Study Desk

"Already the reaper is receiving his wages and he is gathering fruit for eternal life; so that he who plants and he who reaps may rejoice together.

"For in this case the saying is true, 'One [person] sows and another reaps.'

"I sent you to reap [a crop] for which you have not worked. Others have worked and you have been privileged to reap the results of their work."

and they told the woman, "We no longer believe just because of what you said; for [now] we have heard Him for ourselves and know [with confident assurance] that this One is truly the Savior of [all] the world."

For Jesus Himself declared that a prophet has no honor in his own country.

So when He arrived in Galilee, the Galileans welcomed Him, since they had seen all the things that He did in Jerusalem at the feast; for they too came to the feast.

Having heard that Jesus had come back from Judea to Galilee, he went to meet Him and began asking Him to come down and heal his son; for he was at the point of death.

In these porticoes lay a great number of people who were sick, blind, lame, withered, waiting for the stirring of the water;

for an angel of the Lord went down into the pool at appointed seasons and stirred up the water; the first one to go in after the water was stirred was healed of his disease.

There was a certain man there who had been ill for thirty-eight years.

Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had slipped away [unnoticed] since there was a crowd in that place.

For this reason the Jews began to persecute Jesus continually because He was doing these things on the Sabbath.

This made the Jews more determined than ever to kill Him, for not only was He breaking the Sabbath [from their viewpoint], but He was also calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God.

So Jesus answered them by saying, "I assure you and most solemnly say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself [of His own accord], unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever things the Father does, the Son [in His turn] also does in the same way.

"For the Father dearly loves the Son and shows Him everything that He Himself is doing; and the Father will show Him greater works than these, so that you will be filled with wonder.

"For the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment [that is, the prerogative of judging] to the Son [placing it entirely into His hands],

"For just as the Father has life in Himself [and is self-existent], even so He has given to the Son to have life in Himself [and be self-existent].

"Do not be surprised at this; for a time is coming when all those who are in the tombs will hear His voice,

"John was the lamp that kept on burning and shining [to show you the way], and you were willing for a while to rejoice in his light.

"But the testimony which I have is far greater than the testimony of John; for the works that the Father has given Me to finish—the very same works [that is, the miracles and proofs of My deity] that I am [now] doing—testify about Me, [by providing evidence] that the Father has sent Me.