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Before each new section there is a short introduction to the story that follows. These comments are not the part of the Bible. (For the each new section where is the introduction story, what is not the part of the Bible, there is the line that separates each beginning of the new section.)
Chapter Eleven - "I am the resurrection and the life"
Jesus learns that his good friend Lazarus has fallen ill but waits until he has died so that God's glory can be displayed (11:1-16).
A man by the name of Lazarus lay sick in the village of Bethany. His two sisters, Mary and Martha, lived with him there.
(This was the same Mary who anointed Jesus with expensive perfume and wiped his feet with her hair. It was her brother Lazarus who was sick.)
So the sisters sent word to Jesus, "Lord, your good friend is ill."
When Jesus heard this, he said, "This illness won't end in death. Its purpose is to bring glory to God, and so that God's Son may be glorified through it."
Jesus loved Martha, her sister Mary, and Lazarus. So after hearing that Lazarus was ill, he stayed where he was for two more days. Then he said to us, his disciples, "Let's go back to Judea."
"But Rabbi," we protested, "just a short time ago those people were trying to stone you! Why would you go there now?"
Jesus said to us, "There are twelve hours of daylight in every day. If you walk during the day, you have the light of the sun to keep you from stumbling. But if you walk at night you will stumble because the sun has gone down. Then he added, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, and I am going to Bethany to wake him up."
Jesus' words left us confused. "But Lord," we said, "if he has simply fallen asleep, he will get well." We thought Jesus was talking about normal sleep, but he meant that Lazarus had in fact died.
So Jesus told us plainly, "Lazarus is dead! And for your sake I am glad that I was not there with him. This way your faith will have a chance to grow. Come, let's go to him."
Thomas (the disciple called the Twin), said to the rest of us, "Let's go so we can die with him."
Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead to show that he alone is the source of resurrection and true life, and that those who believe in him will live forever (11:17-44).
When Jesus arrived in Bethany, he was told that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days.
Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, so many of Mary and Martha's friends had come from the city to comfort the two sisters over the loss of their brother.
When Martha got word that Jesus had arrived, she hurried out to meet him. Mary, however, remained in the house.
Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if you'd been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will do for you whatever you ask."
"Your brother Lazarus will live again," said Jesus to Martha.
She answered, "I know that he will be raised to life on the last day, when all the dead are raised."
"I am the resurrection and the life," declared Jesus. "All who believe in me will live, even though they die. And whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?"
"Yes, Lord," she replied. "I am convinced that you are the Messiah, the Son of God. You are the one who was to come into the world."
After saying this, Martha went back to Mary and quietly told her, "The Teacher is here and wants to see you." When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went out to Jesus. He was outside the village, in the place where he had met and talked with Martha. The people from Jerusalem who had come to comfort Mary were still in the house. But when they saw her get up quickly and go out, they followed her, thinking she was going to the tomb to weep.
Mary hurried out to where Jesus was. When she saw him, she fell at his feet and cried out, "Lord, if you'd been here, my brother would not have died."
When Jesus saw that Mary and her friends were weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and visibly distressed. "Where have you laid him?" he asked.
"Come and see, Lord" they answered.
Jesus burst into tears. So the Jewish people who had come to mourn said, "See how much he loved him!"
Some of them said, "This man cured the eyes of the blind man. Why couldn't he have done something to keep Lazarus from dying?
Jesus continued to be deeply moved. He went to the tomb, which was a cave with a stone across the entrance.
"Roll away the stone," he commanded.
But Martha, the sister of the dead man, objected, saying, "Lord, by now the body will smell. It has been in the tomb for four days."
Jesus said, "Didn't I tell you that if you'd believe you would see the glory of God?"
So they rolled away the stone. Then Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said, "Thank you, Father, for hearing my prayer. I know that you always answer my prayers, but I say this so all these people will believe that you sent me."
When he had finished his prayer, he called out in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out of there!" Suddenly the man who had died came out of the tomb, wrapped hand and foot with grave cloths, with a towel around his face.
Without knowing it, the high priest prophesies through the power of God's Spirit that Jesus will die for the sake of the people (11:45-57).
Many who had followed Mary from the house and had seen the miracle that Jesus performed, believed in him.
But others went to the Pharisees to report what Jesus had done. So the chief priests and the Pharisees called the council into session.
"We haven't accomplished much so far, have we?" they said. "This man is still performing miracles. If we let him get away with this, everyone will begin to believe in him. Then the Romans will get involved and that could affect our prestige, to say nothing of putting the whole nation in jeopardy."
The high priest that year was a man by the name of Caiaphas. At this point he spoke up, saying, "You gentlemen have failed to think this matter through. "Don't you realize that it would be better to have one man die for the people than for the entire nation to be destroyed?"
Caiaphas didn't say this on his own, but as high priest that year he was prophesying that Jesus was about to die for the Jewish nation – and not for that nation only, but also for the children of God scattered abroad, to bring them together and make them one. So from that day on the council started planning how to put Jesus to death.
As a result, Jesus no longer went about openly in Jerusalem. Instead he went to the desert town of Ephraim where he stayed with us, the disciples.
It was almost time for the Jewish Festival of Passover. Many people from the rural areas throughout the country had gone up to Jerusalem to purify themselves in preparation for the Passover. They were on the lookout for Jesus. Standing around in the temple area, they said to one another, "What do you think? You don't suppose he's decided against coming to the Festival, do you?"
The chief priests and Pharisees had issued an order that if anyone saw Jesus they should report it immediately to the religious authorities. That way Jesus could be taken into custody.
