John 7:1-29

Contemporary English Version

Jesus' Brothers Don't Have Faith in Him

7 Jesus decided to leave Judea and to start going through Galilee because the leaders of the people wanted to kill him. ^2 (A) It was almost time for the Festival of Shelters, ³ and Jesus' brothers said to him, “Why don't you go to Judea? Then your disciples can see what you are doing. ⁴ No one does anything in secret, if they want others to know about them. So let the world know what you are doing!” ⁵ Even Jesus' own brothers had not yet become his followers.

⁶ Jesus answered, “My time hasn't yet come,^[a] but your time is always here. ⁷ The people of this world cannot hate you. They hate me, because I tell them that they do evil things. ⁸ Go on to the festival. My time hasn't yet come, and I am not going.” ⁹ Jesus said this and stayed on in Galilee.

Jesus at the Festival of Shelters

¹⁰ After Jesus' brothers had gone to the festival, he went secretly, without telling anyone.

¹¹ During the festival the leaders of the people looked for Jesus and asked, “Where is he?” ¹² The crowds even got into an argument about him. Some were saying, “Jesus is a good man,” while others were saying, “He is lying to everyone.” ¹³ But the people were afraid of their leaders, and none of them talked in public about him.

¹⁴ When the festival was about half over, Jesus went into the temple and started teaching. ¹⁵ The leaders were surprised and said, “How does this man know so much? He has never been taught!”

¹⁶ Jesus replied:

I am not teaching something I thought up. What I teach comes from the one who sent me. ¹⁷ If you really want to obey God, you will know if what I teach comes from God or from me. ¹⁸ If I wanted to bring honor to myself, I would speak for myself. But I want to honor the one who sent me. This is why I tell the truth and not a lie. ¹⁹ Didn't Moses give you the Law? Yet none of you obey it! So why do you want to kill me?

²⁰ The crowd replied, “You're crazy! What makes you think someone wants to kill you?”

²¹ Jesus answered:

I worked one miracle,^[b] and it amazed you. ^22 (B) Moses commanded you to circumcise your sons. But it wasn't really Moses who gave you this command. It was your ancestors, and even on the Sabbath you circumcise your sons ^23 (C) in order to obey the Law of Moses. Why are you angry with me for making someone completely well on the Sabbath? ²⁴ Don't judge by appearances. Judge by what is right.

²⁵ Some of the people from Jerusalem were saying, “Isn't this the man they want to kill? ²⁶ Yet here he is, speaking for everyone to hear. And no one is arguing with him. Do you suppose the authorities know he is the Messiah? ²⁷ But how could that be? No one knows where the Messiah will come from, but we know where this man comes from.”

²⁸ As Jesus was teaching in the temple, he shouted, “Do you really think you know me and where I came from? I didn't come on my own! The one who sent me is truthful, and you don't know him. ²⁹ But I know the one who sent me, because I came from him.”