Wednesday, November 6 - John 7.1-31

Jesus? Brothers Don?t Have Faith in Him
Jesus decided to leave Judea and to start going through Galilee because the leaders of the people wanted to kill him. It was almost time for the Festival of Shelters, and Jesus? brothers said to him, "Why don?t you go to Judea? Then your disciples can see what you are doing. 4 No one does anything in secret, if they want others to know about them. So let the world know what you are doing!" 5 Even Jesus? own brothers had not yet become his followers.

6 Jesus answered, "My time hasn?t yet come, but your time is always here. 7 The people of this world cannot hate you. They hate me, because I tell them that they do evil things. 8 Go on to the festival. My time hasn?t yet come, and I am not going." 9 Jesus said this and stayed on in Galilee.

Jesus at the Festival of Shelters
10 After Jesus? brothers had gone to the festival, he went secretly, without telling anyone.
11 During the festival the leaders looked for Jesus and asked, "Where is he?" 12 The crowds even got into an argument about him. Some were saying, "Jesus is a good man," while others were saying, "He is lying to everyone." 13 But the people were afraid of their leaders, and none of them talked in public about him.

14 When the festival was about half over, Jesus went into the temple and started teaching. 15 The leaders were surprised and said, "How does this man know so much? He has never been taught!"
16 Jesus replied: I am not teaching something that I thought up. What I teach comes from the one who sent me. 17 If you really want to obey God, you will know if what I teach comes from God or from me. 18 If I wanted to bring honor to myself, I would speak for myself. But I want to honor the one who sent me. That is why I tell the truth and not a lie. 19 Didn?t Moses give you the Law? Yet none of you obey it! So why do you want to kill me?

20 The crowd replied, "You?re crazy! What makes you think someone wants to kill you?"
21 Jesus answered: I worked one miracle, and it amazed you. 22 Moses commanded you to circumcise your sons. But it wasn?t really Moses who gave you this command. It was your ancestors, and even on the Sabbath you circumcise your sons 23 in order to obey the Law of Moses. Why are you angry with me for making someone completely well on the Sabbath? 24 Don?t judge by appearances. Judge by what is right.

25 Some of the people from Jerusalem were saying, "Isn?t this the man they want to kill? 26 Yet here he is, speaking for everyone to hear. And no one is arguing with him. Do you suppose the authorities know that he is the Messiah? 27 But how could that be? No one knows where the Messiah will come from, but we know where this man comes from."

28 As Jesus was teaching in the temple, he shouted, "Do you really think you know me and where I came from? I didn?t come on my own! The one who sent me is truthful, and you don?t know him. 29 But I know the one who sent me, because I came from him."

30 Some of the people wanted to arrest Jesus right then. But no one even laid a hand on him, because his time had not yet come.

31 A lot of people in the crowd put their faith in him and said, "When the Messiah comes, he surely won?t perform more miracles than this man has done!"