Signs of the End of the Age

⁵Some of his disciples were remarking about how the temple was adorned with beautiful stones and with gifts dedicated to God. But Jesus said, ⁶“As for what you see here, the time will come when not one stone will be left on another;^† every one of them will be thrown down.”

⁷“Teacher,” they asked, “when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are about to take place?”

⁸He replied: “Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ Do not follow them.^{† 9}When you hear of wars and revolutions, do not be frightened. These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away.”

¹⁰Then he said to them: “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.^{† 11}There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven.^†

¹²“But before all this, they will lay hands on you and persecute you. They will deliver you to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors, and all on account of my name. ¹³This will result in your being witnesses to them.^{† 14}But make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves.^{† 15}For I will give you^† words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict. ¹⁶You will be betrayed even by parents, brothers, relatives and friends,^† and they will put some of you to death. ¹⁷All men will hate you because of me.^{† 18}But not a hair of your head will perish.^{† 19}By standing firm you will gain life.^†

²⁰“When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies,^† you will know that its desolation is near. ²¹Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those in the city get out, and let those in the country not enter the city.^{† 22}For this is the time of punishment^† in fulfillment^† of all that has been written. ²³How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! There will be great distress in the land and wrath against this people. ²⁴They will fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled^† on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

²⁵“There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea.^{† 26}Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken.^{† 27}At that time they will see the Son of Man^† coming in a cloud^† with power and great glory. ²⁸When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”^†

²⁹He told them this parable: “Look at the fig tree and all the trees. ³⁰When they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is near. ³¹Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God^† is near.

³²“I tell you the truth, this generation^{[83] †} will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. ³³Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.^†

³⁴“Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life,^† and that day will close on you unexpectedly^† like a trap. ³⁵For it will come upon all those who live on the face of the whole earth. ³⁶Be always on the watch, and pray^† that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.”

³⁷Each day Jesus was teaching at the temple,^† and each evening he went out^† to spend the night on the hill called the Mount of Olives,^{† 38}and all the people came early in the morning to hear him at the temple.^†

Luke 22

Judas Agrees to Betray Jesus

¹Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread, called the Passover, was approaching,^{† 2}and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were looking for some way to get rid of Jesus,^† for they were afraid of the people. ³Then Satan^† entered Judas, called Iscariot,^† one of the Twelve. ⁴And Judas went to the chief priests and the officers of the temple guard^† and discussed with them how he might betray Jesus. ⁵They were delighted and agreed to give him money.^{† 6}He consented, and watched for an opportunity to hand Jesus over to them when no crowd was present.

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The “Benefactor”

Luke 22 In Luke 22:25 Jesus spoke of how Gentile rulers loved to call themselves “benefactors.” The Greek word for “benefactor” is euergetes, and classical scholars speak of “euergetism,” a social phenomenon of the Greco-Roman world in which rulers and wealthy people would gain a reputation for themselves as philanthropists on behalf of the people through acts of public generosity. This became extremely important during the Roman Republic, when senators struggled for success in the cursus honorum (“the path of honors”), the career track that took a citizen through various public offices to the height of Roman power, the rank of consul. In order to win popularity and votes, a senator would sponsor public games and spectacles, build parks and temples and perform other works of public service. Julius Caesar, for example, was lavish in his public beneficence during his rise to power. Roman rulers would also gain the support of the provinces by sponsoring public improvements around the Roman world. The Mediterranean region contains thousands of inscriptions commemorating the public generosity of such individuals.

Jesus’ use of the word “benefactor” was obviously intended as irony—and for good reason. Although there are examples of real generosity from such donors, the practice was often inspired by political self-interest or financed by ruthless taxation of the provinces or other corrupt practices.¹ In addition, such benefactors often demanded the submission of those whom they had allegedly helped.

1. See “Roman Taxation.”

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The Last Supper

⁷Then came the day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed.^{† 8}Jesus sent Peter and John,^† saying, “Go and make preparations for us to eat the Passover.”

⁹“Where do you want us to prepare for it?” they asked.

¹⁰He replied, “As you enter the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him to the house that he enters, ¹¹and say to the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ ¹²He will show you a large upper room, all furnished. Make preparations there.”

¹³They left and found things just as Jesus had told them.^† So they prepared the Passover.

¹⁴When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles^† reclined at the table.^{† 15}And he said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.^{† 16}For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God.”^†

¹⁷After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, “Take this and divide it among you. ¹⁸For I tell you I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”

¹⁹And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it,^† and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.”

²⁰In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant^† in my blood, which is poured out for you. ²¹But the hand of him who is going to betray me is with mine on the table.^{† 22}The Son of Man^† will go as it has been decreed,^† but woe to that man who betrays him.” ²³They began to question among themselves which of them it might be who would do this.

²⁴Also a dispute arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest.^{† 25}Jesus said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. ²⁶But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest,^† and the one who rules like the one who serves.^{† 27}For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves.^{† 28}You are those who have stood by me in my trials. ²⁹And I confer on you a kingdom,^† just as my Father conferred one on me, ³⁰so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom^† and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.^†

³¹“Simon, Simon, Satan has asked^† to sift you^[84] as wheat.^{† 32}But I have prayed for you,^† Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”^†

³³But he replied, “Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death.”^†

³⁴Jesus answered, “I tell you, Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me.”

³⁵Then Jesus asked them, “When I sent you without purse, bag or sandals,^† did you lack anything?”

“Nothing,” they answered.

³⁶He said to them, “But now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and if you don’t have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one. ³⁷It is written: ‘And he was numbered with the transgressors’^[85];^† and I tell you that this must be fulfilled in me. Yes, what is written about me is reaching its fulfillment.”

³⁸The disciples said, “See, Lord, here are two swords.”

“That is enough,” he replied.

Jesus Prays on the Mount of Olives

³⁹Jesus went out as usual^† to the Mount of Olives,^† and his disciples followed him. ⁴⁰On reaching the place, he said to them, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.”^{† 41}He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down^† and prayed, ⁴²“Father, if you are willing, take this cup^† from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”^{† 43}An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him.^{† 44}And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.^[86]

⁴⁵When he rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, he found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow. ⁴⁶“Why are you sleeping?” he asked them. “Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.”^†

Jesus Arrested

⁴⁷While he was still speaking a crowd came up, and the man who was called Judas, one of the Twelve, was leading them. He approached Jesus to kiss him, ⁴⁸but Jesus asked him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?”

⁴⁹When Jesus’ followers saw what was going to happen, they said, “Lord, should we strike with our swords?”^{† 50}And one of them struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his right ear.

⁵¹But Jesus answered, “No more of this!” And he touched the man’s ear and healed him.

⁵²Then Jesus said to the chief priests, the officers of the temple guard,^† and the elders, who had come for him, “Am I leading a rebellion, that you have come with swords and clubs? ⁵³Every day I was with you in the temple courts,^† and you did not lay a hand on me. But this is your hour^†—when darkness reigns.”^†

Peter Disowns Jesus

⁵⁴Then seizing him, they led him away and took him into the house of the high priest.^† Peter followed at a distance.^{† 55}But when they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and had sat down together, Peter sat down with them. ⁵⁶A servant girl saw him seated there in the firelight. She looked closely at him and said, “This man was with him.”

