 CHAPTER 1 The word existed in the beginning, and the word was with God, and the word was God. He was present with God at the beginning. All came into existence by means of Him, and nothing came into existence apart from Him. What originated in Him was life, and the life was the light of mankind. That light shines in the darkness, but the darkness did not absorb it. A man came sent from God, his name was John. He came for witness in order that he might give evidence concerning that light so that all might believe through him. He was not himself the light, his mission was to give evidence concerning that light. The real light was that which enlightens every man coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was created by means of Him, yet the world did not recognize Him. He came to his own home, but his own family did not welcome him. But whosoever welcomed him, believing in his power, he bestowed upon them the right to become children of God. They were not begotten from blood, nor from natural desire, nor yet from the design of man, but from God Himself. And the Word became incarnate, and encamped among us, and we gazed upon His majesty. Such majesty as that of a Father's only Son, full of beneficence and truth. John gave evidence concerning him, proclaiming, This was the one concerning whom I said, He who follows me takes rank above me because He existed before me. So out of His fullness we were all supplied with gift heaped upon gift. Although the law was given through Moses, the true gift came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever yet seen God. He has been made known by the only Son who exists in union with the Father. Now this is the evidence given by John, when the Judeans of Jerusalem sent priests and Levites in order that they might ask him, Who are you? Without attempting to deny it, he frankly stated, I am not the Messiah. What then? Asked they. Are you Elijah? He replied, I am not. Then are you the prophet? No, he replied. They therefore asked him, What are you? Tell us in order that we may give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself? He replied, I am but a voice proclaiming in the desert. Make ready the highway for the Lord, as was foretold by the prophet Isaiah. Now the deputation had been sent by the Pharisees. They therefore asked him, Why do you then baptize if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor yet the prophet? In reply John said to them, I baptize in water, but among you is standing one whom you know not, he who follows me. His shoes I am not even worthy to unfasten. This interview took place in Bethany on the other side of the Jordan where John was then baptizing. On the following day he saw Jesus coming towards him and exclaimed, See the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This was the one about whom I said, There follows me a man who takes rank above me since he was in existence before me. I did not myself know him, but I came baptizing in water in order that he might be manifested to Israel. John also gave further evidence, saying, I saw the spirit descending from heaven in the likeness of a dove and a lighting upon him, yet I should not myself have known him, but he who sent me to baptize in water, he said to me, Upon whom soever you see the spirit descending and alighting, he is the baptizer in holy spirit, and I have myself seen and have given my evidence that this is the Son of God! Again on the day after that John was standing along with two of his disciples and watching Jesus walking, he exclaimed, See, there is the Lamb of God! The two disciples hearing him speak in this way followed Jesus, Jesus turning round and observing them following asked them, What do you seek? In reply they asked, Rabbi, which when translated means teacher, Where are you staying? Come and you shall see, he said. They accordingly went and saw where he was staying and remained with him for the rest of that day. It was then about four o'clock in the afternoon. Andrew the brother of Simon Peter was one of the two who heard the remark of John and followed him. He first of all sought out his own brother Simon and told him, We have found the Messiah, which when translated means in Greek the Christ. Andrew then took Simon to Jesus, Jesus looking at him said, You are Simon, the Son of John, You shall be called Kephas, which when translated means stone or Peter. At his subsequent time Jesus desired to return to Galilee, and, meeting Philip on the way, he said to him, Follow me! Now Philip belonged to Bethsaida, the native town of Andrew and Peter. Philip sought out Nathaniel and said to him, The one to whom Moses referred in the law, and of whom the prophets also wrote, We have found in Jesus the Son of Joseph, who came from Nazareth. Nathaniel however asked, Is it possible that anything good could come out of Nazareth? Come and see, replied Philip. Jesus seeing Nathaniel coming towards him remarked about him. Here is an Israelite indeed in whom there is no duplicity. What do you know concerning me? Asked Nathaniel. Before ever Philip called you, replied Jesus, While you were under the fig tree I saw you. Teacher! Nathaniel answered him, You are the Son of God! You are king of Israel! Do you really believe? Asked Jesus. Because I said I had seen you beneath the fig tree? You will see far more than that. Most assuredly I tell you, he added, You shall see the heaven open and the messengers of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man. Chapter 2 Three days later there was a marriage at Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was present, and Jesus was invited to the marriage with his disciples. And when the wine ran short, Jesus was spoken to by his mother, who said to him, They have no more wine! Jesus in reply to her said, What is that to you and me, mother? My time has not yet come. His mother then said to the attendants, Whatever he bids you, let it be done. Now there were standing there for the Jewish purifications, six stone water-jars, holding from two to three firkins. Jesus said to them, Fill the jars with water. They accordingly filled them to the brim. He then said to them, Now pour out and take it to the master of the festival. They accordingly did so. And when the master of the festival had tasted the water which had become wine, not knowing where it came from, although the servants who had drawn the water knew, he called the bridegroom and said to him, A man usually serves out the best wine at the beginning, reserving the inferior until the guests have tasted, but you have kept the best wine until now. Notice as a beginning of his evidences, Jesus performed in Cana of Galilee and displayed his majesty, and his disciples believed in him. After that he went down to Capernaum himself, his mother, his brothers and his disciples, and stayed there not many days. Now when the Jewish Passover was near, Jesus went up to Jerusalem, and entering the temple he found dealers in oxen and sheep and pigeons as well as money brokers transacting their business. Then having made a whip of cords, he drove all out of the temple including the sheep and oxen, and he scattered the money of the brokers, overturning their stands, and said to the pigeon dealers, Take these outside! Do not turn my father's house into a market! His disciples were then reminded that it was written, Zeal for your house will consume me. The Jews then addressed him asking, What proof do you show us for doing this? Demolish this temple, Jesus answered, and in three days I will rear it. This temple has been building for forty-six years, replied the Judeans, and will you rear it in three days? He however spoke about the temple of his body. Afterwards when he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the scriptures as well as the statement of Jesus. Now while he was among those of Jerusalem at the feast of the Passover, many believed on his name, seeing the proofs which he gave. Jesus on his part however did not trust himself to them, because he knew all, and because he had no need that anyone should give him evidence about man, for he himself knew what was in man. Chapter 3 There was however among the Pharisees a man named Nicodemus, one of the Judean princes. He came to him during the night, and said to him, Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, because no one could produce the proofs which you do unless God were with him. Most assuredly I tell you, replied Jesus, that unless anyone is born from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus therefore asked, how can a man be born when he is old? Can he be conceived of his mother a second time and be born? Most assuredly I tell you, replied Jesus, that if a man is not born from water and his spirit, he is unable to enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born from the flesh is flesh, and that which is born from the spirit is spirit. Do not be surprised that I told you you must be born from above. The wind indeed blows where it pleases, and you hear it sound, but yet you neither see whence it comes from nor where it goes, so it is with all born of the spirit. Nicodemus answering him asked, how can this be? Are you the teacher of Israel? remarked Jesus in response to him, and yet unable to discern this? I tell you most certainly that what we know, that we declare, and we witness to what we have seen, but you do not accept our evidence. If you do not believe when I tell you about earthly matters, how can you credit what I tell you relating to the heavenly? No one has ascended to the heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man, and as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so it is necessary for the Son of Man to be lifted up, so that all believing in him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world that he gave the only begotten Son, so that everyone believing in him should not be lost, but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son to the world that he might condemn the world, but that he might save the world through him. The believer in him will not be condemned. Whoever does not trust, however, is already convicted, because he has not confided on the only begotten Son of God, and the indictment is