis on love: your obedience reflects yourlove for Christ (15:14). Your love for Christwill be expressed in caring for God’s people(21:15–17). Believers’ love for one another willconvince the world Christians are Jesus’disciples (17:21). You will confront thelamentable reality that, though they witnessedfirst-hand the astounding miracles of Christ,many still refused to believe He was God.Despite all Jesus did to communicate God’slove, many hearts remained closed. ThisGospel will bring you face to face with yourown spiritual condition. Will you choose tobelieve Him, to follow Him, and to love Him?

JOHNTHE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO

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The Eternal Word

IN the beginning awas the Word, andthe bWord was cwith God, and the

Word was dGod.

2 aHe was in the beginning with God.3 aAll things were made through Him,and without Him nothing was made thatwas made.4 aIn Him was life, and bthe life was thelight of men.

5 And athe light shines in the darkness,and the darkness did not 1comprehendit.

John’s Witness: The True Light

6 There was a aman sent from God,whose name was John.7 This man came for a awitness, to bearwitness of the Light, that all throughhim might bbelieve.8 He was not that Light, but was sent tobear witness of that aLight.9 aThat1 was the true Light which giveslight to every man coming into theworld.10 He was in the world, and the worldwas made through Him, and athe worlddid not know Him.

11 aHe came to His 1own, and His 2owndid not receive Him.12 But aas many as received Him, tothem He gave the 1right to become chil-dren of God, to those who believe in Hisname:13 awho were born, not of blood, nor ofthe will of the flesh, nor of the will ofman, but of God.

The Word Becomes Flesh

14 aAnd the Word bbecame cflesh anddwelt among us, and dwe beheld Hisglory, the glory as of the only begottenof the Father, efull of grace and truth.15 aJohn bore witness of Him and criedout, saying, “This was He of whom Isaid, b‘He who comes after me 1is pre-ferred before me, cfor He was beforeme.’ ”16 1And of His afullness we have all re-ceived, and grace for grace.17 For athe law was given throughMoses, but bgrace and ctruth camethrough Jesus Christ.18 aNo one has seen God at any time.bThe only begotten 1Son, who is in thebosom of the Father, He has declaredHim.

A Voice in the Wilderness

19 Now this is athe testimony of John,when the Jews sent priests and Levitesfrom Jerusalem to ask him, “Who areyou?”

CHAPTER 11 a1 John 1:1

bRev. 19:13c[John 17:5]d[1 John 5:20]

2 aGen. 1:13 a[Col. 1:16,

17]4 a[1 John 5:11]

bJohn 8:12;9:5; 12:46

5 a[John 3:19]1Or overcome

6 aMatt. 3:1–177 aJohn 3:

25–36;5:33–35b[John 3:16]

8 aIs. 9:2; 49:69 aIs. 49:6 1Or

That was thetrue Lightwhich, cominginto the world,gives light toevery man.

10 aHeb. 1:2

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1:5 The verb “shines” reflects continuous action. The witness andlight of Christ is constantly shining. It cannot be doused.1:6 John the Baptist’s description as “a man” suggests a contrastwith the eternal Word. John was not divine. He was merely a wit-ness for God.

1:14 “Dwelt” means “tabernacled” or “pitched its tent.” “Flesh” isa graphic way of expressing the fact that the Word truly becamehuman.

11 a[Is. 53:3;Luke 19:14]1His ownthings ordomain 2Hisown people

12 aGal. 3:261authority

13 a[1 Pet. 1:23]14 aRev. 19:13

bGal. 4:4cHeb. 2:11dIs. 40:5e[John 8:32;14:6; 18:37]

15 aJohn 3:32b[Matt. 3:11]c[Col. 1:17]1ranks higherthan I

16 a[Col. 1:19;2:9] 1NU For

17 a[Ex. 20:1]b[Rom. 5:21;6:14]c[John 8:32;14:6; 18:37]

18 aEx. 33:20b1 John 4:91NU God

19 aJohn 5:33

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John 1:1 The “word” comes from theGreek logos. Greek philosophy theorizedabout a rational, impersonal force calledthe logos that brought order to thecosmos. The Gospel of John, however,personalizes the Word, claiming it waseternally with God and it was alsodivine. John describes the Word asgiving both life and light to people (1:4).The term “word” implies communicationand revelation. The eternal Son of God isthe Word. Jesus is God the Father’sfullest expression of Himself to mankind.

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John 1:4 This word comes from the Greekzoe. John’s Gospel uses the term thirty-six times, twice as often as any otherNew Testament book. Life is associatedwith the Word, or God’s Son. It is Christwho gives life. Apart from Him there isno life.

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John 1:10 The Greek word kosmos is usedseventy-eight times in John. It usuallysignifies the universe. John uses it torefer to the earth and the peopleoccupying it. Because the world hasbeen corrupted by sin, it is generallyportrayed as evil and hostile to God andHis work.

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Children

God owes us nothing. Yet He desiresan intimate relationship with us,

that of a Father with His children. Sucha magnificent gift is not forced upon us,but offered to all who will receive it.

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20 aHe confessed, and did not deny, butconfessed, “I am not the Christ.”21 And they asked him, “What then?Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.”“Are you athe Prophet?” And he an-swered, “No.”22 Then they said to him, “Who are you,that we may give an answer to thosewho sent us? What do you say aboutyourself?”23 He said: a“I am

b‘The voice of one crying in thewilderness:

“Make straight the way of theLORD,” ’

as the prophet Isaiah said.”24 Now those who were sent were fromthe Pharisees.25 And they asked him, saying, “Whythen do you baptize if you are not theChrist, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”26 John answered them, saying, a“Ibaptize with water, bbut there standsOne among you whom you do not know.27 a“It is He who, coming after me, 1ispreferred before me, whose sandal strapI am not worthy to loose.”28 These things were done ain 1Bethab-ara beyond the Jordan, where John wasbaptizing.

The Lamb of God

29 The next day John saw Jesus comingtoward him, and said, “Behold! aTheLamb of God bwho takes away the sin ofthe world!30 “This is He of whom I said, ‘After mecomes a Man who 1is preferred beforeme, for He was before me.’31 “I did not know Him; but that Heshould be revealed to Israel, atherefore Icame baptizing with water.”32 aAnd John bore witness, saying, “Isaw the Spirit descending from heavenlike a dove, and He remained uponHim.33 “I did not know Him, but He whosent me to baptize with water said tome, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit de-scending, and remaining on Him, athisis He who baptizes with the HolySpirit.’34 “And I have seen and testified thatthis is the aSon of God.”

The First Disciples

35 Again, the next day, John stood withtwo of his disciples.36 And looking at Jesus as He walked,he said, a“Behold the Lamb of God!”37 The two disciples heard him speak,and they afollowed Jesus.38 Then Jesus turned, and seeing themfollowing, said to them, “What do youseek?” They said to Him, “Rabbi” (whichis to say, when translated, Teacher),“where are You staying?”39 He said to them, “Come and see.”They came and saw where He was stay-ing, and remained with Him that day(now it was about the tenth hour).40 One of the two who heard Johnspeak, and followed Him, was aAndrew,Simon Peter’s brother.41 He first found his own brother Si-mon, and said to him, “We have foundthe 1Messiah” (which is translated, theChrist).42 And he brought him to Jesus. Nowwhen Jesus looked at him, He said, “Youare Simon the son of 1Jonah. aYou shallbe called Cephas” (which is translated,2A Stone).

Philip and Nathanael

43 The following day Jesus wanted togo to Galilee, and He found aPhilip andsaid to him, “Follow Me.”44 Now aPhilip was from Bethsaida, thecity of Andrew and Peter.45 Philip found aNathanael and said tohim, “We have found Him of whombMoses in the law, and also thecprophets, wrote—Jesus dof Nazareth,the eson of Joseph.”46 And Nathanael said to him, a“Cananything good come out of Nazareth?”Philip said to him, “Come and see.”

20 aLuke 3:1521 aDeut. 18:15,

1823 aMatt. 3:3

bIs. 40:326 aMatt. 3:11

bMal. 3:127 aActs 19:4

1ranks higherthan I

28 aJudg. 7:241NU, MBethany

29 aRev. 5:6–14b[1 Pet. 2:24]

30 1ranks higherthan I

31 aMatt. 3:632 aMark 1:1033 aIs. 42:1;

61:1;Matt. 3:11

34 aJohn 11:27

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1:27 Taking off someone’s sandals was the demeaning work of aslave. Although disciples would perform certain menial tasks fortheir rabbi, this act would have been unthinkable even to themost devout follower. Yet John claimed he was unworthy to per-form that humiliating task upon the coming One.1:33 John did not know Jesus was the Messiah until he witnessedthe Holy Spirit descending upon Him (1:32), although he presum-ably knew of Jesus, who was his cousin.

1:39 The tenth hour was 4:00 p.m.1:42 Each time Andrew is portrayed in the Gospels, he is bringingsomeone to Jesus.1:43 “Follow” is in the present tense, indicating continuous action.Jesus is inviting him to “keep on following Me.”1:45 Nathanael, meaning “giver of God,” is only listed in John’sGospel. In the synoptic Gospels it appears that he is calledBartholomew.

36 aJohn 1:2937 aMatt. 4:20,

2240 aMatt. 4:1841 1Lit. Anointed

One42 aMatt. 16:18

1NU John 2Gr.Petros, usuallytranslatedPeter

43 aJohn 6:5;12:21, 22;14:8, 9

44 aJohn 12:2145 aJohn 21:2

bLuke 24:27c[Zech. 6:12]d[Matt. 2:23]eLuke 3:23

46 aJohn 7:41,42, 52

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Come and See

Christianity involves a relationshipwith a Person. It is not merely a

religion to study or a philosophy toponder. It is not what we speculateabout Christ that is important, but whatwe experience as we follow Him.

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47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming towardHim, and said of him, “Behold, aan Is-raelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!”48 Nathanael said to Him, “How do Youknow me?” Jesus answered and said tohim, “Before Philip called you, when youwere under the fig tree, I saw you.”49 Nathanael answered and said toHim, “Rabbi, aYou are the Son of God!You are bthe King of Israel!”50 Jesus answered and said to him, “Be-cause I said to you, ‘I saw you under thefig tree,’ do you believe? You will seegreater things than these.”51 And He said to him, “Most assuredly,I say to you, ahereafter1 you shall seeheaven open, and the angels of God as-cending and descending upon the Son ofMan.”

Water Turned to Wine

2On the third day there was a awed-ding in bCana of Galilee, and the

cmother of Jesus was there.2 Now both Jesus and His discipleswere invited to the wedding.3 And when they ran out of wine, themother of Jesus said to Him, “They haveno wine.”4 Jesus said to her, a“Woman, bwhatdoes your concern have to do with Me?cMy hour has not yet come.”5 His mother said to the servants,“Whatever He says to you, do it.”6 Now there were set there six water-pots of stone, aaccording to the mannerof purification of the Jews, containingtwenty or thirty gallons apiece.7 Jesus said to them, “Fill the waterpotswith water.” And they filled them up tothe brim.8 And He said to them, “Draw some outnow, and take it to the master of thefeast.” And they took it.9 When the master of the feast hadtasted athe water that was made wine,and did not know where it came from(but the servants who had drawn thewater knew), the master of the feastcalled the bridegroom.10 And he said to him, “Every man atthe beginning sets out the good wine,and when the guests have well drunk,

then the inferior.You have kept the goodwine until now!”11 This abeginning of signs Jesus did inCana of Galilee, band 1manifested Hisglory; and His disciples believed in Him.

12 After this He went down to aCaper-naum, He, His mother, bHis brothers,and His disciples; and they did not staythere many days.

Jesus Cleanses the Temple

13 aNow the Passover of the Jews wasat hand, and Jesus went up to Jeru-salem.

47 aPs. 32:2;73:1

49 aMatt. 14:33bMatt. 21:5

51 aGen. 28:121NU omitshereafter

CHAPTER 21 a[Heb. 13:4]

bJohn 4:46cJohn 19:25

4 aJohn 19:26b2 Sam. 16:10cJohn 7:6, 8,30; 8:20

6 a[Mark 7:3]9 aJohn 4:46

J O H N 1 : 4 7 1260

1:51 “Most assuredly” can also be translated, “verily, verily,” whichis literally “amen, amen!” It confirms a statement as the truth. Je-sus often introduced an important truth with this phrase.2:4 “Hour” represents a particular moment in time. Jesus knewthere was an appointed time for Him to give His life for others,but that time had not yet arrived.2:12 Capernaum, meaning “village of Nahum,” was a fishing vil-lage by the Sea of Galilee. Apparently it was the home town of Je-sus’ disciples Peter, Andrew, Matthew and James and John. It be-came the headquarters of Jesus’ ministry (Matt. 9:1). Because ofthe numerous miracles Jesus performed there it would eventuallyface a strict judgment (Matt. 11:20–24).

2:13 John refers to at least three Passover Feasts during Jesus’ min-istry (John 2:23; 6:4; 11:55). It was a popular feast dating fromMoses’ time. Thousands of pilgrims would come to Jerusalem an-nually to celebrate it.2:14 This would have occurred in the Court of the Gentiles. Pil-grims often needed to purchase sacrificial animals upon their ar-rival in Jerusalem. Approved animals were conveniently sold at thetemple. Every Jewish male over age nineteen had to pay an annualtemple tax. Because the temple only accepted approved coinage,money-changing was conducted in the temple environs. Chargesfor such services often became exorbitant as merchants were ob-sessed with gain rather than facilitating worship.

11 aJohn 4:54b[John 1:14]1revealed

12 aMatt. 4:13bMatt. 12:46;13:55

13 aDeut. 16:1–6

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His Glory Manifested

God takes the most ordinary circum-stances and accomplishes the

miraculous. Through God’s divineactivity we see His glory revealed, andwe choose to believe in Him or to rejectHim.


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John 2:11 John uses the Greek wordsemeion, or “sign” to describe miracu-lous occurrences in Jesus’ life. Thesynoptic Gospels prefer the Greek termdunamis which emphasizes power.However, John sees Jesus’ miracles aspointing to a heavenly truth or reality.Jesus’ miracles served as a witness toHis divinity as well as to His being theMessiah. For those with spiritual eyes tosee, Jesus’ actions were proof that Hewas divine and that He was thefulfillment of the prophetic scriptures.People are condemned for seeking signs(John 4:48). However, Jesus’ signs aremeant to convince people of His trueidentity (2:23). The Gospel of Johnhighlights seven signs of Jesus thatdisplay significant spiritual truths(4:46–54; 5:1–9; 6:1–14; 6:15–21; 9:1–7;11:38–44).

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14 aAnd He found in the temple thosewho sold oxen and sheep and doves, andthe money changers 1doing business.15 When He had made a whip of cords,He drove them all out of the temple, withthe sheep and the oxen, and poured outthe changers’ money and overturned thetables.16 And He said to those who solddoves, “Take these things away! Do notmake aMy Father’s house a house ofmerchandise!”17 Then His disciples remembered thatit was written, a“Zeal for Your house1has eaten Me up.”18 So the Jews answered and said toHim, a“What sign do You show to us,since You do these things?”19 Jesus answered and said to them,a“Destroy this temple, and in three daysI will raise it up.”20 Then the Jews said, “It has takenforty-six years to build this temple, andwill You raise it up in three days?”21 But He was speaking aof the templeof His body.22 Therefore, when He had risen fromthe dead, aHis disciples rememberedthat He had said this 1to them; and theybelieved the Scripture and the wordwhich Jesus had said.

The Discerner of Hearts

23 Now when He was in Jerusalem atthe Passover, during the feast, many be-lieved in His name when they saw theasigns which He did.24 But Jesus did not commit Himself tothem, because He aknew all men,25 and had no need that anyone shouldtestify of man, for aHe knew what was inman.

The New Birth

3There was a man of the Phariseesnamed Nicodemus, a ruler of the

Jews.2 aThis man came to Jesus by night andsaid to Him, “Rabbi, we know that Youare a teacher come from God; for bnoone can do these signs that You do un-less cGod is with him.”3 Jesus answered and said to him,“Most assuredly, I say to you, aunlessone is born 1again, he cannot see thekingdom of God.”4 Nicodemus said to Him, “How can aman be born when he is old? Can he en-ter a second time into his mother’swomb and be born?”5 Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, Isay to you, aunless one is born of waterand the Spirit, he cannot enter the king-dom of God.6 “That which is born of the flesh isaflesh, and that which is born of theSpirit is spirit.7 “Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘Youmust be born again.’8 a“The wind blows where it wishes,and you hear the sound of it, but cannottell where it comes from and where itgoes. So is everyone who is born of theSpirit.”9 Nicodemus answered and said toHim, a“How can these things be?”

14 aMal. 3:1;Mark 11:15,17 1Lit. sitting

16 aLuke 2:4917 aPs. 69:9

1NU, M willeat

18 aMatt. 12:3819 aMatt. 26:61;

27:4021 a[1 Cor. 3:16;

6:19]22 aLuke 24:8

1NU, M omitto them

23 a[Acts 2:22]24 aRev. 2:2325 aMatt. 9:4

2:18 The “Jews” typically refers to the Jewish authorities, repre-senting the ruling council called the Sanhedrin (John 1:19).2:19 Jesus’ claim would be used as an accusation in his trial and asa source of mockery as He hung on the cross (Matt. 26:61; 27:40;Mark 14:57–59; 15:29).

2:20 King Herod began constructing the temple in approximately20–19 B.C. This event in Jesus’ day would have occurred at aroundA.D. 27 or 28. The temple would be completed in A.D. 64, just sixyears before it was destroyed by Roman forces under Titus in A.D. 70.3:3 The word “again” can also be translated “from above.” Bothmeanings are pertinent, although it appears Nicodemus under-stood it to mean “again.”

CHAPTER 32 aJohn 7:50;

19:39bJohn 9:16, 33c[Acts 10:38]

3 a[1 Pet. 1:23]1Or fromabove

5 a[Acts 2:38]6 a1 Cor. 15:508 aEccl. 11:59 aJohn 6:52, 60

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Jesus Knows

God is never shocked or surprised bypeople’s sinful actions. He knows

what lies within us. He also knows howto set us free.


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NI C O D E M U S %$CHARACTERStudy John 3:1

could enjoy an extended, uninterrupted conver-sation. Coming at night may also be symbolic ofthe Light’s mission to free people from darkness(1:4, 5). Nicodemus later defended Jesus to theSanhedrin (7:50) and provided materials for aroyal burial for Jesus (19:39–41). It was toNicodemus that Jesus gave the simple instruc-tion: “You must be born again” (3:7).

Nicodemus, whose name meant “innocent ofblood,” was a Pharisee who had a seat on

the powerful Sanhedrin. Jesus described him as“the teacher of Israel” which means he wasrenowned for his interpretation of Hebrew scrip-ture (John 3:10). His coming at night may signifyhis timidity at being identified with Jesus or itmay only indicate he came at an hour when he

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10 Jesus answered and said to him, “Areyou the teacher of Israel, and do notknow these things?11 a“Most assuredly, I say to you, Wespeak what We know and testify whatWe have seen, and byou do not receiveOur witness.12 “If I have told you earthly things andyou do not believe, how will you believeif I tell you heavenly things?13 a“No one has ascended to heaven butHe who came down from heaven, thatis, the Son of Man 1who is in heaven.14 a“And as Moses lifted up the serpentin the wilderness, even so bmust the Sonof Man be lifted up,15 “that whoever abelieves in Himshould 1not perish but bhave eternal life.16 a“For God so loved the world that Hegave His only begotten bSon, that who-ever believes in Him should not perishbut have everlasting life.

17 a“For God did not send His Son intothe world to condemn the world, butthat the world through Him might besaved.18 a“He who believes in Him is not con-demned; but he who does not believe iscondemned already, because he has not

believed in the name of the only begot-ten Son of God.19 “And this is the condemnation, athatthe light has come into the world, andmen loved darkness rather than light,because their deeds were evil.20 “For aeveryone practicing evil hatesthe light and does not come to the light,lest his deeds should be exposed.21 “But he who does the truth comes tothe light, that his deeds may be clearlyseen, that they have been adone in God.”

John the Baptist Exalts Christ

22 After these things Jesus and His dis-ciples came into the land of Judea, andthere He remained with them aand bap-tized.23 Now John also was baptizing inAenon near aSalim, because there wasmuch water there. bAnd they came andwere baptized.24 For aJohn had not yet been throwninto prison.25 Then there arose a dispute betweensome of John’s disciples and the Jewsabout purification.26 And they came to John and said tohim, “Rabbi, He who was with you be-yond the Jordan, ato whom you have tes-tified—behold, He is baptizing, and allbare coming to Him!”27 John answered and said, a“A mancan receive nothing unless it has beengiven to him from heaven.28 “You yourselves bear me witness,that I said, a‘I am not the Christ,’ but, b‘Ihave been sent before Him.’29 a“He who has the bride is the bride-groom; but bthe friend of the bridegroom,who stands and hears him, rejoices

11 a[Matt. 11:27]bJohn 3:32;8:14

13 aEph. 4:91NU omitswho is inheaven

14 aNum. 21:9bJohn 8:28;12:34; 19:18

15 aJohn 6:47bJohn 3:361NU omits notperish but

16 aRom. 5:8b[Is. 9:6]

17 aLuke 9:5618 aJohn 5:24;

6:40, 47;20:31

J O H N 3 : 1 0 1262

3:11 Jesus presented a “witness” to the truth. Just as John theBaptist testified of Jesus (John 3:28–30), likewise Jesus’ miracleswere proof of His identity and mission.3:15 John often presents stark contrasts. Here the beautiful gift ofeternal life is juxtaposed to the horrible, inevitable alternative ofperishing.

