The Gospel according to John
Chapters 7-17
Translation: The New Jerusalem Bible
The Spoken Word Set 9
The Gospel according to John
and First Letter of John
Volume 24
The recording of the Gospel according to John and I John
read by David Guthrie
may be purchased and downloaded digitally from Naxos at
Classics Online
and streamed from the Naxos Spoken Word Library
IV: THE FEAST OF SHELTERS
THE GREAT REJECTION
Track 1 7:1-24 Jesus goes up to Jerusalem for the feast and teaches there
After this Jesus travelled round Galilee; he could not travel round Judaea, because the Jews were seeking to kill him.As the Jewish feast of Shelters drew near, his brothers said to him, 'Leave this place and go to Judaea, so that your disciples, too, can see the works you are doing; no one who wants to be publicly known acts in secret; if this is what you are doing, you should reveal yourself to the world.' Not even his brothers had faith in him. Jesus answered, 'For me the right time has not come yet, but for you any time is the right time. The world cannot hate you, but it does hate me, because I give evidence that its ways are evil. Go up to the festival yourselves: I am not going to this festival, because for me the time is not ripe yet.' Having said that, he stayed behind in Galilee.
However, after his brothers had left for the festival, he went up as well, not publicly but secretly. At the festival the Jews were on the look-out for him: 'Where is he?' they said. There was a great deal of talk about him in the crowds. Some said, 'He is a good man'; others, 'No, he is leading the people astray.' Yet no one spoke about him openly, for fear of the Jews.
When the festival was half over, Jesus went to the Temple and began to teach. The Jews were astonished and said, 'How did he learn to read? He has not been educated.' Jesus answered them:
'My teaching is not from myself:Why do you want to kill me?' The crowd replied, 'You are mad! Who wants to kill you?' Jesus answered, 'One work I did, and you are all amazed at it. Moses ordered you to practise circumcision -- not that it began with him, it goes back to the patriarchs -- and you circumcise on the Sabbath. Now if someone can be circumcised on the Sabbath so that the Law of Moses is not broken, why are you angry with me for making someone completely healthy on a Sabbath? Do not keep judging according to appearances; let your judgement be according to what is right.'
it comes from the one who sent me;
anyone who is prepared to do his will,
will know whether my teaching is from God
or whether I speak on my own account.
When someone speaks on his own account,
he is seeking honour for himself;
but when he is seeking the honour of the person who sent him,
then he is true and altogether without dishonesty.
Did not Moses give you the Law?
And yet not one of you keeps the Law! '
Track 2 7:25-30 The people discuss the origin of the Messiah
Meanwhile some of the people of Jerusalem were saying, 'Isn't this the man they want to kill? And here he is, speaking openly, and they have nothing to say to him! Can it be true the authorities have recognised that he is the Christ? Yet we all know where he comes from, but when the Christ appears no one will know where he comes from.'Then, as Jesus was teaching in the Temple, he cried out:
You know me and you know where I came from.They wanted to arrest him then, but because his hour had not yet come no one laid a hand on him.
Yet I have not come of my own accord:
but he who sent me is true;
You do not know him,
but I know him
because I have my being from him
and it was he who sent me.
Track 3 7:31-36 Jesus foretells his approaching departure
There were many people in the crowds, however, who believed in him; they were saying, 'When the Christ comes, will he give more signs than this man has?' Hearing that talk like this about him was spreading among the people, the Pharisees sent the Temple guards to arrest him. Then Jesus said:For a short time I am with you still;So the Jews said to one another, 'Where is he intending to go that we shall not be able to find him? Is he intending to go abroad to the people who are dispersed among the Greeks and to teach the Greeks? What does he mean when he says:
then I shall go back to the one who sent me.
You will look for me and will not find me;
where I am you cannot come.
"You will look for me and will not find me;
where I am, you cannot come?" '
Track 4 7:37-39 The promise of living water
On the last day, the great day of the festival, Jesus stood and cried out:'Let anyone who is thirsty come to me!He was speaking of the Spirit which those who believed in him were to receive; for there was no Spirit as yet because Jesus had not yet been glorified.
Let anyone who believes in me come and drink!