this, that the light came into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light, because their practices were wicked. For everyone who acts vilely not only hates the light, but shrinks from it, so that his doings may not be detected, but he who does right comes to the light, so that his actions may be displayed, because the origin of his conduct is in God. After this, Jesus and his disciples proceeded to the district of Judea where he resided with them and baptized, and John was also baptizing in Aenon, near Salim, because there was plenty of water there, and they came and were baptized, for John had not as yet been imprisoned. A discussion accordingly took place between some of the disciples of John and a Judean concerning purification. So they came to John and said to him, Teacher, the man who is with you on the other side of the Jordan, concerning whom you have yourself given evidence, this man is now also baptizing and all the people flock to him. A man can obtain no success, John made answer, unless it has been granted to him from heaven. You are yourselves witnesses of the fact that I stated, I myself am not the Messiah, but that I am sent as his forerunner. The possessor of the bride is the bridegroom, but the friend of the bridegroom who stands listening to him is delighted with delight at the voice of the bridegroom. This pleasure therefore which is mine is now complete. He must increase, but I myself decrease. He who comes from above is above all, the one who originates from the earth is from the earth and speaks from the earth. He who comes from the heaven is above all, and he gives evidence of what he has seen and heard, yet his evidence is accepted by none. Whosoever accepts his evidence is assured that it is divine truth, for he whom God has sent proclaims the message of God because he did not grant the spirit with limitation. The Father loves the Son and has given all into his hand. Every believer in the Son possesses everlasting life, but whosoever disregards the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God rests upon him. CHAPTER IV Then when the Lord learned that the Pharisees had heard told, Jesus is securing and baptizing more disciples than John, although Jesus himself did not baptize, but only his disciples, he left Judea and returned to Galilee. It was necessary for him, however, to pass through Samaria. He accordingly approached a town of Samaria named Sychar, near the estate which Jacob gave to his son Joseph, and Jacob's well was there. Now Jesus, being wearied by the journey, seated himself just as he was beside the well. It was then about noon. A woman from Samaria then coming along to draw water, Jesus said to her, Give me a drink. For his disciples had gone to the town to buy food. The Samaritan woman, however, replied to him, How can you, being a Judean, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman? For Judeans do not associate with the Samaritans. If you had recognized the gift of God, Jesus answered her, and who he is who is saying to you, Give me a drink, you would have asked from him, and he would have given you living water. Sir, the woman replied, You have no drop bucket, and the well is deep. Where then have you the water of life? Surely you cannot be greater than our forefather Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his cattle. All who drink of this water, Jesus said to her, You will thirst again, but whoever may drink of the water which I will give him will never more be thirsty, but the water that I will give to him will become in him a spring of water flowing into life eternal. Sir, said the woman, Give me that water, so that I may not get thirsty nor have to come all the way here to draw. Go, said Jesus to her, Call your husband and return here. I have not a husband, replied the woman. You answer well, I have not a husband, Jesus said to her. For you have had five husbands, and the one you have at present is not your husband. There you spoke truly. I perceive, sir, said the woman, That you are a prophet. Our forefathers worshipped in this very mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the spot where one ought to worship. Woman, believe me, Jesus answered her, The time is coming when neither in this mountain nor yet in Jerusalem will you pay homage to the Father. You pay homage without knowledge. We pay homage with knowledge, because the salvation comes from among the Judeans. The time will come, however, and is even now here when the real worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth, because indeed the Father desires such to be his worshippers. God is spirit, and those worshipping him must worship in spirit and truth. The woman said to him, I know that Messiah, the one who is called consecrated, is coming. When he himself arrives, he will tell us all. Jesus said to her, I am. He who speaks to you. At this point his disciples returned, and they were much surprised to find him talking with a woman, yet none asked, What are you discussing, or what do you talk to her about? The woman leaving her draw-bucket thereupon went off to the town and said to the men, Come here, see a man who has told all I have ever done, must not this be the Messiah? So they left the town, and were coming towards him. In the meantime his disciples pressed him, saying, Master, take something to eat. But he answered them, I have food to eat of which you know nothing. The disciples then began asking each other, Has anyone brought him food? My food, Jesus said to them, is to do the will of my sender and to accomplish his work. Do you not say the harvest comes with a fourth month? See, look up I tell you, and survey the fields, for they are already white for harvesting. Now the reaper receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, so that both the sower and the reaper may rejoice together. For in this thought is truth. The sower is one, and the reaper another. I have sent you to reap that which you have not cultivated, others have cultivated, and you enter into their cultivation. Many of the Samaritans of that town believed in him on account of the statement of the woman, asserting, He told me all that I had ever done. When therefore the Samaritans came, they invited him to remain with them, and he stayed there two days. Many more then believed because of his own discourse, and they said to the woman, We no more believe through your assertion, for we have heard him ourselves, and we see that he is truly the savior of the world. Now after these two days he took his departure from there for Galilee, although Jesus had himself declared that a prophet has no honor in his own country. Then when he arrived in Galilee the Galalians welcomed him, having seen all that he had done at Jerusalem during the festival, for they also went to the festival. He returned then to Cana of Galilee, where he had made the water wine. Now there was a nobleman whose son was ill at Capernaum. This man, having learned that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, went to him, begging that he would go down and cure his son, for he was at the point of death. Jesus therefore said to him, Unless you see signs and wonders, you will not believe. Come down, sir, said the nobleman, before my boy dies. Go away, Jesus answered him, Your son lives. The man accordingly believed what Jesus had told him, and went away. As he was returning home, however, his servant met him, saying, Your boy is alive. He therefore asked them the hour at which he began to recover. They replied, Yesterday, at one o'clock, the fever left him. The father then recognized that that was the very time at which Jesus said to him, Your son lives, and he himself believed as well as his whole family. This again, as a second sign, was affected by Jesus while passing from Judea into Galilee. Chapter 5 After this there was a Judean festival, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is in Jerusalem near the sheep market, a public bath, called in Hebrew, Bethesda, having five covered walks in which lay a great number of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, and there was a man there who had been detained by his sickness for 38 years, Jesus noticing him prostrate and knowing that he had been ill for a long time asked him, Do you desire to become well? Sir, replied this sick man to him, I have no one to throw me into the bath when the water is agitated, but while I am coming, someone else goes down before me, Jesus said to him, Rise up, take up your rug, and walk. And the man was at once restored, and taking up his rug, he began to walk. That day however happened to be the Sabbath, the Judeans therefore said to the restored man, This is the Sabbath, it is not allowable for you to carry your rug about, but he answered them. The man who made me well told me himself to take up my rug and walk. They then asked, Who is the fellow that said to you, Take it up and walk? The restored man however did not know who he was, for a crowd being on the spot, Jesus had withdrawn himself. Jesus afterwards met him in the temple and said to him, Reflect, you have been made well, sin no more, so that nothing worse may come to you. The man then went away and reported to the Judeans that it was Jesus who had made him well. The Judeans for this reason began to persecute Jesus, because he had done it upon the Sabbath. Jesus however said to them, My Father is working until now, and I will work. For this reason the Judeans sought to murder him, because he was not only breaking the Sabbath, but also called God his own Father, thus making himself equal to God. Jesus therefore addressed them saying, I tell you very truly, the Son is able to do nothing from himself unless he sees the Father doing it. For whatever he may do the Son also does the same, for the Father regards his Son and shows him all that he himself is doing, and indeed he will show him greater works than these so that you will wonder. For as the Father raises the dead and restores to life, thus also the Son restores to life whoever he pleases, for the Father decides nothing, but has deputed every decision to the Son in order that all may honor the Son as they honor the Father. Those who do not honor the Son cannot honor the