3:20 Jesus made it clear that anyone with a sinful lifestyle hatesGod’s truth, for it exposes the evil within them.3:23 For a short period, Jesus’ and John the Baptist’s ministriesoverlapped, as both preached repentance and baptized believers.

19 a[John 1:4,9–11]

20 aEph. 5:11,13

21 a1 Cor. 15:1022 aJohn 4:1, 223 a1 Sam. 9:4

bMatt. 3:5, 624 aMatt. 4:12;

14:326 aJohn 1:7,

15, 27, 34bMark 2:2;3:10; 5:24

27 a1 Cor. 3:5,6; 4:7

28 aJohn 1:19–27bMal. 3:1

29 a[2 Cor. 11:2]bSong 5:1

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God’s Love Demonstrated

God has forever proven His love forus. The Father’s giving of His Son is

an everlasting expression of Hisaffection. It is proof that He loves us andwants us to live with Him forever.


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WI L L I A M BO R D E N %$HISTORICALEncounter John 3:16

earnestly pondered the action he was about totake, he heard a quiet voice speaking to his soulsaying, “God so loved the world that He gaveHis only begotten Son. . . .” Borden knew Godwas leading him. A month after arriving inEgypt he contracted spinal meningitis and diedwithin two weeks. His story, however, inspiredmany Christians around the world to dedicatethemselves to missions in Borden’s place. Heknew his choice had been worth it. In the backof his Bible he had written: “No reserve. Noretreat. No regrets.”

William Borden was born into an extremelywealthy family in Chicago from which he

inherited fifty million dollars. As a young manBorden felt God leading him to give his life andhis money to the evangelization of Muslimsliving in China. He gave away his fortune tomission causes and then, in December 1912, heprepared to board a ship that would take him toEgypt, where he would prepare himself formission service with language study. Hiswidowed mother was concerned and questionedthe wisdom of his plans. That night, as Borden

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9750_43John 3/14/06 10:37 AM Page 1262

greatly because of the bridegroom’svoice. Therefore this joy of mine is ful-filled.30 a“He must increase, but I must de-crease.

31 a“He who comes from above bisabove all; che who is of the earth isearthly and speaks of the earth. dHewho comes from heaven is above all.32 “And awhat He has seen and heard,that He testifies; and no one receives Histestimony.33 “He who has received His testimonyahas certified that God is true.34 a“For He whom God has sent speaksthe words of God, for God does not givethe Spirit bby measure.35 a“The Father loves the Son, and hasgiven all things into His hand.36 a“He who believes in the Son haseverlasting life; and he who does not be-lieve the Son shall not see life, but thebwrath of God abides on him.”

A Samaritan Woman Meets HerMessiah

4Therefore, when the Lord knew thatthe Pharisees had heard that Jesus

made and abaptized more disciples thanJohn2 (though Jesus Himself did not bap-tize, but His disciples),3 He left Judea and departed again toGalilee.4 But He needed to go throughSamaria.

5 So He came to a city of Samariawhich is called Sychar, near the plot ofground that aJacob bgave to his sonJoseph.

30 a[Is. 9:7]31 aJohn 3:13;

8:23bMatt. 28:18c1 Cor. 15:47dJohn 6:33

32 aJohn 3:11;15:15

33 a1 John 5:1034 aDeut. 18:18;

John 7:16bJohn 1:16

35 a[Heb. 2:8]36 aJohn 3:16,

17; 6:47bRom. 1:18

1263 J O H N 4 : 5

3:36 “Believe” is a present participle indicating a continuous ac-tion. He who continues to believe will experience life as only Godcan give it. Those who refuse to believe will face the active, per-sistent opposition of God.4:4 Jesus “needed” to go through Samaria. Pious Jews often wenta great distance out of their way to avoid passing through theland of the detested Samaritans. However, Jesus was always con-

scious of His mission to be a light to all the world. He often ex-pressed the sense that He “must” do something (John 3:14; 9:4;10:16; 12:34; 20:9). Matthew and Mark seldom speak of Samaria,while Luke and John tell several significant events that occurredthere in Jesus’ ministry (Luke 9:51–56).4:5 Sychar may be identified with Askar, which was located nearShechem.

CHAPTER 41 aJohn 3:22, 265 aGen. 33:19

bGen. 48:22

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I Must Decrease

The challenge of every Christian is todeny ourselves and to magnify Christ

in our lives. We naturally tend to focuson self rather than God. But if Christ isto have His rightful place in us, we mustset selfishness aside to make room forHim.

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John 4:4 Samaritans took their namefrom the region in which they lived,between Galilee and Judea. The city ofSamaria had been the capital of thenorthern kingdom of Israel until it wascaptured by the Assyrians in 722 B.C.The Assyrians deported many leadingcitizens at that time and replaced themwith idol-worshipping peoples fromacross their empire (2 Kin. 17:23–31).Over time they adopted the Jewishreligion, but developed a form ofJudaism that was offensive to piousJews. They accepted only the Pentateuchas authoritative. When the Jews returnedfrom Babylonian exile, the Samaritans’offer to help rebuild Jerusalem wasrejected (Ezra 4:2, 3). The Samaritansalso built their own temple on MountGerizim in 400 B.C. In 128 B.C. the Jewsburned it down. Such hostility madeJewish people most unwelcome inSamaria, and conversations betweenSamaritans and Jews were uncommon.

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WO M A N AT T H E WE L L%$CHARACTERStudy John 4:7

would not even speak to their wives publicly. YetJesus entered into conversation with this outcastwoman. So profound was her encounter withJesus that her simple testimony ultimately ledher entire community to faith in Christ. TheBook of Acts reveals that many from the regionsof Samaria later believed in Jesus. This may havebeen partially the result of the transformation ofthis woman and her subsequent witnessing toher countrymen (Acts 8:5–8, 14–17).

It was uncommon for a woman to go to a publicwell at noon, for women usually went at

sunset. However, this was an immoral woman.She had been married five times and waspresently living with a man (John 4:18). Shewould have been shunned by the other women ofher community. Perhaps she came at noonbecause she was least likely to encounter themthen. It was also highly irregular for a Jewishman to speak to a woman in public. Devout men

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9750_43John 3/14/06 10:37 AM Page 1263

6 Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesustherefore, being wearied from His jour-ney, sat thus by the well. It was about thesixth hour.7 A woman of Samaria came to draw wa-ter. Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.”8 For His disciples had gone away intothe city to buy food.9 Then the woman of Samaria said toHim, “How is it that You, being a Jew,ask a drink from me, a Samaritanwoman?” For aJews have no dealingswith bSamaritans.10 Jesus answered and said to her, “Ifyou knew the agift of God, and who it iswho says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ youwould have asked Him, and He wouldhave given you bliving water.”11 The woman said to Him, “Sir, Youhave nothing to draw with, and the wellis deep. Where then do You get that liv-ing water?12 “Are You greater than our father Ja-cob, who gave us the well, and drankfrom it himself, as well as his sons andhis livestock?”13 Jesus answered and said to her,“Whoever drinks of this water will thirstagain,14 “but awhoever drinks of the waterthat I shall give him will never thirst. Butthe water that I shall give him bwill be-come in him a fountain of water spring-ing up into everlasting life.”15 aThe woman said to Him, “Sir, giveme this water, that I may not thirst, norcome here to draw.”16 Jesus said to her, “Go, call your hus-band, and come here.”17 The woman answered and said, “Ihave no husband.” Jesus said to her,“You have well said, ‘I have no husband,’18 “for you have had five husbands, andthe one whom you now have is not yourhusband; in that you spoke truly.”19 The woman said to Him, “Sir, aI per-ceive that You are a prophet.20 “Our fathers worshiped on athismountain, and you Jews say that inbJerusalem is the place where one oughtto worship.”21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believeMe, the hour is coming awhen you willneither on this mountain, nor in Jerusa-lem, worship the Father.

22 “You worship awhat you do notknow; we know what we worship, forbsalvation is of the Jews.23 “But the hour is coming, and now is,when the true worshipers will aworshipthe Father in bspirit cand truth; for theFather is seeking such to worship Him.

24 a“God is Spirit, and those who wor-ship Him must worship in spirit andtruth.”25 The woman said to Him, “I know thatMessiah ais coming” (who is calledChrist). “When He comes, bHe will tellus all things.”26 Jesus said to her, a“I who speak toyou am He.”

The Whitened Harvest

27 And at this point His disciples came,and they marveled that He talked with awoman; yet no one said, “What do Youseek?” or, “Why are You talking withher?”28 The woman then left her waterpot,went her way into the city, and said tothe men,29 “Come, see a Man awho told me allthings that I ever did. Could this be theChrist?”30 Then they went out of the city andcame to Him.31 In the meantime His disciples urgedHim, saying, “Rabbi, eat.”32 But He said to them, “I have food toeat of which you do not know.”33 Therefore the disciples said to oneanother, “Has anyone brought Him any-thing to eat?”34 Jesus said to them, a“My food is todo the will of Him who sent Me, and tobfinish His work.35 “Do you not say, ‘There are still fourmonths and then comes athe harvest’?

9 aActs 10:28b2 Kin. 17:24

10 a[Rom. 5:15]bIs. 12:3; 44:3

14 a[John 6:35,58]bJohn 7:37, 38

15 aJohn 6:34,35; 17:2, 3

19 aLuke 7:16,39; 24:19

20 aJudg. 9:7bDeut. 12:5,11

21 a1 Tim. 2:8

J O H N 4 : 6 1264

4:6 The “sixth hour” was noon.4:14 “Springing up” is an active word. It comes from the sameword used to describe the lame man who was healed and heleapt for joy (Acts 3:8). The life Christ gives is invigorating and re-freshing to the soul.4:20 Tradition held that Abraham built an altar on the mountain(Gen. 12:7); as did Jacob (Gen. 33:20). It was on Mount Gerizimthat God blessed the children of Israel (Deut. 11:29; 27:12).

4:25 The Samaritan word for Messiah meant “He who returns” or“He who restores.”4:26 This may be Jesus’ only clear admission that He was the Mes-siah before His trial.4:30 The verb used implies continuous action. They kept on com-ing out to meet Jesus.4:34 Jesus always saw His work as accomplishing the will of HisFather (John 5:30; 6:38; 7:18; 8:50; 9:4; 10:37; 12:49; 14:31;15:10; 17:4).

22 a[2 Kin. 17:28–41]b[Rom. 3:1;9:4, 5]

23 a[Heb. 13:10–14]bPhil. 3:3c[John 1:17]

24 a2 Cor. 3:1725 aDeut. 18:15

bJohn 4:29, 3926 aMatt. 26:63,

6429 aJohn 4:2534 aPs. 40:7, 8

b[John 6:38;17:4; 19:30]

35 aGen. 8:22

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True Worship

God seeks those who worship Him inSpirit and in truth. We respond by

praising Him wholeheartedly andhonestly. True worshippers hide nohypocrisy or false motives in their hearts.


9750_43John 3/14/06 10:37 AM Page 1264

Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyesand look at the fields, bfor they are al-ready white for harvest!36 a“And he who reaps receives wages,and gathers fruit for eternal life, thatbboth he who sows and he who reapsmay rejoice together.37 “For in this the saying is true: a‘Onesows and another reaps.’38 “I sent you to reap that for which youhave not labored; aothers have labored,and you have entered into their labors.”

The Savior of the World

39 And many of the Samaritans of thatcity believed in Him abecause of theword of the woman who testified, “Hetold me all that I ever did.”40 So when the Samaritans had cometo Him, they urged Him to stay withthem; and He stayed there two days.41 And many more believed because ofHis own aword.42 Then they said to the woman, “Nowwe believe, not because of what yousaid, for awe ourselves have heard Himand we know that this is indeed 1theChrist, the Savior of the world.”

Welcome at Galilee

43 Now after the two days He departedfrom there and went to Galilee.44 For aJesus Himself testified that aprophet has no honor in his own coun-try.45 So when He came to Galilee, theGalileans received Him, ahaving seen allthe things He did in Jerusalem at thefeast; bfor they also had gone to thefeast.

A Nobleman’s Son Healed

46 So Jesus came again to Cana ofGalilee awhere He had made the waterwine. And there was a certain 1noble-man whose son was sick at Capernaum.47 When he heard that Jesus had comeout of Judea into Galilee, he went to Himand implored Him to come down andheal his son, for he was at the point ofdeath.48 Then Jesus said to him, a“Unless youpeople see signs and wonders, you willby no means believe.”

49 The nobleman said to Him, “Sir,come down before my child dies!”50 Jesus said to him, “Go your way;your son lives.” So the man believed theword that Jesus spoke to him, and hewent his way.51 And as he was now going down, hisservants met him and told him, saying,“Your son lives!”52 Then he inquired of them the hourwhen he got better. And they said tohim, “Yesterday at the seventh hour thefever left him.”53 So the father knew that it was at thesame hour in which Jesus said to him,“Your son lives.” And he himself be-lieved, and his whole household.54 This again is the second sign Jesusdid when He had come out of Judea intoGalilee.

A Man Healed at the Pool of Bethesda

5After athis there was a feast of theJews, and Jesus bwent up to Jerusa-

lem.2 Now there is in Jerusalem aby theSheep Gate a pool, which is called inHebrew, 1Bethesda, having five porches.3 In these lay a great multitude of sickpeople, blind, lame, 1paralyzed, 2waitingfor the moving of the water.4 For an angel went down at a certaintime into the pool and stirred up the wa-ter; then whoever stepped in first, afterthe stirring of the water, was made wellof whatever disease he had.5 Now a certain man was there whohad an infirmity thirty-eight years.6 When Jesus saw him lying there, andknew that he already had been in thatcondition a long time, He said to him,“Do you want to be made well?”7 The sick man answered Him, “Sir, Ihave no man to put me into the pool whenthe water is stirred up; but while I amcoming, another steps down before me.”8 Jesus said to him, a“Rise, take up yourbed and walk.”9 And immediately the man was madewell, took up his bed, and walked. Andathat day was the Sabbath.10 The Jews therefore said to him whowas cured, “It is the Sabbath; ait is notlawful for you to carry your bed.”

bMatt. 9:3736 aDan. 12:3

b1 Thess. 2:1937 a1 Cor. 3:5–938 a[1 Pet. 1:12]39 aJohn 4:2941 aLuke 4:3242 a1 John 4:14

1NU omits theChrist

44 aMatt. 13:5745 aJohn 2:13,

23; 3:2bDeut. 16:16

46 aJohn 2:1, 111royal official

48 a1 Cor. 1:22

1265 J O H N 5 : 1 0

4:40 The word here for “urged” implies continuous action. Theykept urging Him to stay.4:42 The title “Savior of the world” occurs only here and in 1 John4:14.4:46 The “nobleman” would have been an officer of the king.Technically, Herod Antipas was the tetrarch of Galilee, but he wasreferred to as a king.4:47 “Implored” is in the continuous tense, implying the noble-man persisted in begging Jesus to help him.4:52 The seventh hour was 1:00 p.m.

5:1 This feast might have been the Passover but generally Johnrefers to it specifically (John 2:13; 6:4; 11:55). It may have beenthe Feast of Tabernacles.5:2 The Pool of Bethesda was a double pool with colonnadesaround it.5:7 The lame man did not express faith to Jesus. At times, Jesus inHis grace healed people even in the absence of clear belief.5:10 “The Jews” refers to the religious leaders. They had developedextensive lists identifying numerous classes of work prohibited onthe Sabbath. So enamored were they with their legalistic rules thatthey ignored a divine miracle and became angered by a technicality.

CHAPTER 51 aDeut. 16:16

bJohn 2:132 aNeh. 3:1, 32;

12:39 1NUBethzatha

3 1withered 2NUomits the restof v. 3 and allof v. 4.

8 aLuke 5:249 aJohn 9:1410 aJer. 17:21,

22

9750_43John 3/14/06 10:37 AM Page 1265

11 He answered them, “He who mademe well said to me, ‘Take up your bedand walk.’ ”12 Then they asked him, “Who is theMan who said to you, ‘Take up your bedand walk’?”13 But the one who was ahealed did notknow who it was, for Jesus had with-drawn, a multitude being in that place.14 Afterward Jesus found him in thetemple, and said to him, “See, you havebeen made well. aSin no more, lest aworse thing come upon you.”15 The man departed and told the Jewsthat it was Jesus who had made himwell.

Honor the Father and the Son

16 For this reason the Jews apersecutedJesus, 1and sought to kill Him, becauseHe had done these things on the Sab-bath.17 But Jesus answered them, a“My Fa-ther has been working until now, and Ihave been working.”18 Therefore the Jews asought all themore to kill Him, because He not onlybroke the Sabbath, but also said thatGod was His Father, bmaking Himselfequal with God.19 Then Jesus answered and said tothem, “Most assuredly, I say to you, atheSon can do nothing of Himself, but whatHe sees the Father do; for whatever Hedoes, the Son also does in like manner.

20 “For athe Father loves the Son, andbshows Him all things that He Himselfdoes; and He will show Him greaterworks than these, that you may marvel.21 “For as the Father raises the dead

and gives life to them, aeven so the Songives life to whom He will.22 “For the Father judges no one, butahas committed all judgment to the Son,23 “that all should honor the Son just asthey honor the Father. aHe who does nothonor the Son does not honor the Fatherwho sent Him.

Life and Judgment Are Through theSon

24 “Most assuredly, I say to you, ahewho hears My word and believes in Himwho sent Me has everlasting life, andshall not come into judgment, bbut haspassed from death into life.25 “Most assuredly, I say to you, thehour is coming, and now is, when athedead will hear the voice of the Son ofGod; and those who hear will live.26 “For aas the Father has life in Him-self, so He has granted the Son to haveblife in Himself,27 “and ahas given Him authority to ex-ecute judgment also, bbecause He is theSon of Man.28 “Do not marvel at this; for the hour iscoming in which all who are in thegraves will ahear His voice29 a“and come forth—bthose who havedone good, to the resurrection of life,and those who have done evil, to the res-urrection of condemnation.30 a“I can of Myself do nothing.As I hear,I judge; and My judgment is righteous, be-cause bI do not seek My own will but thewill of the Father who sent Me.

The Fourfold Witness

31 a“If I bear witness of Myself, My wit-ness is not 1true.32 a“There is another who bears wit-ness of Me, and I know that the witnesswhich He witnesses of Me is true.33 “You have sent to John, aand he hasborne witness to the truth.34 “Yet I do not receive testimony fromman, but I say these things that you maybe saved.35 “He was the burning and ashining

13 aLuke 13:14;22:51

14 aJohn 8:1116 aJohn 8:37;

10:39 1NUomits andsought to killHim

17 a[John 9:4;17:4]

18 aJohn 7:1, 19bJohn 10:30

19 aJohn 5:30;6:38; 8:28;12:49; 14:10

20 aMatt. 3:17b[Matt. 11:27]

J O H N 5 : 1 1 1266

5:18 It was Jesus’ claim of divine Sonship that most angered Hisopponents and ultimately led to Jesus’ death sentence (John 19:7).

5:23 Jesus made it clear that what was done to the Son was doneto the Father.

21 a[John 11:25]22 a[Acts 17:31]23 a1 John 2:2324 aJohn 3:16,

18; 6:47b[1 John 3:14]

25 a[Col. 2:13]26 aPs. 36:9

b1 Cor. 15:4527 a[Acts 10:42;

17:31]bDan. 7:13

28 a[1 Thess. 4:15–17]

29 aIs. 26:19bDan. 12:2

30 aJohn 5:19bMatt. 26:39

31 aJohn 8:141valid astestimony

32 a[Matt. 3:17]33 a[John 1:15,

19, 27, 32]35 a2 Pet. 1:19

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WI L BU R CH A P M A N %$HISTORICALEncounter John 5:24

shared John 5:24 with Chapman and helped himunderstand its meaning. Finally, Chapman foundpeace in Christ. He went on to become a prolificauthor and a prominent pastor and revivalpreacher. God used him to bring many others toassurance of their salvation.

J. Wilbur Chapman was born in 1859 whilerevival was sweeping New York City. As a

young man he struggled with doubts aboutwhether he was saved or not. After attending aservice led by Dwight L. Moody, Chapman wentto the “inquiry room” to seek counsel. Moody

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Like Manner

Jesus, the perfect, sinless Son of God,did nothing on His own initiative. His

sole aim in life was to obey His Father’swill and to bring Him glory.


9750_43John 3/14/06 10:37 AM Page 1266

lamp, and byou were willing for a timeto rejoice in his light.36 “But aI have a greater witness thanJohn’s; for bthe works which the Fatherhas given Me to finish—the very cworksthat I do—bear witness of Me, that theFather has sent Me.37 “And the Father Himself, who sentMe, ahas testified of Me. You have nei-ther heard His voice at any time, bnorseen His form.38 “But you do not have His word abid-ing in you, because whom He sent, Himyou do not believe.39 a“You search the Scriptures, for inthem you think you have eternal life;and bthese are they which testify of Me.

40 a“But you are not willing to come toMe that you may have life.41 a“I do not receive honor from men.42 “But I know you, that you do nothave the love of God in you.43 “I have come in My Father’s name,and you do not receive Me; if anothercomes in his own name, him you will re-ceive.44 a“How can you believe, who receivehonor from one another, and do not seekbthe honor that comes from the onlyGod?45 “Do not think that I shall accuse youto the Father; athere is one who accusesyou—Moses, in whom you trust.46 “For if you believed Moses, you wouldbelieve Me; afor he wrote about Me.47 “But if you ado not believe his writ-ings, how will you believe My words?”

Feeding the Five Thousand

6After athese things Jesus went overthe Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of

bTiberias.

