Study Desk

As Jesus passed by, He saw a man who had been blind from birth.

And His disciples asked Him, "^(C1)Rabbi, who sinned, ^(C2)this man or his ^(C3)parents, that he would be born blind?"

Jesus answered, "It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was ^(C1)so that the works of God might be displayed in him.

"We must carry out the works of Him who sent Me ^(C1)as long as it is day; night is coming, when no one can work.

"While I am in the world, I am ^(C1)the Light of the world."

When He had said this, He ^(C1)spit on the ground, and made mud from the saliva, and applied the mud to his eyes,

and said to him, "Go, wash in ^(C1)the pool of Siloam" (which is translated, Sent). So he left and ^(C2)washed, and ^(C3)came back seeing.

So the neighbors, and those who previously saw ^(F1)him as a beggar, were saying, "Is this not the one who used to ^(C1)sit and beg?"

Others were saying, "This is he," still others were saying, "No, but he is like him." ^(F1)The man himself kept saying, "I am the one."

So they were saying to him, "How then were your eyes opened?"

He answered, "The Man who is called Jesus made mud, and spread it on my eyes, and said to me, 'Go to ^(C1)Siloam and wash'; so I went away and washed, and I received sight."

And they said to him, "Where is He?" He ^(*)said, "I do not know."

They ^(*)brought ^(F1)the man who was previously blind to the Pharisees.

^(C1)Now it was a Sabbath on the day that Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes.

^(C1)Then the Pharisees also were asking him again how he received his sight. And he said to them, "He applied mud to my eyes, and I washed, and I see."

Therefore some of the Pharisees were saying, "This Man is not from God, because He ^(C1)does not keep the Sabbath." But others were saying, "How can a man who is a sinner perform such ^(F1)(C2)signs?" And ^(C3)there was dissension among them.

So they ^(*)said ^(C1)again to the man who was blind, "What do you say about Him, since He opened your eyes?" And he said, "He is a ^(C2)prophet."

^(C1)The Jews then did not believe it about him, that he had been blind and had received sight, until they called the parents of the very one who had received his sight,

and they questioned them, saying, "Is this your son, who you say was born blind? Then how does he now see?"

His parents then answered and said, "We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind;

but how he now sees, we do not know; or who opened his eyes, we do not know. Ask him; he is of age, he will speak for himself."

His parents said this because they ^(C1)were afraid of the ^(F1)Jews; for the Jews ^(C2)had already reached the decision that if anyone confessed Him to be ^(F2)Christ, ^(C3)he was to be excommunicated from the synagogue.

It was for this reason that his parents said, "^(C1)He is of age; ask him."

So for a second time they summoned the man who had been blind, and said to him, "^(C1)Give glory to God; we know that ^(C2)this Man is a sinner."

He then answered, "Whether He is a sinner, I do not know; one thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see."

So they said to him, "What did He do to you? How did He open your eyes?"

He answered them, "^(C1)I told you already and you did not ^(C2)listen; why do you want to hear it again? You do not want to become His disciples too, do you?"

They spoke abusively to him and said, "You are His disciple, but ^(C1)we are disciples of Moses.

"We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this Man, ^(C1)we do not know where He is from."

The man answered and said to them, "Well, here is the amazing thing, that you do not know where He is from, and yet He opened my eyes!

"We know that ^(C1)God does not listen to sinners; but if someone is ^(F1)God-fearing and does His will, He listens to him.

"^(F1)Since the beginning of time it has never been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind.

"^(C1)If this Man were not from God, He could do nothing."

They answered him, "^(C1)You were born entirely in sins, and yet you are teaching us?" So they ^(F1)(C2)put him out.

Jesus heard that they had ^(F1)(C1)put him out, and upon finding him, He said, "Do you believe in the ^(C2)Son of Man?"

He answered ^(F1)by saying, "And ^(C1)who is He, ^(F2)Sir, that I may believe in Him?"

Jesus said to him, "You have both seen Him, and ^(C1)He is the One who is talking with you."

And he said, "I believe, Lord." And he ^(C1)worshiped Him.