Father who sent him. I tell you truly that whoever listens to my teaching and trusts in my sender possesses eternal life and will not come into judgment that has passed out of death into life. I tell you most assuredly that the time will come and has even now come, when the dead shall listen to the voice of the Son of God and the hearers will live. For as the Father possesses life within himself, so he has conferred upon the Son the possession of life within himself, and he has also invested him with authority to execute his decision because he is Son of Man. Do not be surprised at this, because the time comes in which all those in the graves shall hear his voice and shall come out, those who have done good to a resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to a resurrection of judgment. From myself I can do nothing, as I hear, so I decide, and my decision is right, because I do not seek my own purpose, but the purpose of my sender. If I should testify about myself, my evidence would not be reliable. There is another witness for me, and I know that the evidence which he gave about me is reliable. You have yourself sent to John, and he has given evidence to the truth. I do not, however, accept the evidence of a man, but I mention this in order that even you may be saved. He was the burning and the shining lamp, and you were willing to be delighted for a time with its light, but I have better evidence than that of John. For the works which the Father has appointed me to accomplish, these works which I am doing, give evidence about me that the Father has sent me, and the Father who sent me has himself given evidence concerning me. You have never at any time listened to his voice, nor looked upon his ideal, and you have not his thought dwelling in you, because you do not believe the one whom he has himself sent. You search the scriptures, because you imagine in them to have eternal life, and they are the witnesses about me, yet you do not desire to come to me so that you might have life. I do not crave human honor, but I have known you that you have not the love of God in yourselves. I have come with the power of my Father, and yet you do not receive me. If another should come with his own power, you would accept him. How can you possibly believe taking approval as you do from one another while you do not desire the rectification which comes from the only God? Do not imagine, however, that I will accuse you before the Father, but one accuses you, Moses, in whom you trust, for if you had believed Moses, you would have believed me, for he wrote about me. But if you disbelieve his writings, how can you rely upon my statements? THE END OF CHAPTERS 1 THROUGH 5 OF THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO JOHN RECORDING BY MARK PENFOLD CHAPTERS 6 THROUGH 9 OF THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO JOHN FROM THE NEW TESTIMENT IN MODERN ENGLISH TRANSLATED BY FERRAR FENTON THIS LIBERVOX RECORDING IS IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN RECORDING BY MARK PENFOLD CHAPTER 6 After this Jesus went beyond the lake of Galilee near Tiberius, and a large crowd was following him because they saw the wonders which he affected upon the sick people, and Jesus climbed up the mountain and there sat down along with his disciples. At that time the Judean festival of the Passover was near. Jesus then looking up and seeing that a large crowd came towards him remarked to Philip, Where shall we buy bread so that all these may eat? He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he was about to do. Twenty pounds worth of bread, Philip answered him, would not be sufficient to satisfy them, even if each of them only took a little. One of the disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, observed to him. There is a little lad here who has five barley loaves and two fishes, but what are they among so many? Make the people sit down, said Jesus, for there was plenty of grass at that spot. So the men sat down to the number of about five thousand. Jesus then took the loaves, and having given thanks he distributed to those reclining, and in the same manner as much of the fish as they wished. Then when they were satisfied he said to his disciples, Collect now the broken pieces which are left so that nothing may be lost. They accordingly collected them, and filled twelve bags with the broken pieces of the five barley loaves which the eaters had to spare. Then when the people saw the evidence which he had produced, they exclaimed, This must certainly be the prophet who was to come into the world. Jesus, perceiving then that they were about to come and seize him, for the purpose of making him king, again withdrew himself to the mountain alone. And when dusk arrived, his disciples went down to the lake, and having embarked in a boat, they were returning over the lake in the direction of Capernaum. But darkness had now arrived, and Jesus had not yet come to them. The water was also getting rough on account of the violent wind then blowing. When however they had rode about two miles, they observed Jesus, walking upon the water and approaching the boat. And they were terrified, but he said to them, I am, be not afraid. They therefore very willingly took him into the boat, and the boat went straight towards the land they steered for. On the following day the crowd upon the other side of the lake, knowing that there had been no boat there except the one in which the disciples had embarked, and that Jesus did not embark in the boat along with his disciples who had departed by themselves, although other boats had come from Tiberius, near to the spot where they had eaten bread after the Lord had given thanks. So when the crowd saw that neither Jesus was there nor yet his disciples, they themselves embarked in the boats and came to Capernaum, searching for Jesus. And finding him across the lake, they asked, When teacher, did you come here? I tell you most assuredly, Jesus answered them, You search for me, not because you have seen evidences, but because you have eaten of the bread and have been satisfied. Strive not only for this perishable food, but also for that lasting into eternal life which the Son of Man will give to you. For him has God the Father marked out. They therefore asked him, What then must we do in order that we may carry out the purposes of God? This is the purpose of God, Jesus answered them, That you believe in him whom he sent. They therefore asked him, What evidence then do you produce so that we may see it and confide in you? What can you do? Our forefathers ate the manna in the desert, as it is written, He gave them bread to eat from out of heaven. Jesus, however, said to them, I tell you assuredly, Moses did not himself give you that bread from heaven, but my father will give you the real bread from heaven, for the bread of God is he who descends from heaven and gives life to the world. They therefore said to him, Give us, sir, this bread always. Jesus answered them, I am the bread of life. The one who comes to me will never hunger, and the one who believes in me will never thirst. I have also told you that, although you have seen, yet you have not believed. Everyone whom the Father gives to me will come to me, and whoever comes to me, I will not cast out. For I descended from heaven not to carry out my own intention, but the intention of my sender. And this is the intention of my sender, that of all which he has entrusted to me, I should lose nothing, but should restore it at the last day. This also is the intention of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and confides in him should possess eternal life, and I will restore him at the last day. The Judeans then muttered concerning him, because he said, I am the bread which descended from heaven, and they said, Is not this fellow Jesus the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How then can he now say, I came down from heaven? Jesus replied and said to them, Do not mutter to one another. No one is able to come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will restore him at the last day. It is written in the prophets, and they shall all be taught from God. Everyone who has listened to the Father and learnt comes to me. Not that anyone has seen the Father, except he who was with God, that one has seen the Father. I tell you most decisively that the believer possesses eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your forefathers ate the man in the desert and died. This is the bread coming down from heaven, so that anyone may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread which descended from out of heaven. If anyone should eat of this bread, he will live forever, and the bread also is my body which I will give for the life of the world. The Judeans then discussed with one another asking, How can this man give us his body to eat? Jesus therefore said to them, I tell you most certainly that unless you eat the body of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not possess life in yourselves. Whoever eats my body and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will restore him at the last day. For my body is a true food, and my blood is a true drink. Whoever eats of my body and drinks of my blood abides with me, and I with him. As the living Father sent me, I also live through the Father, so that the one who eats me shall also live through me. This is the bread descending from heaven, not such as that of which your forefathers ate and died. Whoever eats of this bread shall live forever. He spoke this in a synagogue as he was teaching in Capernaum. Many even among the disciples however on hearing this declaration remarked, This is an extraordinary declaration. Who can listen to it? But Jesus perceiving in himself that his disciples complained about it, he said to them, Does this make you stumble? Then what if you should see the Son of Man ascending to where he was at first? The spirit is the life giver. The body is worth nothing. The ideas which I have expressed to you are spirit and our life. There are some among you however who do not believe, because Jesus knew from the first who the unbelievers were, and who it was that would betray him. Continuing, he