⁵⁷But he denied it. “Woman, I don’t know him,” he said.

⁵⁸A little later someone else saw him and said, “You also are one of them.”

“Man, I am not!” Peter replied.

⁵⁹About an hour later another asserted, “Certainly this fellow was with him, for he is a Galilean.”^†

⁶⁰Peter replied, “Man, I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Just as he was speaking, the rooster crowed. ⁶¹The Lord^† turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times.”^{† 62}And he went outside and wept bitterly.

The Guards Mock Jesus

⁶³The men who were guarding Jesus began mocking and beating him. ⁶⁴They blindfolded him and demanded, “Prophesy! Who hit you?” ⁶⁵And they said many other insulting things to him.^†

Jesus Before Pilate and Herod

⁶⁶At daybreak the council^† of the elders of the people, both the chief priests and teachers of the law, met together,^† and Jesus was led before them. ⁶⁷“If you are the Christ,^[87] ” they said, “tell us.”

Jesus answered, “If I tell you, you will not believe me, ⁶⁸and if I asked you, you would not answer.^{† 69}But from now on, the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the mighty God.”^†

⁷⁰They all asked, “Are you then the Son of God?”^†

He replied, “You are right in saying I am.”^†

⁷¹Then they said, “Why do we need any more testimony? We have heard it from his own lips.”

Luke 23

¹Then the whole assembly rose and led him off to Pilate.^{† 2}And they began to accuse him, saying, “We have found this man subverting our nation.^† He opposes payment of taxes to Caesar^† and claims to be Christ,^[88] a king.”^†

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Pontius Pilate

Luke 23 Pilate was the Roman governor of Judea from A.D. 26 to 36.¹ Ruling from Caesarea on the Mediterranean coast, he was primarily responsible for maintaining the peace and collecting taxes.² A number of artifacts remain from Pilate’s governance of Judea:

• In 1961 an inscription bearing Pilate’s name was found during excavation of the theater at Caesarea.³ The surviving portion reads, “Tiberium [of the Caesareans?], Pontius Pilate, Prefect of Judea, [ … has given … ].” The inscription was most likely part of a building called a Tiberium, possibly a temple, dedicated to the emperor Tiberius. While the Tiberium fell into disuse, the stone bearing the inscription was used, ironically, to repair a stairway during a fourth-century remodeling of a theater built by Herod the Great.⁴ It was in the stairwell that the Italian excavators discovered the inscription.

• Pilate built an aqueduct to bring water into Jerusalem from south of the city. Remnants of this structure can still be seen in Bethlehem.⁵

• A number of coins struck during Pilate’s tenure have survived. As with coins of other Roman governors, they do not bear Pilate’s name but instead carry the names Tiberius Caesar and Empress Julia. Pilate’s coins incorporated symbols that would have offended the Jews. One was the littus, or augur’s wand (augury or divination was forbidden by Mosaic Law; e.g., Dt 18:9–14). The other was the simpulum, a small ladle with a high handle used to make libations during sacrifices, a common symbol of the Roman priesthood.⁶

The name “Pilatus” (Pilate) in a replica of the Pilate inscription found at Caesarea

Photograph courtesy of © Dr. Gary Pratico

The trial of Jesus was probably carried out at Herod’s palace, the Praetorium (Mt 27:27; Mk 15:16; Jn 18:28, 33; 19:9), portions of which have been excavated. The only mention of Pilate in the New Testament apart from the trial of Jesus is in Luke 13:1. There Jesus was told about “the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices,” evidently a reference to an incident in which a number of Galileans were killed while offering sacrifices at the temple. This accords well with what we read about Pilate in the works of the ancient Jewish writers Josephus and Philo, who portrayed him as cruel and corrupt. Pilate was recalled to Rome after having massacred a group of Samaritans.

1. See “The Roman Governor.”

2. See “Roman Taxation.”

3. See “Caesarea Maritima.”

4. See “Herod the Great.”

5. See “The Birthplace of Jesus.”

6. See “Coins and Numismatics.”

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³So Pilate asked Jesus, “Are you the king of the Jews?”

“Yes, it is as you say,” Jesus replied.

⁴Then Pilate announced to the chief priests and the crowd, “I find no basis for a charge against this man.”^†

⁵But they insisted, “He stirs up the people all over Judea^[89] by his teaching. He started in Galilee^† and has come all the way here.”

⁶On hearing this, Pilate asked if the man was a Galilean.^{† 7}When he learned that Jesus was under Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod,^† who was also in Jerusalem at that time.

⁸When Herod saw Jesus, he was greatly pleased, because for a long time he had been wanting to see him.^† From what he had heard about him, he hoped to see him perform some miracle. ⁹He plied him with many questions, but Jesus gave him no answer.^{† 10}The chief priests and the teachers of the law were standing there, vehemently accusing him. ¹¹Then Herod and his soldiers ridiculed and mocked him. Dressing him in an elegant robe,^† they sent him back to Pilate. ¹²That day Herod and Pilate became friends^†—before this they had been enemies.

¹³Pilate called together the chief priests, the rulers and the people, ¹⁴and said to them, “You brought me this man as one who was inciting the people to rebellion. I have examined him in your presence and have found no basis for your charges against him.^{† 15}Neither has Herod, for he sent him back to us; as you can see, he has done nothing to deserve death. ¹⁶Therefore, I will punish him^† and then release him.^[90] ”

¹⁸With one voice they cried out, “Away with this man! Release Barabbas to us!”^{† 19}(Barabbas had been thrown into prison for an insurrection in the city, and for murder.)

²⁰Wanting to release Jesus, Pilate appealed to them again. ²¹But they kept shouting, “Crucify him! Crucify him!”

²²For the third time he spoke to them: “Why? What crime has this man committed? I have found in him no grounds for the death penalty. Therefore I will have him punished and then release him.”^†

²³But with loud shouts they insistently demanded that he be crucified, and their shouts prevailed. ²⁴So Pilate decided to grant their demand. ²⁵He released the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, the one they asked for, and surrendered Jesus to their will.

The Crucifixion

²⁶As they led him away, they seized Simon from Cyrene,^† who was on his way in from the country, and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus.^{† 27}A large number of people followed him, including women who mourned and wailed^† for him. ²⁸Jesus turned and said to them, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children.^{† 29}For the time will come when you will say, ‘Blessed are the barren women, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’^{† 30}Then

“ ‘they will say to the mountains, “Fall on us!”

and to the hills, “Cover us!” ’^{[91] †}

³¹For if men do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?”^†

³²Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed.^{† 33}When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified him, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. ³⁴Jesus said, “Father,^† forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”^{[92] †} And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.^†

³⁵The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him.^† They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One.”^†

³⁶The soldiers also came up and mocked him.^† They offered him wine vinegar^{† 37}and said, “If you are the king of the Jews,^† save yourself.”