And Jesus said, "^(C1)For judgment I came into this world, so that ^(C2)those who do not see may see, and ^(C3)those who see may become blind."

Those who were with Him from the Pharisees heard these things and said to Him, "^(C1)We are not blind too, are we?"

Jesus said to them, "^(C1)If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now that you maintain, '^(C2)We see,' your sin remains.

"Truly, truly I say to you, the one who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is ^(C1)a thief and a robber.

"But the one who enters by the door is ^(C1)a shepherd of the sheep.

"To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep listen to ^(C1)his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and ^(C2)leads them out.

"When he puts all his own sheep outside, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know ^(C1)his voice.

"However, a stranger they simply will not follow, but will flee from him, because they do not know ^(C1)the voice of strangers."

Jesus told them this ^(C1)figure of speech, but they did not understand what the things which He was saying to them ^(F1)meant.

So Jesus said to them again, "Truly, truly I say to you, I am ^(C1)the door of the sheep.

"All those who came before Me are ^(C1)thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them.

"^(C1)I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.

"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came so that they ^(C1)would have life, and ^(F1)have it abundantly.

"^(C1)I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd ^(C2)lays down His life for the sheep.

"He who is a hired hand, and not a ^(C1)shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf snatches them and scatters the flock.

"He flees because he is a hired hand and does not care about the sheep.

"^(C1)I am the good shepherd, and ^(C2)I know My own, and My own know Me,

just as ^(C1)the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and ^(C2)I lay down My life for the sheep.

"And I have ^(C1)other sheep that are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will listen to My voice; and they will become ^(C2)one flock, with ^(C3)one shepherd.

"For this reason the Father loves Me, because I ^(C1)lay down My life so that I may take it back.

"^(C1)No one has taken it away from Me, but I ^(C2)lay it down on My own. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it back. ^(C3)This commandment I received from My Father."

^(C1)Dissension occurred again among the Jews because of these words.

Many of them were saying, "He ^(C1)has a demon and ^(C2)is insane. Why do you listen to Him?"

Others were saying, "These are not the words of one who is ^(C1)demon-possessed. ^(C2)A demon cannot open the eyes of those who are blind, can it?"

At that time the ^(F1)Feast of the Dedication took place in Jerusalem;

it was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple area, in the portico of ^(C1)Solomon.

^(C1)The Jews then surrounded Him and began saying to Him, "How long ^(F1)will You keep us in suspense? If You are the ^(F2)Christ, tell us ^(C2)plainly."

Jesus answered them, "^(C1)I told you, and you do not believe; ^(C2)the works that I do in My Father's name, these testify of Me.

"But you do not believe, because ^(C1)you are not of My sheep.

"My sheep ^(C1)listen to My voice, and ^(C2)I know them, and they follow Me;

and I give them ^(C1)eternal life, and they will never perish; and ^(C2)no one will snatch them out of My hand.

"^(F1)My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand.

"^(C1)I and the Father are ^(F1)one."

The Jews ^(C1)picked up stones again to stone Him.

Jesus replied to them, "I showed you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you stoning Me?"

The Jews answered Him, "We are not stoning You for a good work, but for ^(C1)blasphemy; and because You, being a man, ^(C2)make Yourself out to be God."

Jesus answered them, "Has it not been written in ^(C1)your ^(C2)Law: '^(C3)I SAID, YOU ARE GODS'?

"If he called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be nullified),

are you saying of Him whom the Father ^(C1)sanctified and ^(C2)sent into the world, 'You are blaspheming,' because I said, '^(C3)I am the Son of God'?

"^(C1)If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me;

but if I do them, even though you do not believe Me, believe ^(C1)the works, so that you may ^(F1)know and understand that ^(C2)the Father is in Me, and I in the Father."

Therefore ^(C1)they were seeking again to arrest Him, and ^(C2)He eluded their grasp.

And He went away ^(C1)again beyond the Jordan to the place where John was first baptizing, and He stayed there.

Many came to Him and were saying, "While John performed no ^(C1)sign, yet ^(C2)everything John said about this Man was true."

And ^(C1)many believed in Him there.