said, For this reason I forewarned you that none can come to me unless it be given to him from the Father. Many of his disciples hereupon turned back and accompanied him no longer. Jesus therefore said to the twelve, Do you also not desire to go away? Simon Peter answered him, To whom master can we go? You have the ideals of eternal life, and we are confident and satisfied that you are the Holy One of God. Jesus answered them, Have I not chosen you, the twelve, and one of you is a traitor? He here referred to Judas Simon Iscariot, for that man who was one of the twelve was about to betray him. Chapter 7 After this Jesus travelled in Galilee, for he would not travel in Judea because the Judeans were seeking to murder him. When the Judean Feast of Tabernacles was near, his brothers said to him, Remove from here and go into Judea, so that those disciples of yours may also see the works which you do, for no one does anything privately who desires to become famous himself. If you do them, exhibit yourself to the world, for even his brothers did not believe in him. Jesus therefore answered them, My opportunity has not yet arrived, but your opportunity is always at hand. The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I give evidence against it that its doings are wicked. You yourselves can go up to the festival. I am not going up yet to this festival because my time is not yet fulfilled. And having told them this, he stayed in Galilee. When his brothers had gone up to the festival, however, he also went up himself, not publicly, but quietly. The Judeans were however searching for him at the festival, and kept asking, Where is he? And there was much muttering among the crowds, respecting him. Some even said, He is a benefactor, while others exclaimed, Not he. On the contrary, he deceives the multitude. None, however, spoke openly about him, for fear of the Judeans. When, however, the festival was half over, Jesus went up to the temple and began teaching. The Judeans then, in their astonishment, exclaimed, How can this fellow know theology, having never studied? Jesus in reply to them said, My teaching is not my own, but that of my sender. If anyone desires to conform to his purpose, he will recognize the doctrine, whether it originates from God, or whether I speak from myself. The man who speaks from himself studies his own reputation, but the one whose aim is to honor his sender, he is true, and there is no falsehood in him. Has not Moses given you the law? Yet none of you observe the law. Why do you aim at murdering me? The crowd replied, You have a demon who wants to murder you. I have done one thing, said Jesus in reply to them, and you were all astonished. Moses instituted the circumcision among you for a purpose, not, however, that it originated with Moses, but with your ancestors, and you circumcised a man on the Sabbath, if then a man is circumcised on a Sabbath, so that the law of Moses may not be disregarded. Why are you furious against me because I have restored a grown man to perfect health on a Sabbath? Do not decide at a glance, but think out the decision judicially. Some of those of Jerusalem then remarked, Is not this the man who they wish to murder? Yet here he is speaking in public, and they say nothing to him. Perhaps, however, the authorities have come to recognize the fact that this man is the Messiah. Others said, We know where this fellow comes from, but when the Messiah comes, no one will know from where he comes. Jesus therefore shouted when teaching in the temple, saying, You both know me and know from where I come, and that I have not come from myself, but my sender is true whom you do not know. I know him because I am from him, and he himself sent me. They therefore sought to arrest him, yet none laid hands upon him because his time had not arrived. Among the crowd, however, many believed in him and said, When the Messiah does come, will he produce more proofs than this man has done? The Pharisees heard the crowd muttering about him in this way, and the chief priests then the Pharisees dispatched officers to arrest him. Jesus therefore said, For a little time I am still with you, then I go to him who sent me. You will search for me and fail to find me, and where I am you are unable to come. The Judeans therefore remarked to one another thus, Where will this fellow go that we cannot find him? Surely he will not go to the dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks. What is the man's meaning when he says, You will search for me and fail to find me, and where I am you are not able to come? Now on the closing day, the great day of the festival, Jesus stood up and called aloud, exclaiming, If any man is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever trusts in me, as the Scripture says, Rivers of living waters shall flow out from his heart. He said this, however, in reference to the Spirit which the believers in him were afterwards to receive, for the Spirit was not yet revealed, because Jesus had not yet been glorified. Many among the crowd, hearing this declaration, then began to say, This is certainly the prophet, others remarked. This is the Messiah. But some said, What? Does the Messiah come out of Galilee? Has not the Scripture said that the Messiah shall come from the race of David and from Bethlehem, the village where David was? So a division took place among the crowd on account of him, and some of them wished to arrest him, yet no one laid hands upon him. The officers, however, returned to the chief priests and Pharisees who asked them, Why have you not brought him? No one ever spoke like this man, they replied. The Pharisees, therefore, retorted. Are you also led astray? Have any of the nobles or of the Pharisees believed in him? But this mob that know not the law are contemptible. Nicodemus, who was one of themselves and who had previously come to him, said to them, Would our law convict a man if it had not first examined about him and ascertained what he has done? They retorted and said to him, Are you also from Galilee? Search and see that no prophet has ever sprung from Galilee. Chapter 8 Jesus again addressed them, saying, I am the light of the world. My followers shall not walk in the darkness, but shall go out into the light of life. The Pharisees, therefore, said to him, You are giving evidence about yourself? Your evidence is not reliable. Jesus replied and said to them, Although I give evidence about myself, my evidence is nevertheless reliable. Because I know from where I come and where I go, but you neither know where I come from nor where I am going. You condemn from a human standpoint, I myself condemn none. Yet even if I should condemn, my decision would nevertheless be valid. Because I am not alone, but I and he who sent me. Moreover, in your own law it is written that the evidence of two men is valid. I am witnessing about myself, and the father who sent me gives evidence about me. Where is your father? They therefore asked him. Jesus answered, You neither know me nor my father. If you had known me, you would have known my father also. These remarks were made by Jesus in the treasury while teaching in the temple, and none arrested him because his time had not yet come. He therefore further said to them, I am going away, and you will search for me and will die in your sin. Where I am going, you are unable to follow. The Judeans therefore said, Is he going to kill himself, since he says where I am going you cannot follow? You are from below, he answered them. I am from above. You belong to this world. I am not from this world. I therefore told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am, you will die in your sins. You, who are you? They then asked him. Jesus answered them. What I told you from the beginning. I have much to say and decide about you, but my sender is reliable, and what I have learned from him, that I declare to the world. However, they did not perceive that he spoke to them about the father. Jesus therefore said to them, When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then will you know that I am, and that I do nothing from my own self, but as the Father has instructed me, I must speak, and my sender is with me, he has not left me alone, because I do what is pleasing to him everywhere. While he was speaking in this way, many became believers in him. Jesus said therefore to the Judeans who had not believed him, If you establish yourselves in my doctrine, you will in reality be my disciples, and you will recognize the truth, and the truth will set you free. We are the offspring of Abraham, they answered him, and have never at any time been enslaved to anyone. What do you mean by saying, you will be set free? I tell you plainly, replied Jesus, that whoever sins is a slave of sin. The slave does not constantly stay with a family, the Son stays permanently. If therefore the Son shall set you at liberty, you will be free in reality. I am aware that you are the offspring of Abraham, yet you plot to murder me because my thought has not a place in you. What I have seen with the Father I declare, and what you have learned from your Father, you also do. They retorted and said to him, Our Father is Abraham! If you were children of Abraham, Jesus remarked, you would continue the works of Abraham, but now you plot to murder me, a man who has told you the truth which he learned from God. Abraham did not do so. You do the works of your own Father. We were not born of fornication, they answered him. We have the same Father, God! If God were your Father, Jesus said to them, You would respect me, for I came from God and am here, for I have not come of myself, but he sent me. Why do you not comprehend my language? Because you will not listen to my message. You are from your Father, the devil, and it is your desire to practice the lusts of your Father. He was himself a murderer from the first, and stands not by the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks falsehood, he speaks in his own way, for he is a liar and the Father of such. Because I speak the truth, however, you will not believe me. Who among you can convict me of wrong? If I speak the truth, why will you not believe me? Whoever is attracted by God