³⁸There was a written notice above him, which read: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.^†

³⁹One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!”^†

⁴⁰But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? ⁴¹We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”^†

⁴²Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.^[93] ”^†

⁴³Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”^†

Jesus’ Death

⁴⁴It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour,^{† 45}for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple^† was torn in two.^{† 46}Jesus called out with a loud voice,^† “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.”^† When he had said this, he breathed his last.^†

⁴⁷The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God^† and said, “Surely this was a righteous man.” ⁴⁸When all the people who had gathered to witness this sight saw what took place, they beat their breasts^† and went away. ⁴⁹But all those who knew him, including the women who had followed him from Galilee,^† stood at a distance,^† watching these things.

Jesus’ Burial

⁵⁰Now there was a man named Joseph, a member of the Council, a good and upright man, ⁵¹who had not consented to their decision and action. He came from the Judean town of Arimathea and he was waiting for the kingdom of God.^{† 52}Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body. ⁵³Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen cloth and placed it in a tomb cut in the rock, one in which no one had yet been laid. ⁵⁴It was Preparation Day,^† and the Sabbath was about to begin.

⁵⁵The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee^† followed Joseph and saw the tomb and how his body was laid in it. ⁵⁶Then they went home and prepared spices and perfumes.^† But they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment.^†

Luke 24

The Resurrection

¹On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared^† and went to the tomb. ²They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, ³but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.^{† 4}While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning^† stood beside them. ⁵In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? ⁶He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee:^{† 7}‘The Son of Man^† must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ ”^{† 8}Then they remembered his words.^†

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Emmaus

Luke 24 The problem of uncertainty over the location of Emmaus is compounded by a textual difficulty in Luke 24:13 that reads “60 stadia” in some Greek manuscripts but “160 stadia” in others (a stadium was 625 Roman ft, or about 190 m). Thus, 60 stadia was about 7 miles (12 km), while 160 stadia was roughly 18.4 miles (29.7 km). The reading of “60 stadia” in verse 13 is almost certainly correct and is the rendering adopted by all modern versions. Patristic readers (church fathers), however, preferred “160 stadia” and located Emmaus at Emmaus-Nicopolis (modern Khirbet Imwas), about 20 miles (32 km) west of Jerusalem. But Luke 24 indicates that the disciples walked with Jesus from Jerusalem to Emmaus, had a midday meal and then returned to Jerusalem that same afternoon. If Emmaus were Emmaus-Nicopolis, this would have been a 40-mile (64.5 km) trek within a single day!

Adopting the figure of 60 stadia, a good candidate for the location of Emmaus is el-Qubeibeh, located about 7 miles (11.3 km) northwest of Jerusalem. The crusaders favored this site, and the remains of a first-century village have been excavated there. There is no scholarly consensus, however, and the actual location of Emmaus remains open to question. A proposed site is indicated on “Map 9.”

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⁹When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. ¹⁰It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them^† who told this to the apostles.^{† 11}But they did not believe^† the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense. ¹²Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves,^† and he went away,^† wondering to himself what had happened.

On the Road to Emmaus

¹³Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles^[94] from Jerusalem.^{† 14}They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. ¹⁵As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them;^{† 16}but they were kept from recognizing him.^†

¹⁷He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?”

They stood still, their faces downcast. ¹⁸One of them, named Cleopas,^† asked him, “Are you only a visitor to Jerusalem and do not know the things that have happened there in these days?”

¹⁹“What things?” he asked.

“About Jesus of Nazareth,”^† they replied. “He was a prophet,^† powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. ²⁰The chief priests and our rulers^† handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; ²¹but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel.^† And what is more, it is the third day^† since all this took place. ²²In addition, some of our women amazed us.^† They went to the tomb early this morning ²³but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. ²⁴Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see.”^†

²⁵He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! ²⁶Did not the Christ^[95] have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?”^{† 27}And beginning with Moses^† and all the Prophets,^† he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.^†

²⁸As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus acted as if he were going farther. ²⁹But they urged him strongly, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them.

³⁰When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it^† and began to give it to them. ³¹Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him,^† and he disappeared from their sight. ³²They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us^† while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures^† to us?”

³³They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together ³⁴and saying, “It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.”^{† 35}Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread.^†

Jesus Appears to the Disciples

³⁶While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”^†

³⁷They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost.^{† 38}He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? ³⁹Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see;^† a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.”

⁴⁰When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. ⁴¹And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” ⁴²They gave him a piece of broiled fish, ⁴³and he took it and ate it in their presence.^†

⁴⁴He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you:^† Everything must be fulfilled^† that is written about me in the Law of Moses,^† the Prophets and the Psalms.”^†

⁴⁵Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. ⁴⁶He told them, “This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, ⁴⁷and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name^† to all nations,^† beginning at Jerusalem. ⁴⁸You are witnesses^† of these things. ⁴⁹I am going to send you what my Father has promised;^† but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”

The Ascension

⁵⁰When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany,^† he lifted up his hands and blessed them. ⁵¹While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven.^{† 52}Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. ⁵³And they stayed continually at the temple,^† praising God.

JOHN

Author, Place and Date of Writing

The author of this book claimed to have been a disciple of Jesus and a trustworthy witness of the things he described (21:24). Most readers take for granted his identification with the “disciple whom Jesus loved” (21:20), an epithet applied to John, son of Zebedee, since the earliest traditions of the church.

John’s Gospel is usually dated very late—toward the end of the first century—but there are reasons for believing that it was actually written much earlier. The John Rylands Papyrus (p⁵²) suggests that John was already in wide circulation during the second century A.D. (see “John Rylands papyrus [p⁵²]”). Some have even proposed a date prior to the destruction of the temple in A.D. 70 (see further discussion in “Cultural Facts and Highlights,” below). It has been suggested that John may have written from Ephesus.

Audience

The Gospel of John was written to non-Jewish believers and to questioning unbelievers struggling with popular Greek philosophies claiming that Jesus was divine but not truly human (see “The Gnostics and Their Scriptures”). John expressed his primary purpose for writing in 20:31: “that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.”

Cultural Facts and Highlights

Those who advocate an early date for John’s Gospel see no implication anywhere in the book that Jerusalem and the temple had already been destroyed. In fact, John’s presentation of Jesus’ cleansing of the temple, and his claim that Jesus’ body is the true temple (ch. 2), would have been surprising had that edifice already been destroyed. On the contrary, nothing would have served as better vindication of Jesus’ condemnation of the corruption at the temple and of his claim to have supplanted it in his own person. More than that, at 2:21, immediately after having reported that Jesus spoke of the destruction of “this temple,” John, had he been writing after A.D. 70, would have ignored a perfect opportunity to point to the desolation of the Jerusalem temple when he instead clarified that Jesus was speaking of his own body.

