John 9

Healing a Man Born Blind

1 Now as Jesus was passing by,ts he saw a man who had been blind from birth.2 His disciples asked him,t “Rabbi, who committed the sin that caused him to be born blind, this mant or his parents?”ts3 Jesus answered, “Neither this mant nor his parents sinned, but he was born blind so thatt the actst of God may be revealedt through what happens to him.t4 We must perform the deedst of the one who sent met as long ast it is daytime. Night is coming when no one can work.5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”s6 Having said this,t he spat on the ground and made some mudt with the saliva. Het smeared the mud on the blind man’st eyes

7 and said to him, “Go wash in the pool of Siloam”t (which is translated “sent”).s So the blind mant went away and washed, and came back seeing.
8 Then the neighbors and the people who had seen him previouslyt as a beggar began saying,t “Is this not the mant who used to sit and beg?”9 Some people said,t “This is the man!”t while others said, “No, but he looks like him.”t The man himselft kept insisting, “I am the one!”t10 So they asked him,t “How then were you made to see?”t11 He replied,t “The man called Jesus made mud,t smeared itt on my eyes and told me,t ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ So I went and washed, and was able to see.”t

12 They saidt to him, “Where is that man?”t He replied,t “I don’t know.”

The Pharisees’ Reaction to the Healing

13 They brought the man who used to be blindt to the Pharisees.s14 (Now the day on which Jesus made the mudt and caused him to seet was a Sabbath.)s

15 So the Pharisees asked him again how he had gained his sight.ts He replied,t “He put mudt on my eyes and I washed, and nowt I am able to see.”
16 Then some of the Pharisees began to say,t “This man is not from God, because he does not observet the Sabbath.”s But others said, “How can a man who is a sinner performt such miraculous signs?” Thus there was a divisiont among them.

17 So again they asked the man who used to be blind,t “What do you say about him, since he caused you to see?”t “He is a prophet,” the man replied.ts
18 Now the Jewish religious leaderst refused to believet that he had really been blind and had gained his sight until at last they summonedt the parents of the man who had become able to see.t19 They asked the parents,t “Is this your son, whom you sayt was born blind? Then how does he now see?”20 So his parents replied,t “We know that this is our son and that he was born blind.21 But we do not know how he is now able to see, nor do we know who caused him to see.t Ask him, he is a mature adult.t He will speak for himself.”22 (His parents said these things because they were afraid of the Jewish religious leaders.t For the Jewish leaders had already agreed that anyone who confessed Jesust to be the Christts would be put outt of the synagogue.s

23 For this reason his parents said, “He is a mature adult,t ask him.”)s
24 Then they summonedt the man who used to be blindt a second time and said to him, “Promise before God to tell the truth.t We know that this mant is a sinner.”25 He replied,t “I do not know whether he is a sinner. I do know one thing – that although I was blind, now I can see.”26 Then they said to him, “What did he do to you? How did he cause you to see?”t

27 He answered,t “I told you already and you didn’t listen.t Why do you want to hear itt again? You peoplet don’t want to become his disciples too, do you?”
28 Theyt heaped insultst on him, saying,t “You are his disciple!t We are disciples of Moses!29 We know that God has spoken to Moses! We do not know where this mant comes from!”30 The man replied,t “This is a remarkable thing,t that you don’t know where he comes from, and yet he caused me to see!t31 We know that God doesn’t listen tot sinners, but if anyone is devoutt and does his will, Godt listens tot him.t32 Never beforet has anyone heard of someone causing a man born blind to see.t33 If this mant were not from God, he could do nothing.”

34 They replied,t “You were born completely in sinfulness,t and yet you presume to teach us?”t So they threw him out.

The Man’s Response to Jesus

35 Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, so he found the mant and said to him, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”s36 The mant replied,t “And who is he, sir, thatt I may believe in him?”37 Jesus told him, “You have seen him; het is the one speaking with you.”t [38 He said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him.ss

39 Jesust said,]s “For judgment I have come into this world, so that those who do not see may gain their sight,t and the ones who see may become blind.”
40 Some of the Phariseess who were with him heard thist and asked him,t “We are not blind too, are we?”t

41 Jesus replied,t “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin,t but now because you claim that you can see,t your guiltt remains.”s