listens to the thoughts of God, for this reason you do not listen, because you are not in harmony with God. The Judeans retorted and said to him, Were we not correct in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon? I have not a demon, replied Jesus, but I honor my Father and you dishonor me. I do not, however, strive for reputation for myself. There is one who investigates and judges. I tell you most assuredly that if a man holds on to my message, he will by no means see death forever. Now we know that you possess a demon, the Judeans retorted to him. Abraham died, as well as the prophets, yet you say, If a man holds fast to my message, he will not taste of death forever. Are you greater than our forefather Abraham who died, and the prophets died? Who do you make yourself? Jesus answered, If I should praise myself, my praise is worthless. There is my Father who is praising me, of whom you say that he is your God, and you have not recognized him, but I know him. And if I should say that I do not know him, I should be like yourselves a liar, but I do know him and retain his message. Your Father Abraham exalted that he should see my day, and he saw it and was delighted. You are not yet fifty years old, said the Judeans to him in reply, And have you seen Abraham? Jesus said to them, Most assuredly I tell you, before Abraham was born, I am. Then they took up stones to hurl at him, but Jesus became invisible and went out from the temple. Chapter 9 As he was going along, he observed a man who had been blind from his birth. His disciples accordingly asked him, Teacher, who sinned, this man or his parents, in consequence of which he was born blind? Neither did this man sin, nor his parents, replied Jesus. But he is so in order that the workings of God may be displayed through him. I must do the business of my sender while it is day. The night comes when none are able to work. While I am in the world, I am the world's light. Spitting upon the ground as he said this, and mixing clay with the spittle, he applied it to his eyes and said to him, Go, wash yourself in the bathing place of Siloam, which, when translated, means send. He therefore went and washed himself, and returned, seeing. The neighbors and those who formerly saw him when he was a beggar asked, Did not this man sit and beg? Some said, This is the man, others. No, but he is very much like him. He himself said, I am he. They therefore asked him, How were your eyes opened? He replied, The man who is called Jesus mixed clay and applied it to my eyes, telling me to go to Siloam and wash yourself. So I went, washed, and received my eyesight. Where is he? They then asked him. I do not know, he replied. They then took the man who had once been blind before the Pharisees, for it was a Sabbath on which Jesus mixed the clay and gave him eyesight. The Pharisees therefore asked him again in what way he had gained his eyesight. He applied clay to my eyes, he answered them, and I washed, and now see. Some of the Pharisees therefore said, That man is not connected with God because he does not observe the Sabbath. How could such evidences be affected by a sinful man? remarked others, and they were divided among themselves. They therefore asked the blind man once more. What do you say about him seeing that he opened your eyes? That he is a prophet, replied he. The Judeans, however, did not believe concerning him that he had been blind and had received his eyesight until they called the parents of him who had received his eyesight and questioned them. Is this your son who you say was born blind? How then does he now see? We know that this is our son and that he was born blind, his parents answered. But how he now sees we do not know, nor do we know who opened his eyes. He is old enough, ask him. He can speak for himself. His parents said this because they dreaded the Judeans, for already the Judeans had decided that should anyone acknowledge him as Messiah he should be expelled from the synagogue. It was for this reason that his parents said, He is old enough, ask him. They accordingly recalled a second time the man who had been blind and said to him, Give thanks to God, we know that this fellow is wicked. I do not know whether he is wicked or not, he replied. One thing I do know, that having been blind, I can now see. What did he do to you? They then asked him once more. In what way did he open your eyes? I have already told you, he answered. And you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you really wish to become his disciples? They accordingly abused him and retorted. You are his disciple, but we are the disciples of Moses. We know that God spoke with Moses. But as for this fellow, we know nothing about where he comes from. Well, the wonder is that you should not know. The man exclaimed in reply to them. And yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is God fearing and does his will, he listens to him. Since the beginning of time, anyone opening the eyes of one born blind has never been heard of. If this man were not from God, he would not be able to do anything. Ah, you were from head to foot born in sins, they retorted in reply. And would you presume to teach us? They accordingly kicked him out. Jesus learned that they had kicked him out and meeting him. He asked, do you believe on the Son of Man? And who is he, sir? He asked, so that I may believe in him. Jesus answered him. You have seen him, and it is himself who is now talking with you. I believe, sir, he exclaimed, and he bowed to him. Then Jesus said, I came into the world to be a separator, so that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind. Some Pharisees who were in his company on hearing this remark said to him, Surely we are not also blind? If you were blind, Jesus answered them, you would not have sin, but because you say we see, therefore your sin remains. The end of chapters 6 through 9 of the Gospel according to John. Recording by Mark Penfold. Chapters 10 through 13 of the Gospel according to John, from the New Testament in modern English translated by Farrar Fenton. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Recording by Mark Penfold. Chapter 10 I tell you plainly, he who does not enter the sheepfold through the door, but climbs in elsewhere, that man is a thief and a robber, but he who enters through the door is shepherd of the sheep. For him the door is opened by the doorkeeper, and the sheep listen to his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name, and leads them out. And when all his own sheep have run out, he walks on before, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. A stranger, however, they will not follow. On the contrary, they will run away from him, because they do not know the voice of the strangers. This allegory was related by Jesus, but they did not understand what it was he was speaking to them about. Jesus addressing them again, therefore, said, I tell you plainly, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters through me, he shall be safe, and he can come in and go out and find pastureage. The thief comes only in order that he may steal, kill, and destroy. I have come in order that they may enjoy life, and have it in abundance. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his own life on behalf of the sheep. The mere servant, because he is neither shepherd, nor owner of the sheep, on seeing the wolf coming, leaves the sheep and takes to flight, and the wolf snatches and scatters them. He takes to flight because he is but a servant and cares nothing about the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and I know my own, and my own know me. And as thoroughly as the father knows me, I also know the father, and I lay down my own life on behalf of the sheep, and I have other sheep beside these which are not of this fold. Those also I must gather, and they will listen to my voice, and they will become one flock, one shepherd. This is why the father loves me, because I lay down my own life in order that I may receive it again. None can take it from me. On the contrary, I resign it of my own free will. I have authority to resign it, and authority to take it back again. These are the instructions which I have received from my father. A division came again among the Judeans in consequence of these declarations, and many of them said, He has a demon and raves. Why do you listen to him? Others remarked, These are not the thoughts of a demoniac. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind? After this, the festival commemorating the reconsecration of the temple took place in Jerusalem. It was then the winter time, and Jesus was walking about in Solomon's Isle in the temple. The Judeans accordingly surrounded him and began asking him, How long are you going to keep our minds in suspense? If you are really the Messiah, tell us so plainly. Jesus replied to them, I have told you, yet you do not believe. The works which I do by the power of my father, they are evidence in support of me. But as for you, you disbelieve because you do not belong to my sheep. The sheep that are my own listen to my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never at any time be lost, and no one is able to snatch them out of my hands. What my father has endowed me with is mightier than all, and no one is able to rest from the hand of my father. The father and I are one. The Judeans again armed themselves with stones for the purpose of stoning him. Jesus addressed them, Many are the beneficent acts which I have done for you from the father. For which of these acts would you stone me? The Judeans answered him, We will not stone you for a beneficent work, but for blasphemy, and because you, although you are but a man, make yourself out to be a God. Jesus answered them. Is it not written in your own law? I said you are gods. If they are called gods to whom the message came from God, and the scripture cannot be set aside, do you say of the one whom the father has consecrated and sent to the world you blaspheme? Because I said I am son of God. If I do not carry out the works of my father, do not believe me. But if I am carrying them out, although you have no faith in myself, have faith in what I do in order