Timeline

As You Read

Look for “signs” in John’s Gospel that point to Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of God. Note the various audiences Jesus addressed in this Gospel. To whom was he speaking at any given point? How did he interact with them? Did his style change based upon his audience?

Did You Know?

• Jewish religious teachers rarely spoke with women in public (4:27).
• Many Jews believed that the soul remained near the body for three days after death in the hope of returning to it (11:17).
• Jewish custom provided for three days of very heavy mourning, then four of heavy mourning, followed by lighter mourning for the remainder of thirty days (11:19).
• “God-fearers” were attracted to Judaism by its monotheism and morality but repelled by its nationalism and requirements such as circumcision. They worshiped in the synagogues but did not become proselytes/converts (12:20).

Themes

John’s Gospel includes the following themes:

1. Jesus is God. John identified Jesus as the Word who was with God in the beginning (1:1–2), the One who “came from the Father” (1:14) to make him known (1:18). Jesus is “equal with God” (5:18) and identified himself as God (8:58; 9:35–37; 10:36; 14:9).
2. Jesus is the Messiah. The miracles recorded in John function primarily as “signs” pointing to Jesus’ Messianic identity—signs of God’s presence in Jesus’ works and words, each calling for a commitment: Who indeed is this Jesus?
3. Choose belief or unbelief. Jesus’ miracles fostered belief in some (2:11; 9:1–39; 11:1–45) but only hardened the opposition of others (11:46–57). We commonly assert that “seeing is believing,” but in John believing is seeing.

Outline

I. Prologue (1:1–18)

II. Beginnings of Jesus’ Ministry (1:19–51)

III. Jesus’ Ministry (2–11)

IV. The Passion Week (12–19)

A. The Anointing of Jesus’ Feet by Mary (12:1–11)

B. The Triumphal Entry (12:12–19)

C. The Greeks Seek Jesus (12:20–36)

D. Rejection by the Jews (12:37–50)

E. Farewell Discourses (13–17)

F. Jesus’ Betrayal, Arrest and Trial (18:1–19:15)

G. The Crucifixion and Burial (19:16–42)

V. The Resurrection (20:1–29)

VI. Statement of Purpose (20:30–31)

VII. Epilogue (21)

John 1

The Word Became Flesh

¹In the beginning was the Word,^† and the Word was with God,^† and the Word was God.^{† 2}He was with God in the beginning.^†

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Ancient Voices

The Logos (speech, reason) is designed to distinguish the beneficial from the harmful, and thus also the right and the wrong. For this, in distinction from the other animals, is the distinctive property of man: that he alone has the ability to perceive good and bad and right and wrong and the other qualities. And it is communication of these things that makes a household and a city-state.

—Aristotle on the Logos

From Aristotle, Politics, 1253a, trans. by Duane Garrett

See “The Logos in Greek and Jewish Literature” article.

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The Logos in Greek and Jewish Literature

John 1 John’s theology of the Word (Greek logos) is rooted in the Old Testament but also addresses pressing philosophical concerns in the Greek world. The phrase “In the beginning was the Word” (Jn 1:1) obviously echoes Genesis 1, which records that God created simply by speaking (e.g., “Let there be light” in v. 3). That is, God created by means of his word. There can be little doubt that this is the primary background to the use of logos in John 1: God’s word brought the universe into orderly existence. The Jewish Targums¹ echo this understanding of the divine Word. They frequently employ the term memra (derived from the Aramaic word for “speak”) to describe God’s creative activity, and this may have contributed to the language we find in John 1.

The word logos, however, also had a rich tradition in Greek thought. While logos can be a very general term, meaning simply “word, account, explanation or thing,” the philosopher Heraclitus (c. 535–475 B.C.) used it in the sense of an ordering principle for the universe. Thus, the logos is the divine logic that gives order to the universe. Heraclitus appears to have associated it with fire and to have linked it with reason within human beings. This sense of logos was most fully developed by the Stoics, who taught that the universe was permeated with the logos that gave order and rationality to all things. In late Stoicism this logos could be equated with pneuma, “spirit,” a kind of compound of fire and air, permeated by reason. There was a logos within each individual person (i.e., human reason) and a logos that pervaded the universe (i.e., the rationality that governs the world). By extension, the logos within human beings enabled them to move in harmony with the logos of the universe. Those who were governed by passions and emotions, however, were thought to have turned away from the universal logos and to have become bestial in their behavior. This concept provided the basis for the Stoic ethical system.²

What did John mean by describing Jesus as the logos? As noted above, the link to Genesis 1 is central; the logos is the one by whom “all things were made” (v. 3)—that is, Christ. But there may be a secondary application of the term that would speak to the educated Greek reader. Christ in his person is the Logos. The truth, the guiding principle of the universe and of the soul of every person, is not a mere abstraction of theoretical “rationality,” but a person. By this person, the Logos, the individual may attain harmony with God and his creation.

1. See Glossary for definitions of bolded words.

2. See “Greek Philosophical Schools.”

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³Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.^{† 4}In him was life,^† and that life was the light^† of men. ⁵The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood^[1] it.^†

⁶There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John.^{† 7}He came as a witness to testify^† concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe.^{† 8}He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. ⁹The true light^† that gives light to every man^† was coming into the world.^[2]

¹⁰He was in the world, and though the world was made through him,^† the world did not recognize him. ¹¹He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. ¹²Yet to all who received him, to those who believed^† in his name,^† he gave the right to become children of God^†— ¹³children born not of natural descent,^[3] nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.^†

¹⁴The Word became flesh^† and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only,^[4] who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.^†

¹⁵John testifies^† concerning him. He cries out, saying, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ ”^{† 16}From the fullness^† of his grace we have all received one blessing after another. ¹⁷For the law was given through Moses;^† grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.^{† 18}No one has ever seen God,^† but God the One and Only,^{[5],[6] †} who is at the Father’s side, has made him known.

John the Baptist Denies Being the Christ

¹⁹Now this was John’s testimony when the Jews^† of Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. ²⁰He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Christ.^[7] ”^†

²¹They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?”^†

He said, “I am not.”

“Are you the Prophet?”^†

He answered, “No.”

²²Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself? ”

²³John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the desert,^† ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’ ”^{[8] †}

²⁴Now some Pharisees who had been sent ²⁵questioned him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”

²⁶“I baptize with^[9] water,” John replied, “but among you stands one you do not know. ²⁷He is the one who comes after me,^† the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.”

²⁸This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan,^† where John was baptizing.

Jesus the Lamb of God

²⁹The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God,^† who takes away the sin of the world! ³⁰This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’^{† 31}I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.”

³²Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him.^{† 33}I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptize with water^† told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’^{† 34}I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God.”^†

Jesus’ First Disciples

³⁵The next day John^† was there again with two of his disciples. ³⁶When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!”^†

³⁷When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. ³⁸Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?”

They said, “Rabbi”^† (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?”

³⁹“Come,” he replied, “and you will see.”

So they went and saw where he was staying, and spent that day with him. It was about the tenth hour.