2 Then a great multitude followed Him,because they saw His signs which Heperformed on those who were adis-eased.1

3 And Jesus went up on the mountain,and there He sat with His disciples.4 aNow the Passover, a feast of theJews, was near.5 aThen Jesus lifted up His eyes, andseeing a great multitude coming towardHim, He said to bPhilip, “Where shall webuy bread, that these may eat?”6 But this He said to test him, for HeHimself knew what He would do.

7 Philip answered Him, a“Two hundreddenarii worth of bread is not sufficientfor them, that every one of them mayhave a little.”8 One of His disciples, aAndrew, SimonPeter’s brother, said to Him,9 “There is a lad here who has five bar-ley loaves and two small fish, abut whatare they among so many?”10 Then Jesus said, “Make the peoplesit down.” Now there was much grass inthe place. So the men sat down, in num-ber about five thousand.11 And Jesus took the loaves, andwhen He had given thanks He distrib-uted them 1to the disciples, and the dis-ciples to those sitting down; and like-wise of the fish, as much as theywanted.12 So when they were filled, He said toHis disciples, “Gather up the fragmentsthat remain, so that nothing is lost.”13 Therefore they gathered them up,and filled twelve baskets with the frag-ments of the five barley loaves whichwere left over by those who had eaten.14 Then those men, when they had seenthe sign that Jesus did, said, “This is

bMark 6:2036 a1 John 5:9

bJohn 3:2;10:25; 17:4cJohn 9:16;10:38

37 aMatt. 3:17b1 John 4:12

39 aIs. 8:20;34:16bLuke 24:27

40 a[John 1:11;3:19]

41 a1 Thess. 2:644 aJohn 12:43

b[Rom. 2:29]45 aRom. 2:1246 aDeut. 18:15,

1847 aLuke 16:29,

31

CHAPTER 61 aMark 6:32

bJohn 6:23;21:1

1267 J O H N 6 : 1 4

5:29 In scripture, salvation comes by grace through faith (Eph.2:8, 9). However, judgment is based on works (1 Cor. 5:10).5:35 The past tense of the word “was” may indicate John theBaptist was dead by this time.5:45 The irony of the Jews’ position was that the very thing theyplaced their trust in, Mosaic law, would be that which condemnedthem at the judgment.6:1 The Sea of Tiberias was the Sea of Galilee. It was named afterthe town of Tiberias that was built on its shores in A.D. 20 inhonor of the Roman emperor.

6:5 This is the only miracle Jesus performed that is recorded in allfour Gospels. In ancient times, eating abundantly was a sign ofprosperity and blessing (Deut. 8:9; 11:15; Neh. 9:36). However, alack of food was seen as a crisis (Eccl. 6:2).6:7 A common laborer’s wage was one denarius per day. Twohundred denarii would have represented two-thirds of a year’swages.6:9 The term “lad” signifies a young boy. Barley bread was thebread of a poor person.

2 aMatt. 4:23;8:16; 9:35;14:36; 15:30;19:2 1sick

4 aDeut. 16:15 aMatt. 14:14

bJohn 1:437 aNum. 11:21,

228 aJohn 1:409 a2 Kin. 4:4311 1NU omits to

the disciples,and thedisciples

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Life

It is possible to be an expert in theBible yet be ignorant of Christ.

Scripture is not an end in itself. It pointsus to Christ, who is our life. As you readthe scriptures, are you encounteringChrist?


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Tested

God may present us with a problemso He can reveal the caliber of our

faith and our knowledge of Him. It isone thing to say we believe God, buthow we respond in difficult circum-stances is a true test of our faith.


9750_43John 3/14/06 10:37 AM Page 1267

truly athe Prophet who is to come intothe world.”

Jesus Walks on the Sea

15 Therefore when Jesus perceived thatthey were about to come and take Himby force to make Him aking, He de-parted again to the mountain by Himselfalone.16 aNow when evening came, His disci-ples went down to the sea,17 got into the boat, and went over thesea toward Capernaum. And it was al-ready dark, and Jesus had not come tothem.18 Then the sea arose because a greatwind was blowing.19 So when they had rowed about1three or four miles, they saw Jesuswalking on the sea and drawing nearthe boat; and they were aafraid.20 But He said to them, a“It is I; do notbe afraid.”21 Then they willingly received Himinto the boat, and immediately the boatwas at the land where they were going.

The Bread from Heaven

22 On the following day, when the peo-ple who were standing on the other sideof the sea saw that there was no otherboat there, except 1that one 2which Hisdisciples had entered, and that Jesus hadnot entered the boat with His disciples,but His disciples had gone away alone—23 however, other boats came fromTiberias, near the place where they atebread after the Lord had given thanks—24 when the people therefore saw thatJesus was not there, nor His disciples,they also got into boats and came to Ca-pernaum, aseeking Jesus.25 And when they found Him on theother side of the sea, they said to Him,“Rabbi, when did You come here?”26 Jesus answered them and said,“Most assuredly, I say to you, you seekMe, not because you saw the signs, butbecause you ate of the loaves and werefilled.27 a“Do not labor for the food whichperishes, but bfor the food which en-dures to everlasting life, which the Sonof Man will give you, cbecause God theFather has set His seal on Him.”28 Then they said to Him, “What shallwe do, that we may work the works ofGod?”

29 Jesus answered and said to them,a“This is the work of God, that you be-lieve in Him whom He sent.”30 Therefore they said to Him, a“Whatsign will You perform then, that we maysee it and believe You? What work willYou do?31 a“Our fathers ate the manna in thedesert; as it is written, b‘He gave thembread from heaven to eat.’ ”32 Then Jesus said to them, “Most as-suredly, I say to you, Moses did not giveyou the bread from heaven, but aMy Fa-ther gives you the true bread fromheaven.33 “For the bread of God is He whocomes down from heaven and gives lifeto the world.”34 aThen they said to Him, “Lord, giveus this bread always.”35 And Jesus said to them, a“I am thebread of life. bHe who comes to Me shallnever hunger, and he who believes in Meshall never cthirst.

36 a“But I said to you that you haveseen Me and yet bdo not believe.37 a“All that the Father gives Me willcome to Me, and bthe one who comes toMe I will 1by no means cast out.38 “For I have come down from heaven,anot to do My own will, bbut the will ofHim who sent Me.39 “This is the will of the Father whosent Me, athat of all He has given Me Ishould lose nothing, but should raise itup at the last day.40 “And this is the will of Him who sentMe, athat everyone who sees the Sonand believes in Him may have everlast-ing life; and I will raise him up at the lastday.”

Rejected by His Own

41 The Jews then 1complained aboutHim, because He said, “I am the breadwhich came down from heaven.”

14 aGen. 49:1015 a[John 18:36]16 aMatt. 14:2319 aMatt. 17:6

1Lit. 25 or 30stadia

20 aIs. 43:1, 222 1NU omits

that 2NU omitswhich Hisdisciples hadentered

24 aLuke 4:4227 aMatt. 6:19

bJohn 4:14cActs 2:22

J O H N 6 : 1 5 1268

6:30 It is astonishing that Jesus had just miraculously fed a multi-tude and yet people asked Him for a sign. A heart that is unwillingto believe will not be convinced regardless of the quantity of proofprovided.6:31 A Jewish tradition had developed that the Messiah wouldcause manna to fall from heaven as Moses had done (Ex. 16:4, 15).

6:35 Jesus makes seven dramatic “I am” statements in John’sGospel, all of which reveal His identity (John 6:48; 8:12; 10:7, 9,10, 11, 14; 11:25; 14:6; 15:5).6:37 John made it clear that it was the Father’s activity to drawpeople to His Son.

29 a[1 John 3:23]

30 aMatt. 12:38;16:1

31 aEx. 16:15bEx. 16:4, 15;Neh. 9:15;Ps. 78:24

32 aJohn 3:13,16

34 aJohn 4:1535 aJohn 6:48,

58 bJohn 4:14;7:37 cIs. 55:1,2

36 aJohn 6:26,64; 15:24bJohn 10:26

37 aJohn 6:45b2 Tim. 2:191certainly not

38 aMatt. 26:39bJohn 4:34

39 aJohn 10:28;17:12; 18:9

40 aJohn 3:15,16; 4:14; 6:27,47, 54

41 1grumbled

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Bread of Life

Jesus satisfies our soul as food satisfiesour hunger. Being near food is not

enough; we must eat it. Likewise, beingnear Jesus is not sufficient. We mustthoroughly be filled by Him.


9750_43John 3/14/06 10:37 AM Page 1268

42 And they said, a“Is not this Jesus, theson of Joseph, whose father and motherwe know? How is it then that He says, ‘Ihave come down from heaven’?”43 Jesus therefore answered and said tothem, 1“Do not murmur among your-selves.44 a“No one can come to Me unless theFather who sent Me bdraws him; and Iwill raise him up at the last day.45 “It is written in the prophets, a‘Andthey shall all be taught by God.’ bThere-fore everyone who 1has heard andlearned from the Father comes to Me.46 a“Not that anyone has seen the Fa-ther, bexcept He who is from God; Hehas seen the Father.47 “Most assuredly, I say to you, ahewho believes 1in Me has everlasting life.48 a“I am the bread of life.49 a“Your fathers ate the manna in thewilderness, and are dead.50 a“This is the bread which comesdown from heaven, that one may eat ofit and not die.51 “I am the living bread awhich camedown from heaven. If anyone eats of thisbread, he will live forever; and bthebread that I shall give is My flesh, whichI shall give for the life of the world.”52 The Jews therefore aquarreledamong themselves, saying, “How canthis Man give us His flesh to eat?”53 Then Jesus said to them, “Most as-suredly, I say to you, unless ayou eat theflesh of the Son of Man and drink Hisblood, you have no life in you.54 a“Whoever eats My flesh and drinksMy blood has eternal life, and I willraise him up at the last day.55 “For My flesh is 1food indeed, andMy blood is 2drink indeed.56 “He who eats My flesh and drinksMy blood aabides in Me, and I in him.57 “As the living Father sent Me, and Ilive because of the Father, so he whofeeds on Me will live because of Me.

58 a“This is the bread which camedown from heaven—not bas your fathersate the manna, and are dead. He whoeats this bread will live forever.”59 These things He said in the syna-gogue as He taught in Capernaum.

Many Disciples Turn Away

60 aTherefore many of His disciples,when they heard this, said, “This is a1hard saying; who can understand it?”61 When Jesus knew in Himself thatHis disciples 1complained about this, Hesaid to them, “Does this 2offend you?62 a“What then if you should see the Sonof Man ascend where He was before?63 a“It is the Spirit who gives life; thebflesh profits nothing. The cwords that Ispeak to you are spirit, and they are life.

64 “But athere are some of you who donot believe.” For bJesus knew from thebeginning who they were who did notbelieve, and who would betray Him.65 And He said, “Therefore aI have saidto you that no one can come to Me unlessit has been granted to him by My Father.”66 aFrom that time many of His disci-ples went 1back and walked with Himno more.67 Then Jesus said to the twelve, “Doyou also want to go away?”68 But Simon Peter answered Him,“Lord, to whom shall we go? You haveathe words of eternal life.69 a“Also we have come to believe andknow that You are the 1Christ, the Son ofthe living God.”

42 aMatt. 13:5543 1Stop

grumbling44 aSong 1:4

b[Phil. 1:29;2:12, 13]

45 aIs. 54:13bJohn 6:37 1Mhears and haslearned

46 aJohn 1:18bMatt. 11:27

47 a[John 3:16,18] 1NU omitsin Me

48 aJohn 6:33,35

49 aJohn 6:31,58

50 aJohn 6:51,58

51 aJohn 3:13bHeb. 10:5

52 aJohn 7:43;9:16; 10:19

53 aMatt. 26:2654 aJohn 4:14;

6:27, 4055 1NU true

food 2NU truedrink

56 a[1 John 3:24; 4:15, 16]

1269 J O H N 6 : 6 9

6:49 The manna God provided for the children of Israel gave tem-porary subsistence. Like manna, Jesus was also a gift from heaven,but He gave everlasting life.6:50 Here the word “eat” signifies a once-for-all act.

6:69 “Believe” and “know” are in the perfect tense, implying thatwhat they have done in the past continues to have its effect onthe present.

58 aJohn 6:49–51bEx. 16:14–35

60 aJohn 6:661difficult

61 1grumbled2make youstumble

62 aActs 1:9;2:32, 33

63 a2 Cor. 3:6bJohn 3:6c[John 6:68;14:24]

64 aJohn 6:36bJohn 2:24,25; 13:11

65 aJohn 6:37,44, 45

66 aLuke 9:621Or away; lit.to the back

68 aActs 5:2069 aLuke 9:20

1NU Holy Oneof God.

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JO H N BU N YA N %$HISTORICALEncounter John 6:37

that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.”Bunyan focused on the phrase “in no wise.”Bunyan later told how he and Satan wrestled overthat phrase but gradually Bunyan gained assurancethat God would not reject him if Bunyan went toChrist in faith. He eventually became a ministerand wrote Pilgrim’s Progress, which helpedmillions of people in their walk with Christ.

John Bunyan was raised in a modest home,receiving little education. He grew to become a

hardened, blasphemous, worldly young man. AsBunyan became troubled about his soul, he soughtto reform himself and to win favor with God, evenringing the church bell on Sundays. Yet he fearedhe was not one of God’s elect and therefore hecould not be saved. Then he read John 6:37, “Him

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Life Words

Jesus’ words must be understoodspiritually. When believed and

accepted, they bring everlasting life.


9750_43John 3/14/06 10:37 AM Page 1269

70 Jesus answered them, a“Did I notchoose you, the twelve, band one of youis a devil?”71 He spoke of aJudas Iscariot, the sonof Simon, for it was he who would bbe-tray Him, being one of the twelve.

Jesus’ Brothers Disbelieve

7After these things Jesus walked inGalilee; for He did not want to walk

in Judea, abecause the 1Jews sought tokill Him.2 aNow the Jews’ Feast of Tabernacleswas at hand.3 aHis brothers therefore said to Him,“Depart from here and go into Judea,that Your disciples also may see theworks that You are doing.4 “For no one does anything in secretwhile he himself seeks to be knownopenly. If You do these things, showYourself to the world.”5 For aeven His bbrothers did not be-lieve in Him.6 Then Jesus said to them, a“My timehas not yet come, but your time is al-ways ready.7 a“The world cannot hate you, but ithates Me bbecause I testify of it that itsworks are evil.

8 “You go up to this feast. I am not 1yetgoing up to this feast, afor My time hasnot yet fully come.”9 When He had said these things tothem, He remained in Galilee.

The Heavenly Scholar

10 But when His brothers had gone up,then He also went up to the feast, notopenly, but as it were in secret.

11 Then athe Jews sought Him at thefeast, and said, “Where is He?”12 And athere was much complainingamong the people concerning Him.bSome said, “He is good”; others said,“No, on the contrary, He deceives thepeople.”13 However, no one spoke openly ofHim afor fear of the Jews.14 Now about the middle of the feast Je-sus went up into the temple and ataught.15 aAnd the Jews marveled, saying,“How does this Man know letters, hav-ing never studied?”16 1Jesus answered them and said,a“My doctrine is not Mine, but His whosent Me.17 a“If anyone wills to do His will, heshall know concerning the doctrine,whether it is from God or whether Ispeak on My own authority.18 a“He who speaks from himself seekshis own glory; but He who bseeks theglory of the One who sent Him is true,and cno unrighteousness is in Him.19 a“Did not Moses give you the law, yetnone of you keeps the law? bWhy do youseek to kill Me?”20 The people answered and said, a“Youhave a demon. Who is seeking to killYou?”21 Jesus answered and said to them, “Idid one work, and you all marvel.22 a“Moses therefore gave you circum-cision (not that it is from Moses, bbutfrom the fathers), and you circumcise aman on the Sabbath.23 “If a man receives circumcision onthe Sabbath, so that the law of Mosesshould not be broken, are you angrywith Me because aI made a man com-pletely well on the Sabbath?24 a“Do not judge according to appear-ance, but judge with righteous judg-ment.”

Could This Be the Christ?

25 Now some of them from Jerusalemsaid, “Is this not He whom they seek toakill?26 “But look! He speaks boldly, andthey say nothing to Him. aDo the rulers

70 aLuke 6:13b[John 13:27]

71 aJohn 12:4;13:2, 26bMatt. 26:14–16


7:19, 25; 8:37,40 1The rulingauthorities

2 aLev. 23:343 aMatt. 12:465 aPs. 69:8;

Mic. 7:6bMark 3:21

6 aJohn 2:4;8:20

7 a[John 15:19]bJohn 3:19

8 aJohn 8:201NU omits yet

J O H N 6 : 7 0 1270

6:71 Judas is identified with his father, Simon Iscariot. Iscariotmeans “man of Kerioth.” Judas was the only one of the twelve dis-ciples not from Galilee.7:1 The interval between chapter six and seven would have beenroughly six months.7:2 The Feast of Tabernacles was one of three primary Jewishfeasts. For seven days, people lived in makeshift shelters to com-memorate their journey from Egypt to the Promised Land (Lev.23:40–43). It was held in September–October.7:3 Jesus’ unbelieving brothers assumed that if Jesus was to estab-lish a following, He would need to impress the multitudes gather-ing in Jerusalem for the feast.

7:6 “Time” used here is not the typical Greek word chronos whichdepicts events in chronological order, but kairos, which describes aqualitative time rather than quantitative. It signifies a suitable orfavorable time.7:14 The middle of the feast would have been the fourth day.7:15 “Having never studied” means Jesus had never attended a for-mal rabbinical school.7:23 The Jews scrupulously observed the ritual of circumcision onthe Sabbath (Lev. 12:3), but were incensed that a person washealed on that day.

11 aJohn 11:5612 aJohn 9:16;

10:19bLuke 7:16

13 a[John 9:22;12:42; 19:38]

14 aPs. 22:22;Mark 6:34

15 aMatt. 13:5416 aJohn 3:11

1NU, M SoJesus

17 aJohn 3:21;8:43

18 aJohn 5:41bJohn 8:50c[2 Cor. 5:21]

19 aDeut. 33:4bMatt. 12:14

20 aJohn 8:48,52

22 aLev. 12:3bGen. 17:9–14

23 aJohn 5:8, 9,16

24 aProv. 24:2325 aMatt. 21:38;

26:426 aJohn 7:48

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For or Against

No one can remain indifferent toJesus. You are either for Him or

against Him. If you are unwilling torenounce your sin, you will reject Him,for His very presence reveals the sin anddarkness in your life.


9750_43John 3/14/06 10:37 AM Page 1270

know indeed that this is 1truly theChrist?27 a“However, we know where this Manis from; but when the Christ comes, noone knows where He is from.”28 Then Jesus cried out, as He taught inthe temple, saying, a“You both know Me,and you know where I am from; and bIhave not come of Myself, but He who sentMe cis true, dwhom you do not know.29 1“But aI know Him, for I am fromHim, and He sent Me.”30 Therefore athey sought to take Him;but bno one laid a hand on Him, becauseHis hour had not yet come.31 And amany of the people believed inHim, and said, “When the Christ comes,will He do more signs than these whichthis Man has done?”

Jesus and the Religious Leaders

32 The Pharisees heard the crowd mur-muring these things concerning Him,and the Pharisees and the chief priestssent officers to take Him.33 Then Jesus said 1to them, a“I shall bewith you a little while longer, and then Ibgo to Him who sent Me.34 “You awill seek Me and not find Me,and where I am you bcannot come.”35 Then the Jews said among them-selves, “Where does He intend to go thatwe shall not find Him? Does He intendto go to athe Dispersion among theGreeks and teach the Greeks?36 “What is this thing that He said, ‘Youwill seek Me and not find Me, and whereI am you cannot come’?”

The Promise of the Holy Spirit

37 aOn the last day, that great day of thefeast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying,b“If anyone thirsts, let him come to Meand drink.38 a“He who believes in Me, as the

Scripture has said, bout of his heart willflow rivers of living water.”

39 aBut this He spoke concerning theSpirit, whom those 1believing in Himwould receive; for the 2Holy Spirit wasnot yet given, because Jesus was not yetbglorified.

Who Is He?

40 Therefore 1many from the crowd,when they heard this saying, said, “Trulythis is athe Prophet.”41 Others said, “This is athe Christ.” Butsome said, “Will the Christ come out ofGalilee?42 a“Has not the Scripture said that theChrist comes from the seed of Davidand from the town of Bethlehem,bwhere David was?”43 So athere was a division among thepeople because of Him.44 Now asome of them wanted to takeHim, but no one laid hands on Him.

Rejected by the Authorities

45 Then the officers came to the chiefpriests and Pharisees, who said to them,“Why have you not brought Him?”46 The officers answered, a“No manever spoke like this Man!”47 Then the Pharisees answered them,“Are you also deceived?48 “Have any of the rulers or the Phar-isees believed in Him?

1NU omitstruly

27 aLuke 4:2228 aJohn 8:14

bJohn 5:43cRom. 3:4dJohn 1:18;8:55

29 aMatt. 11:271NU, M omitBut

30 aMark 11:18bJohn 7:32,44; 8:20;10:39

31 aMatt. 12:2333 aJohn 13:33

b[1 Pet. 3:22]1NU, M omitto them

34 aHos. 5:6b[Matt. 5:20]

35 aJames 1:137 aLev. 23:36

b[Is. 55:1]38 aDeut. 8:15

1271 J O H N 7 : 4 8

7:27 The Jews assumed Jesus was from Nazareth because that waswhere he grew up. They should have known the Messiah wouldcome from Bethlehem, for the prophet Micah had foretold it (Mic.5:2).7:28 “Cried out” signifies a loud shout, expressing deep emotion.