Ancient walls of Dan
Ancient tomb with rolling stone
Rural area in Israel
Chapter Twelve - God bless the long-awaited Messiah!
Mary anoints Jesus, which Jesus portrays as symbolic of his coming burial (12:1-11).
Six days before the Passover, Jesus went to the home of Lazarus in the town of Bethany.
(It was at Bethany that Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead).
A meal had been prepared for him, and Martha was serving. Lazarus, along with others, was seated at the table with Jesus.
Mary took a good-sized jar of expensive perfume (about a pint) and poured it out on Jesus' feet.
Then she wiped his feet with her hair. The entire house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.
Judas Iscariot (the disciple who later betrayed Jesus) complained, "That perfume was worth a year's wages! Why wasn't it sold and the money given to the poor?"
He said this not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief. He had been entrusted with the money bag and would often help himself to whatever he wanted.
"Don't bother her," said Jesus. "The reason she didn't sell the perfume was so she could keep it for my burial. The poor you'll always have with you, but you won't always have me."
A number of people in Jerusalem learned that Jesus was at Bethany. So they went there, not only because of Jesus but also to see Lazarus whom he had raised from the dead. Because of Lazarus, many were abandoning the Jewish faith and beginning to believe in Jesus. As a result, the chief priests were making plans to kill Lazarus as well.
Jesus enters Jerusalem and the crowds welcome him as the coming Messiah. The religious authorities are perplexed about how to stop what they interpret as a fraudulent messianic movement. (12:12-19).
The next day Jerusalem was crowded with people who had come to celebrate Passover.
When they heard that Jesus was on his way to the city, they took palm branches and rushed out to greet him. They kept shouting,
"Praise God!
"God bless the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
"God bless the long-awaited Messiah!"
Jesus found a young donkey and mounted it, just as Scripture says,
" Fear not, people of Israel!
"Here comes your king, riding on a young donkey!"
At this time, we did not grasp the significance of what was taking place. However, after Jesus was exalted we came to understand that these events were in fulfillment of prophetic Scripture.
The people who were with Jesus when he called Lazarus out of the tomb, were telling everyone how Jesus had brought a dead man back to life. A great number of people went to meet Jesus because they heard he had performed this miraculous sign. Exasperated, the Pharisees said to one another, "You see, this is getting us nowhere. The whole world has gone after him."
Jesus knows that the time of his exaltation is at hand; he knows that the cross awaits (12:20-36).
Among those who had come to Jerusalem for Passover were some Greeks. They approached Philip (of Bethsaida in Galilee) and asked, "Sir, we would like to meet Jesus." Philip told Andrew, and the two of them went and told Jesus.
Jesus said, "The hour has now come for the Son of Man to be exalted. I tell you the truth, for a grain of wheat to become more than a single grain it must fall into the ground and die. Only if it dies will it produce more grain.
"If you hold on to your life you will lose it. If you let it go in this world, you will keep it forever. If you want to serve me, you must follow me. That way we will both be living in obedience to the will of God. If you serve me, my Father will honor you.
"Now is my heart deeply troubled. And what am I to say? 'Father, deliver me from this hour'? But for this very purpose I have come to this hour! Father, bring honor to your name."
Then from heaven came a voice: "I have already brought honor to my name, and I will do it again."
When the crowd that was standing there heard the voice, some thought it was thunder. Others said, "No, it was an angel speaking to Jesus."
Jesus told the crowd, "That voice was not for my benefit but for yours. The time for judging the people of this world has come.
"The prince of this world is about to be banished. When I am lifted up on the cross, I will draw everyone to myself."
(Jesus spoke of being "lifted up" so people would know what kind of death he would die.)
The crowd spoke up, "Our law says that the Messiah will live forever. How then can you say that the Son of Man must be 'lifted up'? Who is this Son of Man?"
Jesus replied, "The light will be with you for only a little longer, so keep walking while you still have light. When darkness overtakes a traveler, he has no idea where he is going. Have faith in the light while it is still with you, and you will become children of light."
The refusal of people to put their faith in Jesus fulfills the prophecies of Isaiah (12:36b-43).
When Jesus had finished saying these things he withdrew from the center of attention. He had performed many miraculous signs in the presence of the people, but they still would not believe in him. Their unwillingness to believe fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah, who said, " Lord, is there anyone who has believed our message? Has your miraculous power awakened faith in anyone?"
The people could not believe because elsewhere Isaiah said,
" The Lord has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, so they cannot see with their eyes or understand with their mind.
If they did, they would turn to the Lord and be healed."
Isaiah said this because he saw the glory of Christ and spoke of him.
Many of the Jewish leaders believed Jesus to be the Christ, but because of the Pharisees, they would not confess it openly.
They were afraid of being put out of the synagogue. They loved the adulation of people more than the praise that comes from God.
Jesus teaches that he has come to save the world, not condemn it. The people of the world will, however, be judged by the very words that Jesus has spoken (12:44-50).
Jesus spoke out in a loud voice: "To believe in me is to believe not only in me, but also in the one who sent me. And whoever sees me, is seeing the one who sent me. I am the light that has come into the world, so that those who believe in me should no longer have to walk in darkness.
"I am not the one who will pass judgment on those who hear my words but refuse to accept them. My purpose in coming is to save people, not to condemn them. But those who reject me and refuse to accept my teachings do have a judge. On the last day they will be judged by the very words I have spoken.
"I have not spoken on my own authority. I have said only what the Father who sent me has commanded me to say. And I know that his command leads to eternal life. That is why I tell you exactly what the Father has told me to say."