⁴⁰Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. ⁴¹The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ).^{† 42}And he brought him to Jesus.

Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called^† Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peter^[10]).^†

Jesus Calls Philip and Nathanael

⁴³The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip,^† he said to him, “Follow me.”^†

⁴⁴Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida.^{† 45}Philip found Nathanael^† and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law,^† and about whom the prophets also wrote^†—Jesus of Nazareth,^† the son of Joseph.”^†

⁴⁶“Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?”^† Nathanael asked.

“Come and see,” said Philip.

⁴⁷When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here is a true Israelite,^† in whom there is nothing false.”^†

⁴⁸“How do you know me?” Nathanael asked.

Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.”

⁴⁹Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi,^† you are the Son of God;^† you are the King of Israel.”^†

⁵⁰Jesus said, “You believe^[11] because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You shall see greater things than that.” ⁵¹He then added, “I tell you^[12] the truth, you^[13] shall see heaven open,^† and the angels of God ascending and descending^† on the Son of Man.”^†

John 2

Jesus Changes Water to Wine

¹On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee.^† Jesus’ mother^† was there, ²and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. ³When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.”

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Cana of Galilee

John 2 John is the only New Testament writer who mentioned Cana of Galilee, and he only hinted at its location. The fact that Jesus’ family had friends or relatives and were able to attend a wedding there suggests that Cana was not too far from Nazareth.¹ In addition, John 4:46–John 4:54 implies that the trip from Cana to Capernaum required somewhat more than a half-day’s journey.²

Christian pilgrims have long associated Cana with the village of Kefr Kenna, located about 4 miles (6.5 km) northeast of Nazareth (see “Map 9”). This is probably incorrect, notwithstanding the presence there of churches claiming to preserve the tradition of the miracle at the wedding. Today most scholars agree that Khirbet Qana, located about 9 miles (14.5 km) north of Nazareth and just north of the Beit Netofa Valley, is the more likely candidate (although both Kefr Kenna and Khirbet Qana meet the requirements of John’s Gospel).

Stone storage vessels

Preserving Bible Times; © Dr. James C. Martin; permission of The Israel Museum

Excavation at Khirbet Qana began in 1998. Remains have been found from the Neolithic period through to the modern period, but most physical evidence (pottery, coins and housing remains) dates from the Roman through the Byzantine periods. Remains of what could have been a first-century synagogue (although this has not yet been firmly established) have also been found, along with a miqveh (a pool for Jewish ritual cleansing). Cisterns held water for the village since there appears to have been no aqueduct.³ John 2:6 mentions that water was stored in large stone jars. Archaeology is not likely to provide decisive proof that Khirbet Qana was Cana of Galilee, but even the prospect of uncovering artifacts there that existed when Jesus worked his first miracle is profoundly exciting.

1. See “Nazareth.”

2. See “Capernaum.”

3. See “Wells, Cisterns and Aqueducts in the Ancient World.”

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⁴“Dear woman,^† why do you involve me?”^† Jesus replied. “My time^† has not yet come.”

⁵His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”^†

⁶Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing,^† each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.^[14]

⁷Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim.

⁸Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.”

They did so, ⁹and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine.^† He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside ¹⁰and said, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.”

¹¹This, the first of his miraculous signs,^† Jesus performed at Cana in Galilee. He thus revealed his glory,^† and his disciples put their faith in him.^†

Jesus Clears the Temple

¹²After this he went down to Capernaum^† with his mother and brothers^† and his disciples. There they stayed for a few days.

¹³When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover,^† Jesus went up to Jerusalem.^{† 14}In the temple courts he found men selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. ¹⁵So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple area, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. ¹⁶To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! How dare you turn my Father’s house^† into a market!”

¹⁷His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for your house will consume me.”^{[15] †}

¹⁸Then the Jews demanded of him, “What miraculous sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?”^†

¹⁹Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.”^†

²⁰The Jews replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?” ²¹But the temple he had spoken of was his body.^{† 22}After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said.^† Then they believed the Scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken.

²³Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast,^† many people saw the miraculous signs he was doing and believed in his name.^{[16] 24}But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all men. ²⁵He did not need man’s testimony about man, for he knew what was in a man.^†

John 3

Jesus Teaches Nicodemus

¹Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus,^† a member of the Jewish ruling council.^{† 2}He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs^† you are doing if God were not with him.”^†

³In reply Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.^[17] ”^†

⁴“How can a man be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born!”

⁵Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.^{† 6}Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit^[18] gives birth to spirit.^{† 7}You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You^[19] must be born again.’ ⁸The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

⁹“How can this be?”^† Nicodemus asked.

¹⁰“You are Israel’s teacher,”^† said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things? ¹¹I tell you the truth, we speak of what we know,^† and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony.^{† 12}I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? ¹³No one has ever gone into heaven^† except the one who came from heaven^†—the Son of Man.^{[20] 14}Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert,^† so the Son of Man must be lifted up,^{† 15}that everyone who believes^† in him may have eternal life.^[21]

¹⁶“For God so loved^† the world that he gave his one and only Son,^[22] that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.^{† 17}For God did not send his Son into the world^† to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.^{† 18}Whoever believes in him is not condemned,^† but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.^{[23] † 19}This is the verdict: Light^† has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. ²⁰Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.^{† 21}But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.”^[24]

John the Baptist’s Testimony About Jesus

²²After this, Jesus and his disciples went out into the Judean countryside, where he spent some time with them, and baptized.^{† 23}Now John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water, and people were constantly coming to be baptized. ²⁴(This was before John was put in prison.)^{† 25}An argument developed between some of John’s disciples and a certain Jew^[25] over the matter of ceremonial washing.^{† 26}They came to John and said to him, “Rabbi,^† that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan—the one you testified^† about—well, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him.”

²⁷To this John replied, “A man can receive only what is given him from heaven. ²⁸You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Christ^[26] but am sent ahead of him.’^{† 29}The bride belongs to the bridegroom.^† The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete.^{† 30}He must become greater; I must become less.

³¹“The one who comes from above^† is above all; the one who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks as one from the earth.^† The one who comes from heaven is above all. ³²He testifies to what he has seen and heard,^† but no one accepts his testimony.^{† 33}The man who has accepted it has certified that God is truthful. ³⁴For the one whom God has sent^† speaks the words of God, for God^[27] gives the Spirit^† without limit. ³⁵The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands.^{† 36}Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life,^† but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.”^[28]

John 4

Jesus Talks With a Samaritan Woman

¹The Pharisees heard that Jesus was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John,^{† 2}although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples. ³When the Lord learned of this, he left Judea^† and went back once more to Galilee.

