Immerse: Messiah - Flipbook - Page 423
6:68–7:23
John
411
Simon Peter replied, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words
that give eternal life. We believe, and we know you are the Holy One of
God.”
Then Jesus said, “I chose the twelve of you, but one is a devil.” He was
speaking of Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, one of the Twelve, who would
later betray him.
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.
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.
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.
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?”
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