Now a certain man was sick: Lazarus of ^(C1)Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister ^(C2)Martha.

And it was the Mary who ^(C1)anointed ^(C2)the Lord with ^(F1)ointment, and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.

So the sisters sent word to Him, saying, "^(C1)Lord, behold, ^(C2)he whom You love is sick."

But when Jesus heard this, He said, "This sickness is not ^(F1)meant for death, but is for ^(C1)the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it."

(Now Jesus loved ^(C1)Martha and her sister, and Lazarus.)

So when He heard that he was sick, He then stayed two days longer in the place where He was.

Then after this He ^(*)said to the disciples, "^(C1)Let's go to Judea again."

The disciples ^(*)said to Him, "^(C1)Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking ^(C2)to stone You, and yet You are going there again?"

Jesus replied, "^(C1)Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks during the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world.

"But if anyone walks during the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in ^(F1)him."

This He said, and after this He ^(*)said to them, "Our ^(C1)friend Lazarus ^(C2)has fallen asleep; but I am going so that I may awaken him from sleep."

The disciples then said to Him, "Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will ^(F1)come out of it."

Now ^(C1)Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that He was speaking about ^(F1)actual sleep.

So Jesus then said to them plainly, "Lazarus died,

and I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, so that you may believe; but let's go to him."

^(C1)Therefore Thomas, who was called ^(F1)(C2)Didymus, said to his fellow disciples, "Let's also go, so that we may die with Him!"

So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb ^(C1)four days.

Now ^(C1)Bethany was near Jerusalem, about ^(F1)fifteen stadia away;

and many of ^(C1)the Jews had come to ^(C2)Martha and Mary, ^(C3)to console them about their brother.

So then ^(C1)Martha, when she heard that Jesus was coming, went to meet Him, but ^(C1)Mary ^(F1)stayed in the house.

Martha then said to Jesus, "^(C1)Lord, ^(C2)if You had been here, my brother would not have died.

"Even now I know that ^(C1)whatever You ask of God, God will give You."

Jesus ^(*)said to her, "Your brother will rise from the dead."

Martha ^(*)said to Him, "^(C1)I know that he will rise in the resurrection on the last day."

Jesus said to her, "^(C1)I am the resurrection and the life; the one who believes in Me will live, even if he dies,

and everyone who lives and believes in Me ^(C1)will never die. Do you believe this?"

She ^(*)said to Him, "Yes, Lord; I have come to believe that You are ^(C1)the ^(F1)Christ, the Son of God, and ^(F2)(C2)He who comes into the world."

When she had said this, she ^(C1)left and called Mary her sister, saying secretly, "^(C2)The Teacher is here and is calling for you."

And when she heard this, she ^(*)got up quickly and came to Him.

Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but ^(C1)was still at the place where Martha met Him.

^(C1)Then the Jews who were with her in the house and were ^(C2)consoling her, when they saw that Mary had gotten up quickly and left, they followed her, thinking that she was going to the tomb to weep there.

So when Mary came to the place where Jesus was, she saw Him and fell at His feet, saying to Him, "^(C1)Lord, ^(C2)if You had been here, my brother would not have died."

Therefore when Jesus saw her weeping, and ^(C1)the Jews who came with her also weeping, He ^(C2)was deeply moved in spirit and ^(F1)(C3)was troubled,

and He said, "Where have you laid him?" They ^(*)said to Him, "Lord, come and see."

Jesus ^(C1)wept.

So ^(C1)the Jews were saying, "See how He ^(C2)loved him!"

But some of them said, "Could this Man, who ^(C1)opened the eyes of the man who was blind, not have also ^(F1)kept this man from dying?"

So Jesus, again being deeply moved within, ^(*)came to the tomb. Now it was a ^(C1)cave, and a stone was lying against it.

Jesus ^(*)said, "Remove the stone." Martha, the sister of the deceased, ^(*)said to Him, "Lord, by this time ^(F1)there will be a stench, for he has been dead ^(C1)four days."

Jesus ^(*)said to her, "^(C1)Did I not say to you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?"

