8 A Woman Caught in Sin
53 Everyone else went home, 1 But Jesus walked out to the Mount of Olives.
2 Then early the next morning he went to the temple. The people came to him, and
he sat down(n) and started teaching them.
3 The Pharisees and the teaches of the Law of Moses brought a woman who had
been caught in bed with a man who was not her husband. They made her stand in
the middle of the crowd. 4 Then they said, "Teacher, this woman was caught
sleeping with a man who is not her husband. 5 The Law of Moses teaches that a
woman like this should be stoned to death! What do you say?"
6 They asked Jesus this question, because they wanted to test him and bring
some charge against him. But Jesus simply bent forward and started writing on
the ground with his finger. 7 they kept on asking Jesus about that woman.
Finally, he stood up and said, "If any of you have never sinned, then go
ahead and throw the stone at her!" 8 Once again he bent over and began
writing on the ground. 9 The people left one by one, beginning with the oldest
one in the crowd. Finally, Jesus and the woman were alone.
10 Jesus stood up and asked her, "Where is everyone? Isn't there
anyone left to accuse you?"
11 "No sir," the woman answered.
Then Jesus told her, "I am not going to accuse you either. You may go
now, but don't sin anymore."(o)
(n) sat down: See the note at 6. 3, 4. (o) don't sin anymore: Verses
1-11 are not in some manuscripts. In other manuscripts these verses are placed
after 7. 26 or after 21. 25 or after Luke 21. 38, with some differences in the
text.
Jesus Is the Light for the World
12 Once again Jesus spoke to the people. This time he said, "I am the
light for the world! Follow me, and you won't be walking in the dark. You will
have the light that gives life." 13 The Pharisees objected, "You are
the only one speaking for yourself, and what you say isn't true!"
14 Jesus replied: Even if I do speak for myself, what I say is true! I know
where I came from and where I am going. But you don't know where I came from or
where I am going. 15 You judge in the same way that everyone else does, but I
don't judge anyone. 16 If I did judge, I would judge fairly, because I would not
be doing it alone. The Father who sent me is here with me. 17 Your Law requires
two witnesses to prove that something is true. 18 I am one of my witnesses, and
the Father who sent me is the other one.
19 "Where is your Father? " they asked Jesus.
"You don't know my Father!" Jesus answered. "If you knew me,
you would know my Father."
20 Jesus said this while he was still teaching in the place where the
temple treasures were stored. But no one arrested him, because his time had not
yet come.(p)
(p) his time had not yet come: See the note at 2. 4.
You Cannot Go Where I Am Going
21 Jesus also told them, "I am going away, and you will look for me.
But you cannot go where I am going, and you will die with you sins unforgiven."
22 The Jewish leaders asked, "Does intend to kill himself? Is that
what he means by saying we cannot go where he is going?"
23 Jesus answered, "You are from below, but I am from above. You
belong to this world, but I don't. 24 That is why I said you will die with you
sins unforgiven. If you don't have faith in me for who I am,(q) you will die,
and your sins will not be forgiven."
25 "Who are you?" they asked Jesus.
Jesus answered, "I am exactly who I told you at the beginning. 26 I
have a lot more to say about you, especially about all the evil you have done.
The one who sent me is truthful, and I tell the people of this world only what I
have heard from him."
27 No one understood that Jesus was talking to them about the Father. 28
Jesus went on to say, "When you have lifted up the Son of Man,(r) you will
know who I am. You will also know that I do not do anything on my own. I say
only what my Father taught me. 29 The one who sent me is with me. I always do
what pleases him, and he will never leave me."
30 After Jesus said this, many of the people put their faith in him. 31
Jesus told the people who had faith in him, "If you keep on obeying what I
have said, you are truly my disciples. 32 You will know the truth, and the truth
will set you free."
33 They answered, "We are Abraham's children! We have never been
anyone's slaves. How can you say we will be set free?"
34 Jesus replied: I tell you for certain that anyone who sins is a slave of
sin! 35 And slaves don't stay in the family forever, though the Son will always
remain in the family. 36 If the Son gives you freedom, you are free! 37 I know
that you are Abraham's family. Yet you want to kill me, because my message is
not really in your hearts. 38 I am telling you what my Father has shown me, just
as you are doing what your father has taught you.
(q) I am: For the Jewish people the most holy name of God is "Yahweh,"
which may be translated as "I am." In the gospel of John "I am"
is sometimes used by Jesus to show that he is the one. (r) lifted up the Son of
Man: See the note at 7. 39.
Your Father Is the Devil
39 The people said to Jesus, "Abraham is our father!"
Jesus replied, "If you were Abraham's children, you would do what
Abrahan did. 40 Instead, you want to kill me for telling you the truth that God
gave me. Abraham never did anything like that. 41 But you are doing exactly what
your father does."
"Don't accuse us of having someone else as our father!" they
said. "We have just one father and he is God."
42 Jesus answered: If God were your Father, you would love me, because I
came from God and only from him. He sent me. I did not come on my own. 43 Why
can't you understand what I am saying? 44 Your father is the devil, and you do
exactly what he wants. He has always been a murderer and a liar. There is
nothing truthful about him. He speaks on his own, and everything he says is a
lie. Not only is he a liar himself, but he is also the father of all lies.