Galilee
East Gate of Jersulam, through which
Jesus made a trimphual entry
Crowded street in modern Jerusalem
Mosaic of Jordan River emptying into the Dead Sea
Chapter Thirteen - "Your love for one another will demonstrate to everyone that you are my disciples"
Jesus teaches humility by washing the feet of his disciples (13:1-20).
It was just before the Passover Festival, and Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and return to his Father.
Throughout his ministry he had always loved his own, but now he was about to show us the full extent of his love.
Even before the evening meal had gotten underway, the devil had already convinced Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, that he should betray Jesus.
Jesus knew that God had placed everything under his control.
He knew that he had come from God and that he was soon to return to him.
So he rose from the table and removed his robe.
Taking a towel, he tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a washbasin and began to wash our feet, drying them with the towel around his waist.
But when he came to Simon Peter, that disciple asked in astonishment, "Lord, could it possibly be that you intend to wash my feet?"
Jesus answered, "What I am doing right now you won't fully understand, but in time you will grasp what it means."
"You'll never wash my feet!‚" insisted Peter.
"If I do not wash you," replied Jesus, "you will no longer be one of mine."
"In that case, Lord," exclaimed Peter, "don't stop at washing my feet; pour water all over me!"
Jesus responded, "If a person has had a complete bath there is no need to wash except for the feet.
"And all of you, except one, are clean."
Jesus knew who was about to betray him, and that is why he said that we were all clean, "except one."
When Jesus had finished washing our feet, he put on his robe and returned to his place.
He asked, "Do you understand what I have just done to you? You call me your teacher and Lord, and you are right to do so, because that is what I am.
"Since I, your teacher and Lord, have just washed your feet, you should do the same for one another. I have given you an example, so that you will do for each other what I have done for you.
"I tell you the truth, a servant is not superior in rank to his master -- a messenger is not greater than the one who sends him. Now that you know these things, God will bless you if you do them.
"I am not talking about all of you; I know those I have chosen. But the Scripture must be fulfilled that says, 'The one who has shared my table has lashed out against me.'
"I am telling you this before it happens. That way, when it does happen you will believe that I am the one I claim to be.
"I tell you the truth, whoever accepts one of my messengers, accepts me. And whoever accepts me, accepts the one who sent me."
Jesus foretells his betrayal by Judas Iscariot (13:21-30).
After saying this, Jesus became profoundly disturbed in spirit and said to us, "I tell you the truth, one of you is going to betray me."
We were stunned! We looked around at one another at a loss to know which of us he meant.
I was commonly known as "the one Jesus loved," and I was sitting next to him at the table. Simon Peter motioned to me to find out who Jesus meant. So I leaned back against Jesus and asked, Lord, who will it be?"
Jesus replied, "I am going to dip this piece of bread in the sauce and give it to the one who will betray me."
Then he dipped the bread and gave it to Judas Iscariot, Simon's son. As soon as Judas had accepted the bread, Satan took complete possession of him.
"Don't wait to do what you intend to do," said Jesus.
No one at the table understood what Jesus meant by this. Since Judas was in charge of the money bag, some thought he had been told to buy whatever was needed for the Festival.
Others thought that perhaps he was to give some money to the poor. Judas took the piece of bread and left the room without delay.
Jesus' followers are to be known for their love for one another (13:31-35).
After Judas had left, Jesus said to us, "Now at last the Son of Man is to enter into his glory, and he will bring glory to God. After God receives glory because of him, God will bring glory to him, and God will do it soon.
"My dear friends, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, but as I told the Jewish authorities, 'You cannot go where I am going.' Now I am giving you a new commandment: Love one another!
"You are to love one another just as I have loved you. Your love for one another will demonstrate to everyone that you are my disciples."
Peter is rebuffed for his overly confident assertion that he is willing to die for Jesus (13:36-38).
"Lord, where are you going?" asked Simon Peter.
Jesus replied, "You cannot go with me now, but one day you will."
Peter asked, "Lord, why can't I go with you now? I'm willing to die for you!"
"Willing to die for me?" questioned Jesus. "Not so. I tell you the truth, before the rooster crows you will have denied three times that you know me."
Modern church near the garden of Gethsemane
Headwaters of the Jordan River
Roman amphitheatre
Modern inhabitant of Jerusalem
Chapter Fourteen - "I am the way. I am the truth. I am the life"
Jesus prepares his disciples for his soon departure by promising that he will return and that he and the Father are one (14:1-14).
"Don't worry about my leaving you. I know you trust in God; so put your trust in me as well.
"There is plenty of room for everyone in my Father's house. If it were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?
"And once that place is ready, you may be sure that I will come back and take you to be with me. That way, we will always be together. You know the way to the place where I am going."
Somewhat confused, Thomas said, "Lord, we aren't sure where you are going, so how can we know the way that will take us there?"
"I am the way" declared Jesus. "I am the truth; I am the life. No one can get to the Father without going through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and you have seen him."
Philip said, "Lord, please show us the Father, and then we will be satisfied."
Jesus replied, "Philip, we've been together for a long time. Don't you know by now who I really am?
"To see me is to see the Father! So how can you say, 'Show us the Father'? Don't you believe that I and the Father are one? I do not speak to you on my own authority.
"The Father who lives in me is the one who carries out the miraculous deeds you see.
"Believe me when I say that I and the Father are one. Or believe it to be true on the basis of the miracles you see me do.
"I tell you the truth, if you believe in me you will do the same things that I am doing. In fact, you will do even greater things, because I am going away to the Father.
"And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. If you ask me for anything in my name, I will do it."