As scripture says, "From his heart shall flow streams of living water." '
Track 5 7:40-52 Fresh discussions on the origin of the Messiah
Some of the crowd who had been listening said, 'He is indeed the prophet,' and some said, 'He is the Christ,' but others said, 'Would the Christ come from Galilee? Does not scripture say that the Christ must be descended from David and come from Bethlehem, the village where David was?' So the people could not agree about him. Some wanted to arrest him, but no one actually laid a hand on him. The guards went back to the chief priests and Pharisees who said to them, 'Why haven't you brought him?' The guards replied, 'No one has ever spoken like this man.' 'So,' the Pharisees answered, 'you, too, have been led astray? Have any of the authorities come to believe in him? Any of the Pharisees? This rabble knows nothing about the Law -- they are damned.' One of them, Nicodemus -- the same man who had come to Jesus earlier -- said to them, 'But surely our Law does not allow us to pass judgement on anyone without first giving him a hearing and discovering what he is doing?' To this they answered, 'Are you a Galilean too? Go into the matter, and see for yourself: prophets do not arise in Galilee.'Track 6 8:1-11 The adulterous woman
They all went home, and Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.At daybreak he appeared in the Temple again; and as all the people came to him, he sat down and began to teach them.
The scribes and Pharisees brought a woman along who had been caught committing adultery; and making her stand there in the middle they said to Jesus, 'Master, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery, and in the Law Moses has ordered us to stone women of this kind. What have you got to say?' They asked him this as a test, looking for an accusation to use against him. But Jesus bent down and started writing on the ground with his finger. As they persisted with their question, he straightened up and said, 'Let the one among you who is guiltless be the first to throw a stone at her.' Then he bent down and continued writing on the ground. When they heard this they went away one by one, beginning with the eldest, until the last one had gone and Jesus was left alone with the woman, who remained in the middle. Jesus again straightened up and said, 'Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?' 'No one, sir,' she replied. 'Neither do I condemn you,' said Jesus. 'Go away, and from this moment sin no more.'
Track 7 8:12 Jesus, the light of the world
When Jesus spoke to the people again, he said:I am the light of the world;
anyone who follows me will not be walking in the dark,
but will have the light of life.
Track 8 8:13-30 A discussion on the testimony of Jesus to himself
At this the Pharisees said to him, 'You are testifying on your own behalf; your testimony is not true.' Jesus replied:Even though I am testifying on my own behalf,They asked him, 'Where is your Father then?' Jesus answered:
my testimony is still true,
because I know where I have come from
and where I am going;
but you do not know where I come from
or where I am going.
You judge by human standards;
I judge no one,
but if I judge, my judgement will be true,
because I am not alone:
the one who sent me is with me;
and in your Law it is written
that the testimony of two witnesses is true.
I testify on my own behalf,
but the Father who sent me testifies on my behalf, too.
You do not know me, nor do you know my Father;He spoke these words in the Treasury, while teaching in the Temple. No one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come. Again he said to them:
if you did know me, you would know my Father as well.
I am going away; you will look for meSo the Jews said to one another, 'Is he going to kill himself, that he says, "Where I am going, you cannot come?" ' Jesus went on:
and you will die in your sin.
Where I am going, you cannot come.
You are from below;So they said to him, 'Who are you?' Jesus answered:
I am from above.
You are of this world;
I am not of this world.
I have told you already:
You will die in your sins.
Yes, if you do not believe that I am He,
you will die in your sins.
What I have told you from the outset.They did not recognise that he was talking to them about the Father. So Jesus said:
About you I have much to say and much to judge;
but the one who sent me is true,
and what I declare to the world
I have learnt from him.
When you have lifted up the Son of man,As he was saying this, many came to believe in him.
then you will know that I am He
and that I do nothing of my own accord.
What I say is what the Father has taught me;
he who sent me is with me,
and has not left me to myself,
for I always do what pleases him.
Track 9 8:31-59 Jesus and Abraham
To the Jews who believed in him Jesus said:If you make my word your homeThey answered, 'We are descended from Abraham and we have never been the slaves of anyone; what do you mean, "You will be set free?" ' Jesus replied:
you will indeed be my disciples;
you will come to know the truth,
and the truth will set you free.
In all truth I tell you,They repeated, 'Our father is Abraham.' Jesus said to them:
everyone who commits sin is a slave.
Now a slave has no permanent standing in the household,
but a son belongs to it for ever.
So if the Son sets you free,
you will indeed be free.
I know that you are descended from Abraham;
but you want to kill me
because my word finds no place in you.
What I speak of
is what I have seen at my Father's side,
and you too put into action
the lessons you have learnt from your father.
If you are Abraham's children,They replied, 'We were not born illegitimate, the only father we have is God.' Jesus answered:
do as Abraham did.
As it is, you want to kill me,
a man who has told you the truth
as I have learnt it from God;
that is not what Abraham did.
You are doing your father's work.
