John 8
((The earliest and most reliable manuscripts and other ancient witnesses do not have John 7:53-8:11.))
But Jesus went
to the Mount of Olives. Now very early in the morning, he
came again into the temple, and all the people came to him. He sat down,
and taught them. The
scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman taken in adultery. Having set
her in the midst, they
told him, "Teacher, we found this woman in adultery, in the very act.
Now in our law, Moses
commanded us to stone such. What then do you say about her?" They said this testing him, that
they might have something to accuse him of.
But Jesus stooped down, and wrote on the ground with his finger.
But when they continued
asking him, he looked up and said to them, "He who is
without sin among you, let him throw the first stone at her."
Again he stooped down, and
with his finger wrote on the ground.
They, when they heard
it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning
from the oldest, even to the last. Jesus was left alone with the woman
where she was, in the middle. Jesus, standing up, saw her and
said, "Woman, where are your accusers? Did no one
condemn you?"
She said, "No
one, Lord."
Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you. Go your
way. From now on, sin no more."
The Validity of Jesus' Testimony
Again, therefore,
Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the
world. He who follows me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the
light of life."
The Pharisees
therefore said to him, "You testify about yourself. Your testimony is
not valid."
Jesus answered them,
"Even if I testify about myself, my testimony is
true, for I know where I came from, and where I am going; but you don't
know where I came from, or where I am going. You judge according to the flesh.
I judge no one. Even if I
do judge, my judgment is true, for I am not alone, but I am with the
Father who sent me. It's
also written in your law that the testimony of two people is valid.
I am one who testifies
about myself, and the Father who sent me testifies about me."
They said therefore to
him, "Where is your Father?"
Jesus answered, "You know neither me, nor my
Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also."
Jesus spoke these words
in the treasury, as he taught in the temple. Yet no one arrested him,
because his hour had not yet come. Jesus said therefore again to
them, "I am going away, and you will seek me, and you
will die in your sins. Where I go, you can't come."
The Jews therefore
said, "Will he kill himself, that he says, 'Where I
am going, you can't come?'"
He said to them, "You are from beneath. I am from above. You are of this
world. I am not of this world. I said therefore to you that you
will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I AM he, you will die
in your sins."
They said therefore to
him, "Who are you?"
Jesus said to them, "Just what I have been saying
to you from the beginning. I have many things to speak and
to judge concerning you. However he who sent me is true; and the things
which I heard from him, these I say to the world."
They didn't understand
that he spoke to them about the Father. Jesus therefore said to them,
"When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you
will know that I AM he, and I do nothing of myself, but as my Father
taught me, I say these things. He who sent me is with me. The
Father hasn't left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing
to him."
As he spoke these
things, many believed in him.
The Children of Abraham
Jesus therefore said to those
Jews who had believed him, "If you remain in my word,
then you are truly my disciples. You will know the truth, and the
truth will make you free."
They answered him,
"We are Abraham's seed, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How
do you say, 'You will be made free?'"
Jesus answered them,
"Most certainly I tell you, everyone who commits sin
is the bondservant of sin. A bondservant doesn't live in the
house forever. A son remains forever. If therefore the Son makes you
free, you will be free indeed. I know that you are Abraham's
seed, yet you seek to kill me, because my word finds no place in you.
I say the things which I
have seen with my Father; and you also do the things which you have seen
with your father."
They answered him,
"Our father is Abraham."
Jesus said to them, "If you were Abraham's
children, you would do the works of Abraham. But now you seek to kill me, a
man who has told you the truth, which I heard from God. Abraham didn't do
this. You do the works of
your father."
They said to him, "We were not born of sexual immorality. We have
one Father, God."
The Children of the Devil
Therefore Jesus said
to them, "If God were your father, you would love me,
for I came out and have come from God. For I haven't come of myself, but
he sent me. Why don't you
understand my speech? Because you can't hear my word. You are of your father, the
devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer
from the beginning, and doesn't stand in the truth, because there is no
truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks on his own; for he is a
liar, and the father of it. But because I tell the truth, you
don't believe me. Which
of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me?
He who is of God hears
the words of God. For this cause you don't hear, because you are not of
God."
The Claims of Jesus About Himself
Then the Jews answered
him, "Don't we say well that you are a Samaritan, and have a
demon?"
Jesus answered, "I don't have a demon, but I honor my Father, and you
dishonor me. But I don't
seek my own glory. There is one who seeks and judges. Most certainly, I tell you, if a
person keeps my word, he will never see death."
Then the Jews said to
him, "Now we know that you have a demon. Abraham died, and the
prophets; and you say, 'If a man keeps my word, he will
never taste of death.' Are you greater than our father,
Abraham, who died? The prophets died. Who do you make yourself out to
be?"
Jesus answered, "If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father
who glorifies me, of whom you say that he is our God. You have not known him, but I
know him. If I said, 'I don't know him,' I would be like you, a liar. But
I know him, and keep his word. Your father Abraham rejoiced to
see my day. He saw it, and was glad."
The Jews therefore
said to him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen
Abraham?"
Jesus said to them,
"Most certainly, I tell you, before Abraham came into
existence, I AM."
Therefore they took up
stones to throw at him, but Jesus was hidden, and went out of the temple,
having gone through the midst of them, and so passed by.
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