Jesus teaches that he will not abandon them when he leaves, but the Father will send the Holy Spirit to take his place and be a constant helper (14:15-31).
"If you love me, you will do what I tell you to do, and I will ask the Father to send the Holy Spirit to you to help you and remain with you forever. He is the one who reveals the truth about God. The people of the world reject the Spirit because they neither see him nor know him. But you know him because even now he lives with you, and soon will be in your hearts.
"When I go, I will not leave you unprotected, on your own. Then, as I promised, I will come back. In a little while the world won't be able to see me, but you will see me.
"Because I live, you too will live. Then it will be clear to you that the Father and I are one.
"Furthermore, you will be one with me and I with you. To know what I have taught, and to obey my instructions is to prove that you love me.
"If you love me, you will be loved by my Father. I too will love you and reveal myself to you."
The other Judas (not Judas Iscariot) spoke up and asked, "Lord, I don't understand why you are going to reveal yourself to us, but not to others."
Jesus replied, "Those who love me will do what I say. Then my Father will love them, and he and I will come and make our home with them.
"Those who do not love me will not do what I say. What I am telling you is not something I thought up, but it comes from the Father who sent me.
"I have told you these things while I have been with you. But when I am gone, the Father will send the Holy Spirit to take my place. He will help you remember all that I have said to you, and teach you even more.
"The gift I leave with you is peace, the very peace I myself enjoy. It's not the kind of peace the world gives. So don't let your heart be troubled. Don't lose courage.
"Remember what I told you: I am going away, but I will be back. If you really loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to my Father, because he is greater than I.
"I have told you this ahead of time, so when it happens your faith will not fail. I can't talk with you much longer because the ruler of this world is on his way. But he has no basis for an accusation against me. I am doing exactly what the Father has told me. Thus everyone in the world will know that I love the Father.
"It's time to leave; let's be on our way."
Mount of Olives, where some feel Jesus will return
Engraving of the Ark of the Covenant
"I will not leave you unprotected, alone."
One soul of many who where killed by Muslims only bacause they are Christians
Serbian boy from Kosovo went to Heavan with the Lord
Saint Catherine's Monastery in the Sinai wilderness
Chapter Fifteen - "I am the vine and you are the branches"
Jesus teaches the disciples that they must maintain a vital connection with him in order to bear fruit (15:1-17).
"I am the real vine, and my Father is the vine grower.
"Every branch that bears fruit he trims, so it will produce even more; but every branch that bears no fruit, he cuts off.
"You have already been trimmed by the words I have spoken to you.
"It is crucial that you remain in me and I in you. No branch can bear fruit if it is cut off from the vine.It's the same with you – you an bear no fruit unless you remain in me.
"I am the vine and you are the branches. Only if you remain in me and I in you, will you be able to bear much fruit.
"If you do not remain in me, you can accomplish nothing. If you do not remain in me, you will be thrown aside like a withered branch. Branches like that are good for nothing but firewood.
"If you remain in me and reflect on what I have taught you, then whatever you ask for in prayer will be done for you. Would you like to bring honor to my Father? Then bear much fruit and show that you are my disciples.
"My love for you has been the same as the love my Father has for me. Remain true to that love.
"If you obey my commands, you will remain true to my love, just as I obey my Father's commands and remain true to his love.
"I have told you these things so that you may experience the joy that is mine. I want you to be filled with joy.
"My commandment is that you love one another just as I have loved you. The ultimate proof of a person's love is his willingness to sacrifice his life for a friend. You will prove your love for me if you do what I command.
"No longer will I call you servants, because a servant is in the dark about what his master is doing.
Rather, I will call you friends, because I have shared with you everything my Father has told me.
"It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you. I appointed you to go and bear fruit, the kind of fruit that lasts. The Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. I give you these commands so that you may love one another."
The disciples will face persecution in the world because they belong to Jesus and will therefore endure the same kind of hatred as their master did (15:18-27).
"When you experience the hatred of the world, keep in mind that it hated me before it hated you.
"If you belonged to the world, the world would love you like one of their own. But you don't belong to the world.
"I chose you out of the world and that is why the world hates you. Remember what I told you: 'A servant is not superior to his master.' Since they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.
"They will respond to your teaching in the same way they responded to mine.
"The people of this world will treat youlike this because you belong to me, because they do not know the one who sent me. They would not be guilty of sin if I had not come and spoken to them. As it is, they have no excuse for their sin.
"To hate me is to hate my Father as well. If I had not performed miraculous deeds that no one else had ever done, they would not be guilty.
"But they were right there watching and chose to hate both me and my Father.
"All this happened so as to fulfill what was written in their Scriptures, 'They hated me for no reason.'
"I will send you a Helper, the Spirit of truth, who will come from the Father. When he arrives he will speak on my behalf.
"You too must speak on my behalf, because you have been with me from the beginning of my ministry."
Engraving of grapes on vine
Olive press
Galilee
Roman road in front of ancient temple
Chapter Sixteen - "The victory is mine over the world"
"I have told you these things so that nothing will upset your faith.
"You will be kicked out of the synagogues.
"In fact, the time is coming when some people will think that by killing you they are doing God a favor.
"They will do things like this because they have no true knowledge of the Father or of me.
"I have told you these things so that when that time does come, you will remember what I said would happen."
When the Holy Spirit comes he will help the disciples understand all that Jesus has taught them (16:5-15).
"Up till now there has been no reason for me to tell you these things, because I have been with you.
"Now I am going back to the one who sent me, yet not one of you has asked, 'Where are you going?' But because I told you what was going to happen, sorrow has filled your hearts. I tell the truth: It is to your advantage that I am going away. Unless I return to the Father, the Helper will not come to you, but if I go, I will send him to you.