If God were your father,The Jews replied, 'Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and possessed by a devil?' Jesus answered:
you would love me,
since I have my origin in God
and have come from him; I
did not come of my own accord,
but he sent me.
Why do you not understand what I say?
Because you cannot bear to listen to my words.
You are from your father, the devil,
and you prefer to do what your father wants.
He was a murderer from the start;
he was never grounded in the truth;
there is no truth in him at all.
When he lies he is speaking true to his nature,
because he is a liar, and the father of lies.
But it is because I speak the truth
that you do not believe me.
Can any of you convict me of sin?
If I speak the truth, why do you not believe me?
Whoever comes from God l
istens to the words of God;
the reason why you do not listen
is that you are not from God.
I am not possessed;The Jews said, 'Now we know that you are possessed. Abraham is dead, and the prophets are dead, and yet you say, "Whoever keeps my word will never know the taste of death." Are you greater than our father Abraham, who is dead? The prophets are dead too. Who are you claiming to be?' Jesus answered:
but I honour my Father,
and you deny me honour.
I do not seek my own glory;
there is someone who does seek it
and is the judge of it.
In all truth I tell you,
whoever keeps my word
will never see death.
If I were to seek my own gloryThe Jews then said, 'You are not fifty yet, and you have seen Abraham!',Jesus replied:
my glory would be worth nothing;
in fact, my glory is conferred by the Father,
by the one of whom you say, 'He is our God,'
although you do not know him.
But I know him,
and if I were to say, 'I do not know him,'
I should be a liar, as you yourselves are.
But I do know him, and I keep his word.
Your father Abraham rejoiced
to think that he would see my Day;
he saw it and was glad.
In all truth I tell you,At this they picked up stones to throw at him; but Jesus hid himself and left the Temple.
before Abraham ever was,
I am.
Track 10 9 the cure of the man born blind
His disciples asked him, 'Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he should have been born blind?' 'Neither he nor his parents sinned,' Jesus answered, 'he was born blind so that the works of God might be revealed in him. 'As long as day lasts we must carry out the work of the one who sent me; the night will soon be here when no one can work. As long as I am in the world I am the light of the world.'
Having said this, he spat on the ground, made a paste with the spittle, put this over the eyes of the blind man, and said to him, 'Go and wash in the Pool of Siloam' (the name means 'one who has been sent'). So he went off and washed and came back able to see.
His neighbours and the people who used to see him before (for he was a beggar) said, 'Isn't this the man who used to sit and beg?' Some said, 'Yes, it is the same one.' Others said, 'No, but he looks just like him.' The man himself said, 'Yes, I am the one.' So they said to him, 'Then how is it that your eyes were opened?' He answered, 'The man called Jesus made a paste, daubed my eyes with it and said to me, "Go off and wash at Siloam"; so I went, and when I washed I gained my sight.' They asked, 'Where is he?' He answered, 'I don't know.'
They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. It had been a Sabbath day when Jesus made the paste and opened the man's eyes, so when the Pharisees asked him how he had gained his sight, he said, 'He put a paste on my eyes, and I washed, and I can see.' Then some of the Pharisees said, 'That man cannot be from God: he does not keep the Sabbath.' Others said, 'How can a sinner produce signs like this?' And there was division among them. So they spoke to the blind man again, 'What have you to say about him yourself, now that he has opened your eyes?' The man answered, 'He is a prophet.'
However, the Jews would not believe that the man had been blind without first sending for the parents of the man who had gained his sight and asking them, 'Is this man really the son of yours who you say was born blind? If so, how is it that he is now able to see?' His parents answered, 'We know he is our son and we know he was born blind, but how he can see, we don't know, nor who opened his eyes. Ask him. He is old enough: let him speak for himself.' His parents spoke like this out of fear of the Jews, who had already agreed to ban from the synagogue anyone who should acknowledge Jesus as the Christ. This was why his parents said, 'He is old enough; ask him.'
So the Jews sent for the man again and said to him, 'Give glory to God! We are satisfied that this man is a sinner.' The man answered, 'Whether he is a sinner I don't know; all I know is that I was blind and now I can see.' They said to him, 'What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?' He replied, 'I have told you once and you wouldn't listen. Why do you want to hear it all again? Do you want to become his disciples yourselves?' At this they hurled abuse at him, 'It is you who are his disciple, we are disciples of Moses: we know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this man, we don't know where he comes from.' The man replied, 'That is just what is so amazing! You don't know where he comes from and he has opened my eyes! We know that God doesn't listen to sinners, but God does listen to people who are devout and do his will. Ever since the world began it is unheard of for anyone to open the eyes of someone born blind; if this man were not from God, he wouldn't have been able to do anything.' They retorted, 'Are you trying to teach us, and you a sinner through and through ever since you were born!' And they ejected him.