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The Samaritan Temple on Mount Gerizim

John 4 The rift between the Samaritans and the Judeans dates from an early period.¹ According to 2 Kings 17 the Samaritans were the descendants of Mesopotamian peoples who were forcibly settled in the lands of northern Israel by the king of Assyria in the wake of the exile of 722 B.C.² They combined the worship of Yahweh with idolatrous practices. The construction of a Samaritan temple to Yahweh on Mount Gerizim and the establishment of a rival, hereditary priesthood dates from the fourth century B.C. Josephus reported that the high priest Manasseh was threatened with expulsion from Jerusalem on account of his foreign wife, Nikaso, the daughter of the Samaritan Sanballat. Sanballat in turn promised to preserve the priesthood for Manasseh, to appoint him as governor over his lands and to build a temple similar to that in Jerusalem on Mount Gerizim, provided Manasseh would remain with his daughter (Josephus, Antiquities, 11.8.2).

The Samaritans, however, viewed themselves as the faithful descendants of Israel and saw the Judeans as apostate. They accepted only the Pentateuch as Scripture; in their version Mount Gerizim is described as the chosen place for the sanctuary (Dt 11:29–30; cf. Jn 4:20).

The history of the temple site at Mount Gerizim is full of turmoil:

• From the time of the building of the Samaritan temple (often dated to 388 B.C.), Samaria functioned as a temple-state under the leadership of its own priestly aristocracy.

• During a period of Greek domination, the Samaritan temple was renamed as the temple of Zeus, the Friend of Strangers (2Mc 6:2).³

• After the Maccabean success the Samaritan temple was attacked and destroyed by the Hasmonean priest-king John Hyrcanus in 128 B.C. (Antiquities, 13). This act sealed a permanent rift between the two communities and to a large extent underlies the hostility between Jews and Samaritans reflected in the New Testament (v. 9).

• Emperor Hadrian built another temple to Zeus there (second century A.D.).

• The Christian emperor Justinian constructed a church on this spot (sixth century), which was later destroyed by Arabs (seventh century).

Archaeologists have uncovered remains from Justinian’s church, Hadrian’s temple and the temple John Hyrcanus destroyed. The words of the woman at the well reflect Samaritan devotion to this site.

The Samaritans, like the Jews, expected a Messiah to come. They revered Moses as the true prophet and, based upon Deuteronomy 18, cherished hopes that a prophet like Moses would one day restore both themselves and their sanctuary. They described this Messianic figure as the Restorer. A Samaritan document called the Memar Marqah, though written in the fourth century A.D., contains earlier Samaritan traditions. It states, “Let the Restorer come safely and sacrifice a true offering. The Restorer will come in peace and reveal the truth and will purify the world and establish the heads of the people as they once were” (Memar Marqah, 2:33, 70,180). The Samaritan woman reflected this expectation when she declared, “I know that Messiah … is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us” (v. 25). Jesus’ reply was, as was frequently the case, understated: “I who speak to you am he” (v. 26).

1. See “The Samaritans.”

2. See “Hoshea, King of Israel, and Shalmaneser V, King of Assyria.”

3. Second Maccabees is an Apocryphal book.

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⁴Now he had to go through Samaria. ⁵So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph.^{† 6}Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour.

⁷When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” ⁸(His disciples had gone into the town^† to buy food.)

⁹The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan^† woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.^[29])

¹⁰Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”^†

¹¹“Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? ¹²Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well^† and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his flocks and herds?”

¹³Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, ¹⁴but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst.^† Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water^† welling up to eternal life.”^†

¹⁵The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty^† and have to keep coming here to draw water.”

¹⁶He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.”

¹⁷“I have no husband,” she replied.

Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. ¹⁸The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.”

¹⁹“Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet.^{† 20}Our fathers worshiped on this mountain,^† but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.”^†

²¹Jesus declared, “Believe me, woman, a time is coming^† when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.^{† 22}You Samaritans worship what you do not know;^† we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews.^{† 23}Yet a time is coming and has now come^† when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit^† and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. ²⁴God is spirit,^† and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.”

²⁵The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ)^† “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”

²⁶Then Jesus declared, “I who speak to you am he.”^†

The Disciples Rejoin Jesus

²⁷Just then his disciples returned^† and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?”

²⁸Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, ²⁹“Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did.^† Could this be the Christ^[30]? ”^{† 30}They came out of the town and made their way toward him.

³¹Meanwhile his disciples urged him, “Rabbi,^† eat something.”

³²But he said to them, “I have food to eat^† that you know nothing about.”

³³Then his disciples said to each other, “Could someone have brought him food?”

³⁴“My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will^† of him who sent me and to finish his work.^{† 35}Do you not say, ‘Four months more and then the harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.^{† 36}Even now the reaper draws his wages, even now he harvests^† the crop for eternal life,^† so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. ³⁷Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’^† is true. ³⁸I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.”

Many Samaritans Believe

³⁹Many of the Samaritans from that town^† believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.”^{† 40}So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. ⁴¹And because of his words many more became believers.

⁴²They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.”^†

Jesus Heals the Official’s Son

⁴³After the two days^† he left for Galilee. ⁴⁴(Now Jesus himself had pointed out that a prophet has no honor in his own country.)^{† 45}When he arrived in Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him. They had seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast,^† for they also had been there.

⁴⁶Once more he visited Cana in Galilee, where he had turned the water into wine.^† And there was a certain royal official whose son lay sick at Capernaum. ⁴⁷When this man heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea,^† he went to him and begged him to come and heal his son, who was close to death.

⁴⁸“Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders,”^† Jesus told him, “you will never believe.”

⁴⁹The royal official said, “Sir, come down before my child dies.”

⁵⁰Jesus replied, “You may go. Your son will live.”

The man took Jesus at his word and departed. ⁵¹While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living. ⁵²When he inquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him, “The fever left him yesterday at the seventh hour.”

⁵³Then the father realized that this was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” So he and all his household^† believed.

⁵⁴This was the second miraculous sign^† that Jesus performed, having come from Judea to Galilee.

John 5

The Healing at the Pool

¹Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for a feast of the Jews. ²Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate^† a pool, which in Aramaic^† is called Bethesda^[31] and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. ³Here a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed.^{[32] 5}One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. ⁶When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?”

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The Pool of Bethesda in Jerusalem

Bethesda

John 5 The pool at Bethesda was a familiar locale among the Jews of Jerusalem. It was mentioned, for example, in Qumran’s Copper Scroll as the “place of poured out water.”¹ It was located near what are now the ruins of the basilica of Saint Anne to the north of the temple mount. The “pool” was actually two pools surrounded by four porticoes, with a fifth portico situated between them. Coupled with the elegant porticoes, the pools must have been an impressive sight. While the lavish complex of John’s day likely dated to the reign of Herod the Great,² the pools were probably in use before that and may have been the site of an intermittent spring. The connection between the pool and the healing process is attested not only by the fourth Gospel but also by archaeological remains indicating that the Romans also sought healing there after taking over Jerusalem in approximately A.D. 135.