7:37 On the seventh day of the feast, the high priest took agolden pitcher filled with water from the pool of Siloam andpoured it on the altar. The water symbolized the miraculous provi-sion of water for the Israelites in the wilderness. It may be that Je-sus cried out just as the high priest poured the water.

bIs. 12:3;43:20; 44:3;55:1

39 aIs. 44:3bJohn 12:16;13:31; 17:51NU whobelieved 2NUomits Holy

40 aDeut. 18:15,18 1NU some

41 aJohn 4:42;6:69

42 aMic. 5:2b1 Sam. 16:1,4

43 aJohn 7:1244 aJohn 7:3046 aLuke 4:22

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Living Water

Genuine belief in Christ results in aheart overflowing with love and life.

Those whose hearts are cold and lifelessneed to renew their faith.


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DAV I D BR A I N E R D %$HISTORICALEncounter John 7:38

ministry with power. He claimed for his life andministry John 7:38. He began to regularly preachfrom this chapter of John’s Gospel. It was his mostsuccessful year of ministry, as Brainerd began towitness an amazing work of God among the nativeIndian people. As the living waters of Christflowed through him, large numbers of peoplefound salvation, and millions of Christians wereeventually encouraged by reading Brainerd’s story.

David Brainerd was a devout young man with apassion to evangelize the native Indians of

Massachusetts. Despite his valiant and selflessefforts in 1743, he was largely unsuccessful. Thefollowing year saw no improvement. He sufferedgreat hardship and deprivation, yet the people werenot responding to the gospel as he had prayed.Finally, he set aside January 3, 1745 as a day offasting and prayer, begging God to anoint his

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9750_43John 10/28/06 3:55 PM Page 1271

49 “But this crowd that does not knowthe law is accursed.”50 Nicodemus a(he who came to 1Jesus2by night, being one of them) said tothem,51 a“Does our law judge a man before ithears him and knows what he is doing?”52 They answered and said to him, “Areyou also from Galilee? Search and look,for ano prophet 1has arisen out ofGalilee.”

An Adulteress Faces the Light of theWorld

53 1And everyone went to his ownhouse.

8But Jesus went to the Mount ofOlives.

2 Now 1early in the morning He cameagain into the temple, and all the peoplecame to Him; and He sat down andataught them.3 Then the scribes and Phariseesbrought to Him a woman caught in adul-tery. And when they had set her in themidst,4 they said to Him, “Teacher, 1thiswoman was caught in aadultery, in thevery act.5 a“Now 1Moses, in the law, com-manded us 2that such should be stoned.But what do You 3say?”6 This they said, testing Him, that theyamight have something of which to ac-cuse Him. But Jesus stooped down andwrote on the ground with His finger, 1asthough He did not hear.7 So when they continued asking Him,He 1raised Himself up and said to them,a“He who is without sin among you, lethim throw a stone at her first.”8 And again He stooped down andwrote on the ground.9 Then those who heard it, abeing1 con-victed by their conscience, went out oneby one, beginning with the oldest evento the last. And Jesus was left alone, andthe woman standing in the midst.10 When Jesus had raised Himself up1and saw no one but the woman, He saidto her, “Woman, where are those accus-ers 2of yours? Has no one condemnedyou?”11 She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus

said to her, a“Neither do I condemn you;go 1and bsin no more.”12 Then Jesus spoke to them again, say-ing, a“I am the light of the world. Hewho bfollows Me shall not walk in dark-ness, but have the light of life.”

Jesus Defends His Self-Witness

13 The Pharisees therefore said to Him,a“You bear witness of Yourself; Your wit-ness is not 1true.”14 Jesus answered and said to them,“Even if I bear witness of Myself, Mywitness is true, for I know where I camefrom and where I am going; but ayou donot know where I come from and whereI am going.15 a“You judge according to the flesh; bIjudge no one.16 “And yet if I do judge, My judgmentis true; for aI am not alone, but I am withthe Father who sent Me.17 a“It is also written in your law thatthe testimony of two men is true.18 “I am One who bears witness of My-self, and athe Father who sent Me bearswitness of Me.”19 Then they said to Him, “Where isYour Father?” Jesus answered, a“Youknow neither Me nor My Father. bIf youhad known Me, you would have knownMy Father also.”20 These words Jesus spoke in athetreasury, as He taught in the temple; andbno one laid hands on Him, for cHishour had not yet come.

Jesus Predicts His Departure

21 Then Jesus said to them again, “I amgoing away, and ayou will seek Me, andbwill die in your sin.Where I go you can-not come.”22 So the Jews said, “Will He kill Him-self, because He says, ‘Where I go youcannot come’?”23 And He said to them, a“You are frombeneath; I am from above. bYou are ofthis world; I am not of this world.24 a“Therefore I said to you that youwill die in your sins; bfor if you do notbelieve that I am He, you will die in yoursins.”25 Then they said to Him, “Who areYou?” And Jesus said to them, “Just

50 aJohn 3:1, 2;19:39 1Lit. Him2NU before

51 aDeut. 1:16,17; 19:15

52 a[Is. 9:1, 2]1NU is to rise

53 1NUbrackets 7:53through 8:11as not in theoriginal text.They arepresent inover 900 mss.of John.


18:20 1M veryearly

4 aEx. 20:14 1Mwe found thiswoman

5 aLev. 20:10 1Min our lawMosescommanded2NU, M tostone such 3Madds about her

6 aMatt. 22:151NU, M omit asthough He didnot hear

7 aDeut. 17:7 1MHe looked up

9 aRom. 2:221NU, M omitbeingconvicted bytheirconscience

10 1NU omitsand saw noone but thewoman; M Hesaw her andsaid, 2NU, Momit of yours

J O H N 7 : 4 9 1272

7:50 Nicodemus rightly pointed out the injustice of what his col-leagues were contemplating, yet their passions were too arousedto listen to reason.7:52 This does not mean there had been no prophets in the pastfrom Galilee. Jonah, Hosea, Nahum and possibly Elijah and Elishahad all come from that region. This statement implies that no oneexpected God to do any significant work from that area in theirday.8:4 “In the very act,” as well as the absence of the guilty man, im-plies a trap had been set for the woman.

8:5 Leviticus 20:10 and Deuteronomy 22:22 instructed both theguilty man and woman to be put to death, but the method of ex-ecution was not specified.8:11 The tense of “sin no more” suggests discontinuing a habit orlifestyle.8:19 This is a fundamental theme in John’s Gospel. By coming toknow Jesus, you come to know God the Father.8:20 The “treasury” probably refers to the court of women wherethirteen trumpet-shaped collection boxes were located to receivepeople’s offerings.

11 a[John 3:17]b[John 5:14]1NU, M addfrom now on

12 aJohn 1:4;9:5; 12:35b1 Thess. 5:5

13 aJohn 5:311valid astestimony

14 aJohn 7:28;9:29

15 aJohn 7:24b[John 3:17;12:47; 18:36]

16 aJohn 16:3217 aDeut. 17:6;

19:1518 aJohn 5:3719 aJohn 16:3

bJohn 14:720 aMark 12:41,

43 bJohn 2:4;7:30 cJohn 7:8

9750_43John 3/14/06 10:37 AM Page 1272

what I ahave been saying to you fromthe beginning.26 “I have many things to say and tojudge concerning you, but aHe who sentMe is true; and bI speak to the worldthose things which I heard from Him.”27 They did not understand that Hespoke to them of the Father.28 Then Jesus said to them, “When youalift1 up the Son of Man, bthen you willknow that I am He, and cthat I do noth-ing of Myself; but das My Father taughtMe, I speak these things.29 “And aHe who sent Me is with Me.bThe Father has not left Me alone, cfor Ialways do those things that please Him.”30 As He spoke these words, amany be-lieved in Him.

The Truth Shall Make You Free

31 Then Jesus said to those Jews whobelieved Him, “If you aabide in My word,you are My disciples indeed.32 “And you shall know the atruth, andbthe truth shall make you free.”

33 They answered Him, a“We are Abra-ham’s descendants, and have neverbeen in bondage to anyone. How canYou say, ‘You will be made free’?”34 Jesus answered them, “Most as-suredly, I say to you, awhoever commitssin is a slave of sin.35 “And aa slave does not abide in thehouse forever, but a son abides forever.36 a“Therefore if the Son makes youfree, you shall be free indeed.

Abraham’s Seed and Satan’s

37 “I know that you are Abraham’s de-scendants, but ayou seek to kill Me, be-cause My word has no place in you.38 a“I speak what I have seen with MyFather, and you do what you have 1seenwith your father.”39 They answered and said to Him,a“Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to

them, b“If you were Abraham’s children,you would do the works of Abraham.40 a“But now you seek to kill Me, a Manwho has told you the truth bwhich Iheard from God. Abraham did not dothis.41 “You do the deeds of your father.”Then they said to Him, “We were notborn of fornication; awe have one Fa-ther—God.”42 Jesus said to them, a“If God wereyour Father, you would love Me, for bIproceeded forth and came from God;cnor have I come of Myself, but He sentMe.43 a“Why do you not understand Myspeech? Because you are not able to lis-ten to My word.44 a“You are of your father the devil,and the bdesires of your father you wantto cdo. He was a murderer from the be-ginning, and ddoes not stand in thetruth, because there is no truth in him.When he speaks a lie, he speaks fromhis own resources, for he is a liar andthe father of it.45 “But because I tell the truth, you donot believe Me.46 “Which of you convicts Me of sin?And if I tell the truth, why do you not be-lieve Me?47 a“He who is of God hears God’swords; therefore you do not hear, be-cause you are not of God.”

Before Abraham Was, I AM

48 Then the Jews answered and said toHim, “Do we not say rightly that You area Samaritan and ahave a demon?”49 Jesus answered, “I do not have a de-mon; but I honor My Father, and ayoudishonor Me.50 “And aI do not seek My own glory;there is One who seeks and judges.51 “Most assuredly, I say to you, aif any-one keeps My word he shall never seedeath.”52 Then the Jews said to Him, “Now we

21 aJohn 7:34;13:33bJohn 8:24

23 aJohn 3:31b1 John 4:5

24 aJohn 8:21b[Mark 16:16]

25 aJohn 4:2626 aJohn 7:28

bJohn 3:32;15:15

28 aJohn 3:14;12:32; 19:18b[Rom. 1:4]cJohn 5:19, 30dJohn 3:111Crucify

29 aJohn 14:10bJohn 8:16;16:32cJohn 4:34;5:30; 6:38

30 aJohn 7:31;10:42; 11:45

31 a[John 14:15,23]

32 a[John 1:14,17; 14:6]b[Rom. 6:14,18, 22]

33 a[Matt. 3:9]34 a2 Pet. 2:1935 aGal. 4:3036 aGal. 5:137 aJohn 7:1938 a[John 3:32;

5:19, 30;14:10, 24]1NU heardfrom

39 aMatt. 3:9

1273 J O H N 8 : 5 2

8:28 “Lift up” carries double meaning. It points to the crucifixion,when Jesus would physically be lifted up on a cross. It can alsomean He will be exalted. Both occurred during the crucifixion.8:33 Taken literally, this claim was blatantly false. They were underthe yoke of the Roman empire. They had previously been controlledby the Assyrians, the Babylonians, the Persians, and the Greeks.

8:41 The reference to “fornication” may have been a derogatoryremark aimed at the unusual circumstances of Jesus’ birth.8:46 Despite this bold challenge, Jesus’ enemies could not pointto one sin He had committed.

b[Rom. 2:28]40 aJohn 8:37

bJohn 8:2641 aIs. 63:1642 a1 John 5:1

bJohn 16:27;17:8, 25cGal. 4:4

43 a[John 7:17]44 aMatt. 13:38

b1 John 2:16,17c[1 John 3:8–10, 15]d[Jude 6]

47 a1 John 4:648 aJohn 7:20;

10:2049 aJohn 5:4150 aJohn 5:41;

7:1851 aJohn 5:24;

11:26

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Set Free

There is no reason to fear a word fromGod. His word exposes our sin. It

reveals our bondage. Those who areenslaved by sin need to experience God’struth and be liberated from sin’s grip.


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God’s Words

God’s children hear His words andrecognize His voice. Those who

never hear from God give evidence theydo not belong to Him.


9750_43John 3/14/06 10:37 AM Page 1273

know that You ahave a demon! bAbra-ham is dead, and the prophets; and Yousay, ‘If anyone keeps My word he shallnever taste death.’53 “Are You greater than our fatherAbraham, who is dead? And theprophets are dead. aWho do You makeYourself out to be?”54 Jesus answered, a“If I honor Myself,My honor is nothing. bIt is My Fatherwho honors Me, of whom you say thatHe is 1your God.55 “Yet ayou have not known Him, but Iknow Him. And if I say, ‘I do not knowHim,’ I shall be a liar like you; but I doknow Him and bkeep His word.56 “Your father Abraham arejoiced tosee My day, band he saw it and wasglad.”57 Then the Jews said to Him, “You arenot yet fifty years old, and have You seenAbraham?”58 Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly,I say to you, abefore Abraham was, bIAM.”59 Then athey took up stones to throwat Him; but Jesus hid Himself and wentout of the temple, bgoing1 through themidst of them, and so passed by.

A Man Born Blind Receives Sight

9Now as Jesus passed by, He saw aman who was blind from birth.

2 And His disciples asked Him, saying,“Rabbi, awho sinned, this man or hisparents, that he was born blind?”3 Jesus answered, “Neither this mannor his parents sinned, abut that theworks of God should be revealed in him.4 a“I1 must work the works of Him whosent Me while it is bday; the night iscoming when no one can work.5 “As long as I am in the world, aI amthe light of the world.”6 When He had said these things, aHespat on the ground and made clay withthe saliva; and He anointed the eyes ofthe blind man with the clay.7 And He said to him, “Go, wash ain thepool of Siloam” (which is translated,Sent). So bhe went and washed, andcame back seeing.8 Therefore the neighbors and thosewho previously had seen that he was1blind said, “Is not this he who sat andbegged?”

9 Some said, “This is he.” Others said,1“He is like him.” He said, “I am he.”10 Therefore they said to him, “Howwere your eyes opened?”11 He answered and said, a“A Mancalled Jesus made clay and anointed myeyes and said to me, ‘Go to 1the pool ofSiloam and wash.’ So I went andwashed, and I received sight.”12 Then they said to him, “Where isHe?” He said, “I do not know.”

The Pharisees Excommunicate theHealed Man

13 They brought him who formerly wasblind to the Pharisees.14 Now it was a Sabbath when Jesusmade the clay and opened his eyes.15 Then the Pharisees also asked himagain how he had received his sight. Hesaid to them, “He put clay on my eyes,and I washed, and I see.”16 Therefore some of the Phariseessaid, “This Man is not from God, be-cause He does not 1keep the Sabbath.”Others said, a“How can a man who is asinner do such signs?” And bthere was adivision among them.17 They said to the blind man again,“What do you say about Him becauseHe opened your eyes?” He said, a“He isa prophet.”18 But the Jews did not believe con-cerning him, that he had been blind andreceived his sight, until they called theparents of him who had received hissight.19 And they asked them, saying, “Is thisyour son, who you say was born blind?How then does he now see?”20 His parents answered them and said,“We know that this is our son, and thathe was born blind;21 “but by what means he now sees wedo not know, or who opened his eyes wedo not know. He is of age; ask him. Hewill speak for himself.”22 His parents said these things be-cause athey feared the Jews, for theJews had agreed already that if anyoneconfessed that He was Christ, hebwould be put out of the synagogue.23 Therefore his parents said, “He is ofage; ask him.”24 So they again called the man whowas blind, and said to him, a“Give God

52 aJohn 7:20;10:20bZech. 1:5

53 aJohn 10:33;19:7

54 aJohn 5:31,32 bActs 3:131NU, M our

55 aJohn 7:28,29b[John 15:10]

56 aLuke 10:24bHeb. 11:13

58 aMic. 5:2bRev. 1:8

59 aJohn 10:31;11:8bLuke 4:301NU omits therest of v. 59.

CHAPTER 92 aJohn 9:343 aJohn 11:44 a[John 4:34;

5:19, 36; 17:4]bJohn 11:9,10; 12:35 1NUWe

5 a[John 1:5, 9;3:19; 8:12;12:35, 46]

6 aMark 7:33;8:23

7 aNeh. 3:15b2 Kin. 5:14

8 1NU a beggar

J O H N 8 : 5 3 1274

8:57 Luke’s Gospel indicates Jesus was around thirty years old(Luke 3:23).8:59 The Greek verb “hid Himself” is passive, indicating He washidden. The heavenly Father would keep His Son safe until His ap-pointed time had come.9:4 “Must” carries the sense of compulsion. Jesus was driven to ac-complish His Father’s will while there was still time to do it.

9:6 In the ancient world, saliva was considered to have healingproperties.9:7 King Hezekiah had built a tunnel through solid rock, bringingwater from Gihon to Jerusalem where it collected in the Pool ofSiloam (2 Kin. 20:20; 2 Chr. 32:30).9:17 The healed man did not yet know who Jesus was. The desig-nation of “prophet” was the highest honor he could conceivablygive a fellow man.

9 1NU “No, buthe is like him.”

11 aJohn 9:6, 71NU omits thepool of

16 aJohn 3:2;9:33bJohn 7:12,43; 10:191observe

17 a[John 4:19;6:14]

22 aActs 5:13bJohn 16:2

24 aJosh. 7:19

9750_43John 3/14/06 10:37 AM Page 1274

the glory! bWe know that this Man is asinner.”25 He answered and said, “Whether Heis a sinner or not I do not know. Onething I know: that though I was blind,now I see.”

26 Then they said to him again, “Whatdid He do to you? How did He open youreyes?”27 He answered them, “I told you al-ready, and you did not listen. Why doyou want to hear it again? Do you alsowant to become His disciples?”28 Then they reviled him and said, “Youare His disciple, but we are Moses’ disci-ples.29 “We know that God aspoke tobMoses; as for this fellow, cwe do notknow where He is from.”30 The man answered and said to them,a“Why, this is a marvelous thing, thatyou do not know where He is from; yetHe has opened my eyes!31 “Now we know that aGod does nothear sinners; but if anyone is a wor-shiper of God and does His will, Hehears him.32 “Since the world began it has beenunheard of that anyone opened the eyesof one who was born blind.33 a“If this Man were not from God, Hecould do nothing.”34 They answered and said to him,a“You were completely born in sins, andare you teaching us?” And they 1casthim out.

True Vision and True Blindness

35 Jesus heard that they had cast himout; and when He had afound him, Hesaid to him, “Do you bbelieve in cthe Sonof 1God?”36 He answered and said, “Who is He,Lord, that I may believe in Him?”37 And Jesus said to him, “You have

both seen Him and ait is He who is talk-ing with you.”38 Then he said, “Lord, I believe!” Andhe aworshiped Him.39 And Jesus said, a“For judgment Ihave come into this world, bthat thosewho do not see may see, and that thosewho see may be made blind.”40 Then some of the Pharisees whowere with Him heard these words, aandsaid to Him, “Are we blind also?”41 Jesus said to them, a“If you wereblind, you would have no sin; but nowyou say, ‘We see.’ Therefore your sin re-mains.

Jesus the True Shepherd

10“Most assuredly, I say to you, hewho does not enter the sheepfold

by the door, but climbs up some otherway, the same is a thief and a robber.2 “But he who enters by the door is theshepherd of the sheep.3 “To him the doorkeeper opens, andthe sheep hear his voice; and he calls hisown sheep by aname and leads themout.4 “And when he brings out his ownsheep, he goes before them; and thesheep follow him, for they know hisvoice.5 “Yet they will by no means follow aastranger, but will flee from him, forthey do not know the voice ofstrangers.”6 Jesus used this illustration, but theydid not understand the things which Hespoke to them.

Jesus the Good Shepherd

7 Then Jesus said to them again, “Mostassuredly, I say to you, I am the door ofthe sheep.8 “All who ever came 1before Me arethieves and robbers, but the sheep didnot hear them.9 a“I am the door. If anyone enters by

bJohn 9:1629 aNum. 12:

6–8b[John 5:45–47]cJohn 7:27,28; 8:14

30 aJohn 3:1031 aZech. 7:1333 aJohn 3:2;

9:1634 aJohn 9:2

1Excommuni-cated him

35 aJohn 5:14bJohn 1:7;16:31cMatt. 14:33;16:16 1NUMan

1275 J O H N 1 0 : 9

9:34 “Born in sins” suggests the Pharisees believed the man’sblindness was in punishment for sin.9:38 The formerly blind man progressed in His understanding ofJesus. He first described Him as “a man” (v. 11); then “a prophet”(17); and finally as “the Son of God” to be worshipped (35–38).

10:7 Jesus is the “door,” which means all God’s promises aremade available through Him. Moreover, He alone gives access tothe Father.

37 aJohn 4:2638 aMatt. 8:239 a[John 3:17;

5:22, 27;12:47]bMatt. 13:13;15:14

40 a[Rom. 2:19]41 aJohn 15:22,

24

CHAPTER 103 aJohn 20:165 a[2 Cor. 11:

13–15]8 1M omits

before Me9 a[Eph. 2:18]

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One Thing I Know

It is not enough to know what theScriptures say about Jesus, nor is it

satisfactory only to hear what othershave experienced in their relationshipwith Him. We must come to know Himourselves. Such personal knowledge willforever change our lives.


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Spiritual Blindness

The worst mistake we can make is tooverestimate our spiritual condition.

False confidence in our walk with God islike thinking we are healthy when weare terminally ill, a dangerous miscon-ception.


9750_43John 3/14/06 10:37 AM Page 1275

Me, he will be saved, and will go in andout and find pasture.10 “The thief does not come except tosteal, and to kill, and to destroy. I havecome that they may have life, and thatthey may have it more abundantly.