So they removed the ^(C1)stone. And Jesus ^(C2)raised His eyes, and said, "^(C3)Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.

"But I knew that You always hear Me; nevertheless, ^(C1)because of the ^(F1)people standing around I said it, so that they may believe that ^(C2)You sent Me."

And when He had said these things, He cried out with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!"

Out came the man who had died, ^(C1)bound hand and foot with wrappings, and ^(C2)his face was wrapped around with a cloth. Jesus ^(*)said to them, "Unbind him, and let him go."

^(C1)Therefore many of the Jews ^(C2)who came to Mary, and ^(C3)saw what He had done, believed in Him.

But some of them went to the ^(C1)Pharisees and told them the things which Jesus had done.

Therefore ^(C1)the chief priests and the Pharisees ^(C2)convened a ^(C3)council meeting, and they were saying, "What are we ^(F1)doing in regard to the fact that this Man is performing many ^(F2)(C4)signs?

"If we let Him go on like this, all the people will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take over both our ^(F1)(C1)place and our nation."

But one of them, ^(C1)Caiaphas, ^(C2)who was high priest that year, said to them, "You know nothing at all,

nor are you taking into account that ^(C1)it is in your best interest that one man die for the people, and that the whole nation not perish instead."

Now he did not say this ^(F1)on his own, but ^(C1)as he was high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation;

and not for the nation only, but in order that He might also ^(C1)gather together into one the children of God who are scattered abroad.

So from that day on they ^(C1)planned together to kill Him.

Therefore Jesus ^(C1)no longer continued to walk publicly among the Jews, but went away from there to the region near the wilderness, into a city called ^(C2)Ephraim; and there He stayed with the disciples.

Now ^(C1)the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went up to Jerusalem from the country prior to the Passover, ^(C2)in order to ^(F1)purify themselves.

So they ^(C1)were looking for Jesus, and saying to one another as they stood in the temple area, "What do you think; that He will not come to the feast at all?"

Now ^(C1)the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where He was, he was to report it, so that they might arrest Him.

^(C1)Therefore, six days before ^(C2)the Passover, Jesus came to ^(C3)Bethany where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.

So they made Him a dinner there, and ^(C1)Martha was serving; and Lazarus was one of those reclining at the table with Him.

^(C1)Mary then took a ^(F1)pound of very expensive ^(C2)perfume of pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

But ^(C1)Judas Iscariot, one of His disciples, the one who intended to ^(F1)betray Him, ^(*)said,

"Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred ^(F1)denarii and the proceeds given to poor people?"

Now he said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and as he ^(C1)kept the money box, he used to ^(F1)steal from ^(C2)what was put into it.

Therefore Jesus said, "Leave her alone, so that she may keep it ^(F1)for ^(C1)the day of My burial.

"^(C1)For you always have the poor with you, but you do not always have Me."

The ^(C1)large crowd of the Jews then learned that He was there; and they came, not on account of Jesus only, but so that they might also see Lazarus, ^(C2)whom He raised from the dead.

But the chief priests planned to put Lazarus to death also,

because ^(C1)on account of him ^(C2)many of the Jews were going away and were believing in Jesus.

On the next day, when ^(C1)the large crowd that had come to ^(C2)the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem,

they took the branches of the palm trees and went out to meet Him, and began shouting, "^(C1)Hosanna! BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD, indeed, the ^(C2)King of Israel!"

Jesus, finding a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written:

"^(C1)DO NOT FEAR, DAUGHTER OF ZION; BEHOLD, YOUR KING IS COMING, SEATED ON A DONKEY'S COLT."

^(C1)These things His disciples did not understand at the first; but when Jesus ^(C2)was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written of Him, and that they had done these things for Him.

So ^(C1)the ^(F1)people, who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead, continued to testify about Him.

^(C1)For this reason also the ^(F1)people went to meet Him, ^(C2)because they heard that He had performed this ^(F2)sign.

So the Pharisees said ^(F1)to one another, "You see that you are not accomplishing anything; look, the world has gone after Him!"