John 10

Jesus as the Good Shepherd

1 “I tell you the solemn truth,t the one who does not enter the sheepfolds by the door,t but climbs in some other way, is a thief and a robber.2 The one who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.3 The doorkeeperts opens the doort for him,t and the sheep hear his voice. Het calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.s4 When he has brought all his own sheept out, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they recognizet his voice.5 They will never follow a stranger,t but will run away from him, because they do not recognizet the stranger’s voice.”t

6 Jesus told them this parable,s but theyt did not understandt what he was saying to them.
7 So Jesus said to them again, “I tell you the solemn truth,t I am the door for the sheep.t8 All who came before me weret thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them.t9 I am the door. If anyone enters through me, he will be saved, and will come in and go out,t and find pasture.s

10 The thief comes only to steal and killt and destroy; I have come so that they may have life, and may have it abundantly.t
11 “I am the goodt shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his lifets for the sheep.12 The hired hand,s who is not a shepherd and does not own sheep, sees the wolf coming and abandonst the sheep and runs away.t So the wolf attackst the sheep and scatters them.

13 Because he is a hired hand and is not concerned about the sheep,t he runs away.s
14 “I am the good shepherd. It know my ownt and my own know me –15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father – and I lay down my lifet fort the sheep.16 I havet other sheep that do not come fromt this sheepfold.s I must bring them too, and they will listen to my voice,t so thatt there will be one flock andt one shepherd.17 This is why the Father loves met – because I lay down my life,t so that I may take it back again.

18 No one takes it away from me, but I lay it downt of my own free will.t I have the authorityt to lay it down, and I have the authorityt to take it back again. This commandmentt I received from my Father.”
19 Another sharp division took place among the Jewish peoplet because of these words.20 Many of them were saying, “He is possessed by a demon and has lost his mind!t Why do you listen to him?”

21 Others said, “These are not the wordst of someone possessed by a demon. A demon cannot cause the blind to see,t can it?”t

Jesus at the Feast of Dedication

22 Then came the feast of the Dedicationts in Jerusalem.s23 It was winter,s and Jesus was walking in the temple areat in Solomon’s Portico.ts24 The Jewish leaderst surrounded him and asked,t “How long will you keep us in suspense?t If you are the Christ,ts tell us plainly.”t25 Jesus replied,t “I told you and you do not believe. The deedst I do in my Father’s name testify about me.26 But you refuse to believe because you are not my sheep.27 My sheep listen to my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.28 I givet them eternal life, and they will never perish;t no one will snatcht them from my hand.29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all,t and no one can snatcht them from my Father’s hand.

30 The Father and It are one.”t
31 The Jewish leaderst picked up rocks again to stone him to death.32 Jesus said to them,t “I have shown you many good deedst from the Father. For which one of them are you going to stone me?”

33 The Jewish leaderst replied,t “We are not going to stone you for a good deedt but for blasphemy,s becauset you, a man, are claiming to be God.”t
34 Jesus answered,t “Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, you are gods’?s35 If those people to whom the word of God came were called ‘gods’ (and the scripture cannot be broken),s36 do you say about the one whom the Father set apartt and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’?37 If I do not performt the deedst of my Father, do not believe me.38 But if I do them, even if you do not believe me, believe the deeds,ts so that you may come to knowt and understand that I am in the Father and the Father is in me.”

39 Thens they attemptedt again to seize him, but he escaped their clutches.ts
40 Jesust went back across the Jordan Rivert again to the place where Johns had been baptizing at an earlier time,ts and he stayed there.41 Manyt came to him and began to say, “Johns performedt no miraculous sign, but everything John said about this mant was true!”

42 And many believed in Jesust there.

John 11

The Death of Lazarus

1 Now a certain man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village where Mary and her sister Martha lived.t2 (Now it was Mary who anointed the Lord with perfumed oilt and wiped his feet dry with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.)s3 So the sisters sent a messaget to Jesus,t “Lord, look, the one you love is sick.”4 When Jesus heard this, he said, “This sickness will not lead to death,ts but to God’s glory,t so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”s

5 (Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.)s
6 So when he heard that Lazarust was sick, he remained in the place where he was for two more days.7 Then after this, he said to his disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.”s8 The disciples replied,t “Rabbi, the Jewish leaderst were just now tryingt to stone you to death! Aret you going there again?”9 Jesus replied,t “Are there not twelve hours in a day? If anyone walks around in the daytime, he does not stumble,t because he sees the light of this world.s

10 But if anyone walks around at night,t he stumbles,t because the light is not in him.”
11 After he said this, he added,t “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep.t But I am going there to awaken him.”12 Then the disciples replied,t “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.”