45 Everything I have told you is true, and you still refuse to have faith
in me. 46 Can any of you accuse me of sin? If you cannot, why won't you have
faith in me? After all, I am telling you the truth. 47 Anyone who belongs to God
will listen to his message. But you refuse to listen, because you don't belong
to God.
Jesus and Abraham
48 The people told Jesus, "We were right to say that you are a
Samaritan(s) and that you have a demon in you!"
49 Jesus answered, "I don't have a demon in me. I honour my Father,
and you refuse to honour me. 50 I don't want honour for myself. But there is one
who wants me to be honoured, and also he is the one who judges. 51 I tell you
for certain that if you obey my words, you will never die."
52 Then the people said, "Now we are sure you have a demon. Abraham is
dead, and so are the prophets. How can you say that no one who obeys you words
will never die? 53 Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died, and so did
the prophets. Who do you think you are?"
54 Jesus replied, "If I honoured myself, it would mean nothing. My
Father is the one who honours me. You claim that he is your God, 55 Even though
you don't really know him. If I said I didn't know him, I would be a liar, just
like all of you. But I know him, and I do what he says. 56 Your father Abraham
was really glad to see me."
57 "You are not even fifty years old!" they said. "How could
you have seen Abraham?"
58 Jesus answered, "I tell you for certain that even before Abraham
was, I was, and I am."(t) 59 The people picked up stones to kill Jesus, but
he hid and left the temple.
(s) Samaritan: See 4. 9 ant the note there. (t) I am: See the note at
8. 24.
9 Jesus Heals a Man Born Blind
As Jesus walked along he saw a man who had been blind since birth. 2 Jesus'
disciples asked, "Teacher, was this man born blind? Was it because his
parents sinned?"
3 "No it wasn't!" Jesus answered. "But because of this, you
will see God work a miracle for him. 4 As long as it is day, we must do what the
one who sent me wants me to do. When night comes, no one can work. 5 While I am
in the world, I am the light for the world."
6 After Jesus said this, he spat on the ground. He made some mud and
smeared it on the man's eyes. 7 Then he said, "Go and wash off in the
Siloam Pool." The man went and washed in Siloam, which means "One who
is sent." When he washed off the mud he could see."
8 The man's neighbours and the people who had seen him begging wondered if
he really could be the same man. 9 Some of them said he was the same beggar,
while others said he only looked like him. But he told them, "I am that
man."
10 "Then how can you see?" they asked.
11 He answered, "Someone named Jesus made some mud and smeared it on
my eyes. He told me to go and wash it off in the Siloam Pool. When I did, I
could see."
12 "Where is he now?" they asked. "I don't know," he
answered.
The Pharisees Try to Find Out What Happened
13-14 The day when Jesus made the mud and healed the man was a Sabbath. So
the people took the man to the Pharisees. 15 They asked him how he was able to
see, and he answered, "Jesus made some mud and smeared it on my eyes. Then
after I washed off the mud, I could see."
16 Some of the Pharisees said, "This man does not come from God. If he
did, he would not break the law of the Sabbath."
Others asked, "How could someone who is a sinner work such a miracle?"(u)
Since the Pharisees could not agree amongst themselves, 17 they asked the
man, "What do you say about this one who healed your eyes?" "He
is a prophet!" the man told them.
18 But the Jewish leaders would not believe the man had once been blind.
They sent for his parents 19 and asked them, "Is this the son that you said
was born blind? How can he now see?" 20 The man's parents answered, "We
are certain that he is our son, and we know that he was born blind. 21 But we
don't know how he got his sight or who gave it to him. Ask him! He is old enough
to speak for himself."
22-23 The man's parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish
leaders. The leaders had already agreed that no one was to have anything to do
with anyone who said Jesus was the Messiah.
24 The leaders called the man back and said, "Swear by God to tell the
truth! We know that Jesus is a sinner."
25 The man replied, "I don't know if he is a sinner or not. All I know
is that I used to be blind, but now I can see!"
26 "What did he do to you?" the Jewish leaders asked. "How
did he heal your eyes?"
27 The man answered, "I have already told you once, and you refuse to
listen. Why do you want me to tell you again? Do you also want to become his
disciples?"
28 The leaders insulted the man and said, "You are his follower! We
are the followers of Moses. 29 We are sure that God spoke to Moses, but we don't
even know where Jesus comes from."
30 The man replied, "How strange! He healed my eyes, and you don't
know where he comes from. 31 We know that God listens only to people who love
and obey him. God doesn't listen to sinners. 32 And this is the first time in
history that anyone has ever given sight to someone born blind. 33 Jesus could
not do anything unless he came from God."
34 The leaders told the man, "You have been a sinner since the day you
were born! Do you think you can teach us anything?" Then they said, "You
can never come back into any of our meeting places!"
35 When Jesus heard what had happened, he went and found the man. Then
Jesus asked, "Do you have faith in the Son of Man?" 36 He replied, "Sir,
if you tell me who he is, I will put my faith in him."
37 "You have already seen him," Jesus answered, "and right
now he is talking with you." 38 The man said, "Lord, I put my faith in
you!" Then he worshipped Jesus.
39 Jesus told him, "I came to judge the people of this world. I am
here to give sight to the blind and to make blind everyone who sees."
40 When the Pharisees heard Jesus say this, they asked, "Are we blind?"
41 Jesus answered, "If you were blind, you would not be guilty. But now
that you claim to see, You will keep on being guilty."
(u) miracle: See the note at 2. 11.
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