Jesus heard they had ejected him, and when he found him he said to him, 'Do you believe in the Son of man?' 'Sir,' the man replied, 'tell me who he is so that I may believe in him.' Jesus said, 'You have seen him; he is speaking to you.' The man said, 'Lord, I believe,' and worshipped him. Jesus said:
It is for judgementHearing this, some Pharisees who were present said to him, 'So we are blind, are we?' Jesus replied:
that I have come into this world,
so that those without sight may see
and those with sight may become blind.
If you were blind,
you would not be guilty,
but since you say, 'We can see,'
your guilt remains.
Track 11 10:1-21 The good shepherd
'In all truth I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold through the gate, but climbs in some other way, is a thief and a bandit. He who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the flock; the gatekeeper lets him in, the sheep hear his voice, one by one he calls his own sheep and leads them out. When he has brought out all those that are his, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow because they know his voice. They will never follow a stranger, but will run away from him because they do not recognise the voice of strangers.'Jesus told them this parable but they failed to understand what he was saying to them.
So Jesus spoke to them again:
In all truth I tell you,These words caused a fresh division among the Jews. Many said, 'He is possessed, he is raving; why do you listen to him?' Others said, 'These are not the words of a man possessed by a devil: could a devil open the eyes of the blind?'
I am the gate of the sheepfold.
All who have come before me
are thieves and bandits,
but the sheep took no notice of them.
I am the gate.
Anyone who enters through me will be safe:
such a one will go in and out and will find pasture.
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.
I have come so that they may have life
and have it to the full.
am the good shepherd:
the good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep.
The hired man, since he is not the shepherd
and the sheep do not belong to him,
abandons the sheep as soon as he sees a wolf coming, and runs away,
and then the wolf attacks and scatters the sheep;
he runs away because he is only a hired man
and has no concern for the sheep.
I am the good shepherd;
I know my own and my own know me,
just as the Father knows me
and I know the Father;
and I lay down my life for my sheep.
And there are other sheep I have that are not of this fold,
and I must lead these too.
They too will listen to my voice,
and there will be only one flock,
one shepherd.
The Father loves me,
because I lay down my life in order to take it up again.
No one takes it from me;
I lay it down of my own free will,
and as I have power to lay it down,
so I have power to take it up again;
and this is the command I have received from my Father.
V. THE FEAST OF DEDICATION
THE DECISION TO KILL JESUS
Track 12 10: 22-39 Jesus claims to be the Son of God
It was the time of the feast of Dedication in Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was in the Temple walking up and down in the Portico of Solomon. The Jews gathered round him and said, 'How much longer are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us openly.' Jesus replied:I have told you, but you do not believe.The Jews fetched stones to stone him, so Jesus said to them, 'I have shown you many good works from my Father; for which of these are you stoning me?' The Jews answered him, 'We are stoning you, not for doing a good work, but for blasphemy; though you are only a man, you claim to be God.' Jesus answered:
The works I do in my Father's name are my witness;
but you do not believe,
because you are no sheep of mine.
The sheep that belong to me listen to my voice;
I know them and they follow me.
I give them eternal life;
they will never be lost
and no one will ever steal them from my hand.
The Father, for what he has given me, is greater than anyone,
and no one can steal anything from the Father's hand.
The Father and I are one.
Is it not written in your Law:They again wanted to arrest him then, but he eluded their clutches.
I said, you are gods?
So it uses the word 'gods' of those people to whom the word of God was addressed
-- and scripture cannot be set aside.
Yet to someone whom the Father has consecrated
and sent into the world you say,
'You are blaspheming'
because I said, 'I am Son of God.'
If I am not doing my Father's work,
there is no need to believe me;
but if I am doing it,
then even if you refuse to believe in me,
at least believe in the work I do;
then you will know for certain
that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.