"When the Spirit comes he will convince the world that they are wrong in their views about sin, righteousness, and judgment.
"He will convince them that not to believe in me is sin. He will convince them that my going to the Father and no longer being in view is proof of my righteousness.
"He will convince them that judgment is certain, because God has already judged the prince of this world.
"I have much more to tell you, but right now it would place too great a burden on you. But when the Spirit comes, he will guide you into a fuller understanding of the truth you have received.
"He will not speak on his own accord, but will pass on to you only what he hears. He will tell you about things yet to come.
"The Spirit will honor me by taking what I say and explaining it to you. All that the Father has belong to me as well. That's why I said that the Spirit will take what I say and explain it to you."
Jesus tells his disciples that in a little while he will be leaving them but that before long he will be back (in three days, after the resurrection) and the grief they experience will be turned into joy (16:16-33).
Jesus said, "You won't see me for a little while; then after a little while you will see me once again."
Turning to one another, we asked, "What did he mean when he said, 'You won't see me for a little while; then after a little while you will see me again,' and 'I am going to the Father'?" We kept asking, "What is this 'little while' he keeps talking about? We haven't the faintest idea what he means."
Jesus knew that we wanted to question him, so he said, "Are you wondering what I meant when I said that for a little while you wouldn't see me; then after a little while you would see me again'?
"I tell you the truth, you will weep and lament like mourners at a funeral, while the world will rejoice. You will be filled with sorrow, but suddenly your sorrow will be transformed into joy.
"When a woman is about to give birth she is in great pain. But as soon as the child is born, she forgets all about the pain and is filled with joy because she has brought a baby into the world.
"In the same way, for a time you will be in distress. But later I will see you, and your heart will respond with such joy that no one will ever be able to take it from you.
"When that day comes, you won't be asking me for anything!
"I tell you the truth, it will be the Father who will grant every request made in my name. Until now you have not asked for anything in this way. So now, ask the Father for anything in my name, and you will receive it so that your joy may overflow.
"I have been using figures of speech in talking with you. But the time is coming when what I say will no longer seem obscure. I will be able to explain with clarity about the Father. Then you will ask the Father in my name. I won't have to ask him on your behalf because the Father himself loves you.
" God loves you because you love me and believe that I came from him. When I came into the world I left the Father; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father."
"Now you are speaking plainly," we told him, "and not using figures of speech difficult to understand!
"Now we understand that you know all things, and we do not need to question you any more. For this reason we believe that you truly have come from God."
Jesus replied, "Do you really believe? The time is coming -- it's already here -- when you will be scattered.
"Each of you will go to his own home and I will be left alone. Yet I won't be alone, because my Father will be with me.
"I have told you these things so that in me you may have all that makes for true happiness. As long as you are in the world you will have trouble and sorrow. But cheer up! The victory is mine over the world."
Aqueduct in Caesarea
New life from old stone
Mediterranean coast at Caesarea
Montenegro - Crna Gora
Chapter Seventeen - "Your word is truth"
Jesus prays for himself, that he will be glorified (17:1-5).
When he had finished telling us these things, Jesus looked up to heaven and prayed: "Father, the time has now come.
"Bring glory to your Son, so that I can bring glory to you.
"You have made me sovereign over all mankind, so I can give eternal life to everyone you have given to me.
"Eternal life is learning to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent.
"I've brought glory to you here on earth by completing all you gave me to do.
"So Father, glorify me now in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began."
Jesus prays for his disciples, that they will remain loyal to the truth (17:6-19).
"I have revealed what you are really like to those you took out of the world and gave to me. They were yours, but you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word.
"Now they know that you are the source of everything that has come to me. I passed on to them the words you gave me, and they accepted them.
"They know for sure that I came from you, and they believe that you are the one who sent me.
"I am not praying for those who belong to this world but for the ones you gave to me.
"I am praying for them because they belong to you.
"Everything I have is yours, and everything you have is mine; and glory comes to me through them.
"I am on my way to you, Holy Father. I will no longer remain in this world, but they are still here.
"Keep them loyal to you (as you have revealed yourself through me) so that they may be one with each other just as you and I are one.
"When I was with them, I kept them loyal to what you showed them of yourself through me. Not one of them was lost, except the one destined to be lost, so that what the Scriptures said would happen would come true.
"But now I am on my way to you. I have been teaching these things while still in the world, so that my followers might experience my joy in all its fullness. I have given them your word, and the world has come to hate them. The reason is obvious: They do not belong to the world any more than I belong to it.
"My prayer is not that you would remove them from the world, but that you would protect them from the evil designs of Satan.
"They do not belong to this world, just as I do not belong to it.
"Your word is the truth. Set them apart to yourself by means of the truth.
"I am sending them into the world just as you sent me.
"For their sake I consecrate myself to you, that they too may be consecrated by the truth."
Jesus prays for all who will come to believe in him, that their unity will serve to convince others that Jesus was sent from the Father (17:20-26).
"I am not praying for them alone, but also for all who will come to believe through what they say about me.
"I am praying that they may all be one, just as you and I, Father, are one. I pray that they may be one with us, so that the people of this world will believe that you sent me.
"I have given them the same glory that you gave to me, so that they may be one as we are one -- I in them and you in me.
"I pray that they may be completely one so the people of this world may know that you sent me, and that you love them even as you love me.
"Father, I pray that everyone you have given me may be with me wherever I am, so that they will see the glory that you have given me; for you loved me before the world began.
"Righteous Father, the world does not know you, but I know you.
