Jesus goes secretly to the Festival of Tents
1 After that, Jesus went about in Galilee instead of Judea, since the Judeans intended to kill him. 2 Now the Judeans’ Festival of Tents was approaching, 3 so his siblings said to him, “If you want to be famous, you’ll have to go into Judea so your disciples can see what you’re doing. 4 After all, people don’t stay hidden if they want publicity. If you’re going to do these things, show the world!” 5 (His own siblings didn’t believe him.)
6 But Jesus responded, “My time has not yet come, but for you, any time will do. 7 The world can’t hate you, but it hates me because I am testifying that it does evil. 8 So you go on up to the festival; I’m not going to this one because it isn’t my time.” 9 After he said this, he remained in Galilee. 10 Yet after his siblings left he decided to go anyway, but secretly so no one would know.
11 Now the Judeans were looking for him at the festival and saying “Where is he?” 12 And there was disagreement about him in the crowd, with some saying “He is good” and others saying “No, he is misleading people.” 13 Yet no one talked about him openly for fear of the Judeans.
Jesus teaches publicly at the festival
14 It was already midway through the festival when Jesus went up into the temple compound and began to teach. 15 But the Judeans were astounded and said, “How did he learn so much without an education?”
16 Jesus answered, “This teaching is not mine but is from the one who sent me. 17 Whoever chooses to do what he says will know whether my teaching is from God or only from me. 18 Those who only want to honor themselves speak on their own behalf, but those who want to honor the one who sent them are true; there is no unrighteousness in them. 19 Hasn’t Moses given you the law? Yet not one of you obeys it! Why do you intend to kill me?”
20 But the crowd retorted, “You’re possessed! Who wants to kill you?”
21 Jesus said, “I do one miracle on a Sabbath and you all lose your minds! 22 Now Moses gave you the rite of circumcision (though it wasn’t actually from Moses but the ancestors), yet you will even circumcise someone on a Sabbath. 23 But though you will do this to avoid violating the law of Moses, you are enraged at me for healing someone on a Sabbath! 23 24 Don’t judge by appearances; instead, reach the proper verdict.”
Growing opposition to Jesus
25 Then some of the residents of Jerusalem said, “Isn’t this the one they intend to kill? 26 But look! He speaks boldly and they say nothing to him. Have the authorities realized that this really is Christ? 27 On the other hand, we know where this one is from, but when Christ comes, no one knows for sure where he comes from.”
28 So then Jesus, who was teaching in the temple compound, shouted out, “Yes, you know me and where I’m from, yet I have not come of my own accord. But the one sending me is true. You do not know him, 29 but I do, because he commissioned me and so I came.” 30 At this they tried to arrest him, but no one laid a hand on him because his time had not yet come.
31 Many in the crowd put their trust in him and said, “When Christ comes, he will do no more miracles than this one!” 32 Now the Pharisees heard what the crowd was saying about him, so the high priests and Pharisees dispatched deputies to arrest him. 33 Then Jesus said, “I’ll only be with you for a short time now, and then I must return to the one who sent me. 34 You will all look for me but won’t find me, because where I am you cannot follow.”
35 Then the Judeans said to themselves, “Where does he intend to go, that we cannot follow him? Surely he doesn’t mean to go out to our people scattered among the Greeks and teach the Greeks! 36 And what does he mean by saying ’You will all look for me but won’t find me, because where I am you cannot follow’?”
37 Now on the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood up and shouted, “Let whoever is thirsty come to me and drink! 38 The one who puts their trust in me will have, as scripture says, ‘living waters flowing out of them’.” 39 Yet he was speaking of the Spirit that those who would put trust in him would receive, for the Spirit had not yet been given because Jesus had not yet been exalted.
40 Some in the crowd heard these things and said, “Truly, this is the Prophet!” 41 Others said, “This is Christ,” but some replied, “The Christ doesn’t come from Galilee. 42 Don’t the scriptures say that the he would be of the line of David, and from his city of Bethlehem?” 43 So a rift developed in the crowd because of him. 44 Some even wanted to arrest him, but no one laid a hand on him.
45 Then the deputies returned to the high priests and Pharisees, who demanded, “Why didn’t you bring him here?”
46 “No one ever spoke like this person!” they answered.
47 “Don’t tell us you’re deceived too!” retorted the Pharisees. 48 “None of the authorities or Pharisees trusts in him, 49 but this ignorant crowd is under a curse!”
50 Nicodemus, the one who had come to Jesus earlier and was one of the Pharisees, said, 51 “No law of ours judges someone before hearing their testimony and examining the evidence.”
52 “Don’t tell us you’re from Galilee too!” they retorted. “Do your own investigation and you’ll see that no prophet is called out of Galilee.” 53 Then they all went to their homes.
- 23 Jesus is evidently referring to the time he healed the disabled person on the Sabbath; see ch. 5.