Track 13 10:40-52 Jesus withdraws to the other side of the Jordan
He went back again to the far side of the Jordan to the district where John had been baptising at first and he stayed there. Many people who came to him said, 'John gave no signs, but all he said about this man was true'; and many of them believed in him.VI: JESUS MOVES TOWADS HIS DEATH
Track 14 11:1-44 The resurrection of Lazarus
There was a man named Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister, Martha, and he was ill. It was the same Mary, the sister of the sick man Lazarus, who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair. The sisters sent this message to Jesus, 'Lord, the man you love is ill.' On receiving the message, Jesus said, 'This sickness will not end in death, but it is for God's glory so that through it the Son of God may be glorified.'Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, yet when he heard that he was ill he stayed where he was for two more days before saying to the disciples, 'Let us go back to Judaea.' The disciples said, 'Rabbi, it is not long since the Jews were trying to stone you; are you going back there again?' Jesus replied:
Are there not twelve hours in the day?He said that and then added, 'Our friend Lazarus is at rest; I am going to wake him.' The disciples said to him, 'Lord, if he is at rest he will be saved.' Jesus was speaking of the death of Lazarus, but they thought that by 'rest' he meant 'sleep'; so Jesus put it plainly, 'Lazarus is dead; and for your sake I am glad I was not there because now you will believe. But let us go to him.' Then Thomas -- known as the Twin -- said to the other disciples, 'Let us also go to die with him.'
No one who walks in the daytime stumbles,
having the light of this world to see by;
anyone who walks around at night stumbles,
having no light as a guide.
On arriving, Jesus found that Lazarus had been in the tomb for four days already. Bethany is only about two miles from Jerusalem, and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them about their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming she went to meet him. Mary remained sitting in the house. Martha said to Jesus, 'Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died, but even now I know that God will grant whatever you ask of him.' Jesus said to her, 'Your brother will rise again.' Martha said, 'I know he will rise again at the resurrection on the last day.' Jesus said:
I am the resurrection.'Yes, Lord,' she said, 'I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who was to come into this world.'
Anyone who believes in me,
even though that person dies, will live,
and whoever lives and believes in me
will never die.
Do you believe this?
When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying in a low voice, 'The Master is here and wants to see you.' Hearing this, Mary got up quickly and went to him. Jesus had not yet come into the village; he was still at the place where Martha had met him. When the Jews who were in the house comforting Mary saw her get up so quickly and go out, they followed her, thinking that she was going to the tomb to weep there.
Mary went to Jesus, and as soon as she saw him she threw herself at his feet, saying, 'Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.' At the sight of her tears, and those of the Jews who had come with her, Jesus was greatly distressed, and with a profound sigh he said, 'Where have you put him?' They said, 'Lord, come and see.' Jesus wept; and the Jews said, 'See how much he loved him!' But there were some who remarked, 'He opened the eyes of the blind man. Could he not have prevented this man's death?' Sighing again, Jesus reached the tomb: it was a cave with a stone to close the opening. Jesus said, 'Take the stone away.' Martha, the dead man's sister, said to him, 'Lord, by now he will smell; this is the fourth day since he died.' Jesus replied, 'Have I not told you that if you believe you will see the glory of God?' So they took the stone away. Then Jesus lifted up his eyes and said:
Father, I thank you for hearing my prayer.When he had said this, he cried in a loud voice, 'Lazarus, come out!' The dead man came out, his feet and hands bound with strips of material, and a cloth over his face. Jesus said to them, 'Unbind him, let him go free.'
I myself knew that you hear me always,
but I speak for the sake of all these who are standing around me,
so that they may believe it was you who sent me.
Track 15 11:45-54 The Jewish leaders decide on the death of Jesus
Many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what he did, believed in him, but some of them went to the Pharisees to tell them what Jesus had done. Then the chief priests and Pharisees called a meeting. 'Here is this man working all these signs,' they said, 'and what action are we taking? If we let him go on in this way everybody will believe in him, and the Romans will come and suppress the Holy Place and our nation.' One of them, Caiaphas, the high priest that year, said, 'You do not seem to have grasped the situation at all; you fail to see that it is to your advantage that one man should die for the people, rather than that the whole nation should perish.' He did not speak in his own person, but as high priest of that year he was prophesying that Jesus was to die for the nation- and not for the nation only, but also to gather together into one the scattered children of God. From that day onwards they were determined to kill him. So Jesus no longer went about openly among the Jews, but left the district for a town called Ephraim, in the country bordering on the desert, and stayed there with his disciples.Track 16 11:55-57 The Passover draws near
The Jewish Passover was drawing near, and many of the country people who had gone up to Jerusalem before the Passover to purify themselves were looking out for Jesus, saying to one another as they stood about in the Temple, 'What do you think? Will he come to the festival or not?' The chief priests and Pharisees had by now given their orders: anyone who knew where he was must inform them so that they could arrest him.Track 17 12:1-11 The anointing at Bethany
Six days before the Passover, Jesus went to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom he had raised from the dead. They gave a dinner for him there; Martha waited on them and Lazarus was among those at table. Mary brought in a pound of very costly ointment, pure nard, and with it anointed the feet of Jesus, wiping them with her hair; the house was filled with the scent of the ointment. Then Judas Iscariot -- one of his disciples, the man who was to betray him-said, 'Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?' He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief; he was in charge of the common fund and used to help himself to the contents. So Jesus said, 'Leave her alone; let her keep it for the day of my burial. You have the poor with you always, you will not always have me.'Meanwhile a large number of Jews heard that he was there and came not only on account of Jesus but also to see Lazarus whom he had raised from the dead. Then the chief priests decided to kill Lazarus as well, since it was on his account that many of the Jews were leaving them and believing in Jesus.