that you may understand more and more that the father is one with me, and I one with the father. They then made another attempt to arrest him, but he escaped from their hands. He accordingly returned once more to the other side of the Jordan to the locality in which John was at first baptizing. And there he stayed. Many persons then came to him, and they said, John in fact produced no evidence, but all that John said concerning this man was true, and many persons there became believers in him. Chapter 11 Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha, was ill, and she was the Mary who bathed the Lord with perfume, wiping his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. The sisters therefore sent to him, saying, Master, your very dear friend is now ill! Jesus, unhearing it, however, remarked, This illness is not for death, but on the contrary for rectification from God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it. Jesus had a friendship with Martha, her sister, and Lazarus. Yet when he heard that he was sick, he still remained two days at the place in which he was. But after that he said to his disciples, Let us return again to Judea. Teacher, exclaimed his disciples, The Judeans were just now attempting to stone you, and are you going there again? There are twelve hours in the day, are there not? replied Jesus. If anyone walks in the day, he will not stumble, because he has the light of this world. But if anyone walks in the night he stumbles, because the light is not with him. Having said this, he added, Lazarus our friend slumbers, but I am going that I may arouse him. If he sleeps, Master, the disciples therefore said to him, He will be restored. Jesus, however, referred to his death, but they supposed that he was speaking of refreshing sleep. Then Jesus told them plainly, Lazarus has died, and for your sakes I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. However, let us go to him. Thomas, known as the twin, therefore said to his fellow disciples, Let us go as well, so that we may die with him. So when Jesus arrived, he found that he had already been four days in the tomb. Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles distant, so many from among the Judeans had come to console Martha and Mary concerning their brother. Martha, however, when she learned that Jesus was coming, went and met him, but Mary remained in the house. Martha then said to Jesus, Master, had you been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you may ask from God, God will grant you. Your brother shall rise again, Jesus remarked to her. I know, responded Martha, that he will rise at the resurrection of the last day. Jesus answered her. I am the resurrection and the life, whoever believes on me, although he may die, he will live, and everyone living and believing in me shall not die forever. Do you believe this? Yes, Master, was her reply. I have believed that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the One coming to the world. And having said this, she returned and told Mary her sister privately. The teacher stands near and calls you. On hearing it, she at once got up and came to him. Now Jesus had not as yet entered the village, but was at the spot where Martha met him. The Judeans then, who were in her company consoling her in the house, noticing the haste with which Mary got up and went out, followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to grieve there. Then when Mary came to where Jesus was, she fell at his feet on seeing him, and exclaimed, Master, had you been here, my brother would not have died. When Jesus then saw her grieving, and the Judeans who accompanied her grieving, he was himself sad and disturbed in spirit and asked, Where have you laid him? Master, come and see, was their reply. Jesus wept. The Judeans then rebarred. See how fondly he loved him. But some of them said, Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind also have arranged that this man should not die? Jesus therefore again sighing in himself came to the tomb. It was a cave, closed up at the entrance with a stone. Remove the stone, said Jesus. Martha, the sister of the deceased, said to him, Master, by this time the smell must be offensive, for this is the fourth day. Did I not tell you, replied Jesus, that if you would believe you should see the Majesty of God, they accordingly removed the stone, when Jesus looking upwards said, Father, I thank you that you have heard me. As for myself, I know that you listen to me at all times, but I am speaking for the sake of the crowd standing around, so that they may believe that you have sent me. And having said this, he called with a loud voice, Lazarus, come out! He who was dead accordingly came out, swathed hand and foot with bandages, and his head wrapped up in a napkin. Jesus then told them, loosen and let him walk. Many therefore of the Judeans who had come to Mary and witnessed what he had done believed in him, but some from among them repaired to the Pharisees and reported to them what Jesus had done. The priests and Pharisees accordingly convened a meeting of the Senate and said, What shall we do? Because this man produces many evidences. If we should leave him as he is, all will believe on him, and the Romans will come and take from us this place and the nation. But one of themselves, K. Iathus, who was the High Priest for that particular year, told them, You know nothing at all, nor do you reflect that it is expedient for you that one man should die for the sake of the people, rather than that the whole nation should perish. Now he did not say this from himself, but being High Priest that year, he foretold that Jesus would be put to death on behalf of the nation, and not for the nation alone, but in order that the scattered children of God might be gathered into one. From that day they accordingly plotted in what way they could affect his murder. For this reason Jesus appeared no longer publicly among the Judeans, but retired to the country near the desert to a village called Ephraim, and he continued there along with his disciples. The Jewish Passover was approaching, and many went up to Jerusalem from that part prior to the Passover in order that they might purify themselves. They therefore searched for Jesus, and while standing in the temple they remarked to each other, What do you think? Will he not come to the festival? The chief priests and the Pharisees, however, had issued instructions that if anyone was acquainted with his whereabouts he should report it in order that they might arrest him. Chapter 12 Jesus, however, six days prior to the Passover, came to Bethany where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from among the dead. They therefore prepared a dinner for him there. Martha superintended, but Lazarus was one of the guests who reclined with him. Then Mary, having provided a pound of the essence of pure nard, which was very valuable, bathed the feet of Jesus, wiping them with her hair, and the house was filled with the perfume of the essence. Judas of Iscariot, however, one of his own disciples who was about to betray him demanded, Why was not this essence sold for thirty pounds and given to the poor? Now he did not say this because he himself cared anything about the poor, but because he was a thief and keeper of the purse carrying all that was put in it. Jesus, however, said, Leave her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of my burial. For you have the poor with you always, but me you have not always. The masses of the Judeans, hearing then where he was, flocked to the place, not merely for the sake of Jesus, but also in order that they might see Lazarus, whom he had raised from among the dead. But the chief priests plotted to murder Lazarus as well. Because on account of him many left the Judeans and believed on Jesus. On the following day a large crowd who had come to the festival, learning that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, plucked branches from the palm trees, and went out to meet him, shouting, Hosanna! Bless the one coming in the name of the Lord, and the King of Israel! Then Jesus, having found a young ass, seated himself upon it according to what is written. Fear not, daughter of Zion! See, your King comes, sitting upon the full of an ass! Now his disciples did not comprehend this at the time, but when Jesus was exalted, they called to mind that this was recorded concerning him, and that this had been done to him. The crowd also who had accompanied him, gave evidence that he had called Lazarus out of the tomb, and had raised him from among the dead. It was for this reason also that the crowd went and met him, because they heard that he had produced that proof. The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, Do you not see that you are gaining nothing? All the world is coming after him! There were also some Greeks among those who had come up to worship at the festival. These therefore applied to Philip, a native of Bethsaida, of Galilee, with a request. We would like, sir, to see Jesus! Philip came and told Andrew. Andrew in turn came with Philip and told Jesus. The time has come, said Jesus, addressing them in reply, when the Son of Man will be honoured. Most assuredly I tell you that if a grain of wheat thrown into the ground does not arise from its bed, it remains alone. But if it arise, it bears much fruit. The lover of his life loses it, and whoever despises his life in this world will preserve it for life eternal. If anyone would serve me, let him become my follower, and where I am, there my servant will also be. If anyone serves me, the Father will honour him. My soul is now in distress. And what do I say? Father, deliver me from this hour? On the contrary, I came to this hour for this very purpose. Father, glorify your own name! Then a voice from heaven said, I have both glorified it, and I will glorify it again. The crowd standing by who heard it, however, remarked, It thunders, others said. An angel has spoken with him. Jesus answered and said, This voice has not come for my own sake, but for yours. Now is the crisis of this world. Now the Prince of this world will be expelled. And when I am lifted up from the earth, I shall