There is some controversy about the translation “Sheep Gate” in John 5:2. Early Christian tradition understands this to refer to the “Sheep Pool” rather than to the “Sheep Gate”; both translations are possible, but the historical evidence for the latter is not as strong. Eusebius noted that the waters of the pool were reddish in color and that some supposed this was because the entrails of the sacrificial animals were washed there. It is more likely that the red coloring was a simple factor of geology and that the pools had been built to provide an opportunity for ritual cleansing for visitors to the temple.³

Bethesda, with the pools of Bethesda excavations

Photographs: © Todd Bolen/Bible Places.com

1. See “Qumran and the New Testament.”

2. See “Herod the Great.”

3. See “Baptism in the Ancient World.”

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⁷“Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.”

⁸Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.”^{† 9}At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked.

The day on which this took place was a Sabbath,^{† 10}and so the Jews^† said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat.”^†

¹¹But he replied, “The man who made me well said to me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’ ”

¹²So they asked him, “Who is this fellow who told you to pick it up and walk?”

¹³The man who was healed had no idea who it was, for Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there.

¹⁴Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, “See, you are well again. Stop sinning^† or something worse may happen to you.” ¹⁵The man went away and told the Jews^† that it was Jesus who had made him well.

Life Through the Son

¹⁶So, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jews persecuted him. ¹⁷Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at his work^† to this very day, and I, too, am working.” ¹⁸For this reason the Jews tried all the harder to kill him;^† not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.^†

¹⁹Jesus gave them this answer: “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself;^† he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. ²⁰For the Father loves the Son^† and shows him all he does. Yes, to your amazement he will show him even greater things than these.^{† 21}For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life,^† even so the Son gives life^† to whom he is pleased to give it. ²²Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son,^{† 23}that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him.^†

²⁴“I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned;^† he has crossed over from death to life.^{† 25}I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come^† when the dead will hear^† the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. ²⁶For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son to have life in himself. ²⁷And he has given him authority to judge^† because he is the Son of Man.

²⁸“Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming^† when all who are in their graves will hear his voice ²⁹and come out—those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned.^{† 30}By myself I can do nothing;^† I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just,^† for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me.^†

Testimonies About Jesus

³¹“If I testify about myself, my testimony is not valid.^{† 32}There is another who testifies in my favor,^† and I know that his testimony about me is valid.

³³“You have sent to John and he has testified^† to the truth. ³⁴Not that I accept human testimony;^† but I mention it that you may be saved. ³⁵John was a lamp that burned and gave light,^† and you chose for a time to enjoy his light.

³⁶“I have testimony weightier than that of John.^† For the very work that the Father has given me to finish, and which I am doing,^† testifies that the Father has sent me.^{† 37}And the Father who sent me has himself testified concerning me.^† You have never heard his voice nor seen his form,^{† 38}nor does his word dwell in you,^† for you do not believe the one he sent.^{† 39}You diligently study^[33] the Scriptures^† because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me,^{† 40}yet you refuse to come to me to have life.

⁴¹“I do not accept praise from men,^{† 42}but I know you. I know that you do not have the love of God in your hearts. ⁴³I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not accept me; but if someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him. ⁴⁴How can you believe if you accept praise from one another, yet make no effort to obtain the praise that comes from the only God^[34]? ^†

⁴⁵“But do not think I will accuse you before the Father. Your accuser is Moses,^† on whom your hopes are set.^{† 46}If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me.^{† 47}But since you do not believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I say?”^†

John 6

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

¹Some time after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias), ²and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the miraculous signs^† he had performed on the sick. ³Then Jesus went up on a mountainside^† and sat down with his disciples. ⁴The Jewish Passover Feast^† was near.

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Tiberias

John 6 Herod Antipas, the son of Herod the Great and the tetrarch of Galilee (Mt 14:1; Lk 3:19),¹ founded the city of Tiberias (see “Map 9”) around A.D. 20. The city was named in honor of the Roman emperor Tiberius, who ruled from A.D. 14–37.² Ancient Tiberias was located on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee 2 miles (3.2 km) south of Magdala and one mile north of the hot springs at Hammath. The site is commonly identified with a place called Khirbet Qunaytirah, which is actually north of modern Tiberias.

A large number of tombs discovered there during the initial stages of its construction³ were cleared away and new buildings erected over them, but this act rendered the city unclean for pious Jews (cf. Nu 19:16). As a result Herod was forced to populate the town with a mixture of Galileans, foreigners and freed slaves. According to Josephus, a continual settlement of the city was ensured through land and housing grants, as well as through the emancipation of great numbers of slaves who were freed with the obligation to live there (Josephus, Antiquities, 18.2.3).⁴ Antipas built the city according to the Hellenistic-Roman conventions of his time, including within it a stadium, forum, public baths and a lavish royal palace adorned with animal statuary, which was offensive to Jews. Tiberias was thus a city that was thoroughly Gentile in atmosphere. But Antipas also constructed a large synagogue to accommodate its Jewish inhabitants.⁵ As Tiberias grew in importance as both an urban and an administrative center, the Sea of Galilee became known as the Sea of Tiberias (Jn 6:1; 21:1).⁶

1. See also “Herod the Great.”

2. See “Tiberius Caesar, the Caesar of Jesus’ Ministry.”

3. See “Tombs in Ancient Israel.”

4. See “Slavery in the Greco-Roman World.”

5. See “Ancient Synagogues.”

6. See “Sepphoris” for a discussion of other building activities attributed to Herod Antipas.

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⁵When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip,^† “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” ⁶He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.

⁷Philip answered him, “Eight months’ wages^[35] would not buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!”

⁸Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother,^† spoke up, ⁹“Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?”^†

¹⁰Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, and the men sat down, about five thousand of them. ¹¹Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks,^† and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.

¹²When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.” ¹³So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.

¹⁴After the people saw the miraculous sign^† that Jesus did, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.”^{† 15}Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king^† by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.^†

Jesus Walks on the Water

¹⁶When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake, ¹⁷where they got into a boat and set off across the lake for Capernaum. By now it was dark, and Jesus had not yet joined them. ¹⁸A strong wind was blowing and the waters grew rough. ¹⁹When they had rowed three or three and a half miles,^[36] they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water;^† and they were terrified. ²⁰But he said to them, “It is I; don’t be afraid.”^{† 21}Then they were willing to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading.

²²The next day the crowd that had stayed on the opposite shore of the lake^† realized that only one boat had been there, and that Jesus had not entered it with his disciples, but that they had gone away alone.^{† 23}Then some boats from Tiberias^† landed near the place where the people had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks.^{† 24}Once the crowd realized that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum in search of Jesus.

Jesus the Bread of Life

²⁵When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, “Rabbi,^† when did you get here?”

²⁶Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, you are looking for me,^† not because you saw miraculous signs^† but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. ²⁷Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures^† to eternal life,^† which the Son of Man^† will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal^† of approval.”

²⁸Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”

²⁹Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe^† in the one he has sent.”^†

³⁰So they asked him, “What miraculous sign^† then will you give that we may see it and believe you?^† What will you do? ³¹Our forefathers ate the manna^† in the desert; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’^[37] ”^†

³²Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. ³³For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven^† and gives life to the world.”