Track 18 12:12-19 The Messiah enters Jerusalem
The next day the great crowd of people who had come up for the festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. They took branches of palm and went out to receive him, shouting:'Hosanna!Jesus found a young donkey and mounted it -- as scripture says:
Blessed is he who is coming in the name of the Lord,
the king of Israel.'
Do not be afraid, daughter of Zion;At first his disciples did not understand this, but later, after Jesus had been glorified, they remembered that this had been written about him and that this was what had happened to him. The crowd who had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead kept bearing witness to it; this was another reason why the crowd came out to receive him: they had heard that he had given this sign. Then the Pharisees said to one another, 'You see, you are making no progress; look, the whole world has gone after him!'
look, your king is approaching,
riding on the foal of a donkey.
Track 19 12: 20-36 Jesus foretells his death and subsequent glorification
Among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks. These approached Philip, who came from Bethsaida in Galilee, and put this request to him, 'Sir, we should like to see Jesus.' Philip went to tell Andrew, and Andrew and Philip together went to tell Jesus. Jesus replied to them:Now the hour has come for the Son of man to be glorified. In all truth I tell you, unless a wheat grain falls into the earth and dies, it remains only a single grain; but if it dies it yields a rich harvest. Anyone who loves his life loses it; anyone who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me, must follow me, and my servant will be with me wherever I am. If anyone serves me, my Father will honour him. Now my soul is troubled. What shall I say: Father, save me from this hour? But it is for this very reason that I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name!
A voice came from heaven, 'I have glorified it, and I will again glorify it.'
The crowd standing by, who heard this, said it was a clap of thunder; others said, 'It was an angel speaking to him.' Jesus answered, 'It was not for my sake that this voice came, but for yours.
'Now sentence is being passed on this world;By these words he indicated the kind of death he would die. The crowd answered, 'The Law has taught us that the Christ will remain for ever. So how can you say, "The Son of man must be lifted up"? Who is this Son of man?' Jesus then said:
now the prince of this world is to be driven out.
And when I am lifted up from the earth,
I shall draw all people to myself.'
The light will be with you only a little longer now.Having said this, Jesus left them and was hidden from their sight.
Go on your way while you have the light,
or darkness will overtake you,
and nobody who walks in the dark knows where he is going.
While you still have the light,
believe in the light
so that you may become children of light.
Track 20 12:37-50 Conclusion – the unbelief of the Jews
Though they had been present when he gave so many signs, they did not believe in him; this was to fulfil the words of the prophet Isaiah:Lord, who has given credence to what they have heard from us,Isaiah said this because he saw his glory, and his words referred to Jesus. And yet there were many who did believe in him, even among the leading men, but they did not admit it, because of the Pharisees and for fear of being banned from the synagogue: they put human glory before God's glory. Jesus declared publicly:
and who has seen in it a revelation of the Lord's arm?
Indeed, they were unable to believe because, as Isaiah says again:
He has blinded their eyes,
he has hardened their heart,
to prevent them from using their eyes to see,
using their heart to understand,
changing their ways and being healed by me.
Whoever believes in me
believes not in me
but in the one who sent me,
and whoever sees me,
sees the one who sent me.
I have come into the world as light,
to prevent anyone who believes in me
from staying in the dark any more.
If anyone hears my words
and does not keep them faithfully,
it is not I who shall judge such a person,
since I have come not to judge the world,
but to save the world:
anyone who rejects me and refuses my words
has his judge already:
the word itself that I have spoken
will be his judge on the last day.
For I have not spoken of my own accord;
but the Father who sent me
commanded me what to say and what to speak,
and I know that his commands mean eternal life.
And therefore what the Father has told me is what I speak.
