JOHN Chapter 8 (GNB)
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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.
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"Teacher," they said to Jesus, "this woman was caught in the
very act of committing adultery.
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In our Law Moses commanded that such a woman must be stoned to death. Now, what
do you say?"
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They said this to trap Jesus, so that they could accuse him. But he bent over
and wrote on the ground with his finger.
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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."
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Then he bent over again and wrote on the ground.
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When they heard this, they all left, one by one, the older ones first. Jesus
was left alone, with the woman still standing there.
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He straightened up and said to her, "Where are they? Is there no one left
to condemn you?"
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"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."
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The Pharisees said to him, "Now you are testifying on your own behalf;
what you say proves nothing."
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"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.
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You make judgments in a purely human way; I pass judgment on no one.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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."
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They did not understand that Jesus was talking to them about the Father.
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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.
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And he who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, because I always do
what pleases him."
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Many who heard Jesus say these things believed in him.
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So Jesus said to those who believed in him, "If you obey my teaching, you
are really my disciples;
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you will know the truth, and the truth will set you
free."
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"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'?"
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Jesus said to them, "I am telling you the truth: everyone who sins is a
slave of sin.
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A slave does not belong to a family permanently, but a son belongs there
forever.
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If the Son sets you free, then you will be really free.
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I know you are Abraham's descendants. Yet you are trying to kill me, because
you will not accept my teaching.
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I talk about what my Father has shown me, but you do what your father has told
you."
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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.
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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!
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You are doing what your father did." "God himself is the only Father
we have," they answered, "and we are his true children."
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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.
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Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to listen
to my message.
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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.
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But I tell the truth, and that is why you do not believe me.
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Which one of you can prove that I am guilty of sin? If I tell the truth, then
why do you not believe me?
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He who comes from God listens to God's words. You, however, are not from God,
and that is why you will not listen."
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They asked Jesus, "Were we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan
and have a demon in you?"
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"I have no demon," Jesus answered. "I honor my Father, but you
dishonor me.
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I am not seeking honor for myself. But there is one who is seeking it and who
judges in my favor.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Your father Abraham rejoiced that he was to see the time of my coming; he saw
it and was glad."
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They said to him, "You are not even fifty years old---and you have seen
Abraham?"
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"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.
CHAPTER ENDS