11 a“I am the good shepherd. The goodshepherd gives His life for the sheep.12 “But a 1hireling, he who is not theshepherd, one who does not own thesheep, sees the wolf coming and aleavesthe sheep and flees; and the wolf catchesthe sheep and scatters them.13 “The hireling flees because he is ahireling and does not care about thesheep.14 “I am the good shepherd; and aIknow My sheep, and bam known by Myown.15 a“As the Father knows Me, even so Iknow the Father; band I lay down Mylife for the sheep.16 “And aother sheep I have which arenot of this fold; them also I must bring,and they will hear My voice; band therewill be one flock and one shepherd.17 “Therefore My Father aloves Me,bbecause I lay down My life that I maytake it again.18 “No one takes it from Me, but I lay itdown of Myself. I ahave power to lay itdown, and I have power to take it again.bThis command I have received fromMy Father.”19 Therefore athere was a divisionagain among the Jews because of thesesayings.20 And many of them said, a“He has ademon and is 1mad. Why do you listento Him?”21 Others said, “These are not the

words of one who has a demon. aCan ademon bopen the eyes of the blind?”

The Shepherd Knows His Sheep

22 Now it was the Feast of Dedication inJerusalem, and it was winter.23 And Jesus walked in the temple, ainSolomon’s porch.24 Then the Jews surrounded Him andsaid to Him, “How long do You keep usin 1doubt? If You are the Christ, tell usplainly.”25 Jesus answered them, “I told you,and you do not believe. aThe works thatI do in My Father’s name, they bbearwitness of Me.26 “But ayou do not believe, becauseyou are not of My sheep, 1as I said toyou.27 a“My sheep hear My voice, and Iknow them, and they follow Me.

28 “And I give them eternal life, andthey shall never perish; neither shallanyone snatch them out of My hand.29 a“My Father, bwho has given them toMe, is greater than all; and no one isable to snatch them out of My Father’shand.30 a“I and My Father are one.”

Renewed Efforts to Stone Jesus

31 Then athe Jews took up stones againto stone Him.32 Jesus answered them, “Many goodworks I have shown you from My Fa-ther. For which of those works do youstone Me?”33 The Jews answered Him, saying,“For a good work we do not stone You,but for ablasphemy, and because You,being a Man, bmake Yourself God.”

11 aIs. 40:1112 aZech. 11:16,

17 1hired man14 a2 Tim. 2:19

b2 Tim. 1:1215 aMatt. 11:27

b[John 15:13;19:30]

16 aIs. 42:6;56:8bEph. 2:13–18

17 aJohn 5:20b[Heb. 2:9]

18 a[John 2:19;5:26]b[John 6:38;14:31; 17:4;Acts 2:24, 32]

19 aJohn 7:43;9:16

20 aJohn 7:201insane

J O H N 1 0 : 1 0 1276

10:11 Jesus described Himself as the “good shepherd.” God oftencondemned false or wicked shepherds of His people (Jer. 23:1–4;25:32–38; Is. 56:9–12; Zech. 11; Ezek. 34). The Greek word for“good,” kalos, could also be translated “beautiful.” Normally ashepherd did not lay down his life for his sheep, for this wouldleave the remaining sheep vulnerable. However, Jesus’ self sacrificewould bring life to His sheep.10:12 A “hireling’s” sole purpose in working was to make a living.Hired shepherds were expected to defend the sheep against onewolf but if there was more than one wolf, he was absolved fromhis duty and could flee for his life.

10:22 The Feast of Dedication celebrated the rededication of thetemple by Judas Maccabaeus in 165 B.C. after AntiochusEpiphanes had desecrated it. The feast was observed for eightdays in December and it later became known as the Feast ofLights, or Hanukkah.10:23 Solomon’s porch was a long, covered colonnade, probablyon the east side of the temple (Acts 3:11; 5:12).10:28 “Snatch” connotes a violent abduction. When you belongto Christ, no one and nothing can remove you. A Christian is heldin both Christ’s and the Father’s hand.10:30 This was a transparent claim of deity by Jesus.

21 a[Ex. 4:11]bJohn 9:6, 7,32, 33

23 aActs 3:11;5:12

24 1Suspense25 aJohn 5:36;

10:38bMatt. 11:4

26 a[John 8:47]1NU omits as Isaid to you

27 aJohn 10:4,14

29 aJohn 14:28b[John 17:2, 6,12, 24]

30 aJohn 17:11,21–24

31 aJohn 8:5933 aMatt. 9:3

bJohn 5:18

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Jesus’ Voice

There is something about Jesus’ voicethat resonates within the hearts of

His people. The longer we walk withHim, the more clearly recognizable anddistinctive His voice should become tous.


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Abundant Life

Arelationship with Jesus brings life.The life Christ offers is not a

mundane existence, but an ongoing,vibrant, dynamic, and joyful experience.Life is available to all, but abundant lifecomes only through Jesus.


9750_43John 3/14/06 10:37 AM Page 1276

34 Jesus answered them, “Is it not writ-ten in your law, a‘I said,“You are gods” ’?35 “If He called them gods, ato whomthe word of God came (and the Scripturebcannot be broken),36 “do you say of Him awhom the Fa-ther sanctified and bsent into the world,‘You are blaspheming,’ cbecause I said,‘I am dthe Son of God’?37 a“If I do not do the works of My Fa-ther, do not believe Me;38 “but if I do, though you do not be-lieve Me, abelieve the works, that youmay know and 1believe bthat the Fatheris in Me, and I in Him.”39 aTherefore they sought again toseize Him, but He escaped out of theirhand.

The Believers Beyond Jordan

40 And He went away again beyond theJordan to the place awhere John wasbaptizing at first, and there He stayed.41 Then many came to Him and said,“John performed no sign, abut all thethings that John spoke about this Manwere true.”42 And many believed in Him there.

The Death of Lazarus

11Now a certain man was sick,Lazarus of Bethany, the town of

aMary and her sister Martha.2 aIt was that Mary who anointed theLord with fragrant oil and wiped Hisfeet with her hair, whose brotherLazarus was sick.3 Therefore the sisters sent to Him, say-ing, “Lord, behold, he whom You love issick.”4 When Jesus heard that, He said, “Thissickness is not unto death, but for theglory of God, that the Son of God maybe glorified through it.”5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sis-ter and Lazarus.6 So, when He heard that he was sick,aHe stayed two more days in the placewhere He was.7 Then after this He said to the disci-ples, “Let us go to Judea again.”8 The disciples said to Him, “Rabbi,lately the Jews sought to astone You, andare You going there again?”

9 Jesus answered, “Are there not twelvehours in the day? aIf anyone walks inthe day, he does not stumble, because hesees the blight of this world.10 “But aif one walks in the night, hestumbles, because the light is not inhim.”11 These things He said, and after thatHe said to them, “Our friend Lazarusasleeps, but I go that I may wake him up.”12 Then His disciples said, “Lord, if hesleeps he will get well.”13 However, Jesus spoke of his death,but they thought that He was speakingabout taking rest in sleep.14 Then Jesus said to them plainly,“Lazarus is dead.15 “And I am glad for your sakes that Iwas not there, that you may believe.Nevertheless let us go to him.”

16 Then aThomas, who is called theTwin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let usalso go, that we may die with Him.”

I Am the Resurrection and the Life

17 So when Jesus came, He found thathe had already been in the tomb fourdays.18 Now Bethany was near Jerusalem,about 1two miles away.19 And many of the Jews had joined thewomen around Martha and Mary, tocomfort them concerning their brother.20 Then Martha, as soon as she heardthat Jesus was coming, went and metHim, but Mary was sitting in the house.21 Now Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, ifYou had been here, my brother wouldnot have died.22 “But even now I know that awhat-ever You ask of God, God will give You.”23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother willrise again.”

34 aPs. 82:635 aMatt. 5:17,

18b1 Pet. 1:25

36 aJohn 6:27bJohn 3:17cJohn 5:17, 18dLuke 1:35

37 aJohn 10:25;15:24

38 aJohn 5:36bJohn 14:10,11 1NUunderstand

39 aJohn 7:30,44

40 aJohn 1:2841 a[John 1:29,

36; 3:28–36;5:33]

CHAPTER 111 aLuke 10:38,

392 aMatt. 26:76 aJohn 10:408 aJohn 8:59;

10:31

1277 J O H N 1 1 : 2 3

10:38 The “works” Jesus performed were clear evidence that Hewas sent by His Father. Miracles speak for themselves, whetherone chooses to believe or not.11:6 The messenger’s journey from Bethany to summon Jesuswould only take one day. If Lazarus died shortly after the messen-ger was sent for Jesus, his delay of two days would not have madea difference in Lazarus’ fate. After Jesus and his followers took aday to travel to Bethany, Lazarus would have been dead for fourdays.11:9 The Jews divided the day in two. Twelve hours representedthe night and the other twelve hours represented the day.

11:16 The disciple Thomas made a bold statement of commit-ment to Jesus. He may also have been demonstrating his essen-tially pessimistic outlook.11:17 The four days Lazarus spent in the tomb were significant. Itwas believed that the soul lingered by the deceased body for threedays in case there was any hope of resuscitation. However, the on-lookers knew the corpse would begin to decay on the fourth day,and any hope of life would then end.11:20 Martha may have been the oldest sister. As hostess, shewould have taken responsibility for serving and would have beenalerted first should a prominent guest like Jesus arrive.

9 aJohn 9:4;12:35 bIs. 9:2

10 aJohn 12:3511 aMatt. 9:2416 aJohn 14:5;

20:26–2818 1Lit. 15 stadia22 a[John 9:31;

11:41]

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For Your Sake

The circumstances of life that sodiscourage us are viewed by God as

opportunities to increase our faith and todeepen our understanding of Him.


9750_43John 3/15/06 7:48 AM Page 1277

24 Martha said to Him, a“I know that hewill rise again in the resurrection at thelast day.”25 Jesus said to her, “I am athe resurrec-tion and the life. bHe who believes inMe, though he may cdie, he shall live.

26 “And whoever lives and believes inMe shall never die. Do you believe this?”27 She said to Him, “Yes, Lord, aI be-lieve that You are the Christ, the Son ofGod, who is to come into the world.”

Jesus and Death, the Last Enemy

28 And when she had said these things,she went her way and secretly calledMary her sister, saying, “The Teacherhas come and is calling for you.”29 As soon as she heard that, she arosequickly and came to Him.30 Now Jesus had not yet come into thetown, but 1was in the place whereMartha met Him.31 aThen the Jews who were with her inthe house, and comforting her, whenthey saw that Mary rose up quickly andwent out, followed her, 1saying, “She isgoing to the tomb to weep there.”32 Then, when Mary came where Jesuswas, and saw Him, she afell down at Hisfeet, saying to Him, b“Lord, if You hadbeen here, my brother would not havedied.”33 Therefore, when Jesus saw herweeping, and the Jews who came withher weeping, He groaned in the spiritand was troubled.34 And He said, “Where have you laidhim?” They said to Him, “Lord, comeand see.”35 aJesus wept.36 Then the Jews said, “See how Heloved him!”37 And some of them said, “Could not thisMan, awho opened the eyes of the blind,also have kept this man from dying?”

Lazarus Raised from the Dead

38 Then Jesus, again groaning in Him-self, came to the tomb. It was a cave, anda astone lay against it.39 Jesus said, “Take away the stone.”Martha, the sister of him who was dead,said to Him, “Lord, by this time there isa stench, for he has been dead fourdays.”40 Jesus said to her, “Did I not say toyou that if you would believe you wouldasee the glory of God?”41 Then they took away the stone 1fromthe place where the dead man was ly-ing. And Jesus lifted up His eyes andsaid, “Father, I thank You that You haveheard Me.42 “And I know that You always hearMe, but abecause of the people who arestanding by I said this, that they may be-lieve that You sent Me.”43 Now when He had said these things,He cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus,come forth!”44 And he who had died came outbound hand and foot with agrave-clothes, and bhis face was wrapped witha cloth. Jesus said to them, “Loose him,and let him go.”

The Plot to Kill Jesus

45 Then many of the Jews who hadcome to Mary, aand had seen the thingsJesus did, believed in Him.46 But some of them went away to thePharisees and atold them the things Je-sus did.47 aThen the chief priests and the Phar-isees gathered a council and said,b“What shall we do? For this Man worksmany signs.48 “If we let Him alone like this, every-one will believe in Him, and the Romanswill come and take away both our placeand nation.”49 And one of them, aCaiaphas, being

24 a[John 5:29]25 aJohn 5:21;

6:39, 40, 44b1 John 5:10c1 Cor. 15:22

27 aMatt. 16:1630 1NU was still31 aJohn 11:19,

33 1NUsupposing thatshe was going

32 aRev. 1:17bJohn 11:21

35 aLuke 19:4137 aJohn 9:6, 7

J O H N 1 1 : 2 4 1278

11:23 Martha took Jesus’ statement as a general expression ofcondolence, referring to the end times. She did not yet under-stand that He had the power to raise her brother right then andthere.11:28 Jesus was known by Martha and Mary as “the Teacher,” orRabbi. A rabbi did not teach women. However, Jesus did not bindHimself to human traditions.

11:33 The customary way to demonstrate respect for the deadwas to wail loudly. The more anguished the weeping, the moreloved and respected the deceased was deemed to be.11:39 Martha remained pragmatic in her thinking, yet she yieldedto Jesus’ directions.

38 aMatt. 27:60,66

40 a[John 11:4,23]

41 1NU omitsfrom the placewhere thedead man waslying

42 aJohn 12:30;17:21

44 aJohn 19:40bJohn 20:7

45 aJohn 2:23;10:42; 12:11,18

46 aJohn 5:1547 aPs. 2:2

bActs 4:1649 aLuke 3:2

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Jesus Weeps

It is heartbreaking to be in Jesus’presence and yet to be hampered by

unbelief. Such ignorance of God’s powerand love is tragic.


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The Resurrection

Our most formidable foe has alwaysbeen death. No person has con-

quered it. Yet Jesus offers resurrectionlife. To accept Jesus is to invite resurrec-tion power into your life.


9750_43John 3/14/06 10:37 AM Page 1278

high priest that year, said to them, “Youknow nothing at all,50 a“nor do you consider that it is expe-dient for 1us that one man should die forthe people, and not that the whole na-tion should perish.”51 Now this he did not say on his ownauthority; but being high priest thatyear he prophesied that Jesus would diefor the nation,52 and anot for that nation only, butbalso that He would gather together inone the children of God who were scat-tered abroad.53 Then, from that day on, they plottedto aput Him to death.54 aTherefore Jesus no longer walkedopenly among the Jews, but went fromthere into the country near the wilder-ness, to a city called bEphraim, andthere remained with His disciples.55 aAnd the Passover of the Jews wasnear, and many went from the countryup to Jerusalem before the Passover, tobpurify themselves.56 aThen they sought Jesus, and spokeamong themselves as they stood in thetemple, “What do you think—that Hewill not come to the feast?”57 Now both the chief priests and thePharisees had given a command, that ifanyone knew where He was, he shouldreport it, that they might aseize Him.

The Anointing at Bethany

12Then, six days before the Passover,Jesus came to Bethany, awhere

Lazarus was 1who had been dead,whom He had raised from the dead.2 aThere they made Him a supper; and

Martha served, but Lazarus was one ofthose who sat at the table with Him.3 Then aMary took a pound of verycostly oil of bspikenard, anointed thefeet of Jesus, and wiped His feet withher hair. And the house was filled withthe fragrance of the oil.4 But one of His disciples, aJudas Iscar-iot, Simon’s son, who would betray Him,said,5 “Why was this fragrant oil not sold for1three hundred denarii and given to thepoor?”6 This he said, not that he cared for thepoor, but because he was a thief, andahad the money box; and he used to takewhat was put in it.7 But Jesus said, “Let her alone; 1shehas kept this for the day of My burial.8 “For athe poor you have with you al-ways, but Me you do not have always.”

The Plot to Kill Lazarus

9 Now a great many of the Jews knewthat He was there; and they came, notfor Jesus’ sake only, but that they mightalso see Lazarus, awhom He had raisedfrom the dead.10 aBut the chief priests plotted to putLazarus to death also,

11 abecause on account of him many ofthe Jews went away and believed in Je-sus.

The Triumphal Entry

12 aThe next day a great multitude thathad come to the feast, when they heardthat Jesus was coming to Jerusalem,13 took branches of palm trees andwent out to meet Him, and cried out:

50 aJohn 18:141NU you

52 aIs. 49:6b[Eph. 2:14–17]

53 aMatt. 26:454 aJohn 4:1, 3;

7:1b2 Chr. 13:19

55 aJohn 2:13;5:1; 6:4bNum. 9:10,13; 31:19, 20

56 aJohn 7:1157 aMatt. 26:

14–16

CHAPTER 121 aJohn 11:1, 43

1NU omitswho had beendead

2 aMark 14:3;Luke 10:38–41

1279 J O H N 1 2 : 1 3

11:49 Caiaphas was high priest about A.D. 18–36. This was tradi-tionally a life-long position, appointed by the Roman authorities.11:54 Ephraim may be identified with Ophrah which was fifteenmiles from Jerusalem (2 Chr. 13:19).12:2 Martha was actively serving Jesus, as was her custom (Luke10:41–42). However, this time there is no mention of her beingdistracted or agitated.12:3 Such an expensive perfume would normally have beenpoured on someone’s head. However, Mary assumed the most hu-miliating position imaginable, at Jesus’ feet. Pious women neverpublicly unbraided their hair. However, Mary’s devotion to Jesusmade her oblivious to any embarrassment or criticism.

12:5 A day laborer earned one denarius per day. This gift repre-sented a year’s wages. This may well have been a family treasurethat Mary dispensed.12:6 This is the only mention in the Gospels of Judas’s evil charac-ter before he betrayed Jesus. Apparently he had followed Jesus forHis own profit and would eventually betray Him from the samemotive.12:10 The chief priests mostly consisted of Sadducees who re-jected the belief in the resurrection. Lazarus was therefore doublyoffensive to them, not only because of his strong testimony, butbecause his resurrection contradicted their theology.12:13 Jewish law prescribed palm branches to be used at theFeast of Tabernacles (Lev. 23:40). Palms symbolized victory.

3 aJohn 11:2bSong 1:12

4 aJohn 13:265 1About one

year’s wagesfor a worker

6 aJohn 13:297 1NU that she

may keep8 aMark 14:79 aJohn 11:43,

4410 aLuke 16:3111 aJohn 11:45;

12:1812 aMatt. 21:

4–9

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But Some

Why is it that some see the evidenceand believe while others remain

cynical? The answer lies in the skeptic’sheart. Often those who are not trustwor-thy do not trust others either.


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Refusal

Those who refuse to accept God’sword will always find a way to

dismiss or remove the evidence of Hispower. Only the Holy Spirit can soften ahardened heart.


9750_43John 3/14/06 10:37 AM Page 1279

“Hosanna!a‘Blessed is He who comes in the

name of the LORD!’The King of Israel!”

14 aThen Jesus, when He had found ayoung donkey, sat on it; as it is written:

15“Feara not, daughter of Zion;Behold, your King is coming,Sitting on a donkey’s colt.”

16 aHis disciples did not understandthese things at first; bbut when Jesuswas glorified, cthen they rememberedthat these things were written aboutHim and that they had done thesethings to Him.17 Therefore the people, who were withHim when He called Lazarus out of histomb and raised him from the dead,bore witness.18 aFor this reason the people also metHim, because they heard that He haddone this sign.19 The Pharisees therefore said amongthemselves, a“You see that you are ac-complishing nothing. Look, the worldhas gone after Him!”

The Fruitful Grain of Wheat

20 Now there awere certain Greeksamong those bwho came up to worshipat the feast.21 Then they came to Philip, awho wasfrom Bethsaida of Galilee, and askedhim, saying, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.”22 Philip came and told Andrew, and inturn Andrew and Philip told Jesus.23 But Jesus answered them, saying,a“The hour has come that the Son ofMan should be glorified.24 “Most assuredly, I say to you, aunlessa grain of wheat falls into the groundand dies, it remains alone; but if it dies,it produces much 1grain.25 a“He who loves his life will lose it,and he who hates his life in this worldwill keep it for eternal life.26 “If anyone serves Me, let him afollowMe; and bwhere I am, there My servantwill be also. If anyone serves Me, himMy Father will honor.

Jesus Predicts His Death on the Cross

27 a“Now My soul is troubled, and whatshall I say? ‘Father, save Me from thishour’? bBut for this purpose I came tothis hour.28 “Father, glorify Your name.” aThen a

voice came from heaven, saying, “I haveboth glorified it and will glorify itagain.”29 Therefore the people who stood byand heard it said that it had thundered.Others said, “An angel has spoken toHim.”30 Jesus answered and said, a“Thisvoice did not come because of Me, butfor your sake.31 “Now is the judgment of this world;now athe ruler of this world will be castout.32 “And I, aif I am 1lifted up from theearth, will draw ball peoples to Myself.”33 aThis He said, signifying by whatdeath He would die.34 The people answered Him, a“Wehave heard from the law that the Christremains forever; and how can You say,‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Whois this Son of Man?”35 Then Jesus said to them, “A littlewhile longer athe light is with you.bWalk while you have the light, lestdarkness overtake you; che who walksin darkness does not know where he isgoing.36 “While you have the light, believe inthe light, that you may become asons oflight.” These things Jesus spoke, and de-parted, and bwas hidden from them.

Who Has Believed Our Report?

37 But although He had done so manyasigns before them, they did not believein Him,38 that the word of Isaiah the prophetmight be fulfilled, which he spoke:

a“Lord, who has believed ourreport?