C. JESUS’ HOUR COMES
THE PASSOVER OF THE LAMB OF GOD
I: JESUS’ LAST MEAL WITH HIS DISCIPLES
Track 21 13:1-20 The washing of feet
Before the festival of the Passover, Jesus, knowing that his hour had come to pass from this world to the Father, having loved those who were his in the world, loved them to the end.They were at supper, and the devil had already put it into the mind of Judas Iscariot son of Simon, to betray him. Jesus knew that the Father had put everything into his hands, and that he had come from God and was returning to God, and he got up from table, removed his outer garments and, taking a towel, wrapped it round his waist; he then poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel he was wearing.
He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, 'Lord, are you going to wash my feet?' Jesus answered, 'At the moment you do not know what I am doing, but later you will understand.' 'Never!' said Peter. 'You shall never wash my feet.' Jesus replied, 'If I do not wash you, you can have no share with me.' Simon Peter said, 'Well then, Lord, not only my feet, but my hands and my head as well!' Jesus said, 'No one who has had a bath needs washing, such a person is clean all over. You too are clean, though not all of you are.'
He knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said, 'though not all of you are'. When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments again he went back to the table. 'Do you understand', he said, 'what I have done to you? You call me Master and Lord, and rightly; so I am. If I, then, the Lord and Master, have washed your feet, you must wash each other's feet. I have given you an example so that you may copy what I have done to you.
'In all truth I tell you,'Now that you know this, blessed are you if you behave accordingly. I am not speaking about all of you: I know the ones I have chosen; but what scripture says must be fulfilled:
no servant is greater than his master,
no messenger is greater than the one who sent him.
'He who shares my table takes advantage of me.
I tell you this now, before it happens,
so that when it does happen
you may believe that I am He.
In all truth I tell you,
whoever welcomes the one I send, welcomes me,
and whoever welcomes me, welcomes the one who sent me.'
Track 22 13:21-30 The treachery of Judas foretold
Having said this, Jesus was deeply disturbed and declared, 'In all truth I tell you, one of you is going to betray me.' The disciples looked at each other, wondering whom he meant. The disciple Jesus loved was reclining next to Jesus; Simon Peter signed to him and said, 'Ask who it is he means,' so leaning back close to Jesus' chest he said, 'Who is it, Lord?' Jesus answered, 'It is the one to whom I give the piece of bread that I dip in the dish.' And when he had dipped the piece of bread he gave it to Judas son of Simon Iscariot. At that instant, after Judas had taken the bread, Satan entered him. Jesus then said, 'What you are going to do, do quickly.' None of the others at table understood why he said this. Since Judas had charge of the common fund, some of them thought Jesus was telling him, 'Buy what we need for the festival,' or telling him to give something to the poor. As soon as Judas had taken the piece of bread he went out. It was night.Track 23 13:31 –14:14 Farewell discourses
When he had gone, Jesus said:Now has the Son of man been glorified,Simon Peter said, 'Lord, where are you going?' Jesus replied, 'Now you cannot follow me where I am going, but later you shall follow me.' Peter said to him, 'Why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.' 'Lay down your life for me?' answered Jesus. 'In all truth I tell you, before the cock crows you will have disowned me three times.'
and in him God has been glorified.
If God has been glorified in him,
God will in turn glorify him in himself,
and will glorify him very soon.
Little children, I
shall be with you only a little longer.
You will look for me,
and, as I told the Jews,
where I am going,
you cannot come.
I give you a new commandment:
love one another;
you must love one another
just as I have loved you.
It is by your love for one another,
that everyone will recognise you
as my disciples.
Do not let your hearts be troubled.Thomas said, 'Lord, we do not know where you are going, so how can we know the way?' Jesus said:
You trust in God,
trust also in me.
In my Father's house there are many places to live in;
otherwise I would have told you.
I am going now to prepare a place for you,
and after I have gone and prepared you a place,
I shall return to take you to myself,
so that you may be with me where I am.
You know the way to the place where I am going.
I am the Way; I am Truth and Life.Philip said, 'Lord, show us the Father and then we shall be satisfied.' Jesus said to him, 'Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? '
No one can come to the Father except through me.
If you know me,
you will know my Father too.
From this moment you know him and have seen him.
Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father,Judas -- not Judas Iscariot -- said to him, 'Lord, what has happened, that you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?' Jesus replied:
so how can you say, "Show us the Father"?
Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?
What I say to you I do not speak of my own accord:
it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his works.
You must believe me when I say
that I am in the Father and the Father is in me;
or at least believe it on the evidence of these works.
In all truth I tell you,
whoever believes in me
will perform the same works as I do myself,
and will perform even greater works,
because I am going to the Father.
Whatever you ask in my name I will do,
so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
If you ask me anything in my name,
I will do it.
If you love me you will keep my commandments.