³⁴“Sir,” they said, “from now on give us this bread.”^†

³⁵Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life.^† He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.^{† 36}But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. ³⁷All that the Father gives me^† will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. ³⁸For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me.^{† 39}And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me,^† but raise them up at the last day.^{† 40}For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life,^† and I will raise him up at the last day.”

⁴¹At this the Jews began to grumble about him because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” ⁴²They said, “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph,^† whose father and mother we know?^† How can he now say, ‘I came down from heaven’?”^†

⁴³“Stop grumbling among yourselves,” Jesus answered. ⁴⁴“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him,^† and I will raise him up at the last day. ⁴⁵It is written in the Prophets: ‘They will all be taught by God.’^{[38] †} Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me. ⁴⁶No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God;^† only he has seen the Father. ⁴⁷I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life. ⁴⁸I am the bread of life.^{† 49}Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died.^{† 50}But here is the bread that comes down from heaven,^† which a man may eat and not die. ⁵¹I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”^†

⁵²Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves,^† “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”

⁵³Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man^† and drink his blood, you have no life in you. ⁵⁴Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.^{† 55}For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. ⁵⁶Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him.^{† 57}Just as the living Father sent me^† and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. ⁵⁸This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your forefathers ate manna and died, but he who feeds on this bread will live forever.”^{† 59}He said this while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.

Many Disciples Desert Jesus

⁶⁰On hearing it, many of his disciples^† said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?”

⁶¹Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, “Does this offend you?^{† 62}What if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before!^{† 63}The Spirit gives life;^† the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit^[39] and they are life. ⁶⁴Yet there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus had known^† from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him. ⁶⁵He went on to say, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled him.”^†

⁶⁶From this time many of his disciples^† turned back and no longer followed him.

⁶⁷“You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve.^†

⁶⁸Simon Peter answered him,^† “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. ⁶⁹We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.”^†

⁷⁰Then Jesus replied, “Have I not chosen you,^† the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!”^{† 71}(He meant Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, who, though one of the Twelve, was later to betray him.)

John 7

Jesus Goes to the Feast of Tabernacles

¹After this, Jesus went around in Galilee, purposely staying away from Judea because the Jews^† there were waiting to take his life.^{† 2}But when the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles^† was near, ³Jesus’ brothers^† said to him, “You ought to leave here and go to Judea, so that your disciples may see the miracles you do. ⁴No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world.” ⁵For even his own brothers did not believe in him.^†

⁶Therefore Jesus told them, “The right time^† for me has not yet come; for you any time is right. ⁷The world cannot hate you, but it hates me^† because I testify that what it does is evil.^{† 8}You go to the Feast. I am not yet^[40] going up to this Feast, because for me the right time^† has not yet come.” ⁹Having said this, he stayed in Galilee.

¹⁰However, after his brothers had left for the Feast, he went also, not publicly, but in secret. ¹¹Now at the Feast the Jews were watching for him^† and asking, “Where is that man?”

¹²Among the crowds there was widespread whispering about him. Some said, “He is a good man.”

Others replied, “No, he deceives the people.”^{† 13}But no one would say anything publicly about him for fear of the Jews.^†

Jesus Teaches at the Feast

¹⁴Not until halfway through the Feast did Jesus go up to the temple courts and begin to teach.^{† 15}The Jews^† were amazed and asked, “How did this man get such learning^† without having studied?”^†

¹⁶Jesus answered, “My teaching is not my own. It comes from him who sent me.^{† 17}If anyone chooses to do God’s will, he will find out^† whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own. ¹⁸He who speaks on his own does so to gain honor for himself,^† but he who works for the honor of the one who sent him is a man of truth; there is nothing false about him. ¹⁹Has not Moses given you the law?^† Yet not one of you keeps the law. Why are you trying to kill me?”^†

²⁰“You are demon-possessed,”^† the crowd answered. “Who is trying to kill you?”

²¹Jesus said to them, “I did one miracle, and you are all astonished. ²²Yet, because Moses gave you circumcision^† (though actually it did not come from Moses, but from the patriarchs),^† you circumcise a child on the Sabbath. ²³Now if a child can be circumcised on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses may not be broken, why are you angry with me for healing the whole man on the Sabbath? ²⁴Stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment.”^†

Is Jesus the Christ?

²⁵At that point some of the people of Jerusalem began to ask, “Isn’t this the man they are trying to kill? ²⁶Here he is, speaking publicly, and they are not saying a word to him. Have the authorities^† really concluded that he is the Christ^[41]? ²⁷But we know where this man is from;^† when the Christ comes, no one will know where he is from.”

²⁸Then Jesus, still teaching in the temple courts,^† cried out, “Yes, you know me, and you know where I am from.^† I am not here on my own, but he who sent me is true.^† You do not know him, ²⁹but I know him^† because I am from him and he sent me.”

³⁰At this they tried to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him,^† because his time had not yet come. ³¹Still, many in the crowd put their faith in him.^† They said, “When the Christ comes, will he do more miraculous signs^† than this man?”

³²The Pharisees heard the crowd whispering such things about him. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees sent temple guards to arrest him.

³³Jesus said, “I am with you for only a short time,^† and then I go to the one who sent me.^{† 34}You will look for me, but you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come.”^†

³⁵The Jews said to one another, “Where does this man intend to go that we cannot find him? Will he go where our people live scattered^† among the Greeks,^† and teach the Greeks? ³⁶What did he mean when he said, ‘You will look for me, but you will not find me,’ and ‘Where I am, you cannot come’?”

³⁷On the last and greatest day of the Feast,^† Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink.^{† 38}Whoever believes in me, as^[42] the Scripture has said,^† streams of living water^† will flow from within him.”^{† 39}By this he meant the Spirit,^† whom those who believed in him were later to receive.^† Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.^†

⁴⁰On hearing his words, some of the people said, “Surely this man is the Prophet.”^†

⁴¹Others said, “He is the Christ.”

Still others asked, “How can the Christ come from Galilee?^{† 42}Does not the Scripture say that the Christ will come from David’s family^{[43] †} and from Bethlehem,^† the town where David lived?” ⁴³Thus the people were divided^† because of Jesus. ⁴⁴Some wanted to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him.^†

Unbelief of the Jewish Leaders

⁴⁵Finally the temple guards went back to the chief priests and Pharisees, who asked them, “Why didn’t you bring him in?”

⁴⁶“No one ever spoke the way this man does,”^† the guards declared.

⁴⁷“You mean he has deceived you also?”^† the Pharisees retorted. ⁴⁸“Has any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed in him?^{† 49}No! But this mob that knows nothing of the law—there is a curse on them.”

⁵⁰Nicodemus,^† who had gone to Jesus earlier and who was one of their own number, asked, ⁵¹“Does our law condemn anyone without first hearing him to find out what he is doing?”

⁵²They replied, “Are you from Galilee, too? Look into it, and you will find that a prophet^[44] does not come out of Galilee.”^†

[The earliest manuscripts and many other ancient witnesses do not have John 7:53–8:11.]

⁵³Then each went to his own home.