attract all towards myself. He said this, however, illustrative of the death he was about to die. The crowd, therefore, remarked to him, We have heard out of the law that the Messiah continues forever. And so how can you say that it is necessary for the Son of Man to be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man? Jesus said to them, The light is with you for a little while longer. Walk while you possess the light so that darkness may not overtake you. The traveler in the dark does not know where he is going. While you possess the light, believe in the light so that you may become sons of light. Having made these remarks, Jesus took his departure, withdrawing from them privately. For although he had produced so many evidences before them, yet they did not believe in him, so that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be verified, which said, Lord, who has believed our statement, and to whom was the arm of the Lord revealed? For this reason they were not able to believe, because Isaiah further said, Their eyes were blind, and their heart degenerated, so that they see not with their eyes, and understand not with their heart, and return that I might heal them. Isaiah said this when he saw his rectifying power and spoke concerning him. Even among the nobles indeed many believed on him, but on account of the Pharisees they did not acknowledge it, lest they should be expelled from the synagogue, for they loved the approval of men more than the approbation of God. Jesus then raising his voice said, Let the believer in me not believe on me, but rather on my sender, then whoever sees me will see my sender. I have come a light into the world, so that everyone believing in me may not continue in the darkness, and if anyone should hear my statements and fail to observe them, I do not condemn him, because I do not come to the world to condemn the world, but so that I might save the world. Whoever rejects me and will not accept my declarations is self-condemned. The message which I declared will itself convict him at the last day, for I have not spoken from myself, but the Father himself who sent me has given me an order, what I should declare, and what I should publish. And I know that his order is life eternal. Whatever I therefore say I say it in accordance with the Father's instruction to me. And during supper, the devil having already put it into the heart of Judas, Simon of Ascariot, that he should betray him, knowing that the Father had given everything into his hands, and that he had come from God and was returning to God, he arose from the table, and putting off his robes and taking a towel, wrapped it round him. Then he poured water into the basin, and began to wash the feet of the disciples, wiping them with the towel with which he was wrapped. He came thus to Simon Peter, who said to him, Master, do you mean to wash my feet? What I am doing you do not understand now, said Jesus in reply to him, but you will understand it afterwards. You shall never at any time wash my feet, said Peter. If I do not wash you, replied Jesus, you have no part with me. Master, not my feet alone, said Simon Peter to him, but also my hands and my head. He who has bathed, Jesus replied, only requires to have his feet washed, the rest of his body being perfectly clean, and you are clean, although not all. For he knew his betrayer, therefore he said, you are not all clean. Then when he had washed their feet and taken his robes and reclined again, he said to them, do you know what I have done to you? You call me teacher and master, and you speak correctly because I am so. If I then, the master and the teacher, have washed your feet, you ought also to wash the feet of one another, for I have given you an example so that you should also do as I have done to you. Most assuredly I tell you, a slave is not greater than his master, nor a messenger greater than his sender. If you know this, you are happy if you practice it. I do not refer to the whole of you. I know whom I have chosen, but it is so for the fulfillment of this scripture. The one who partook of my bread has raised his heel against me. I tell you this before it happens so that when it does come, you may believe that I am. I tell you a fact. The man who receives anyone whom I send receives me, and whoever receives me receives my sender. Saying this, Jesus was distressed in spirit and exclaimed, I tell you most truly that one of you will betray me. The disciples looked at one another, in doubt as to whom he referred. One of his disciples, one whom Jesus loved, was leaning upon the lap of Jesus. Simon Peter therefore made a sign to him, saying, Ask who it is he is speaking about. Leaning back then upon the breast of Jesus, he asked him, Who is it, master? He is the one, replied Jesus, for whom I shall dip this morsel and to whom I shall give it. When therefore he had dipped the morsel, he handed it to Judas, Simon of Iscariot. And after receiving the morsel, Satan entered into him. Jesus therefore said to him, What you have to do, do quickly. None reclining at the table understood why he had spoken to him in this way. But some supposed that as Judas was treasurer, Jesus had told him to buy the necessaries for the festival or give something to the poor. Having therefore received the morsel, he at once went out, and it was night. Then when he had gone out, Jesus said, Now the son of man shall be exalted, and God will be exalted through him, and God will exalt him to himself, and he will exalt him immediately. Little children, I am still with you for a little while. You will search for me, and what I told the Judeans, I tell even now to you. Where I go, you are unable to follow. I give you a new command, that you love one another, just as I have loved you, in the same way you ought also to love one another. By this all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love to one another. Where master are you going? Simon Peter asked him. Where I am going? answered Jesus. You are not able to follow now, but you shall follow afterwards. Lord, why cannot I follow you even now? Peter asked him. I will lay down my life for you. Will you lay down your life for me? replied Jesus. I tell you most assuredly that the bugle will not sound until you have thrice denied me. The end of chapters 10 through 13. Recording by Mark Penfold. Chapter 14 Do not allow your hearts to be troubled. Trust in God and trust in me. In the home of my Father there are many abodes. If it were not so, I would have told you, because I am going to prepare a place for you. And after I have gone and prepared a place for you, I will return and take you to myself, so that where I am there you may also be, and where I am going you know the way. Thomas exclaimed to him. Master, we do not know where you are going, and how can we know the way? I am the way, the truth, and the life. Jesus answered him. No one can come to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now you do know him, and have seen him. Philip replied to him. Master, show the Father to us, and that will satisfy us. Have I been with you all this time? replied Jesus. And yet you have not known me, Philip? He who sees me sees the Father. Why then do you say, show us the Father? Do you not believe that I am with the Father and the Father with me? The statements which I deliver to you I do not deliver from myself. As to the works, the Father dwelling with me does them himself. Believe me that I am with the Father and the Father with me. If not, believe through the works themselves. I tell you most truly that the believer in me shall himself do the works which I do, and he shall do greater than these, because I am going to the Father. And whatever you shall ask in my name, that I will do in order that the Father may be exalted in the Son. If therefore you ask anything in my name, I will do it. If you love me, keep my commands, and I will ask the Father, and he will send you another helper to continue with you forever. The spirit of truth whom the world cannot accept, because it neither sees him, nor knows him. You will know him, however, for he will remain with you, and will be in you. I will not leave you fatherless. I am coming to you. A little while, and the world will see me no more, but you will see me, because I am living. You will live also. In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. Whoever keeps my commands and regards them, he it is who loves me, and the one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him, and will make myself known to him. Judas, not the Ascariot, asked him, Master, how will it happen that you will manifest yourself to us, and yet not to the world? If any man loves me, Jesus answered him. He will retain my message, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and take up our abode with him. The one who does not love me will not retain my message, and the message which you hear is not my own, but that of the Father who sent me. I have told you this while remaining with you, but the Helper, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send with my power, he will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have myself told you. Peace I leave with you. My own peace I give to you. I do not give as the world gives. Do not allow your heart to be troubled, nor yet be discouraged. You have heard me tell you, I am going away, and I am returning to you. If you had loved me, you would have been glad, because I am going to the Father, for the Father is mightier than myself. And I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does happen, you may be convinced. I shall not from now have much conversation with you, for the Prince of this world approaches, and he has nothing in common with me. But this is necessary in order that the world may learn that I love the Father and act in accordance with his instructions. Arise, let us go forward from here. Chapter 15 I am the true vine, and my Father is the cultivator. Every branch on me not bearing fruit, he removes it, and he prunes every fertile branch so that it may become still more productive. As for you, you are already pruned by means of the message which I have delivered to you. Remain on me, for I am with you, as the branch