8:1 [Then everyone went home, but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. |
8:2 Early the next morning he went back to the Temple. All the people gathered around him, and he sat down and began to teach them. |
8:3 The teachers of the Law and the Pharisees brought in a woman who had been caught committing adultery, and they made her stand before them all. |
8:4 "Teacher," they said to Jesus, "this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery. |
8:5 In our Law Moses commanded that such a woman must be stoned to death. Now, what do you say?" |
8:6 They said this to trap Jesus, so that they could accuse him. But he bent over and wrote on the ground with his finger. |
8:7 As they stood there asking him questions, he straightened up and said to them, "Whichever one of you has committed no sin may throw the first stone at her." |
8:8 Then he bent over again and wrote on the ground. |
8:9 When they heard this, they all left, one by one, the older ones first. Jesus was left alone, with the woman still standing there. |
8:10 He straightened up and said to her, "Where are they? Is there no one left to condemn you?" |
8:11 "No one, sir," she answered. "Well, then," Jesus said, "I do not condemn you either. Go, but do not sin again."] |
8:12 Jesus spoke to the Pharisees again. "I am the light of the world," he said. "Whoever follows me will have the light of life and will never walk in darkness." |
8:13 The Pharisees said to him, "Now you are testifying on your own behalf; what you say proves nothing." |
8:14 "No," Jesus answered, "even though I do testify on my own behalf, what I say is true, because I know where I came from and where I am going. You do not know where I came from or where I am going. |
8:15 You make judgments in a purely human way; I pass judgment on no one. |
8:16 But if I were to do so, my judgment would be true, because I am not alone in this; the Father who sent me is with me. |
8:17 It is written in your Law that when two witnesses agree, what they say is true. |
8:18 I testify on my own behalf, and the Father who sent me also testifies on my behalf." |
8:19 "Where is your father?" they asked him. "You know neither me nor my Father," Jesus answered. "If you knew me, you would know my Father also." |
8:20 Jesus said all this as he taught in the Temple, in the room where the offering boxes were placed. And no one arrested him, because his hour had not come. |
8:21 Again Jesus said to them, "I will go away; you will look for me, but you will die in your sins. You cannot go where I am going." |
8:22 So the Jewish authorities said, "He says that we cannot go where he is going. Does this mean that he will kill himself ?" |
8:23 Jesus answered, "You belong to this world here below, but I come from above. You are from this world, but I am not from this world. |
8:24 That is why I told you that you will die in your sins. And you will die in your sins if you do not believe that 'I Am Who I Am'." |
8:25 "Who are you?" they asked him. Jesus answered, "What I have told you from the very beginning. |
8:26 I have much to say about you, much to condemn you for. The one who sent me, however, is truthful, and I tell the world only what I have heard from him." |
8:27 They did not understand that Jesus was talking to them about the Father. |
8:28 So he said to them, "When you lift up the Son of Man, you will know that 'I Am Who I Am'; then you will know that I do nothing on my own authority, but I say only what the Father has instructed me to say. |
8:29 And he who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, because I always do what pleases him." |
8:30 Many who heard Jesus say these things believed in him. |
8:31 So Jesus said to those who believed in him, "If you obey my teaching, you are really my disciples; |
8:32 you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." |
8:33 "We are the descendants of Abraham," they answered, "and we have never been anybody's slaves. What do you mean, then, by saying, 'You will be free'?" |
8:34 Jesus said to them, "I am telling you the truth: everyone who sins is a slave of sin. |
8:35 A slave does not belong to a family permanently, but a son belongs there forever. |
8:36 If the Son sets you free, then you will be really free. |
8:37 I know you are Abraham's descendants. Yet you are trying to kill me, because you will not accept my teaching. |
8:38 I talk about what my Father has shown me, but you do what your father has told you." |
8:39 They answered him, "Our father is Abraham." "If you really were Abraham's children," Jesus replied, "you would do the same things that he did. |
8:40 All I have ever done is to tell you the truth I heard from God, yet you are trying to kill me. Abraham did nothing like this! |
8:41 You are doing what your father did." "God himself is the only Father we have," they answered, "and we are his true children." |
8:42 Jesus said to them, "If God really were your Father, you would love me, because I came from God and now I am here. I did not come on my own authority, but he sent me. |
8:43 Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to listen to my message. |
8:44 You are the children of your father, the Devil, and you want to follow your father's desires. From the very beginning he was a murderer and has never been on the side of truth, because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he is only doing what is natural to him, because he is a liar and the father of all lies. |
8:45 But I tell the truth, and that is why you do not believe me. |
8:46 Which one of you can prove that I am guilty of sin? If I tell the truth, then why do you not believe me? |
8:47 He who comes from God listens to God's words. You, however, are not from God, and that is why you will not listen." |
8:48 They asked Jesus, "Were we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon in you?" |
8:49 "I have no demon," Jesus answered. "I honor my Father, but you dishonor me. |
8:50 I am not seeking honor for myself. But there is one who is seeking it and who judges in my favor. |
8:51 I am telling you the truth: whoever obeys my teaching will never die." |
8:52 They said to him, "Now we know for sure that you have a demon! Abraham died, and the prophets died, yet you say that whoever obeys your teaching will never die. |
8:53 Our father Abraham died; you do not claim to be greater than Abraham, do you? And the prophets also died. Who do you think you are?" |
8:54 Jesus answered, "If I were to honor myself, that honor would be worth nothing. The one who honors me is my Father---the very one you say is your God. |
8:55 You have never known him, but I know him. If I were to say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you. But I do know him, and I obey his word. |
8:56 Your father Abraham rejoiced that he was to see the time of my coming; he saw it and was glad." |
8:57 They said to him, "You are not even fifty years old---and you have seen Abraham?" |
8:58 "I am telling you the truth," Jesus replied. "Before Abraham was born, 'I Am'." |
8:59 Then they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and left the Temple. |