I shall ask the Father,
and he will give you another Paraclete
to be with you for ever,
the Spirit of truth
whom the world can never accept
since it neither sees nor knows him;
but you know him,
because he is with you,
he is in you.
I shall not leave you orphans;
I shall come to you.
In a short time the world will no longer see me;
but you will see that I live
and you also will live.
On that day
you will know that I am in my Father
and you in me and I in you.
Whoever holds to my commandments and keeps them
is the one who loves me;
and whoever loves me
will be loved by my Father,
and I shall love him
and reveal myself to him.'
Anyone who loves me will keep my word,
and my Father will love him,
and we shall come to him and make a home in him.
Anyone who does not love me does not keep my words.
And the word that you hear is not my own:
it is the word of the Father who sent me.
I have said these things to you while still with you;
but the Paraclete,
the Holy Spirit,
whom the Father will send in my name,
will teach you everything
and remind you of all I have said to you.
Peace I bequeath to you,
my own peace I give you,
a peace which the world cannot give,
this is my gift to you.
Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.
You heard me say:
I am going away and shall return.
If you loved me
you would be glad that I am going to the Father,
for the Father is greater than I.
I have told you this now, before it happens,
so that when it does happen
you may believe.
I shall not talk to you much longer,
because the prince of this world is on his way.
He has no power over me,
but the world must recognise
that I love the Father
and that I act just as the Father commanded.
Come now, let us go.
Track 24 15: 1-17 The true vine
I am the true vine,
and my Father is the vinedresser.
Every branch in me that bears no fruit
he cuts away,
and every branch that does bear fruit
he prunes
to make it bear even more.
You are clean already,
by means of the word that I have spoken to you.
Remain in me,
as I in you.
As a branch cannot bear fruit all by itself,
unless it remains part of the vine,
neither can you
unless you remain in me.
I am the vine,
you are the branches.
Whoever remains in me,
with me in him,
bears fruit in plenty;
for cut off from me you can do nothing.
Anyone who does not remain in me
is thrown away like a branch -- and withers;
these branches are collected and thrown on the fire and are burnt.
If you remain in me
and my words remain in you,
you may ask for whatever you please and you will get it.
It is to the glory of my Father
that you should bear much fruit and be my disciples.
I have loved you
just as the Father has loved me.
Remain in my love.
If you keep my commandments
you will remain in my love,
just as I have kept my Father's commandments
and remain in his love.
I have told you this
so that my own joy may be in you
and your joy be complete.
This is my commandment:
love one another,
as I have loved you.
No one can have greater love
than to lay down his life for his friends.
You are my friends, if you do what I command you.
I shall no longer call you servants,
because a servant does not know the master's business;
I call you friends,
because I have made known to you
everything I have learnt from my Father.
You did not choose me,
no, I chose you;
and I commissioned you
to go out and to bear fruit,
fruit that will last;
so that the Father will give you
anything you ask him in my name.
My command to you
is to love one another.
Track 25 15:18-16:4a The disciples and the world
If the world hates you,
you must realise
that it hated me before it hated you.
If you belonged to the world,
the world would love you as its own;
but because you do not belong to the world,
because my choice of you
has drawn you out of the world,
that is why the world hates you.
Remember the words I said to you:
A servant is not greater than his master.
If they persecuted me,
they will persecute you too;
if they kept my word,
they will keep yours as well.
But it will be on my account
that they will do all this to you,
because they do not know the one who sent me.
If I had not come,
if I had not spoken to them,
they would have been blameless;
but as it is they have no excuse for their sin.
Anyone who hates me hates my Father.
If I had not performed such works among them
as no one else has ever done,
they would be blameless;
but as it is, in spite of what they have seen,
they hate both me and my Father.
But all this was only to fulfil the words written in their Law:
They hated me without reason.
When the Paraclete comes,
whom I shall send to you from the Father,
the Spirit of truth
who issues from the Father,
he will be my witness.
And you too will be witnesses,
because you have been with me from the beginning.
I have told you all this so that you may not fall away.
They will expel you from the synagogues,
and indeed the time is coming
when anyone who kills you
will think he is doing a holy service to God.
They will do these things
because they have never known either the Father or me.
But I have told you all this,
so that when the time for it comes
you may remember that I told you.
Track 26 16:4b-15 The coming of the Paraclete
I did not tell you this from the beginning,
because I was with you;
but now I am going to the one who sent me.
Not one of you asks,
'Where are you going?'
Yet you are sad at heart because I have told you this.
Still, I am telling you the truth:
it is for your own good that I am going,
because unless I go,
the Paraclete will not come to you;Page Load: 1868 msec