And to whom has the arm of theLORD been revealed?”

39 Therefore they could not believe, be-cause Isaiah said again:

13 aPs. 118:25,26

14 aMatt. 21:715 aIs. 40:9;

Zech. 9:916 aLuke 18:34

bJohn 7:39;12:23c[John 14:26]

18 aJohn 12:1119 aJohn 11:47,

4820 aActs 17:4

b1 Kin. 8:41,42

21 aJohn 1:43,44; 14:8–11

23 aJohn 13:3224 a1 Cor. 15:36

1Lit. fruit25 aMark 8:3526 a[Matt. 16:

24]bJohn 14:3;17:24

27 a[Matt. 26:38, 39]bLuke 22:53

28 aMatt. 3:17;17:5

J O H N 1 2 : 1 4 1280

12:20 The coming of Greeks to seek Jesus signified that Jesus wasno longer merely a Jewish Messiah but the Savior of the world.12:21 The Greeks came to Philip and were continually asking tosee Jesus. They may have approached Philip because he had aGreek name, as did Andrew.

12:38 Jesus’ entire life and ministry followed in accordance withscripture, fulfilling every prophecy.

30 aJohn 11:4231 a[2 Cor. 4:4]32 aJohn 3:14;

8:28b[Rom. 5:18]1Crucified

33 aJohn 18:32;21:19

34 aMic. 4:735 a[John 1:9;

7:33; 8:12]bEph. 5:8c[1 John 2:9–11]

36 aLuke 16:8bJohn 8:59

37 aJohn 11:4738 aIs. 53:1

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Losing Your Life

The Christian life is filled withparadoxes. Trying to save your life

and manage it yourself shows you donot trust God. The only way to trulyexperience abundant life is to submityour future to God’s hands. The irony isin losing, you win.


9750_43John 3/14/06 10:37 AM Page 1280

40“Hea has blinded their eyes andhardened their hearts,

bLest they should see with theireyes,

Lest they should understand withtheir hearts and turn,

So that I should heal them.”

41 aThese things Isaiah said 1when hesaw His glory and spoke of Him.

Walk in the Light

42 Nevertheless even among the rulersmany believed in Him, but abecause ofthe Pharisees they did not confess Him,lest they should be put out of the syna-gogue;43 afor they loved the praise of menmore than the praise of God.44 Then Jesus cried out and said, a“Hewho believes in Me, bbelieves not in Mecbut in Him who sent Me.45 “And ahe who sees Me sees Him whosent Me.46 a“I have come as a light into theworld, that whoever believes in Meshould not abide in darkness.

47 “And if anyone hears My words anddoes not 1believe, aI do not judge him;for bI did not come to judge the worldbut to save the world.48 a“He who rejects Me, and does notreceive My words, has that which judgeshim—bthe word that I have spoken willjudge him in the last day.49 “For aI have not spoken on My ownauthority; but the Father who sent Megave Me a command, bwhat I should sayand what I should speak.50 “And I know that His command iseverlasting life. Therefore, whatever Ispeak, just as the Father has told Me, soI aspeak.”

Jesus Washes the Disciples’ Feet

13Now abefore the Feast of thePassover, when Jesus knew that

bHis hour had come that He should de-

part from this world to the Father, hav-ing loved His own who were in theworld, He cloved them to the end.2 And 1supper being ended, athe devilhaving already put it into the heart of Ju-das Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray Him,3 Jesus, knowing athat the Father hadgiven all things into His hands, and thatHe bhad come from God and cwas goingto God,4 arose from supper and laid aside Hisgarments, took a towel and girded Him-self.5 After that, He poured water into abasin and began to wash the disciples’feet, and to wipe them with the towelwith which He was girded.6 Then He came to Simon Peter. AndPeter said to Him, a“Lord, are You wash-ing my feet?”7 Jesus answered and said to him,“What I am doing you ado not under-stand now, bbut you will know afterthis.”8 Peter said to Him, “You shall neverwash my feet!” Jesus answered him, a“IfI do not wash you, you have no part withMe.”9 Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, notmy feet only, but also my hands and myhead!”10 Jesus said to him, “He who is bathedneeds only to wash his feet, but is com-pletely clean; and ayou are clean, butnot all of you.”11 For aHe knew who would betrayHim; therefore He said, “You are not allclean.”12 So when He had washed their feet,taken His garments, and sat downagain, He said to them, “Do you 1knowwhat I have done to you?13 a“You call Me Teacher and Lord, andyou say well, for so I am.14 a“If I then, your Lord and Teacher,have washed your feet, byou also oughtto wash one another’s feet.15 “For aI have given you an example,that you should do as I have done to you.16 a“Most assuredly, I say to you, a ser-vant is not greater than his master; noris he who is sent greater than he whosent him.17 a“If you know these things, blessedare you if you do them.

Jesus Identifies His Betrayer

18 “I do not speak concerning all ofyou. I know whom I have chosen; but

40 aIs. 6:9, 10bMatt. 13:14

41 aIs. 6:1 1NUbecause

42 aJohn 7:13;9:22

43 aJohn 5:41,44

44 aMark 9:37b[John 3:16,18, 36; 11:25,26]c[John 5:24]

45 a[John 14:9]46 aJohn 1:4, 5;

8:12; 12:35,36

47 aJohn 5:45bJohn 3:171NU keepthem

48 a[Luke 10:16]bDeut. 18:18,19

49 aJohn 8:38bDeut. 18:18

50 aJohn 5:19;8:28

CHAPTER 131 aMatt. 26:2

bJohn 12:23;17:1

1281 J O H N 1 3 : 1 8

12:48 Ultimately people will determine their own judgment,based on how they respond to God’s word.13:1 Throughout John’s Gospel we are told that Jesus’ “hour” hadnot come. Finally it does arrive on the night He celebrates thePassover with His disciples.

13:4 Jesus apparently stripped Himself down to His basic garment,in the manner of a slave, then wrapped a towel around His waistso He could use it to dry His disciples’ feet.

cJohn 15:92 aLuke 22:3

1NU duringsupper

3 aActs 2:36bJohn 8:42;16:28cJohn 17:11;20:17

4 a[Luke 22:27]6 aMatt. 3:147 aJohn 12:16;

16:12bJohn 13:19

8 a[1 Cor. 6:11]10 a[John 15:3]11 aJohn 6:64;

18:412 1understand13 aMatt. 23:8,

1014 aLuke 22:27

b[Rom. 12:10]15 a[1 Pet. 2:

21–24]16 aMatt. 10:2417 a[James 1:25]

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Light

Light dispels darkness. Once you placeyour trust in Jesus, your life is

illuminated. You see yourself as younever did before. Until then you walk inshadows.


9750_43John 3/14/06 10:37 AM Page 1281

that the aScripture may be fulfilled, b‘Hewho eats 1bread with Me has lifted uphis heel against Me.’19 a“Now I tell you before it comes, thatwhen it does come to pass, you may be-lieve that I am He.20 a“Most assuredly, I say to you, hewho receives whomever I send receivesMe; and he who receives Me receivesHim who sent Me.”21 aWhen Jesus had said these things,bHe was troubled in spirit, and testifiedand said, “Most assuredly, I say to you,cone of you will betray Me.”22 Then the disciples looked at one an-other, perplexed about whom He spoke.23 Now athere was 1leaning on Jesus’bosom one of His disciples, whom Jesusloved.24 Simon Peter therefore motioned tohim to ask who it was of whom Hespoke.25 Then, leaning 1back on Jesus’ breast,he said to Him, “Lord, who is it?”26 Jesus answered, “It is he to whom Ishall give a piece of bread when I havedipped it.” And having dipped thebread, He gave it to aJudas Iscariot, theson of Simon.27 aNow after the piece of bread, Satanentered him. Then Jesus said to him,“What you do, do quickly.”28 But no one at the table knew forwhat reason He said this to him.29 For some thought, because aJudashad the money box, that Jesus had saidto him, “Buy those things we need forthe feast,” or that he should give some-thing to the poor.30 Having received the piece of bread,he then went out immediately. And itwas night.

The New Commandment

31 So, when he had gone out, Jesussaid, a“Now the Son of Man is glorified,and bGod is glorified in Him.32 “If God is glorified in Him, God will

also glorify Him in Himself, and aglorifyHim immediately.33 “Little children, I shall be with you aalittle while longer.You will seek Me; bandas I said to the Jews, ‘Where I am going,you cannot come,’ so now I say to you.34 a“A new commandment I give to you,that you love one another; as I haveloved you, that you also love one an-other.

35 a“By this all will know that you areMy disciples, if you have love for one an-other.”

Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial

36 Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord,where are You going?” Jesus answeredhim, “Where I aam going you cannot fol-low Me now, but byou shall follow Meafterward.”37 Peter said to Him, “Lord, why can Inot follow You now? I will alay down mylife for Your sake.”38 Jesus answered him, “Will you laydown your life for My sake? Most as-suredly, I say to you, the rooster shallnot acrow till you have denied Me threetimes.

The Way, the Truth, and the Life

14“Let anot your heart be troubled;you believe in God, believe also in

Me.2 “In My Father’s house are many1mansions; if it were not so, 2I wouldhave told you. aI go to prepare a placefor you.3 “And if I go and prepare a place foryou, aI will come again and receive youto Myself; that bwhere I am, there youmay be also.4 “And where I go you know, and theway you know.”5 aThomas said to Him, “Lord, we donot know where You are going, and howcan we know the way?”

18 aJohn 15:25;17:12bPs. 41:9 1NUMy bread has

19 aJohn 14:29;16:4

20 aMatt. 10:4021 aLuke 22:21

bJohn 12:27c1 John 2:19

23 aJohn 19:26;20:2; 21:7, 201reclining

25 1NU, M addthus

26 aJohn 6:70,71; 12:4

27 aLuke 22:329 aJohn 12:631 aJohn 12:23

b[1 Pet. 4:11]

J O H N 1 3 : 1 9 1282

13:21 Even on the night of Jesus’ betrayal, the disciples did notsuspect Judas as a traitor. Jesus washed Judas’ feet, passed himfood, and seated him close to Himself.13:23 The disciple “whom Jesus loved” was more than likely John(John 19:26; 20:2; 21:7, 20). Modesty probably prevented himfrom mentioning himself or his brother James. Nevertheless, he

enjoyed a position of honor, leaning on Jesus during the Passovermeal.13:27 In John’s Gospel, Satan is mentioned just this once. Despiteall Jesus had done to reach out to Judas, he had hardened hisheart and opened himself to Satan’s influence.14:2 “My Father’s house” refers to heaven.

32 aJohn 12:2333 aJohn 12:35;

14:19;16:16–19b[John 7:34;8:21]

34 a1 Thess. 4:935 a1 John 2:536 aJohn 13:33;

14:2; 16:5b2 Pet. 1:14

37 aMark 14:29–31

38 aJohn 18:25–27

CHAPTER 141 a[John 14:27;

16:22, 24]2 aJohn 13:33,

36 1Lit.dwellings 2NUwould I havetold you that Igo or I wouldhave told you;for I go

3 a[Acts 1:11]b[John 12:26]

5 aMatt. 10:3

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Knowing and Doing

We can impress others with ouraccumulation of knowledge, but

our great challenge is putting intopractice everything we know.


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A New Commandment

Many religions promote kindness andbrotherly love, but Christ set the

perfect standard Himself by laying downHis own life. This is our calling, one wecan fulfill only if Christ is in us.


9750_43John 3/14/06 10:37 AM Page 1282

6 Jesus said to him, “I am athe way, bthetruth, and cthe life. dNo one comes to theFather eexcept through Me.

The Father Revealed

7 a“If you had known Me, you wouldhave known My Father also; and fromnow on you know Him and have seenHim.”8 Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us theFather, and it is sufficient for us.”9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been withyou so long, and yet you have not knownMe, Philip? aHe who has seen Me hasseen the Father; so how can you say,‘Show us the Father’?

10 “Do you not believe that aI am in theFather, and the Father in Me? The wordsthat I speak to you bI do not speak onMy own authority; but the Father whodwells in Me does the works.11 “Believe Me that I am in the Fatherand the Father in Me, aor else believe Mefor the sake of the works themselves.

The Answered Prayer

12 a“Most assuredly, I say to you, he whobelieves in Me, the works that I do he willdo also; and greater works than these hewill do, because I go to My Father.13 a“And whatever you ask in My name,that I will do, that the Father may bebglorified in the Son.14 “If you 1ask anything in My name, Iwill do it.

Jesus Promises Another Helper

15 a“If you love Me, 1keep My com-mandments.16 “And I will pray the Father, and aHewill give you another 1Helper, that Hemay abide with you forever—

17 a“the Spirit of truth, bwhom theworld cannot receive, because it neithersees Him nor knows Him; but you knowHim, for He dwells with you cand will bein you.18 a“I will not leave you orphans; bI willcome to you.

Indwelling of the Father and the Son

19 “A little while longer and the worldwill see Me no more, but ayou will seeMe. bBecause I live, you will live also.20 “At that day you will know that aI amin My Father, and you in Me, and I inyou.21 a“He who has My commandmentsand keeps them, it is he who loves Me.And he who loves Me will be loved byMy Father, and I will love him and 1man-ifest Myself to him.”22 aJudas (not Iscariot) said to Him,“Lord, how is it that You will manifestYourself to us, and not to the world?”23 Jesus answered and said to him, “Ifanyone loves Me, he will keep My word;and My Father will love him, aand Wewill come to him and make Our homewith him.24 “He who does not love Me does notkeep My words; and athe word whichyou hear is not Mine but the Father’swho sent Me.

The Gift of His Peace

25 “These things I have spoken to youwhile being present with you.26 “But athe 1Helper, the Holy Spirit,whom the Father will bsend in My name,cHe will teach you all things, and bringto your dremembrance all things that Isaid to you.27 a“Peace I leave with you, My peace Igive to you; not as the world gives do Igive to you. Let not your heart be trou-bled, neither let it be afraid.28 “You have heard Me asay to you, ‘Iam going away and coming back toyou.’ If you loved Me, you would re-joice because 1I said, b‘I am going tothe Father,’ for cMy Father is greaterthan I.29 “And anow I have told you before itcomes, that when it does come to pass,you may believe.

6 a[Heb. 9:8;10:19, 20]b[John 1:14,17; 8:32;18:37]c[John 11:25]d1 Tim. 2:5e[John 10:7–9]

7 aJohn 8:199 aCol. 1:1510 aJohn 10:38;

14:11, 20bJohn 5:19;14:24

11 aJohn 5:36;10:38

12 aLuke 10:1713 aMatt. 7:7

bJohn 13:3114 1NU ask Me15 a1 John 5:3

1NU you willkeep

16 aRom. 8:151Comforter,Gr. Parakletos

1283 J O H N 1 4 : 2 9

14:5 Thomas displayed his honesty by freely admitting his lack ofunderstanding to Jesus and the other disciples.14:13 “My name” refers to praying for something according tothe nature and will of Christ.14:16 “Another” indicated one of exactly the same kind. “Helper”is also translated “Comforter.” It comes from the Greek word para-clete, which signifies a friend who is called to your side to provideassistance, especially of a legal nature.14:17 The “Spirit of truth” refers to the Holy Spirit’s activity in re-vealing truth to believers (John 15:26; 16:13).

14:18 “Orphans” may be linked to Jesus’ reference to His disciplesas “little children” (John 13:33).14:22 This is the only place Judas (not Iscariot) is mentioned inJohn’s Gospel (Luke 6:16; Acts 1:13). He may be called Thaddeusin Matthew 10:3 and Mark 3:18.14:26 Although God’s Spirit is described several ways, the HolySpirit is the term most commonly used. The primary characteristicemphasized is not His power, but His holiness.

17 a[1 John 4:6;5:7]b[1 Cor. 2:14]c[1 John 2:27]

18 a[Matt. 28:20]b[John 14:3,28]

19 aJohn 16:16,22b[1 Cor. 15:20]

20 aJohn 10:38;14:11

21 a1 John 2:51reveal

22 aLuke 6:1623 aRev. 3:20;

21:324 aJohn 5:1926 aLuke 24:49

bJohn 15:26c1 Cor. 2:13dJohn 2:22;12:161Comforter,Gr. Parakletos

27 a[Phil. 4:7]28 aJohn 14:3,

18bJohn 16:16c[Phil. 2:6] 1NUomits I said

29 aJohn 13:19

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How Long?

The length of your relationship toChrist is less important than its

depth. The passage of time does notguarantee spiritual maturity. Maturitycomes through knowing who Christ isand trusting Him as He leads you.


9750_43John 3/14/06 10:37 AM Page 1283

30 “I will no longer talk much with you,afor the ruler of this world is coming,and he has bnothing in Me.31 “But that the world may know that Ilove the Father, and aas the Father gaveMe commandment, so I do. Arise, let usgo from here.

The True Vine

15“I am the true vine, and My Fatheris the vinedresser.

2 a“Every branch in Me that does notbear fruit He 1takes away; and everybranch that bears fruit He prunes, that itmay bear bmore fruit.3 a“You are already clean because ofthe word which I have spoken to you.4 a“Abide in Me, and I in you. As thebranch cannot bear fruit of itself, unlessit abides in the vine, neither can you, un-less you abide in Me.5 “I am the vine, you are the branches.He who abides in Me, and I in him, bearsmuch afruit; for without Me you can dobnothing.

6 “If anyone does not abide in Me, ahe iscast out as a branch and is withered;and they gather them and throw theminto the fire, and they are burned.7 “If you abide in Me, and My wordsaabide in you, byou1 will ask what youdesire, and it shall be done for you.8 a“By this My Father is glorified, that

you bear much fruit; bso you will be Mydisciples.

Love and Joy Perfected

9 “As the Father aloved Me, I also haveloved you; abide in My love.10 a“If you keep My commandments,you will abide in My love, just as I havekept My Father’s commandments andabide in His love.11 “These things I have spoken to you,that My joy may remain in you, andathat your joy may be full.12 a“This is My bcommandment, thatyou love one another as I have lovedyou.13 a“Greater love has no one than this,than to lay down one’s life for hisfriends.14 a“You are My friends if you do what-ever I command you.

15 “No longer do I call you servants, fora servant does not know what his mas-ter is doing; but I have called youfriends, afor all things that I heard fromMy Father I have made known to you.16 a“You did not choose Me, but I choseyou and bappointed you that you shouldgo and bear fruit, and that your fruitshould remain, that whatever you askthe Father cin My name He may giveyou.17 “These things I command you, thatyou love one another.

The World’s Hatred

18 a“If the world hates you, you knowthat it hated Me before it hated you.19 a“If you were of the world, the worldwould love its own.Yet bbecause you arenot of the world, but I chose you out ofthe world, therefore the world hates you.20 “Remember the word that I said toyou, a‘A servant is not greater than hismaster.’ If they persecuted Me, they willalso persecute you. bIf they kept Myword, they will keep yours also.

30 a[John 12:31]b[Heb. 4:15]

31 aJohn 10:18

CHAPTER 152 aMatt. 15:13

b[Matt. 13:12]1Or lifts up

3 a[John 13:10;17:17]

4 a[Col. 1:23]5 aHos. 14:8

b2 Cor. 3:56 aMatt. 3:107 a1 John 2:14

bJohn 14:13;16:23 1NUomits you will

8 a[Matt. 5:16]

J O H N 1 4 : 3 0 1284

15:1 In the Old Testament, Israel had been described as a vine (Ps.80:8–16; Is. 5:1–7; Jer. 2:21; Ezek. 15:2; 19:10; Hos. 10:1).15:3 The word “clean” used here is significant. The pruningprocess that produces spiritual fruit in our lives requires cleansingand consecration.15:7 “My words” indicate that God’s word actively works in us todraw us to God and to give us a heart that desires His will in allthings.

15:11 Joy is a particular emphasis in John’s writing (John 3:29;16:24; 17:13; 1 John 1:4; 2 John 12).15:18 Jesus explained that the world is fundamentally opposed toChristians. The closer you walk with Christ, the more you can ex-pect worldly hostility.

bJohn 8:319 aJohn 5:20;

17:2610 aJohn 14:1511 a1 John 1:412 a1 John 3:11

bRom. 12:913 a1 John 3:1614 a[Matt. 12:

50; 28:20]15 aGen. 18:1716 aJohn 6:70;

13:18; 15:19b[Col. 1:6]cJohn 14:13;16:23, 24

18 a1 John 3:1319 a1 John 4:5

bJohn 17:1420 aJohn 13:16

bEzek. 3:7

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Abide

Out of our intimate relationship withGod flows everything of conse-

quence. Apart from His presence in ourlives, we can do nothing of eternalsignificance.


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Spontaneous Obedience

Alifestyle of spontaneous obedience isthe most compelling evidence of our

friendship and affection for Christ.


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Peace

Jesus never promised that life wouldnot have crises. The world presents

numerous reasons to be anxious. That iswhat makes God’s peace so amazing. Ifwe walk intimately with Christ, we willnot be shaken, come what may.


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21 “But aall these things they will do toyou for My name’s sake, because theydo not know Him who sent Me.22 a“If I had not come and spoken tothem, they would have no sin, bbut nowthey have no excuse for their sin.23 a“He who hates Me hates My Fatheralso.24 “If I had not done among them atheworks which no one else did, they wouldhave no sin; but now they have bseenand also hated both Me and My Father.25 “But this happened that the wordmight be fulfilled which is written intheir law, a‘They hated Me without acause.’

The Coming Rejection

26 a“But when the 1Helper comes,whom I shall send to you from the Fa-ther, the Spirit of truth who proceedsfrom the Father, bHe will testify of Me.27 “And ayou also will bear witness, be-cause byou have been with Me from thebeginning.