"And those who believe in me know that you have sent me.
"I made it clear to them who you really are, and I will continue to do so.
"Then the love you have for me will be in them, and I myself will be in them."
Modern Israelite praying at the
Wailing Wall of the Temple
Where prayers to Zeus were offered
Where prayers to Artemis were offered
Ruins of Jewish fortress at Gamlah
Chapter Eighteen - "I find no basis for a charge against him."
Jesus is betrayed by Judas, arrested and taken to Annas (18:1-14).
After offering this prayer, Jesus went across the Kidron ravine to an olive grove. We went with him.
Judas knew about the grove because Jesus had often met there with us.
So he led a squad of Roman soldiers and some temple guards (supplied by the Jewish authorities) to the grove.
They arrived on the scene carrying torches, lanterns, and weapons.
Although Jesus already knew what was going to happen, he stepped forward and asked, "Who are you looking for?"
"We are looking for Jesus the Nazarene," they answered.
"I am he," said Jesus.
Judas, the betrayer, was standing there with the soldiers. When Jesus said "I am he," they all shrank back and fell to the ground.
Again Jesus asked, "Who are you looking for?"
"Jesus the Nazarene," they answered.
"I have already told you that I am Jesus. Since I am the one you're looking for, let these men go." Jesus said this so the words of his prayer -- "Father, I have not lost a single one of those you gave me" -- might come true.
Simon Peter had brought along a sword. He drew the sword and swung it at Malchus, the servant of the high priest, cutting off his right ear.
"Put your sword back where it belongs!" commanded Jesus. "Shall I not drink the cup of suffering the Father has given me?"
The Roman soldiers, along with their commanding officer and the temple guards, arrested Jesus and tied him up. Then they took him to Annas, who was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest that year. (It was Caiaphas who had advised the Jewish authorities that it would be better to have one man die for the people.)
Peter denies that he is a follower of Jesus (18:15-18).
Simon Peter and I followed the soldiers as they took Jesus to Annas. Since I was well known by the high priest, they allowed me to enter the courtyard with Jesus, but Peter had to stay outside near the gate. So I went back out and spoke to the servant girl on duty at the gate. She let Peter come in, but asked him, "Aren't you also a disciple of that man Jesus?"
"No, I am not," answered Peter.
Since it was cold, the servants and temple guards had made a charcoal fire and were standing around the fire warming themselves. Peter went over and joined them.
Meanwhile, inside the house the high priest was questioning Jesus about us and about what he had been teaching.
Jesus told him, "I have always taught openly where all could hear -- in synagogues and in the courts of the temple where people are free to meet.
"I have said nothing in secret. So, why are you questioning me? The people who have listened to me know what I have been teaching. Why don't you ask them?"
When Jesus said this, one of the guards reached out and slapped him in the face. "How dare you speak to the high priest like that!" he demanded.
Jesus replied, "If I've said something that is not true, produce the evidence. If not, why did you strike me?" So Annas sent him, still in fetters, to Caiaphas the high priest.
Out in the courtyard, Simon Peter was still standing by the fire warming himself. "Aren't you one of Jesus' disciples?" they asked.
Again Peter denied it, saying, "I am not!"
One of the high priest's servants, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, spoke up. "Did I not see you in the olive grove with that man Jesus?"
"Absolutely not!" denied Peter. Right then a rooster began to crow.
Jesus is tried before Pilate who finds no basis for a charge against him. His attempt to release Jesus according to Jewish custom backfires when the crowd demands Barabbas rather than Jesus (18:28-40).
It was early in the morning when Jesus was taken from the house of Caiaphas to the headquarters of the Roman military governor.
The Jewish authorities did not enter the Roman garrison because it was considered ceremonially unclean and would disqualify them from eating the Passover meal.
So Pilate came out to them. "What charges do you bring against this man?" he asked.
"If this man were not a criminal," they said, "we would not be bringing him here to you."
"Take him away and try him according to your own law," Pilate told them.
"We can't do that," said the Jewish authorities. "We aren't permitted to put anyone to death." This took place in order to fulfill what Jesus had said about the kind of death he would die.
So Pilate went back inside his headquarters, called Jesus over, and asked, "Are you the king of the Jews?"
Jesus answered, "Is that something you want to know, or did others ask it about me?"
"Do you take me for a Jew?' said Pilate. "It was your own chief priests and people who brought you here to me. You must have done something wrong."
Jesus answered, "My kingdom doesn't belong to this world. If it did, my followers would have fought against the temple guards when they came to arrest me. No, my kingdom is not a political kingdom."
"Aha! So you are a king after all!" exclaimed Pilate.
Jesus answered, "You are the one calling me a king. My purpose for coming into the world was to declare the truth. Everyone who is on the side of the truth pays attention to what I say."
Pilate dismissed the issue with a curt, "And what is truth?" Then he went back outside to the Jewish authorities and reported, "I find no basis for a charge against him. But you have the custom of setting a prisoner free during Passover, so shall I release for you the king of the Jews?"
The accusers shouted back, "No, not that man! Give us Barabbas!" Now Barabbas was a revolutionary.
Garden of Gethsemane
Trunk of ancient olive tree
Ancient inscription with Pilate's name
Model of headquarters of Roman garrison
Chapter Nineteen - Jesus said,"It is finished!" then bowed his head and yielded his spirit to God.
Jesus is sentenced to be crucified (19:1-16).
Then Pilate gave orders to have Jesus severely whipped.
The soldiers twisted some thorny branches into a crown and thrust it on his head.
