John 8

[ ₁Then everyone went home, but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. ₂Early the next morning he went back to the Temple. All the people gathered round him, and he sat down and began to teach them. ₃The teachers of the Law and the Pharisees brought in a woman who had been caught committing adultery, and they made her stand before them all. ₄“Teacher,” they said to Jesus, “this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery. ₅In our Law Moses commanded that such a woman must be stoned to death. Now, what do you say?” ₆They said this to trap Jesus, so that they could accuse him. But he bent over and wrote on the ground with his finger.

₇As they stood there asking him questions, he straightened himself up and said to them, “Whichever one of you has committed no sin may throw the first stone at her.” ₈Then he bent over again and wrote on the ground. ₉When they heard this, they all left, one by one, the older ones first. Jesus was left alone, with the woman still standing there. ₁₀He straightened himself up and said to her, “Where are they? Is there no one left to condemn you?”

₁₁“No one, sir,” she answered.

“Well, then,” Jesus said, “I do not condemn you either. Go, but do not sin again.”]

₁₂Jesus spoke to the Pharisees again. “I am the light of the world,” he said. “Whoever follows me will have the light of life and will never walk in darkness.”

₁₃The Pharisees said to him, “Now you are testifying on your own behalf; what you say proves nothing.”

₁₄“No,” Jesus answered, “even though I do testify on my own behalf, what I say is true, because I know where I came from and where I am going. You do not know where I came from or where I am going. ₁₅You make judgements in a purely human way; I pass judgement on no one. ₁₆But if I were to do so, my judgement would be true, because I am not alone in this; the Father who sent me is with me. ₁₇It is written in your Law that when two witnesses agree, what they say is true. ₁₈I testify on my own behalf, and the Father who sent me also testifies on my behalf.”

₁₉“Where is your father?” they asked him.

“You know neither me nor my Father,” Jesus answered. “If you knew me, you would know my Father also.”

₂₀Jesus said all this as he taught in the Temple, in the room where the offering boxes were placed. And no one arrested him, because his hour had not come.

₂₁Again Jesus said to them, “I will go away; you will look for me, but you will die in your sins. You cannot go where I am going.”

₂₂So the Jewish authorities said, “He says that we cannot go where he is going. Does this mean that he will kill himself?”

₂₃Jesus answered, “You belong to this world here below, but I come from above. You are from this world, but I am not from this world. ₂₄That is why I told you that you will die in your sins. And you will die in your sins if you do not believe that ‘I Am Who I Am’.”

₂₅“Who are you?” they asked him.

Jesus answered, “What I have told you from the very beginning. ₂₆I have much to say about you, much to condemn you for. The one who sent me, however, is truthful, and I tell the world only what I have heard from him.”

₂₇They did not understand that Jesus was talking to them about the Father. ₂₈So he said to them, “When you lift up the Son of Man, you will know that ‘I Am Who I Am’; then you will know that I do nothing on my own authority, but I say only what the Father has instructed me to say. ₂₉And he who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, because I always do what pleases him.”

₃₀Many who heard Jesus say these things believed in him.

₃₁So Jesus said to those who believed in him, “If you obey my teaching, you are really my disciples; ₃₂you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

₃₃“We are the descendants of Abraham,” they answered, “and we have never been anybody's slaves. What do you mean, then, by saying, ‘You will be free’?”

₃₄Jesus said to them, “I am telling you the truth: everyone who sins is a slave of sin. ₃₅A slave does not belong to a family permanently, but a son belongs there for ever. ₃₆If the Son sets you free, then you will be really free. ₃₇I know you are Abraham's descendants. Yet you are trying to kill me, because you will not accept my teaching. ₃₈I talk about what my Father has shown me, but you do what your father has told you.”

₃₉They answered him, “Our father is Abraham.”

“If you really were Abraham's children,” Jesus replied, “you would do the same things that he did. ₄₀All I have ever done is to tell you the truth I heard from God, yet you are trying to kill me. Abraham did nothing like this! ₄₁You are doing what your father did.”

“God himself is the only Father we have,” they answered, “and we are his true children.”

₄₂Jesus said to them, “If God really were your Father, you would love me, because I came from God and now I am here. I did not come on my own authority, but he sent me. ₄₃Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to listen to my message. ₄₄You are the children of your father, the Devil, and you want to follow your father's desires. From the very beginning he was a murderer and has never been on the side of truth, because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he is only doing what is natural to him, because he is a liar and the father of all lies. ₄₅But I tell the truth, and that is why you do not believe me. ₄₆Which one of you can prove that I am guilty of sin? If I tell the truth, then why do you not believe me? ₄₇He who comes from God listens to God's words. You, however, are not from God, and that is why you will not listen.”

₄₈They asked Jesus, “Were we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon in you?”

₄₉“I have no demon,” Jesus answered. “I honour my Father, but you dishonour me. ₅₀I am not seeking honour for myself. But there is one who is seeking it and who judges in my favour. ₅₁I am telling you the truth: whoever obeys my teaching will never die.”

₅₂They said to him, “Now we are certain that you have a demon! Abraham died, and the prophets died, yet you say that whoever obeys your teaching will never die. ₅₃Our father Abraham died; you do not claim to be greater than Abraham, do you? And the prophets also died. Who do you think you are?”

₅₄Jesus answered, “If I were to honour myself, that honour would be worth nothing. The one who honours me is my Father — the very one you say is your God. ₅₅You have never known him, but I know him. If I were to say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you. But I do know him, and I obey his word. ₅₆Your father Abraham rejoiced that he was to see the time of my coming; he saw it and was glad.”

₅₇They said to him, “You are not even fifty years old — and you have seen Abraham?”

₅₈“I am telling you the truth,” Jesus replied. “Before Abraham was born, ‘I Am’.”

₅₉Then they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and left the Temple.