13 (Now Jesus had been talking aboutt his death, but theyt thought he had been talking about real sleep.)ts
14 Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died,15 and I am gladt for your sake that I was not there, so that you may believe.s But let us go to him.”

16 So Thomas (called Didymuss)s said to his fellow disciples, “Let us go too, so that we may die with him.”s

Speaking with Martha and Mary

17 Whent Jesus arrived,t he found that Lazarust had been in the tomb four days already.ts18 (Now Bethany was less than two milest from Jerusalem,s19 so many of the Jewish people of the regiont had come to Martha and Mary to console themt over the loss of their brother.)ts20 So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary was sitting in the house.s21 Marthat said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.

22 But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will grantt you.”s
23 Jesus replied,t “Your brother will come back to life again.”ts24 Martha said,t “I know that he will come back to life againt in the resurrection at the last day.”25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will livet even if he dies,26 and the one who lives and believes in me will never die.t Do you believe this?”

27 She replied,t “Yes, Lord, I believet that you are the Christ,ts the Son of God who comes into the world.”t
28 And when she had said this, Marthat went and called her sister Mary, saying privately,t “The Teacher is here and is asking for you.”t29 So when Maryt heard this, she got up quickly and went to him.30 (Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still in the place where Martha had come out to meet him.)

31 Then the peoplet who were with Maryt in the house consoling her saw hert get up quickly and go out. They followed her, because they thought she was going to the tomb to weept there.
32 Now when Mary came to the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the peoplet who had come with her weeping, he was intensely movedt in spirit and greatly distressed.t34 He asked,t “Where have you laid him?”t They replied,t “Lord, come and see.”35 Jesus wept.s36 Thus the people who had come to mournt said, “Look how much he loved him!”

37 But some of them said, “This is the man who caused the blind man to see!t Couldn’t he have done something to keep Lazarust from dying?”

Lazarus Raised from the Dead

38 Jesus, intensely movedt again, came to the tomb. (Now it was a cave, and a stone was placed across it.)s39 Jesus said, “Take away the stone.”t Martha, the sister of the deceased,t replied, “Lord, by this time the body will have a bad smell,t because he has been buriedt four days.”s40 Jesus responded,t “Didn’t I tell you that if you believe, you would see the glory of God?”41 So they took awayt the stone. Jesus looked upwardt and said, “Father, I thank you that you have listened to me.t42 I knew that you always listen to me,t but I said thist for the sake of the crowd standing around here, that they may believe that you sent me.”43 Whent he had said this, he shouted in a loud voice,s “Lazarus, come out!”

44 The one who had died came out, his feet and hands tied up with strips of cloth,s and a cloth wrapped around his face.t Jesus said to them, “Unwrap himt and let him go.”

The Response of the Jewish Leaders

45 Then many of the people,t who had come with Mary and had seen the things Jesust did, believed in him.46 But some of them went to the Phariseess and reported to themt what Jesus had done.47 So the chief priests and the Phariseest called the councilt together and said, “What are we doing? For this man is performing many miraculous signs.

48 If we allow him to go on in this way,t everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away our sanctuaryt and our nation.”
49 Then one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said,t “You know nothing at all!50 You do not realizet that it is more to your advantage to have one mant die for the people than for the whole nation to perish.”s51 (Now he did not say this on his own,t but because he was high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the Jewish nation,t52 and not for the Jewish nationt only,s but to gather togethert into one the children of God who are scattered.)s

53 So from that day they planned together to kill him.
54 Thus Jesus no longer wentt around publiclyt among the Judeans,t but went away from there to the region near the wilderness, to a town called Ephraim,t and stayed there with his disciples.55 Now the Jewish feast of Passovert was near, and many people went up to Jerusalems from the rural areas before the Passover to cleanse themselves ritually.t56 Thus they were looking for Jesus,t and saying to one another as they stood in the temple courts,t “What do you think? That he won’t come to the feast?”

57 (Now the chief priests and the Phariseest had given orders that anyone who knew where Jesust was should report it, so that they could arrestt him.)s