Draping a purple robe around his shoulders, they kept coming up to him as if he were royalty, mocking him, saying, "Hail! King of the Jews!"
But then they would strike him in the face.
Once again Pilate went out before the crowd. "Listen!" he said, "I will have Jesus brought out to you, but I want you to know that I find no basis for a charge against him."
Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. "Look! Here is the man!" declared Pilate.
When the chief priests and their temple guards saw him, they yelled out, "Crucify him! Crucify him!"
"No," said Pilate, "you take him and crucify him! I find no basis for a charge against him."
The Jewish authorities answered back, "We have a law that carries the penalty of death and he broke it. He claimed to be the Son of God."
This gave Pilate yet another reason to be afraid. So he went back inside and said to Jesus, "Tell me, where did you come from?" Jesus gave him no answer.
"Why won't you answer my question?" said Pilate. "Don't you know that I have the authority to set you free or to crucify you?"
"If God had not given you the authority," answered Jesus, "you would not be able to do anything to me. So the one who handed me over to you is guilty of an even greater sin."
From then on Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jewish authorities kept shouting, "If you let this man go, you are no friend of the Emperor! Anyone who claims to be king is guilty of rebellion against the Emperor!"
When Pilate heard this, he brought Jesus out, and took his seat on the judges' bench. The place was called "The Stone Pavement'" or, in Aramaic, "Gabbatha." It was about noon on the day before Passover (the day of preparation). "Here is your king!" said Pilate to the mob.
"Away with him! Away with him!" they shouted. "Crucify him!"
"So you want me to crucify your king?" responded Pilate.
"The only king we have is the Emperor!" shouted back the chief priests. Then Pilate handed Jesus over them to be crucified, and they took him away.
Jesus carried his own cross to the place known as "The Skull," or, in the language of the Jews, "Golgotha."
There they nailed him to a cross. Two others were crucified, one on each side of Jesus.
Pilate had the charge against Jesus written on a board and posted on the cross above Jesus' head.
It read, "Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews." The words were written in Aramaic, Latin, and Greek .
Many of the people in Jerusalem read this inscription because the place where Jesus was crucified was just outside the city.
So the chief priests went to Pilate and said, "Why did you write, 'The King of the Jews'? You should have written, 'This man claimed to be the King of the Jews.'"
Pilate answered, "What I have written, stays written."
After the soldiers had nailed Jesus to the cross, they took his robe and tore it into four pieces, one piece for each of them. Since his inner garment was seamless, woven from top to bottom, the soldiers said to one another, "Let's not rip it apart, but throw dice to see who will get it." This happened so the Scripture would be fulfilled that said, "They divided up my robe, but threw dice for my inner garment."
So that is just what they did.
Jesus' mother was standing near the cross along with her sister Mary, the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.
So when Jesus saw his mother standing there, and me by her side, he said to her, "Dear woman, John is now your son!" Then he said to me, "She is now your mother!" From that day on I took her to live in my home.
Later on, when Jesus knew that the work he had been sent to do was over, and so that the Scriptures would be fulfilled, he said, "I am thirsty."
So they soaked a sponge in a jar of vinegar wine and held it up to his mouth, using the branch of a hyssop plant.
When he had taken the wine, Jesus said, "It is finished!" Then he bowed his head and yielded his spirit to God.
A soldier thrusts a spear into Jesus' side (19:31-37).
Since it was Friday, the Jewish authorities asked Pilate to have the legs of the crucified men broken, and their bodies taken down. They did not want them on the cross during the Sabbath, especially during Passover. So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the two men who had been crucified along with Jesus. But when they came to Jesus, they saw that he was already dead. So they did not break his legs.
But one of the soldiers thrust a spear into his side, and at once blood and water flowed out. I know this is true because it was reported by a man who actually saw it happen, and he is totally reliable. So now you too may believe. All this happened so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, "Not one of his bones will be broken," and, "They will look on him in whose side they thrust a spear."
Jesus is buried in a nearby garden tomb (19:38-42).
Joseph of Arimathea, a disciple of Jesus (although he kept it quiet because he was afraid of the Jewish authorities) went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Pilate agreed, so Joseph came and took it down from the cross.
Nicodemus went with Joseph carrying about seventy-five pounds spices, a mixture of myrrh and aloes. This was the same Nicodemus who some time before had visited Jesus at night. The two men wrapped the body in linen cloths with the spices, as required by the Jewish burial customs.
Near the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden with a tomb that had never been used. The tomb was close by, and since the time of preparing for the Sabbath had come, they laid the body there.
Jesus' crown may have been made of acacia plant.
One traditional site of Golgotha
Church built over another traditional site of Golgotha
Monastery of Ostrog - dedicated to Saint Basil of Ostrog, founded by Vasilije Ostroški in the 17th century; The present-day look was given to the Monastery in 1923-1926, after a fire which had destroyed the major part of the complex.
St.Mark - Belgrade Serbia
Chapter Twenty - Thomas exclaimed,"It is you! My Lord and my God!"
The tomb where Jesus was buried is found to be empty (20:1-9).
Early Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance.
She ran back to Simon Peter and me and told us, "They've taken our Lord out of the tomb! We don't know where they've put him."
So Peter and I ran for the tomb. We left together, but I outran Peter and got there first.
Bending down to look inside, I could see the linen cloths lying there, but I didn't go in.
But when Simon Peter came running up, he went straight into the tomb.
He, too, saw the linen grave-clothes and the burial cloth that had been wound around Jesus' head.
(It was not with the other wrappings but folded up and lying by itself.) Then I -- the one who had arrived first at the tomb -- went inside. When I saw that the tomb was empty, I believed Mary's report. (As yet we and the other disciples did not understand from Scripture that Jesus would rise from the dead.)
