John 7:1–18

Jesus and His Brothers

After this, Jesus traveled around Galilee. He wanted to stay out of Judea, where the Jewish leaders were plotting his death. ²But soon it was time for the Jewish Festival of Shelters, ³and Jesus’ brothers said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea, where your followers can see your miracles! ⁴You can’t become famous if you hide like this! If you can do such wonderful things, show yourself to the world!” ⁵For even his brothers didn’t believe in him.

⁶Jesus replied, “Now is not the right time for me to go, but you can go anytime. ⁷The world can’t hate you, but it does hate me because I accuse it of doing evil. ⁸You go on. I’m not going^* to this festival, because my time has not yet come.” ⁹After saying these things, Jesus remained in Galilee.

Jesus Teaches Openly at the Temple

¹⁰But after his brothers left for the festival, Jesus also went, though secretly, staying out of public view. ¹¹The Jewish leaders tried to find him at the festival and kept asking if anyone had seen him. ¹²There 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.” ¹³But no one had the courage to speak favorably about him in public, for they were afraid of getting in trouble with the Jewish leaders.

¹⁴Then, midway through the festival, Jesus went up to the Temple and began to teach. ¹⁵The people were surprised when they heard him. “How does he know so much when he hasn’t been trained?” they asked.

¹⁶So Jesus told them, “My message is not my own; it comes from God who sent me. ¹⁷Anyone who wants to do the will of God will know whether my teaching is from God or is merely my own. ¹⁸Those 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.