16“These things I have spoken toyou, that you ashould not be made

to stumble.2 a“They will put you out of the syna-gogues; yes, the time is coming bthatwhoever kills you will think that he of-fers God service.3 “And athese things they will do 1toyou because they have not known theFather nor Me.4 “But these things I have told you, thatwhen 1the time comes, you may remem-ber that I told you of them. And thesethings I did not say to you at the begin-ning, because I was with you.

The Work of the Holy Spirit

5 “But now I ago away to Him who sentMe, and none of you asks Me, ‘Whereare You going?’6 “But because I have said these thingsto you, asorrow has filled your heart.7 “Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It isto your advantage that I go away; for if Ido not go away, the Helper will not cometo you; but aif I depart, I will send Him toyou.8 “And when He has acome, He willconvict the world of sin, and of righ-teousness, and of judgment:9 a“of sin, because they do not believein Me;

10 a“of righteousness, bbecause I go toMy Father and you see Me no more;11 a“of judgment, because bthe ruler ofthis world is judged.12 “I still have many things to say toyou, abut you cannot bear them now.

13 “However, when He, athe Spirit oftruth, has come, bHe will guide you intoall truth; for He will not speak on Hisown authority, but whatever He hearsHe will speak; and He will tell youthings to come.14 a“He will glorify Me, for He will takeof what is Mine and declare it to you.15 a“All things that the Father has areMine. Therefore I said that He 1will takeof Mine and declare it to you.

Sorrow Will Turn to Joy

16 “A alittle while, and you will not seeMe; and again a little while, and you willsee Me, bbecause I go to the Father.”17 Then some of His disciples saidamong themselves, “What is this that Hesays to us, ‘A little while, and you willnot see Me; and again a little while, andyou will see Me’; and, ‘because I go tothe Father’?”18 They said therefore, “What is thisthat He says, ‘A little while’? We do not1know what He is saying.”19 Now Jesus knew that they desired toask Him, and He said to them, “Are youinquiring among yourselves about whatI said, ‘A little while, and you will not seeMe; and again a little while, and you willsee Me’?20 “Most assuredly, I say to you that youwill weep and alament, but the worldwill rejoice; and you will be sorrowful,but your sorrow will be turned into bjoy.21 a“A woman, when she is in labor, hassorrow because her hour has come; butas soon as she has given birth to the

21 aMatt. 10:22;24:9

22 aJohn 9:41;15:24b[James 4:17]

23 a1 John 2:2324 aJohn 3:2

bJohn 14:925 aPs. 35:19;

69:4; 109:3–526 aLuke 24:49

b1 John 5:61Comforter,Gr. Parakletos

27 aLuke 24:48bLuke 1:2

CHAPTER 161 aMatt. 11:62 aJohn 9:22

bActs 8:13 aJohn 8:19;

15:21 1NU, Momit to you

4 1NU their5 aJohn 7:33;

13:33; 14:28;17:11

6 a[John 16:20,22]

7 aActs 2:338 aActs 1:8;

2:1–4, 379 aActs 2:22

1285 J O H N 1 6 : 2 1

15:26 This verse highlights the closeness and oneness of the Trin-ity. The Holy Spirit is described as being sent by Jesus and pro-ceeding from the Father.16:7 As incredible as walking with Jesus in His flesh was for thetwelve disciples, Jesus declared it was advantageous that He leavethem so they might receive the Holy Spirit.

16:33 The word “tribulation” means “pressure,” and can be inter-preted as “affliction, distress.”16:14 The Holy Spirit’s role is to focus on Christ and to exalt Him.

10 aActs 2:32bJohn 5:32

11 aActs 26:18b[Luke 10:18]

12 aMark 4:3313 a[John 14:17]

bJohn 14:2614 aJohn 15:2615 aMatt. 11:27

1NU, M takesof Mine andwill declare

16 aJohn 7:33;12:35; 13:33;14:19;19:40–42;20:19bJohn 13:3

18 1understand20 aMark 16:10

bLuke 24:32,41

21 aIs. 13:8;26:17; 42:14

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The Limit

We all have limits in our relationshipwith God. We are capable of

receiving only so much of God’srevelation at a time. Therefore, as wewalk with Christ, the Holy Spirit teachesand stretches us so we can grow in ourcapacity to receive what God is saying.


9750_43John 3/14/06 10:37 AM Page 1285

child, she no longer remembers the an-guish, for joy that a human being hasbeen born into the world.22 “Therefore you now have sorrow;but I will see you again and ayour heartwill rejoice, and your joy no one willtake from you.23 “And in that day you will ask Menothing. aMost assuredly, I say to you,whatever you ask the Father in My nameHe will give you.24 “Until now you have asked nothingin My name. Ask, and you will receive,athat your joy may be bfull.

Jesus Christ Has Overcome the World

25 “These things I have spoken to youin figurative language; but the time iscoming when I will no longer speak toyou in figurative language, but I will tellyou aplainly about the Father.26 “In that day you will ask in Myname, and I do not say to you that I shallpray the Father for you;27 a“for the Father Himself loves you,because you have loved Me, and bhavebelieved that I came forth from God.28 a“I came forth from the Father andhave come into the world. Again, I leavethe world and go to the Father.”29 His disciples said to Him, “See, nowYou are speaking plainly, and using nofigure of speech!30 “Now we are sure that aYou know allthings, and have no need that anyoneshould question You. By this bwe believethat You came forth from God.”31 Jesus answered them, “Do you nowbelieve?32 a“Indeed the hour is coming, yes, hasnow come, that you will be scattered,beach to his 1own, and will leave Mealone. And cyet I am not alone, becausethe Father is with Me.33 “These things I have spoken to you,that ain Me you may have peace. bIn theworld you 1will have tribulation; but be ofgood cheer, cI have overcome the world.”

Jesus Prays for Himself

17Jesus spoke these words, lifted upHis eyes to heaven, and said: “Fa-

ther, athe hour has come. Glorify YourSon, that Your Son also may glorify You,2 a“as You have given Him authority overall flesh, that He 1should give eternal lifeto as many bas You have given Him.3 “And athis is eternal life, that theymay know You, bthe only true God, andJesus Christ cwhom You have sent.4 a“I have glorified You on the earth. bI

have finished the work cwhich You havegiven Me to do.5 “And now, O Father, glorify Me together1with Yourself, with the glory awhich Ihad with You before the world was.

Jesus Prays for His Disciples

6 a“I have 1manifested Your name to themen bwhom You have given Me out ofthe world. cThey were Yours, You gavethem to Me, and they have kept Yourword.7 “Now they have known that all thingswhich You have given Me are from You.8 “For I have given to them the wordsawhich You have given Me; and theyhave received them, band have knownsurely that I came forth from You; andthey have believed that cYou sent Me.9 “I pray for them. aI do not pray for theworld but for those whom You havegiven Me, for they are Yours.10 “And all Mine are Yours, and aYoursare Mine, and I am glorified in them.

22 a1 Pet. 1:823 aMatt. 7:724 aJohn 17:13

bJohn 15:1125 aJohn 7:1327 a[John 14:21,

23] bJohn 3:1328 aJohn 13:1,

3; 16:5, 10,17


32 aMatt. 26:31,56bJohn 20:10cJohn 8:291own things orplace

33 a[Eph. 2:14]b2 Tim. 3:12cRom. 8:371NU, M omitwill

CHAPTER 171 aJohn 12:232 aJohn 3:35

bJohn 6:37,39; 17:6, 9,24 1M shall

3 aJer. 9:23, 24b1 Cor. 8:4cJohn 3:34

4 aJohn 13:31bJohn 4:34;19:30

J O H N 1 6 : 2 2 1286

17:1 “Lifted up His eyes” indicated the customary manner of praying.17:6 Manifesting the Father’s name meant teaching and modeling

the Father’s character and nature in such a way that the disciplesclearly understood what the Father was like.

cJohn 14:315 aPhil. 2:6 1Lit.

alongside6 aPs. 22:22

bJohn 6:37cEzek. 18:41revealed

8 aJohn 8:28bJohn 8:42;16:27, 30cDeut. 18:15,18

9 a[1 John 5:19]10 aJohn 16:15

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John 17:2 “Given” comes from the Greekdidomi, meaning “to give.” It is afavorite word in John, used seventy-sixtimes. It appears seventeen times inchapter 17, often in the perfect tense,meaning it is a gift with ongoing results.

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Eternal Life

Eternal life does not mean merelyliving forever, but knowing God

intimately. It refers to a quality of life.The moment a person enters into arelationship with Christ, eternal lifebegins and extends throughout eternity.


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John 17:5 Glorify is from the Greek,doxazo. It means “to give glory” or “tomake glorious.” It involves putting thedivine, holy nature of God on display forpeople to witness. Ironically, the cross, amost humiliating form of death, was theplatform on which Jesus was glorifiedand where He magnified His Father’slove.

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@

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11 a“Now I am no longer in the world,but these are in the world, and I come toYou. Holy Father, bkeep1 through Yourname those whom You have given Me,that they may be one cas We are.12 “While I was with them 1in theworld, aI kept them in 2Your name.Those whom You gave Me I have kept;and bnone of them is 3lost cexcept theson of 4perdition, dthat the Scripturemight be fulfilled.13 “But now I come to You, and thesethings I speak in the world, that theymay have My joy fulfilled in them-selves.14 “I have given them Your word; aandthe world has hated them because theyare not of the world, bjust as I am not ofthe world.15 “I do not pray that You should takethem out of the world, but athat Youshould keep them from the evil one.16 “They are not of the world, just as Iam not of the world.17 a“Sanctify1 them by Your truth. bYourword is truth.

18 a“As You sent Me into the world, Ialso have sent them into the world.19 “And afor their sakes I sanctify My-self, that they also may be sanctified bythe truth.

Jesus Prays for All Believers

20 “I do not pray for these alone, butalso for those who 1will believe in Methrough their word;21 a“that they all may be one, as bYou,Father, are in Me, and I in You; that theyalso may be one in Us, that the worldmay believe that You sent Me.22 “And the aglory which You gave Me I

have given them, bthat they may be onejust as We are one:23 “I in them, and You in Me; athat theymay be made perfect in one, and that theworld may know that You have sent Me,and have loved them as You have lovedMe.24 a“Father, I desire that they alsowhom You gave Me may be with Mewhere I am, that they may behold Myglory which You have given Me; bfor Youloved Me before the foundation of theworld.25 “O righteous Father! aThe world hasnot known You, but bI have known You;and cthese have known that You sent Me.26 a“And I have declared to them Yourname, and will declare it, that the lovebwith which You loved Me may be inthem, and I in them.”

Betrayal and Arrest in Gethsemane

18When Jesus had spoken thesewords, aHe went out with His disci-

ples over bthe Brook Kidron, wherethere was a garden, which He and Hisdisciples entered.2 And Judas, who betrayed Him, alsoknew the place; afor Jesus often metthere with His disciples.3 aThen Judas, having received a de-tachment of troops, and officers fromthe chief priests and Pharisees, camethere with lanterns, torches, andweapons.4 Jesus therefore, aknowing all thingsthat would come upon Him, went for-ward and said to them, “Whom are youseeking?”5 They answered Him, a“Jesus 1ofNazareth.” Jesus said to them, “I amHe.” And Judas, who bbetrayed Him,also stood with them.6 Now when He said to them, “I am He,”they drew back and fell to the ground.7 Then He asked them again, “Whomare you seeking?” And they said, “Jesusof Nazareth.”8 Jesus answered, “I have told you thatI am He. Therefore, if you seek Me, letthese go their way,”9 that the saying might be fulfilledwhich He spoke, a“Of those whom Yougave Me I have lost none.”

11 aJohn 13:1b[1 Pet. 1:5]cJohn 10:301NU, M keepthem throughYour namewhich Youhave given Me

12 aHeb. 2:13b1 John 2:19cJohn 6:70dPs. 41:9;109:8 1NUomits in theworld 2NUYour namewhich Yougave Me. AndI guardedthem; (or it;)3destroyed4destruction


15 a1 John 5:1817 a[Eph. 5:26]

bPs. 119:9,142, 151 1Setthem apart

18 aJohn 4:38;20:21

19 a[Heb. 10:10]20 1NU, M omit

will21 a[Gal. 3:28]

bJohn 10:38;17:11, 23

22 a1 John 1:3

1287 J O H N 1 8 : 9

17:11 Jesus used the present tense. Although He was technicallystill in the world, He soon would be taken from it.17:12 Jesus had a shepherd’s heart, strongly desiring that He notlose even one of His disciples. However, it was clear from the be-ginning that Judas was never truly a believer belonging to Jesus’flock (John 6:64–71; 13:11; 18:8, 9).17:15 God’s desire is never to remove His people from the worldbut to use them as salt and light to make a difference in the world.17:20 Jesus prayed not only for the twelve disciples but also forthose who would eventually become His followers. The testimony

of His disciples would work divinely to expand God’s kingdomthrough the generations to countless millions of people.18:1 The Brook Kidron was a ravine that lay between Jerusalemand the Mount of Olives to the east.18:3 A detachment of troops, or a cohort, consisted of roughly sixhundred men. The entire detachment may not have been sent forJesus’ secret arrest. They would have been stationed in the FortressAntonia near the temple.18:8 Even at this critical moment, Jesus cared for and protectedHis disciples, as a Good Shepherd does.

b[2 Cor. 3:18]23 a[Col. 3:14]24 a[1 Thess. 4:

17] bJohn 17:525 aJohn 15:21

bJohn 7:29;8:55; 10:15cJohn 3:17;17:3, 8, 18,21, 23


CHAPTER 181 aMark 14:26,

32b2 Sam. 15:23

2 aLuke 21:37;22:39

3 aLuke 22:47–53

4 aJohn 6:64;13:1, 3; 19:28

5 aMatt. 21:11bPs. 41:9 1Lit.the Nazarene

9 a[John 6:39;17:12]

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The Sanctifying Word

God’s word exposes our sin. It breakssin’s power to bind us. It dispels

spiritual darkness and illuminates ourpath. God’s word actively transforms usto be like Christ as we allow it to workin our lives.


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10 aThen Simon Peter, having a sword,drew it and struck the high priest’s ser-vant, and cut off his right ear. The ser-vant’s name was Malchus.11 So Jesus said to Peter, “Put yoursword into the sheath. Shall I not drinkathe cup which My Father has given Me?”

Before the High Priest

12 Then the detachment of troops andthe captain and the officers of the Jewsarrested Jesus and bound Him.13 And athey led Him away to bAnnasfirst, for he was the father-in-law of cCa-iaphas who was high priest that year.14 aNow it was Caiaphas who advisedthe Jews that it was 1expedient that oneman should die for the people.

Peter Denies Jesus

15 aAnd Simon Peter followed Jesus,and so did banother1 disciple. Now thatdisciple was known to the high priest,and went with Jesus into the courtyardof the high priest.16 aBut Peter stood at the door outside.Then the other disciple, who was knownto the high priest, went out and spoke toher who kept the door, and brought Pe-ter in.17 Then the servant girl who kept thedoor said to Peter, “You are not also oneof this Man’s disciples, are you?” Hesaid, “I am anot.”18 Now the servants and officers whohad made a fire of coals stood there, forit was cold, and they warmed them-selves. And Peter stood with them andwarmed himself.

Jesus Questioned by the High Priest

19 The high priest then asked Jesusabout His disciples and His doctrine.20 Jesus answered him, a“I spokeopenly to the world. I always taught binsynagogues and cin the temple, where1the Jews always meet, and in secret Ihave said nothing.21 “Why do you ask Me? Ask athosewho have heard Me what I said to them.Indeed they know what I said.”22 And when He had said these things,one of the officers who stood by astruck1

Jesus with the palm of his hand, saying,“Do You answer the high priest likethat?”23 Jesus answered him, “If I have spo-

ken evil, bear witness of the evil; but ifwell, why do you strike Me?”24 aThen Annas sent Him bound tobCaiaphas the high priest.

Peter Denies Twice More

25 Now Simon Peter stood and warmedhimself. aTherefore they said to him,“You are not also one of His disciples,are you?” He denied it and said, “I amnot!”26 One of the servants of the highpriest, a relative of him whose ear Petercut off, said, “Did I not see you in thegarden with Him?”27 Peter then denied again; and aimme-diately a rooster crowed.

In Pilate’s Court

28 aThen they led Jesus from Caiaphasto the Praetorium, and it was earlymorning. bBut they themselves did notgo into the 1Praetorium, lest they shouldbe defiled, but that they might eat thePassover.29 aPilate then went out to them andsaid, “What accusation do you bringagainst this Man?”30 They answered and said to him, “IfHe were not 1an evildoer, we would nothave delivered Him up to you.”31 Then Pilate said to them, “You takeHim and judge Him according to yourlaw.” Therefore the Jews said to him, “It isnot lawful for us to put anyone to death,”32 athat the saying of Jesus might befulfilled which He spoke, bsignifying bywhat death He would die.33 aThen Pilate entered the 1Praeto-rium again, called Jesus, and said toHim, “Are You the King of the Jews?”34 Jesus answered him, “Are you speak-ing for yourself about this, or did otherstell you this concerning Me?”

10 aMatt. 26:5111 aMatt. 20:22;

26:3913 aMatt. 26:57

bLuke 3:2cMatt. 26:3

14 aJohn 11:501advantageous

15 aMark 14:54bJohn 20:2–51M the other

16 aMatt. 26:6917 aMatt. 26:3420 aLuke 4:15

bJohn 6:59cMark 14:491NU all theJews meet

21 aMark 12:3722 aJer. 20:2

1Lit. gave Jesusa slap,

J O H N 1 8 : 1 0 1288

18:10 The “sword” would have been a short sword, more like along knife.18:13 Jesus first appeared before Annas, although Caiaphas washigh priest. Annas had been high priest (A.D. 7–14), and five of hissons would follow him in that position. He was therefore still influ-ential on the Sanhedrin. He was also Caiaphas’s father-in-law, andmay have been the ringleader in the plot against Jesus.

18:15 “Another disciple” has traditionally been assumed to be thedisciple John. Salome, who stood at the cross was probably John’smother (Matt. 27:56; Mark 15:40).18:22 Striking Jesus was illegal according to Jewish law. A criminalcould not be punished before his trial was concluded.

24 aMatt. 26:57bJohn 11:49

25 aLuke 22:58–62

27 aJohn 13:3828 aMark 15:1

bActs 10:28;11:3 1Thegovernor’sheadquarters

29 aMatt. 27:11–14

30 1a criminal32 aMatt. 20:

17–19; 26:2bJohn 3:14;8:28; 12:32,33

33 aMatt. 27:111Thegovernor’sheadquarters

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Denial

We all experience failure; it is aconsequence of our fallen human

condition. But how agonizingly painful itis when we fail to honor our preciousLord. Our sin is a direct affront to Hisdeath on the cross for us and Hisunfailing love for us.


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35 Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Yourown nation and the chief priests have de-livered You to me. What have You done?”36 aJesus answered, b“My kingdom isnot of this world. If My kingdom were ofthis world, My servants would fight, sothat I should not be delivered to theJews; but now My kingdom is not fromhere.”37 Pilate therefore said to Him, “Are Youa king then?” Jesus answered, “You sayrightly that I am a king. For this cause Iwas born, and for this cause I have comeinto the world, athat I should bear bwit-ness to the truth. Everyone who cis ofthe truth dhears My voice.”38 Pilate said to Him, “What is truth?”And when he had said this, he went outagain to the Jews, and said to them, a“Ifind no fault in Him at all.

Taking the Place of Barabbas

39 a“But you have a custom that Ishould release someone to you at thePassover. Do you therefore want me torelease to you the King of the Jews?”40 aThen they all cried again, saying,“Not this Man, but Barabbas!” bNowBarabbas was a robber.

The Soldiers Mock Jesus

19So then aPilate took Jesus andscourged Him.

2 And the soldiers twisted a crown ofthorns and put it on His head, and theyput on Him a purple robe.3 1Then they said, “Hail, King of theJews!” And they astruck Him with theirhands.4 Pilate then went out again, and said tothem, “Behold, I am bringing Him out toyou, athat you may know that I find nofault in Him.”

Pilate’s Decision

5 Then Jesus came out, wearing thecrown of thorns and the purple robe. AndPilate said to them, “Behold the Man!”6 aTherefore, when the chief priests

and officers saw Him, they cried out,saying, “Crucify Him, crucify Him!” Pi-late said to them, “You take Him andcrucify Him, for I find no fault in Him.”7 The Jews answered him, a“We have alaw, and according to 1our law He oughtto die, because bHe made Himself theSon of God.”8 Therefore, when Pilate heard that say-ing, he was the more afraid,9 and went again into the Praetorium,and said to Jesus, “Where are Youfrom?” aBut Jesus gave him no answer.10 Then Pilate said to Him, “Are You notspeaking to me? Do You not know that Ihave 1power to crucify You, and 1powerto release You?”11 Jesus answered, a“You could have nopower at all against Me unless it hadbeen given you from above. Thereforebthe one who delivered Me to you hasthe greater sin.”12 From then on Pilate sought to re-lease Him, but the Jews cried out, say-ing, “If you let this Man go, you are notCaesar’s friend. aWhoever makes him-self a king speaks against Caesar.”13 aWhen Pilate therefore heard thatsaying, he brought Jesus out and satdown in the judgment seat in a placethat is called The Pavement, but in He-brew, Gabbatha.14 Now ait was the Preparation Day ofthe Passover, and about the sixth hour.And he said to the Jews, “Behold yourKing!”15 But they cried out, “Away with Him,away with Him! Crucify Him!” Pilatesaid to them, “Shall I crucify yourKing?” The chief priests answered, a“Wehave no king but Caesar!”16 aThen he delivered Him to them tobe crucified. So they took Jesus 1and ledHim away.