cannot be fruitful of itself unless it remains upon the vine, so neither can you unless you remain on me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who remains on me and I with him produces plenty of fruit, but severed from me you can produce nothing. Anyone not remaining on me is at once thrown away as a branch and withers. They are then collected, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain on me, and my teaching remains in you, what you may wish you shall ask for, and it will come to you. By this my Father will be honored, when you bear much fruit, and you will be manifestly my disciples. Just as the Father has loved me, so I have loved you, continue in his love with me. If you keep my commands, you will continue in my love, just as I have kept the commands of my Father and continue in his love. I have spoken to you so that my delight may be in you, and your delight may be perfect. My command is this, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. Stronger love has no one than this, that one should lay down his own life for his friends. You are my friends, if you are doing what I am commanding you. I no longer call you servants, because the servant does not know what his master is doing. But I have called you my friends, because everything I have learned from my Father I have made known to you. It was not you who chose me, but I have chosen you, and I planted you in order that you might take root and become fruitful, and your fruit continue, so that whatever you may ask the Father in my name, he may grant it to you. I am giving these commands in order that you may love one another. If the world hates you, you know that it hated me before hating you. Had you belonged to the world, the world would have loved its own. But because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you from out of the world, for that reason the world hates you. Think of that remark which I made to you. A servant is not superior to his master. If they persecute me, they will also persecute you. If they had obeyed my message, they would obey yours as well. But they will do all this to you because of my name, because they knew not him who sent me. Had I not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. Those who hate me also hate my Father. Had I not done among them deeds which have been done by no one else, they would not have been guilty of sin. As it is, they have witnessed and have hated both me and my Father. But thus is accomplished the statement recorded in their law. They hated me without a cause. When however the helper comes, whom I myself will send you from the Father, the spirit of the truth which proceeds from the Father, he himself will give evidence about me, and you also can corroborate because you have been with me from the beginning. Chapter 16 All this I have told you in order that you should not falter. They will expel you from their synagogues. Not only so, but a time is now coming when everyone who murders you will imagine that he is offering a sacrifice to God. And they will do this because they neither recognize the Father nor myself. I have told you all these however so that when the time does come for them you may be reminded that I told you of them. Yet I avoided telling you at the beginning because I was with you. Now however I am going to my center and none of you ask me where are you going. Yet because I have spoken to you in this way, your hearts are full of sadness. I have however told you nothing but the truth. It is better for you that I should take my leave of you, because if I do not depart the Helper will certainly not come to you, but when I depart I will send him to you. He on his coming will bring conviction to the world about a sin, and about a rectification, and about justice, about a sin because they have not confided in me, about a rectification when I go to the Father and you see me no longer, about justice when the leader of this conspiracy is convicted. I have still much more to tell you, but you are not yet able to bear it. When however the spirit of truth himself comes he will instruct you in all the truth, for his utterances do not proceed from himself, but just what he learns he will declare, and the events that are coming he will announce to you. He himself will honor me, because what he receives from me he will transmit to you. All that the Father possesses is mine, that is why I said, it is of mine that he takes and transmits to you. Only a little while, and you will not see me, and again a little while, and you shall see me. Some of his disciples then remarked one to another. What is this that he says to us? Only a little while, and you will not see me, and again a little while, and you will see me. And, because I go to the Father, so they were saying. What is this little while that he speaks of? Who we do not know what he means? Jesus, perceiving that they were anxious to ask him, said to them. Is it about this remark of mine that you are questioning one another? Only a little while, and you shall not see me, and again a little while, and you shall see me? I tell you most assuredly that you will weep and grieve while the world will rejoice. You will be grieved, but your grief will be transformed to gladness. A woman, when she is in labor, is in agony because her time is come. But when the child is born she no longer remembers the pain, for the joy that a man has been born into the world. And so for the present you are also in distress. But I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and none shall rob you of your joy. And at that time you will request nothing from me. I tell you truly that should you ask the Father for anything in my name, he will grant it to you. Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will obtain, in order that your enjoyment may be complete. All these things I had told you in figures of speech. The time has come, however, when I will no longer speak to you figuratively, but plainly about the Father whom I announce to you. In that day you will ask in my name, and I need not tell you that I will myself ask the Father on your behalf. For the Father himself loves you because you have loved me, and have believed that I came from the Father. I did come from the Father, and came to the world. Now I leave the world again, and return to the Father. His disciples remarked to him, Well, now you are using plain language, and are not speaking in figures. Now we understand that you know all, and that you have no need that anyone should ask you. It is from this that we believe that you did come from God. Jesus replied to them, Do you already believe? Why, a time comes, and has come, when you will be scattered hither and thither, each one to his own home, and I shall be left alone. Yet I am not alone, because I have the Father with me. All this I have told you so that you might enjoy perfect confidence in me. In the world you have distress, but take courage. I have conquered the world. Chapter 17 After speaking in this way, Jesus, raising his eyes into the heaven, said, Father, the time has come. Perfect your son so that your son may magnify you. For you have invested him with authority over all mankind, in order that he may give eternal life to all whom you have entrusted to him. And the eternal life is this, to obtain a knowledge of you the only true God and the Messiah whom you have sent. I have exalted you upon the earth by completing the work which you entrusted me to do. So now, Father, you restore me to the honor which I had along with yourself before the world existed. I have made your power known to the men whom you entrusted to me out of the world. They were your own, and you entrusted them to me, and they have carefully observed your message. They now know that all which you have entrusted to me proceeds from yourself, because the truths which you have imparted to me I have delivered to them, and they have accepted them and recognized truly that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. It is for them that I am praying. I am not praying for the world, but for those whom you have entrusted to me because they are your own, and all that are mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am honored among them. I am now no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, preserve by your power those whom you have entrusted to me, so that they may be one as we are. While I was with them, I preserved by your power those whom you entrusted to me. I have guarded them, and not one of them is lost, except the Son of Perdition, so that the Scripture might be verified. But I am now coming to you, and I declare these facts in the world so that they may have my own joy perfected in themselves. I have delivered your message to them, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, as also I am not of the world. I do not pray that you should remove them from the world, but that you should preserve them from the wicked. They do not belong to the world, as I also do not belong to the world. Make them holy by the truth, the message your own is truth. As you have sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world, and for their sakes I made myself holy, so that they may become holy by truth. I do not pray, however, on behalf of these alone, but also for those who shall believe in me by means of their teaching, so that all may be one, as you, Father, are with me, and I with you, so that they may all be one with us, in order that the world may believe that you sent me. And the rectification which you gave to me, I have imparted to them, so that they may be one as we are one, I and them, and you in me, so that they may be perfect in unity, that the world may recognize that you sent me, and that I have loved them as you loved me. Father, it is my desire for those whom you have entrusted to me, that where I am, they may be also, so that they may witness the majesty which you have given to me, because you loved me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, the world indeed knew you not, but I knew you, and these knew that you sent me, and I have revealed to them your power, and will continue to reveal it, in order that the love with which you loved me may be in them, and I in them.