They replied, “We aren’t illegitimate children! God himself is our true Father.”

             Jesus told them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, because I have come to you from God. I am not here on my own, but he sent me.   Why can’t you understand what I am saying? It’s because you can’t even hear me!   For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does.  He was a murderer from the beginning.  He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him.  When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies. 

                        So when I tell the truth, you just naturally don’t believe me!

 “Our father is Abraham!” they declared.

          “No,” Jesus replied, “for if you were really the children of Abraham, you would follow his example.  Instead, you are trying to kill me because I told you the truth, which I heard from God. Abraham never did such a thing.  No, you are imitating your real father.”

 “But we are descendants of Abraham,” they said. “We have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean, ‘You will be set free’?”

              Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin.   A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son is part of the family forever.   So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free.   Yes, I realize that you are descendants of Abraham. And yet some of you are trying to kill me because there’s no room in your hearts for my message.   I am telling you what I saw when I was with my Father. But you are following the advice of your father.”

Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. 

             And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man on the cross, then you will understand that I Am he. I do nothing on my own but say only what the Father taught me.  And the one who sent me is with me, he has not deserted me. For I always do what pleases him.”   

            Then many who heard him say these things believed in him.

“Who are you?” they demanded.

          Jesus replied, “The one I have always claimed to be.  I have much to say about you and much to condemn, but I won’t. For I say only what I have heard from the one who sent me, and he is completely truthful.”   But they still didn’t understand that he was talking about his Father.

The people asked, “Is he planning to commit suicide? What does he mean, ‘You cannot come where I am going’?”

           Jesus continued, “You are from below; I am from above. You belong to this world; I do not.  That is why I said that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I Am who I claim to be,  you will die in your sins.”

Later Jesus said to them again, “I am going away. You will search for me but will die in your sin. You cannot come where I am going.”

 “Where is your father?” they asked.

             Jesus answered, “Since you don’t know who I am, you don’t know who my Father is. If you knew me, you would also know my Father.” 

                             Jesus made these statements while he was teaching in the section of the Temple known as the Treasury. But he was not arrested, because his time had not yet come.

Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”

             The Pharisees replied, “You are making those claims about yourself! Such testimony is not valid.”

                    Jesus told them, “These claims are valid even though I make them about myself. For I know where I came from and where I am going, but you don’t know this about me. You judge me by human standards, but I do not judge anyone. And if I did, my judgment would be correct in every respect because I am not alone. The Father who sent me is with me. Your own law says that if two people agree about something, their witness is accepted as fact. I am one witness, and my Father who sent me is the other.”

“Teacher,” they said to Jesus, “this woman was caught in the act of adultery.  The law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?”

                   They were trying to trap him into saying something they could use against him, but Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust with his finger.        

                            They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, “All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!”  Then he stooped down again and wrote in the dust.

                             When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest, until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman.  Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?”

                                         “No, Lord,” she said.  And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.”

Jesus returned to the Mount of Olives, but early the next morning he was back again at the Temple. A crowd soon gathered, and he sat down and taught them.   

             As he was speaking, the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. They put her in front of the crowd.

Then Nicodemus, the leader who had met with Jesus earlier, spoke up.  “Is it legal to convict a man before he is given a hearing?” he asked.

                They replied, “Are you from Galilee, too? Search the Scriptures and see for yourself—no prophet ever comes  from Galilee!”

When the Temple guards returned without having arrested Jesus, the leading priests and Pharisees demanded, “Why didn’t you bring him in?”
                 
              “We have never heard anyone speak like this!” the guards responded.

                              “Have you been led astray, too?” the Pharisees mocked.  “Is there a single one of us rulers or Pharisees who believes in him?  This foolish crowd follows him, but they are ignorant of the law. God’s curse is on them!”

When the crowds heard him say this, some of them declared, “Surely this man is the Prophet we’ve been expecting.”  Others said, “He is the Messiah.”  Still others said, “But he can’t be! Will the Messiah come from Galilee?   For the Scriptures clearly state that the Messiah will be born of the royal line of David, in Bethlehem, the village where King David was born.”   So the crowd was divided about him.   Some even wanted him arrested, but no one laid a hand on him.

On the last day, the climax of the festival, Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart. (When he said “living water,” he was speaking of the Spirit, who would be given to everyone believing in him. But the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not yet entered into his glory.)

The Jewish leaders were puzzled by this statement. 

         “Where is he planning to go?” they asked. “Is he thinking of leaving the country and going to the Jews in other lands?  Maybe he will even teach the Greeks!   What does he mean when he says, ‘You will search for me but not find me,’ and ‘You cannot go where I am going’?”

When the Pharisees heard that the crowds were whispering such things, they and the leading priests sent Temple guards to arrest Jesus. 
                   
                But Jesus told them, “I will be with you only a little longer. Then I will return to the one who sent me.  You will search for me but not find me. And you cannot go where I am going.”

Many among the crowds at the Temple believed in him. “After all,” they said, “would you expect the Messiah to do more miraculous signs than this man has done?”

While Jesus was teaching in the Temple, he called out, “Yes, you know me, and you know where I come from. But I’m not here on my own. The one who sent me is true, and you don’t know him.   But I know him because I come from him, and he sent me to you.” 

                               Then the leaders tried to arrest him; but no one laid a hand on him, because his time had not yet come.

Some of the people who lived in Jerusalem started to ask each other, “Isn’t this the man they are trying to kill?   But here he is, speaking in public, and they say nothing to him. Could our leaders possibly believe that he is the Messiah?   But how could he be?  For we know where this man comes from. When the Messiah comes, he will simply appear; no one will know where he comes from.”

Jesus replied, “I did one miracle on the Sabbath, and you were amazed.   But you work on the Sabbath, too, when you obey Moses’ law of circumcision. (Actually, this tradition of circumcision began with the patriarchs, long before the law of Moses.)   

          For if the correct time for circumcising your son falls on the Sabbath, you go ahead and do it so as not to break the law of Moses. So why should you be angry with me for healing a man on the Sabbath?   Look beneath the surface so you can judge correctly.”

So Jesus told them, “My message is not my own; it comes from God who sent me.  Anyone who wants to do the will of God will know whether my teaching is from God or is merely my own.  Those who speak for themselves want glory only for themselves, but a person who seeks to honor the one who sent him speaks truth, not lies.  Moses gave you the law, but none of you obeys it! In fact, you are trying to kill me.”

          The crowd replied, “You’re demon possessed! Who’s trying to kill you?”

Then, midway through the festival, Jesus went up to the Temple and began to teach. The people were surprised when they heard him. “How does he know so much when he hasn’t been trained?” they asked.

But after his brothers left for the festival, Jesus also went, though secretly, staying out of public view.  The Jewish leaders tried to find him at the festival and kept asking if anyone had seen him.  

            There was a lot of grumbling about him among the crowds. Some argued, “He’s a good man,” but others said, “He’s nothing but a fraud who deceives the people.”  But no one had the courage to speak favorably about him in public, for they were afraid of getting in trouble with the Jewish leaders.

After this, Jesus traveled around Galilee. He wanted to stay out of Judea, where the Jewish leaders were plotting his death.  But soon it was time for the Jewish Festival of Shelters, and Jesus’ brothers said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea, where your followers can see your miracles! 

               You can’t become famous if you hide like this! If you can do such wonderful things, show yourself to the world!” For even his brothers didn’t believe in him.

                        Jesus replied, “Now is not the right time for me to go, but you can go anytime. The world can’t hate you, but it does hate me because I accuse it of doing evil. You go on. I’m not going to this festival, because my time has not yet come.”  

                                  After saying these things, Jesus remained in Galilee.