John 10:17–18:17

17 wFor this reason the Father loves me, xbecause yI lay down my life that I may take it up again. 18 zNo one takes it from me, but yI lay it down aof my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and bI have authority to take it up again. cThis charge I have received from my Father.”

19 dThere was again a division among the Jews because of these words. 20 Many of them said, e“He has a demon, and fis insane; why listen to him?” 21 Others said, “These are not the words of one who is oppressed by a demon. gCan a demon open the eyes of the blind?”

I and the Father Are One

22 At that time the Feast of Dedication took place at Jerusalem. It was winter, 23 and Jesus was walking in the temple, hin the colonnade of Solomon. 24 So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are ithe Christ, jtell us plainly.” 25 Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. kThe works that I do lin my Father’s name bear witness about me, 26 but myou do not believe because you are not among my sheep. 27 nMy sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 oI give them eternal life, and pthey will never perish, and qno one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, rwho has given them to me,1 sis greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of tthe Father’s hand. 30 uI and the Father are one.”

31 vThe Jews picked up stones again to stone him. 32 Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone me?” 33 The Jews answered him, “It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but wfor blasphemy, because you, being a man, xmake yourself God.” 34 Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in yyour Law, z‘I said, you are gods’? 35 If he called them gods to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be abroken— 36 do you say of him whom bthe Father consecrated and csent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because dI said, ‘I am the Son of God’? 37 eIf I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me; 38 but if I do them, feven though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that gthe Father is in me and I am in the Father.” 39 hAgain they sought to arrest him, but he escaped from their hands.

40 He went away again across the Jordan to the place iwhere John had been baptizing at first, and there he remained. 41 And many came to him. And they said, “John did no sign, but jeverything that John said about this man was true.” 42 And kmany believed in him there.

The Death of Lazarus

11 Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of lMary and her sister Martha. 2 mIt was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. 3 So the sisters sent to him, saying, “Lord, nhe whom you love is ill.” 4 But when Jesus heard it he said, o“This illness does not lead to death. It is for pthe glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”

5 Now qJesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6 So, when he heard that Lazarus1 was ill, rhe stayed two days longer in the place where he was. 7 Then after this he said to the disciples, s“Let us go to Judea again.” 8 The disciples said to him, t“Rabbi, uthe Jews were just now seeking to stone you, and are you going there again?” 9 Jesus answered, v“Are there not twelve hours in the day? wIf anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. 10 But xif anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not xin him.” 11 After saying these things, he said to them, “Our friend Lazarus yhas fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him.” 12 The disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.” 13 Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep. 14 Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died, 15 and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” 16 zSo Thomas, called the Twin,2 said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, athat we may die with him.”

I Am the Resurrection and the Life

17 Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb bfour days. 18 Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles3 off, 19 and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary cto console them concerning their brother. 20 dSo when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house. 21 Martha said to eJesus, “Lord, fif you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, gGod will give you.” 23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24 hMartha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in ithe resurrection on the last day.” 25 Jesus said to her, j“I am the resurrection and kthe life.4 Whoever believes in me, lthough he die, myet shall he live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me nshall never die. Do you believe this?” 27 She said to him, “Yes, Lord; oI believe that pyou are the Christ, the Son of God, qwho is coming into the world.”

Jesus Weeps

28 When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying in private, r“The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” 29 And when she heard it, she rose quickly and went to him. 30 Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha had met him. 31 When the Jews swho were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary rise quickly and go out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there. 32 Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, t“Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” 33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he uwas deeply moved5 in his spirit and vgreatly troubled. 34 And he said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” 35 wJesus wept. 36 So the Jews said, “See xhow he loved him!” 37 But some of them said, “Could not he ywho opened the eyes of the blind man zalso have kept this man from dying?”

Jesus Raises Lazarus

38 Then Jesus, adeeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was ba cave, and ca stone lay against it. 39 Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for dhe has been dead four days.” 40 Jesus said to her, e“Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see fthe glory of God?” 41 So they took away the stone. And Jesus glifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 hI knew that you always hear me, but I said this ion account of the people standing around, jthat they may believe that you sent me.” 43 When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” 44 kThe man who had died came out, lhis hands and feet bound with linen strips, and mhis face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”

The Plot to Kill Jesus

45 nMany of the Jews therefore, owho had come with Mary and phad seen what he did, believed in him, 46 but some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. 47 So the chief priests and the Pharisees qgathered rthe council and said, s“What are we to do? For this man performs many signs. 48 If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and tthe Romans will come and take away both our uplace and our nation.” 49 But one of them, vCaiaphas, wwho was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all. 50 Nor do you understand that xit is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish.” 51 He did not say this of his own accord, but ybeing high priest that year zhe prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, 52 and anot for the nation only, but also bto gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad. 53 So from that day on they cmade plans to put him to death.

54 Jesus therefore dno longer walked openly among the Jews, but went from there to the region near the wilderness, to a town called Ephraim, and there he stayed with the disciples.

55 Now ethe Passover of the Jews was at hand, and fmany went up from the country to Jerusalem before the Passover gto purify themselves. 56 hThey were looking for6 Jesus and saying to one another as they stood in the temple, “What do you think? That he will not come to the feast at all?” 57 Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where he was, he should let them know, so that they might arrest him.

Mary Anoints Jesus at Bethany

12 Six days before ithe Passover, jJesus therefore came to Bethany, kwhere Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2 So they gave a dinner for him there. lMartha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at table. 3 mMary therefore took a pound1 of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4 But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was about to betray him), said, 5 “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii2 and ngiven to the poor?” 6 He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and nhaving charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it. 7 Jesus said, “Leave her alone, so that she may keep it3 for the day of my burial. 8 For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me.”

The Plot to Kill Lazarus

9 When the large crowd of the Jews learned that Jesus4 was there, they came, not only on account of him but also to see Lazarus, owhom he had raised from the dead. 10 pSo the chief priests made plans to put Lazarus to death as well, 11 because qon account of him many of the Jews were going away and believing in …