The risen Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene outside the empty tomb (20:10-18)
Then we went back to our homes, but Mary remained outside the tomb weeping. Still in tears, she bent down to look inside. There she saw two angels dressed in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been, one at his head and the other at his feet. "Woman, why are you weeping?" they asked her.
Mary answered, "They have taken away my Master, and I don't know where they've put him."
She glanced over her shoulder and saw Jesus standing there, but she didn't recognize him.
Jesus asked, "Woman, why are you weeping? Who are you looking for?"
Thinking him to be the gardener, she said, "Sir, if you are the one who carried him away, tell me where you put him, so I can go and get him."
Then Jesus said to her, "Mary!"
She turned to him and cried out in Aramaic, "Rabbouni!" (The word means "Teacher.")
"You don't need to hold on to me!" said Jesus. "I haven't yet ascended to my Father. But go to my disciples and tell them, 'I am returning to my Father and God, and to your Father and God'."
Mary Magdalene came to us and exclaimed, "I have seen the Master!" Then she told us everything he had said to her.
On the evening of the same day, Sunday, we had gotten together behind locked the doors for fear of the Jewish authorities. Suddenly Jesus was standing right there in our midst. After greeting us in the customary way ("Peace be with you!"), he showed us his hands and his side. We were filled with joy when we realized it was the Lord.
"Peace be with you!" he said again, and added, "I am now sending you, just as the Father sent me." Then he breathed on us and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone's sins, they are forgiven; but if you do not forgive their sins, they are not forgiven."
The other disciples and I watched Jesus perform many other miracles that are not included in my story.
But the ones you have read are here so you will come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God.
By believing that he is who he says he is, you will receive eternal life.
The Garden Tomb, a traditional
burial site for Jesus
Inside the empty tomb
Column capital on one of Herod's homes
Chapter Twenty One -"If you love me be a shepherd to my sheep"
Jesus appears to seven of his disciples who had gone fishing on Lake Tiberias (also called "the sea of Galilee") (21:1-14).
Later on Jesus appeared to us along the shore of Lake Tiberius.
This is how it happened. Simon Peter, Thomas (the Twin), Nathanael (from Cana in Galilee), my brother James and I (sons of Zebedee), and two other disciples of Jesus were there.
Peter announced, "I'm going out fishing."
"We'll go with you," the rest of us said. So we got into a boat and went out to fish, but didn't catch a thing all night long.
Early the following morning, Jesus was standing on the shore, but we didn't recognize him. He called out to us, "Hey there! Did you catch anything?"
"No," we shouted back.
So he told us, "Cast your net to the starboard, and you'll get a catch."
We did what he said and caught so many fish that we were unable to hoist the net into the boat.
Suddenly I realized who the man on shore was.
I told Peter, "It's the Lord!" When Simon Peter heard this, he wrapped his outer garment around him (he had stripped for work), and plunged into the lake.
Since we were not far from land (about a hundred yards), the rest of us followed in the boat, dragging the net full of fish.
When we landed, we saw a charcoal fire with fish cooking on it. There was some bread as well.
"Bring me some of the fish you've just caught," Jesus said to us.
So Simon Peter climbed back into the boat and dragged the net onto the sand. It was full of large fish, one hundred and fifty-three to be exact. Even though the catch was so large, the net had not ripped apart.
Jesus said to us, "Come, let's have breakfast." Not a one of us ventured to ask, "Who are you?" because we were all sure it was the Lord. Jesus went over and picked up the bread and handed it to us. He did the same with the fish. This was the third time that Jesus appeared to us after he was raised from the dead.
Jesus questions Peter three times about his love for him (to counter his three denials), and charges Peter to take care of his flock (21:15-19).
When we had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?"
"Yes, Lord," replied Peter, "you know that I love you."
"Then feed my lambs."
Jesus asked a second time, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?"
"Yes, Lord," replied Peter, "you know that I love you."
"Then be a shepherd to my sheep," said Jesus.
Yet a third time Jesus asked, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?"
Peter was distressed that Jesus had asked him three times if he loved him. "Lord," he said to Jesus, "you know everything; you know that I love you."
Jesus replied, "Then feed my sheep."
"I tell you the truth, when you were a young man you used to dress yourself and go anywhere you wanted. But when you are old, you will stretch out your hands so someone else can dress you and carry you where you'd rather not go." (Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would bring honor to God.) Then he said to Peter, "Follow me!"
Jesus speaks of the disciple whom he loved (21:20-23).
When Peter turned around and saw that I (the disciple who leaned back against Jesus during supper and asked, "Lord, who is it that will betray you?") was following them, he said to Jesus, "Lord, what will happen to John?"
Jesus replied, "Even if he should remain alive until I return, what difference would that make for you?" So the rumor spread among the early believers that I would not die.
But Jesus did not say that I would not die. He simply said, "Even if he should remain alive until I return, what difference would that make for you?"
Jesus did many other things. If all of them were written down, I do not think the world itself would be big enough to hold all the books that would have to be written.
I have now told you the story of my friend Jesus. I wrote it all down and you can be sure that I am telling the truth.
Lake Tiberias
A friendly camel
"Be a shepherd to my sheep"
"Feed my lambs"
Children in Serbia
Village shepherd
Slightly hunched over with age, the Orthodox Serbian shepherd leads his sheep out of the tiny village of Dobroselicsa
Village Shepherd in Serbia
Snimci iz filma Boj Na Kosovu - Battle of Kosovo part two
REAL HISTORY!!
