John's Story (26 page)

Lazarus Raised from the Dead

³⁸
Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it.
³⁹
Jesus said, “Take away the stone.”

Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, “Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been
dead
four days.”

⁴⁰
Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?”
⁴¹
Then they took away the stone
from the place
where the dead man was lying.
a
And Jesus lifted up
His
eyes and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.
⁴²
And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said
this,
that they may believe that You sent Me.”
⁴³
Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth!”
⁴⁴
And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Loose him, and let him go.”

The Plot to Kill Jesus

⁴⁵
Then many of the Jews who had come to Mary, and had seen the things Jesus did, believed in Him.
⁴⁶
But some of them went away to the Pharisees and told them the things Jesus did.
⁴⁷
Then the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered a council and said, “What shall we do? For this Man works many signs.
⁴⁸
If we let Him alone like this, everyone will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and nation.”

⁴⁹
And one of them, Caiaphas, being high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all,
⁵⁰
nor do you consider that it is expedient for us
a
that one man should die for the people, and not that the whole nation should perish.”
⁵¹
Now this he did not say on his own
authority;
but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation,
⁵²
and not for that nation only, but also that He would gather together in one the children of God who were scattered abroad.

⁵³
Then, from that day on, they plotted to put Him to death.
⁵⁴
Therefore Jesus no longer walked openly among the Jews, but went from there into the country near the wilderness, to a city called Ephraim, and there remained with His disciples.

⁵⁵
And the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went from the country up to Jerusalem before the Passover, to purify themselves.
⁵⁶
Then they sought Jesus, and spoke among themselves as they stood in the temple, “What do you think—that He will not come to the feast?”
⁵⁷
Now both the chief priests and the Pharisees had given a command, that if anyone knew where He was, he should report
it,
that they might seize Him.

The Anointing at Bethany

12
Then, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was who had been dead,
a
whom He had raised from the dead.
²
There they made Him a supper; and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with Him.
³
Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.

⁴
But one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon’s
son,
who would betray Him, said,
⁵
“Why was this fragrant oil not sold for three hundred denarii
a
and given to the poor?”
⁶
This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the money box; and he used to take what was put in it.

⁷
But Jesus said, “Let her alone; she has kept
a
this for the day of My burial.
⁸
For the poor you have with you always, but Me you do not have always.”

The Plot to Kill Lazarus

⁹
Now a great many of the Jews knew that He was there; and they came, not for Jesus’ sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead.
¹⁰
But the chief priests plotted to put Lazarus to death also,
¹¹
because on account of him many of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus.

The Triumphal Entry

¹²
The next day a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem,
¹³
took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried out:

“Hosanna!

‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the L
ORD
!’
a

The King of Israel!”

¹⁴
Then Jesus, when He had found a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written:
¹⁵

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

¹⁶
His disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written about Him and
that
they had done these things to Him.

¹⁷
Therefore the people, who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of his tomb and raised him from the dead, bore witness.
¹⁸
For this reason the people also met Him, because they heard that He had done this sign.
¹⁹
The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, “You see that you are accomplishing nothing. Look, the world has gone after Him!”

The Fruitful Grain of Wheat

²⁰
Now there were certain Greeks among those who came up to worship at the feast.
²¹
Then they came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, saying, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.”

²²
Philip came and told Andrew, and in turn Andrew and Philip told Jesus.

²³
But Jesus answered them, saying, “The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified.
²⁴
Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.
²⁵
He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
²⁶
If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him
My
Father will honor.

Jesus Predicts His Death on the Cross

²⁷
“Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour.
²⁸
Father, glorify Your name.”

Then a voice came from heaven,
saying,
“I have both glorified
it
and will glorify
it
again.”

²⁹
Therefore the people who stood by and heard
it
said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to Him.”

³⁰
Jesus answered and said, “This voice did not come because of Me, but for your sake.
³¹
Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.
³²
And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all
peoples
to Myself.”
³³
This He said, signifying by what death He would die.

³⁴
The people answered Him, “We have heard from the law that the Christ remains forever; and how
can
You say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this Son of Man?”

³⁵
Then Jesus said to them, “A little while longer the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going.
³⁶
While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.” These things Jesus spoke, and departed, and was hidden from them.

Who Has Believed Our Report?

³⁷
But although He had done so many signs before them, they did not believe in Him,
³⁸
that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke:

“Lord, who has believed our report?

And to whom has the arm of the L
ORD
been revealed?”
a

³⁹
Therefore they could not believe, because Isaiah said again:

⁴⁰
“He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, Lest they should see with their eyes,

Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them.”
a

⁴¹
These things Isaiah said when
a
he saw His glory and spoke of Him.

Walk in the Light

⁴²
Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess
Him,
lest they should be put out of the synagogue;
⁴³
for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.

⁴⁴
Then Jesus cried out and said, “He who believes in Me, believes not in Me but in Him who sent Me.
⁴⁵
And he who sees Me sees Him who sent Me.
⁴⁶
I have come
as
a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness.
⁴⁷
And if anyone hears My words and does not believe,
a
I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world.
⁴⁸
He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him—the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day.
⁴⁹
For I have not spoken on My own
authority;
but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak.
⁵⁰
And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak.”

Jesus Washes the Disciples’ Feet

13
Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.

²
And supper being ended,
a
the devil having already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s
son,
to betray Him,
³
Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God,
⁴
rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself.
⁵
After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe
them
with the towel with which He was girded.
⁶
Then He came to Simon Peter. And
Peter
said to Him, “Lord, are You washing my feet?”

⁷
Jesus answered and said to him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but you will know after this.”

⁸
Peter said to Him, “You shall never wash my feet!”

Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.”

⁹
Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, not my feet only, but also
my
hands and
my
head!”

¹⁰
Jesus said to him, “He who is bathed needs only to wash
his
feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you.”
¹¹
For He knew who would betray Him; therefore He said, “You are not all clean.”

¹²
So when He had washed their feet, taken His garments, and sat down again, He said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you?
¹³
You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for
so
I am.
¹⁴
If I then,
your
Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.
¹⁵
For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you.
¹⁶
Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him.
¹⁷
If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.

Jesus Identifies His Betrayer

¹⁸
“I do not speak concerning all of you. I know whom I have chosen; but that the Scripture may be fulfilled,
‘He who eats bread with Me
a
has lifted up his heel against Me.’
b
¹⁹
Now I tell you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe that I am
He.
²⁰
Most assuredly, I say to you, he who receives whomever I send receives Me; and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me.”