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Jesus Teaches at the Feast

¹ After this, Jesus ^(C1)walked from place to place in Galilee, for He would not walk in Judea because ^(C2)the Jews ^(C3)were seeking to kill Him.² Now the Jewish ^(F1)(C1)Feast of Tabernacles (Booths) was approaching.³ So His ^(F1)(C1)brothers said to Him, "Leave here and go to Judea, so that Your ^(C2)disciples there may also see the works that You do.⁴ "No one does anything in secret when he wants to be known publicly. If You must do these things, show Yourself openly to the world and make Yourself known!"⁵ For not even His ^(C1)brothers believed in Him.⁶ So Jesus said to them, "^(C1)My time has not yet come; but any time is right for you.⁷ "^(C1)The world cannot hate you since you are part of it, but it does hate Me because I denounce it and testify that ^(C2)its deeds are evil.⁸ "Go up to the feast yourselves. I am not going up to this feast because ^(C1)My time has not yet fully come."⁹ Having said these things to them, He stayed behind in Galilee.

¹⁰ But afterward, when His ^(C1)brothers had gone up to the feast, He went up too, not publicly with a caravan, but quietly because He did not want to be noticed.^11 (C1)So the Jews ^(C2)kept looking for Him at the feast and asking, "Where is He?"¹² There was a lot of whispered discussion and murmuring among the crowds about Him. ^(C1)Some were saying, "He is a good man"; others said, "No, on the contrary, He misleads the people giving them false ideas."¹³ Yet no one was speaking out openly and freely about Him for ^(C1)fear of the leaders of the Jews.

¹⁴ When the feast was already half over, Jesus went up into the temple court and began to ^(C1)teach.^15 (C1)Then the Jews were perplexed. They said, "How ^(F1)did this man ^(C2)become learned so versed in the Scriptures and theology ^(F2)without formal training?"¹⁶ Jesus answered them by saying, "^(C1)My teaching is not My own, but His who sent Me.¹⁷ "^(C1)If anyone is willing to do His will, he will know whether the teaching is of God or whether I speak on My own accord and by My own authority.¹⁸ "He who speaks on his own accord ^(C1)seeks glory and honor for himself. But He who seeks the glory and the honor of the One who sent Him, He is true, and there is no unrighteousness or deception in Him.

¹⁹ "^(C1)Did not Moses give you the Law? And yet not one of you keeps the Law. Why do you ^(C2)want to kill Me for not keeping it?"²⁰ The crowd answered, "^(C1)You have a demon You are out of Your mind! Who wants to kill You?"²¹ Jesus replied, "I did ^(C1)one ^(F1)work, and you are all astounded. ^(VR1)22 "For this reason ^(C1)Moses has given you God's law regarding circumcision (not that it originated with Moses, but with the ^(C2)patriarchs) and you circumcise a man even on the Sabbath.²³ "^(C1)If, to avoid breaking the Law of Moses, a man undergoes ^(F1)circumcision on the Sabbath, why are you angry with Me for making a man's whole body well on the Sabbath?²⁴ "Do not ^(C1)judge by appearance superficially and arrogantly, but judge fairly and righteously."

²⁵ Then some of the people of Jerusalem said, "Is this not the Man they want to kill?²⁶ "Look, He is speaking publicly, and they say nothing to Him! Is it possible that ^(C1)the rulers really know that this is the Christ?²⁷ "But ^(C1)we know where this Man is from; whenever the Christ comes, no one will know where He is from."²⁸ Then Jesus called out as He ^(C1)taught in the temple, "^(C2)You know Me and know where I am from; and ^(C3)I have not come on my own initiative as self-appointed, but He who sent Me is true, and Him you do not know.²⁹ "^(C1)I know Him Myself because ^(C2)I am from Him I came from His very presence and it was ^(C3)He personally who sent Me."³⁰ So they ^(C1)were eager to arrest Him; but no one laid a hand on Him, because His ^(C2)time had not yet come.³¹ But ^(C1)many from the crowd believed in Him. And they kept saying, "^(C2)When the Christ comes, will He do more ^(C3)signs and exhibit more proofs than this Man?"

³² The Pharisees heard the crowd muttering these things under their breath about Him, and the chief priests and Pharisees sent ^(F1)(C1)guards to ^(C2)arrest Him.³³ Therefore Jesus said, "^(C1)For a little while longer I am still with you, and then ^(C2)I go to Him who sent Me.³⁴ "^(C1)You will look for Me, and will not be able to find Me; and where I am, you cannot come."³⁵ Then ^(C1)the Jews said among themselves, "^(C2)Where does this Man intend to go that we will not find Him? Does He intend to go to ^(C3)the Dispersion of Jews scattered and living among ^(C4)the Greeks, and teach the Greeks?³⁶ "What does this statement of His mean, '^(C1)You will look for Me, and will not be able to find Me; and where I am, you cannot come'?"

³⁷ Now on ^(C1)the last and most important day of the feast, Jesus stood and called out in a loud voice, "^(C2)If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink!³⁸ "He who believes in Me who adheres to, trusts in, and relies on Me, ^(C1)as the Scripture has said, 'From his innermost being will flow continually rivers of ^(C2)living water.'" ^(VR1)39 But He was speaking ^(C1)of the Holy Spirit, whom those who believed in Him as Savior were to receive afterward. ^(C2)The Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus was not yet ^(C3)glorified (raised to honor).

Division of People over Jesus

⁴⁰ Listening to these words, some of the people said, "This is certainly ^(C1)the Prophet!" ^(VR1)41 Others said, "This is the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed)!" But others said, "^(C1)Surely the Christ is not going to come out of Galilee, is He?⁴² "Does the Scripture not say that the Christ comes from ^(C1)the descendants of David, and from Bethlehem, the village where David lived?" ^(VR1)43 So the crowd was ^(C1)divided because of Him.^44 (C1)Some of them wanted to arrest Him, but no one laid hands on Him.

⁴⁵ Then the ^(C1)guards went back to the chief priests and Pharisees, who asked them, "Why did you not bring Him here with you?"⁴⁶ The ^(C1)guards replied, "^(C2)Never at any time has a man talked the way this Man talks!"⁴⁷ Then the Pharisees said to them, "^(C1)Have you also been deluded and swept off your feet?⁴⁸ "^(C1)Has any of ^(C2)the rulers or Pharisees believed in Him?⁴⁹ "But this ignorant, contemptible crowd that does not know the Law is accursed and doomed!"^50 (C1)Nicodemus (the one who came to Jesus before and was one of them) asked,⁵¹ "^(C1)Does our Law convict someone without first giving him a hearing and finding out what he is accused of doing?"⁵² They responded, "^(C1)Are you also from Galilee? Search and read the Scriptures, and see for yourself that no prophet comes from Galilee!"^53 (F1)[And everyone went to his own house.