Now there were some ^(C1)Greeks among those who were going up to worship at ^(C2)the feast;

these people then came to ^(C1)Philip, who was from ^(C2)Bethsaida of Galilee, and were making a request of him, saying, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus."

Philip ^(*)came and ^(*)told ^(C1)Andrew; then Andrew and Philip ^(*)came and ^(*)told Jesus.

But Jesus ^(*)answered them by saying, "^(C1)The hour has come for the Son of Man to ^(C2)be glorified.

"Truly, truly I say to you, ^(C1)unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.

"^(C1)The one who loves his ^(F1)life loses it, and the one who ^(C2)hates his ^(F1)life in this world will keep it ^(F2)to eternal life.

"If anyone ^(F1)serves Me, he must follow Me; and ^(C1)where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone ^(F1)serves Me, the Father will ^(C2)honor him.

"^(C1)Now My soul has become troubled; and what am I to say? '^(C2)Father, save Me from ^(C3)this hour'? But for this purpose I came to this hour.

"^(C1)Father, glorify Your name." Then a ^(C2)voice came out of heaven: "I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again."

So the crowd who stood by and heard it were saying that it had thundered; others were saying, "^(C1)An angel has spoken to Him!"

Jesus responded and said, "^(C1)This voice has not come for My sake, but for yours.

"^(C1)Now judgment is upon this world; now ^(C2)the ruler of this world will be cast out.

"And I, if I ^(C1)am lifted up from the earth, will ^(C2)draw all people to Myself."

Now He was saying this ^(C1)to indicate what kind of death He was going to die.

The crowd then answered Him, "We have heard from ^(C1)the Law that ^(C2)the ^(F1)Christ is to remain forever; and how is it that You say, 'The ^(C3)Son of Man must be ^(C4)lifted up'? Who is this ^(C3)Son of Man?"

So Jesus said to them, "^(C1)For a little while longer ^(C2)the Light is among you. ^(C3)Walk while you have the Light, so that darkness will not overtake you; also, the one who ^(C4)walks in the darkness does not know where he is going.

"While you have the Light, ^(C1)believe in the Light, so that you may become ^(C2)sons of Light." These things Jesus proclaimed, and He went away and ^(C3)hid Himself from them.

Footnotes:  

Cross References:  

But though He had performed so many ^(F1)signs in their sight, they still were not believing in Him.

This happened so that the word of Isaiah the prophet which he spoke would be fulfilled: "^(C1)LORD, WHO HAS BELIEVED OUR REPORT? AND TO WHOM HAS THE ARM OF THE LORD BEEN REVEALED?"

For this reason they could not believe, for Isaiah said again,

"^(C1)HE HAS BLINDED THEIR EYES AND HE ^(C2)HARDENED THEIR HEART, SO THAT THEY WILL NOT SEE WITH THEIR EYES AND UNDERSTAND WITH THEIR HEART, AND ^(F1)BE CONVERTED, AND SO I WILL NOT HEAL THEM."

These things Isaiah said because ^(C1)he saw His glory, and ^(C2)he spoke about Him.

Nevertheless ^(C1)many, even of ^(C2)the rulers, believed in Him, but ^(C3)because of the Pharisees they were not confessing Him, so that they would not be ^(C4)excommunicated from the synagogue;

^(C1)for they loved the ^(F1)approval of people rather than the ^(F1)approval of God.

Now Jesus cried out and said, "^(C1)The one who believes in Me, does not believe only in Me, but also in Him who sent Me.

"And ^(C1)the one who sees Me sees Him who sent Me.

"^(C1)I have come as Light into the world, so that no one who believes in Me will remain in darkness.

"If anyone hears My ^(F1)teachings and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for ^(C1)I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world.

"^(C1)The one who rejects Me and does not ^(F1)accept My ^(F2)teachings has one who judges him: ^(C2)the word which I spoke. That will judge him on ^(C3)the last day.

"^(C1)For I did not speak ^(F1)on My own, but the Father Himself who sent Me ^(C2)has given Me a commandment as to what to say and what to speak.

"And I know that ^(C1)His commandment is eternal life; therefore the things I speak, I speak ^(C2)just as the Father has told Me."