The King on a Cross

17 aAnd He, bearing His cross, bwentout to a place called the Place of a Skull,which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha,

36 a1 Tim. 6:13b[Dan. 2:44;7:14]

37 a[Matt. 5:17;20:28]bIs. 55:4c[John 14:6]dJohn 8:47;10:27

38 aJohn 19:4, 639 aLuke 23:

17–2540 aIs. 53:3;

Acts 3:14bLuke 23:19

CHAPTER 191 aMatt. 20:19;

27:263 aIs. 50:6 1NU

And theycame up toHim and said

4 aJohn 18:33,38

6 aActs 3:13

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18:28 The Praetorium was the Roman governor’s official resi-dence. Pious Jews would not defile themselves by entering his resi-dence for fear of disqualifying themselves from participating in thereligious feast occurring at that time. “Early morning” would havebeen between 3:00 and 6:00 a.m.18:29 Pilate, as Roman governor, possessed the imperium, whichgave him the power to make laws and to condemn a person todeath.18:33 “Thou” is in the emphatic position. Pilate was surprised thatsomeone of Jesus’ lowly stature would consider himself a king orbe looked upon as one.18:39 Releasing Jesus in honor of the Passover seemed like a per-fect solution to Pilate. It would satisfy the Jews by allowing Jesus toappear guilty, while releasing Him satisfied justice.18:40 Barabbas means “son of Abba” or “son of father.” He is de-scribed in the Gospels as a robber, a rebel (Mark 15:7), and a mur-derer (Luke 23:19).

19:1 Scourging was a brutal and often fatal form of punishment. Awhip with pieces of metal or stone at the end was used. Everyblow would rip flesh from the victim. It may be that Pilate had Je-sus scourged in an effort to show He had suffered enough andwas not in need of crucifixion (Luke 23:16, 22). Its effect was togreatly weaken Jesus before He was crucified.19:6 It was the chief priests and officers of the Jews who de-manded crucifixion, not the people at large. The people may havebeen taken aback temporarily at the sight of Jesus after His brutalscourging.19:9 Jesus’ silence may well have been in fulfillment of theprophecy in Isaiah 53:7 (Matt. 23:63; 27:14; Mark 14:60; 15:5;Luke 23:9).19:12 The Jews’ reference to Caesar was determinative. Pilatecould not let a challenge to Caesar go unanswered without ap-pearing to be disloyal to the emperor.19:14 The Preparation Day of the Passover was Friday.

7 aLev. 24:16bMatt. 26:63–66 1NU thelaw

9 aIs. 53:710 1authority11 a[Luke 22:53]

bRom. 13:112 aLuke 23:213 a1 Sam. 15:

2414 aMatt. 27:6215 a[Gen. 49:10]16 aLuke 23:24

1NU omits andled Him away

17 aMark 15:21,22bNum. 15:36

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18 where they crucified Him, and atwoothers with Him, one on either side, andJesus in the center.19 aNow Pilate wrote a title and put iton the cross. And the writing was:

JESUS OF NAZARETH,THE KING OF THE JEWS.

20 Then many of the Jews read this ti-tle, for the place where Jesus was cruci-fied was near the city; and it was writtenin Hebrew, Greek, and Latin.21 Therefore the chief priests of the Jewssaid to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King ofthe Jews,’ but, ‘He said, “I am the King ofthe Jews.” ’ ”22 Pilate answered, “What I have writ-ten, I have written.”23 aThen the soldiers, when they hadcrucified Jesus, took His garments andmade four parts, to each soldier a part,and also the tunic. Now the tunic waswithout seam, woven from the top in onepiece.24 They said therefore among them-selves, “Let us not tear it, but cast lotsfor it, whose it shall be,” that the Scrip-ture might be fulfilled which says:

a“They divided My garments amongthem,

And for My clothing they castlots.”

Therefore the soldiers did these things.

Behold Your Mother

25 aNow there stood by the cross of Je-sus His mother, and His mother’s sister,Mary the wife of bClopas, and MaryMagdalene.26 When Jesus therefore saw Hismother, and athe disciple whom Heloved standing by, He said to Hismother, b“Woman, behold your son!”

27 Then He said to the disciple, “Beholdyour mother!” And from that hour thatdisciple took her ato his own home.

It Is Finished

28 After this, Jesus, 1knowing that allthings were now accomplished, athatthe Scripture might be fulfilled, said, “Ithirst!”29 Now a vessel full of sour wine wassitting there; and athey filled a spongewith sour wine, put it on hyssop, and putit to His mouth.30 So when Jesus had received the sourwine, He said, a“It is finished!” Andbowing His head, He gave up His spirit.

Jesus’ Side Is Pierced

31 aTherefore, because it was thePreparation Day, bthat the bodiesshould not remain on the cross on theSabbath (for that Sabbath was a chighday), the Jews asked Pilate that theirlegs might be broken, and that theymight be taken away.32 Then the soldiers came and brokethe legs of the first and of the other whowas crucified with Him.33 But when they came to Jesus andsaw that He was already dead, athey didnot break His legs.34 But one of the soldiers pierced His

18 aIs. 53:1219 aMatt. 27:3723 aLuke 23:3424 aPs. 22:1825 aMark 15:40

bLuke 24:1826 aJohn 13:23;

20:2; 21:7, 20,24 bJohn 2:4

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19:20 The three languages of the inscription represented Latin,Rome’s official language; Greek, the common language usedacross the empire; and Aramaic, the local language of everydayspeech in Palestine.19:25 If “His mother’s sister” is in fact Salome (Mark 15:40; 16:1),

then she would have been the mother of James and John, makingthem cousins of Jesus (Matt. 27:56).19:30 Jesus may have asked for sour wine to relieve His parchedmouth so He could shout His final words of victory.19:38 The location of Arimathea is unknown, but it may be identi-fied with Ramathaim Zophim (1 Sam. 1:1).

27 aJohn 1:11;16:32

28 aPs. 22:151M seeing

29 aPs. 69:21;Matt. 27:48,50

30 aJohn 17:431 aMark 15:42

bDeut. 21:23cEx. 12:16

33 a[Ex. 12:46;Num. 9:12];Ps. 34:20

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It Is Finished

There can be no better satisfactionthan successfully completing an

assignment God has given. God’s will isexpressed in many forms throughout ourlives. The completion of tasks given byGod brings exhilarating joy.


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HU D S O N TAY LO R %$HISTORICALEncounter John 19:30

to Christ. Seventy-five miles away, Taylor’smother was visiting a friend. She suddenlybecame deeply burdened for her son’s salvationand locked herself in a room to pray for himuntil she had a sense of peace that his salvationwas secure. Upon returning home she cele-brated her son’s rebirth. Taylor would go on tofound the China Inland Mission and devote hislife to the evangelization of China.

One afternoon in June, 1849, a boredseventeen-year-old named Hudson Taylor

entered his father’s library looking for some-thing to read. He came across a pamphletentitled, “It Is Finished.” As Taylor askedhimself, “What is finished?” the Holy Spirithelped him understand the great work ofsalvation Christ had wrought on the cross forhim. Quietly and resolutely, Taylor gave his life

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side with a spear, and immediatelyablood and water came out.35 And he who has seen has testified,and his testimony is atrue; and he knowsthat he is telling the truth, so that youmay bbelieve.36 For these things were done that theScripture should be fulfilled, a“Not oneof His bones shall be broken.”37 And again another Scripture says,a“They shall look on Him whom theypierced.”

Jesus Buried in Joseph’s Tomb

38 aAfter this, Joseph of Arimathea, be-ing a disciple of Jesus, but secretly, bforfear of the Jews, asked Pilate that hemight take away the body of Jesus; andPilate gave him permission. So he cameand took the body of Jesus.39 And aNicodemus, who at first cameto Jesus by night, also came, bringing amixture of bmyrrh and aloes, about ahundred pounds.40 Then they took the body of Jesus,and abound it in strips of linen with thespices, as the custom of the Jews is tobury.41 Now in the place where He was cru-cified there was a garden, and in thegarden a new tomb in which no one hadyet been laid.42 So athere they laid Jesus, bbecauseof the Jews’ Preparation Day, for thetomb was nearby.

The Empty Tomb

20Now on the afirst day of the weekMary Magdalene went to the tomb

early, while it was still dark, and sawthat the bstone had been taken awayfrom the tomb.2 Then she ran and came to Simon Pe-ter, and to the aother disciple, bwhom Je-sus loved, and said to them, “They havetaken away the Lord out of the tomb,and we do not know where they havelaid Him.”3 aPeter therefore went out, and theother disciple, and were going to thetomb.4 So they both ran together, and theother disciple outran Peter and came tothe tomb first.5 And he, stooping down and lookingin, saw athe linen cloths lying there; yethe did not go in.

6 Then Simon Peter came, followinghim, and went into the tomb; and he sawthe linen cloths lying there,7 and athe 1handkerchief that had beenaround His head, not lying with thelinen cloths, but folded together in aplace by itself.8 Then the aother disciple, who came tothe tomb first, went in also; and he sawand believed.9 For as yet they did not 1know the aScripture, that He must rise again fromthe dead.10 Then the disciples went away againto their own homes.

Mary Magdalene Sees the Risen Lord

11 aBut Mary stood outside by the tombweeping, and as she wept she stoopeddown and looked into the tomb.12 And she saw two angels in white sit-ting, one at the head and the other at thefeet, where the body of Jesus had lain.13 Then they said to her, “Woman, whyare you weeping?” She said to them,“Because they have taken away myLord, and I do not know where theyhave laid Him.”14 aNow when she had said this, sheturned around and saw Jesus standingthere, and bdid not know that it was Je-sus.15 Jesus said to her, “Woman, why areyou weeping? Whom are you seeking?”She, supposing Him to be the gardener,said to Him, “Sir, if You have carried Himaway, tell me where You have laid Him,and I will take Him away.”16 Jesus said to her, a“Mary!” Sheturned and said to 1Him, “Rabboni!”(which is to say, Teacher).

17 Jesus said to her, “Do not cling toMe, for I have not yet aascended to MyFather; but go to bMy brethren and sayto them, c‘I am ascending to My Fatherand your Father, and to dMy God andyour God.’ ”

34 a[1 John 5:6,8]

35 aJohn 21:24b[John 20:31]

36 a[Ex. 12:46;Num. 9:12];Ps. 34:20

37 aPs. 22:16,17; Zech. 12:10; 13:6

38 aLuke 23:50–56b[John 7:13;9:22; 12:42]

39 aJohn 3:1, 2;7:50bMatt. 2:11

40 aJohn 20:5, 742 aIs. 53:9

bJohn 19:14,31

CHAPTER 201 aMatt. 28:1–8

bMatt. 27:60,66; 28:2

2 aJohn 21:23,24bJohn 13:23;19:26; 21:7,20, 24

3 aLuke 24:125 aJohn 19:40

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19:39 One hundred pounds of burial spices would have been akingly amount. Nicodemus was paying Jesus high tribute at Hisdeath. Ironically, Jesus’ death scattered His twelve disciples for thetime being, while His peripheral followers emerged to take leadingroles.20:1 As soon as it was possible for Mary to travel after the Sab-bath had ended, she made her way to Jesus’ tomb to begin

preparing His body properly for burial. She must have arrived ear-lier than the other women recorded in the Synoptic Gospels(Matt. 28:1; Mark 16:1; Luke 24:10).20:7 This portrays an orderly scene where the resurrection oc-curred peacefully and without great disruption.20:8 The “other disciple” is traditionally believed to have been John.

7 aJohn 11:441face cloth

8 aJohn 21:23,24

9 aPs. 16:101understand

11 aMark 16:514 aMatt. 28:9

bJohn 21:416 aJohn 10:3

1NU adds inHebrew

17 aHeb. 4:14bHeb. 2:11cJohn 16:28;17:11dEph. 1:17

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Mary!

How powerful it is when the risenChrist calls your name! When He

speaks, fears and doubts are dispelledand you see Him clearly.


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18 aMary Magdalene came and told the1disciples that she had seen the Lord,and that He had spoken these things toher.

The Apostles Commissioned

19 aThen, the same day at evening, be-ing the first day of the week, when thedoors were shut where the discipleswere 1assembled, for bfear of the Jews,Jesus came and stood in the midst, andsaid to them, c“Peace be with you.”20 When He had said this, He ashowedthem His hands and His side. bThen thedisciples were glad when they saw theLord.21 So Jesus said to them again, “Peaceto you! aAs the Father has sent Me, I alsosend you.”22 And when He had said this, Hebreathed on them, and said to them,“Receive the Holy Spirit.23 a“If you forgive the sins of any, theyare forgiven them; if you retain the sinsof any, they are retained.”

Seeing and Believing

24 Now Thomas, acalled the Twin, oneof the twelve, was not with them whenJesus came.25 The other disciples therefore said tohim, “We have seen the Lord.” So he saidto them, “Unless I see in His hands theprint of the nails, and put my finger intothe print of the nails, and put my handinto His side, I will not believe.”26 And after eight days His discipleswere again inside, and Thomas withthem. Jesus came, the doors being shut,and stood in the midst, and said, “Peaceto you!”27 Then He said to Thomas, “Reachyour finger here, and look at My hands;and areach your hand here, and put it

into My side. Do not be bunbelieving,but believing.”28 And Thomas answered and said toHim, “My Lord and my God!”29 Jesus said to him, 1“Thomas, be-cause you have seen Me, you have be-lieved. aBlessed are those who have notseen and yet have believed.”

That You May Believe

30 And atruly Jesus did many othersigns in the presence of His disciples,which are not written in this book;31 abut these are written that byou maybelieve that Jesus cis the Christ, the Sonof God, dand that believing you mayhave life in His name.

Breakfast by the Sea

21After these things Jesus showedHimself again to the disciples at

the aSea of Tiberias, and in this way Heshowed Himself:2 Simon Peter, aThomas called theTwin, bNathanael of cCana in Galilee,dthe sons of Zebedee, and two others ofHis disciples were together.3 Simon Peter said to them, “I am goingfishing.” They said to him, “We are goingwith you also.” They went out and 1im-

18 aLuke 24:10,23 1NUdisciples, “Ihave seen theLord,”

19 aLuke 24:36bJohn 9:22;19:38cJohn 14:27;16:33 1NUomitsassembled

20 aActs 1:3bJohn 16:20,22

21 aJohn 17:18,19

23 aMatt. 16:19;18:18

24 aJohn 11:1627 aPs. 22:16;

Zech. 12:10;13:6;1 John 1:1

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20:19 Jesus’ resurrected body was not hindered by closed orlocked doors.20:28 “My God!” is a major statement of faith for one of the disci-ples, especially the doubtful Thomas.

21:3 This appears to have been a spontaneous suggestion by Pe-ter. It may indicate that these disciples were beginning to considerreturning to their former profession. They apparently did not yethave a sense of divine purpose or mission.

bMark 16:1429 a1 Pet. 1:8

1NU, M omitThomas

30 aJohn 21:2531 aLuke 1:4

b1 John 5:13cLuke 2:11dJohn 3:15,16; 5:24

CHAPTER 211 aJohn 6:12 aJohn 20:24

bJohn 1:45–51cJohn 2:1dMatt. 4:21

3 1NU omitsimmediately

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C. AU S T I N MI L E S %$HISTORICALEncounter John 20:18

tomb, then depart. The woman, Mary Magda-lene, reappeared and leaned her head againstthe tomb. She turned and saw Jesus. She lookedinto her Master’s face, and with arms out-stretched cried “Rabboni.” Deeply moved andinspired by the vision, Miles quickly penned thelyrics for a hymn. That evening he composedthe music. The song, “In the Garden,” becameone of the most popular and beloved hymnsever written.

One day C. Austin Miles (1868–1946) wasreading his favorite chapter in the Bible,

John 20, when suddenly he visualized the scene.It was as though he were standing at theentrance to a garden. Down a winding path linedwith olive trees was a woman slowly making herway along in the shadows. She was dressed inwhite and her head was bowed. She approachedthe tomb, looked in, and then hurried away.Then Miles saw Peter and John approach Jesus’

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That You May Believe

Scripture has not been written for ourinformation but for our transforma-

tion. Everything we need to know aboutGod can be found in the Bible. But theScriptures give much more thanknowledge. Our faith opens our heartsfor the Holy Spirit to teach us throughGod’s holy word.


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mediately got into the boat, and thatnight they caught nothing.4 But when the morning had now come,Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disci-ples adid not know that it was Jesus.5 Then aJesus said to them, “Children,have you any food?” They answeredHim, “No.”6 And He said to them, a“Cast the neton the right side of the boat, and youwill find some.” So they cast, and nowthey were not able to draw it in becauseof the multitude of fish.7 Therefore athat disciple whom Jesusloved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” Nowwhen Simon Peter heard that it was theLord, he put on his outer garment (for hehad removed it), and plunged into thesea.8 But the other disciples came in the lit-tle boat (for they were not far from land,but about two hundred cubits), draggingthe net with fish.9 Then, as soon as they had come toland, they saw a fire of coals there, andfish laid on it, and bread.10 Jesus said to them, “Bring some ofthe fish which you have just caught.”11 Simon Peter went up and draggedthe net to land, full of large fish, onehundred and fifty-three; and althoughthere were so many, the net was not bro-ken.12 Jesus said to them, a“Come and eatbreakfast.” Yet none of the disciplesdared ask Him, “Who are You?”—know-ing that it was the Lord.13 Jesus then came and took the breadand gave it to them, and likewise thefish.14 This is now athe third time Jesusshowed Himself to His disciples after Hewas raised from the dead.

Jesus Restores Peter

15 So when they had eaten breakfast,Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, sonof 1Jonah, do you love Me more thanthese?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; Youknow that I 2love You.” He said to him,a“Feed My lambs.”

16 He said to him again a second time,“Simon, son of 1Jonah, do you love Me?”He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You knowthat I 2love You.” aHe said to him, “TendMy bsheep.”

17 He said to him the third time, “Si-mon, son of 1Jonah, do you 2love Me?”Peter was grieved because He said tohim the third time, “Do you 2love Me?”And he said to Him, “Lord, aYou knowall things; You know that I 2love You.” Je-sus said to him, “Feed My sheep.18 a“Most assuredly, I say to you, whenyou were younger, you girded yourselfand walked where you wished; butwhen you are old, you will stretch outyour hands, and another will gird youand carry you where you do not wish.”19 This He spoke, signifying aby whatdeath he would glorify God. And whenHe had spoken this, He said to him,b“Follow Me.”

The Beloved Disciple and His Book

20 Then Peter, turning around, saw thedisciple awhom Jesus loved following,bwho also had leaned on His breast atthe supper, and said, “Lord, who is theone who betrays You?”21 Peter, seeing him, said to Jesus, “ButLord, what about this man?”22 Jesus said to him, “If I 1will that heremain atill I come, what is that to you?You follow Me.”23 Then this saying went out among thebrethren that this disciple would not die.Yet Jesus did not say to him that he

4 aJohn 20:145 aLuke 24:416 aLuke 5:4, 6, 77 aJohn 13:23;

20:212 aActs 10:4114 aJohn 20:19,

2615 aActs 20:28

1NU John2haveaffection for

1293 J O H N 2 1 : 2 3

21:7 The actions of John and Peter are distinctive to their charac-ters. John recognized Jesus first; Peter was the first to take action.21:8 Two hundred cubits would have been roughly one hundredyards.21:12 There may have been something unusual about Jesus’ ap-pearance after His resurrection, because those who had knownHim before did not always immediately recognize Him.21:15 The meaning of Jesus’ question is uncertain. He may haveasked if Peter loved Him more than his fellow disciples did, forPeter had made such a claim earlier (Matt. 26:33; Mark 14:29;John 13:37; 15:12). Jesus may have wanted to clarify if Peter wasmore loyal to Him or, to his fishing business and lifestyle. Theword “these” seems to refer to objects such as nets and boats,not people.

21:16 Jesus uses two words for love in His three questions. Thefirst two times He uses agape, which reflects a selfless, devoted, ac-tive love. The third time He uses phileo, which involves a brotherlyaffection. Peter uses phileo all three times in his response. Somebelieve Jesus was calling on Peter to love Him with a divine qualityof love. However, their original conversation was probably in Ara-maic and would not have carried the same nuances as the Greeklanguage. More likely Jesus was seeking to restore Peter after hishumiliating denial. Three times he had denied Jesus, and now Je-sus gave him three opportunities to affirm his love for Him.21:18 Christian tradition claims Peter was martyred by being cru-cified upside down.

16 aHeb. 13:20bPs. 79:13 1NUJohn 2haveaffection for

17 aJohn 2:24,25; 16:30 1NUJohn 2haveaffection for

18 aActs 12:3, 419 a2 Pet. 1:13,

14b[Matt. 4:19;16:24]

20 aJohn 13:23;20:2bJohn 13:25

22 a[Rev. 2:25;3:11; 22:7, 20]1desire

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Do You Love Me?

The most fundamental question Christever asks us is: “Do you love Me?”

Everything else in our relationship withHim stems from our honest answer tothis one question. We may do manythings for Jesus, but His deep desire isthat we truly love Him.


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would not die, but, “If I will that he re-main till I come, what is that to you?”24 This is the disciple who atestifies ofthese things, and wrote these things;and we know that his testimony is true.

25 aAnd there are also many otherthings that Jesus did, which if they werewritten one by one, bI suppose that eventhe world itself could not contain thebooks that would be written. Amen.

24 aJohn 19:35

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25 aJohn 20:30bAmos 7:10

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The Blackaby Study Bible