So [then], the father realized that it was at that [exact] hour that Jesus had said to him, "Your son will live." So, he and his entire family believed [in Jesus].

[Now] this was the second [miraculous] sign that Jesus performed after going from Judea to Galilee.

Now in Jerusalem there was a pool of water near the Sheep Gate [Note: This was a city gate in the north wall]. It had five porticos [i.e., covered open areas along the outside of the Temple]. In the Hebrew language it was called Bethesda.

For an angel of the Lord came down to the pool [from heaven] at certain times and stirred up the water. Then the first person to enter the pool after the water became choppy was healed from whatever disease he had."}}

And a certain man was there who had been sick for thirty-eight years [Note: He was probably a crippled person].

And immediately the man was made well and picked up his cot and walked. Now this happened on the Sabbath day.

So, the Jews said to the man who was healed, "It is not permissible for you to pick up your cot because it is the Sabbath day."

But the man who was healed did not know who it was, because Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there.

[Then] the man left and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.

and they will come out [i.e., in the general resurrection on the last day]. Those who had done what was good will be raised [from the dead] to [never ending] life; and those who had done what was evil will be raised [from the dead] to judgment [i.e., to be condemned].

John was the lamp that was burning and glowing and you people were willing to enjoy the light that he projected for awhile.

Now the time for the Jewish Passover Festival was getting close.

So Jesus, looking up and seeing a large crowd coming to Him, said to Philip [Note: He was one of the apostles, whose home town was at nearby Bethsaida. See 1:44], "Where are we going to buy [enough] bread, so that this crowd can eat?"

Now He said this to test Philip, for He [already] knew what He was going to do.

Philip answered Him, "Not even two hundred coins' worth of bread would be enough to feed them if everyone ate only a little bit." [Note: The amount here indicated was two hundred days of a farm laborer's pay, or about $14,000 in 1994].

[Then] one of His disciples, named Andrew, [who was] Simon Peter's brother, said to Him,

Jesus answered, "Have these people recline [on the ground]." Now there was a lot of grass in that place. So, the men, numbering about five thousand, reclined [on the grass].

So, when the people saw the [miraculous] sign that Jesus had performed [i.e., the feeding of the large crowd with such a small amount of food], they said, "Truly, this is the prophet who was to come into the world." [Note: This was probably a reference to the promise made in Deut. 18:15-19].

and got into their boat, and were crossing over [i.e., to the west side of] the lake toward Capernaum. It was dark by now and Jesus had not yet come to them.

On the next day the crowd that had stayed on the other [i.e., east] side of the lake realized that there had been only one boat there. They [also] knew that Jesus was not aboard the boat when it left with the disciples in it, but that they had left without Him.

So Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I tell you, it was not [really] Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who is [now] giving you the real bread from heaven.

Then what if you were to see the Son of man going up [i.e., to heaven] where He was before?

Now He was speaking about Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, for he was the one, out of the twelve, who was [soon] going to turn Jesus over [to the Jewish authorities].

Now it was almost time for the Jewish Festival of Tabernacles [Note: This was also called "Festival of Shelters," and was one of three principal, annual Jewish festivals and commemorated the occasion of the Israelites living in tents or shelters during their forty year wandering in the desert].

And there was much whispering about Him among the crowds. Some were saying, "He is a good man," [but] others said, "No [he is not], he is [just] deceiving the crowd."

But when the Festival was about half over, Jesus went up into the Temple and began teaching.

[Now] Moses gave you [the ordinance of] circumcision and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath day. (Although it was [first] required by [your] forefathers, and not Moses).

As Jesus was teaching in the Temple, He spoke out, and said, "You people [think you] know who I am and where I come from. I have not come on my own authority, but God, who sent me, is true and you do not know Him.

but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. [Note: This was located on a slope just east of Jerusalem].

They said to Jesus, "This woman was caught in the very act of sexual immorality.

And when they heard [what He had said], they [all] left, one at a time, beginning with the oldest men. So, Jesus was left alone with the woman [still standing] there where she was.

The people [who heard this] did not understand that Jesus was speaking to them about the Father.

They answered Him, "Our forefather was Abraham." Jesus replied to them, "If you were Abraham's descendants, you would do the [kinds of] deeds that Abraham did.

You belong to your father the devil, and you are [always] wanting to do what your father desires. He was a murderer from the [very] beginning [Note: This is probably a reference to Satan's influence on Adam, Eve and Cain in the Garden of Eden] and does not stand for the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he only speaks what is part of his nature, because he is a liar and the father of [all] liars.

Your forefather Abraham was glad that he could look forward to my day [i.e., by faith he anticipated the coming of the Messiah. See Heb. 11:13ff]. And he saw it [by faith] and was glad."

Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I tell you, before Abraham was born, I am." [Note: The words "I am" were probably construed as a reference to being Deity. See Ex. 3:14].

So, they picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus hid Himself [or "was hidden," suggesting a miraculous departure] and left the Temple [area].

As Jesus was walking along He saw a man [who had been] blind from birth.

His disciples asked Him, "Rabbi, did this man sin or was it his parents' [sin] that caused him to be born blind?"

Jesus answered, "[It was] neither his sin nor his parents' [sin], but [it happened] so that the deeds of God could be seen in his life.

and said to him, "[Now] go and wash in the pool of Siloam (which means "sent"). So, the man left and washed [in the pool], and [when he] returned, [he was] able to see.

So, they said to him, "How was your sight restored, then?"

He answered, "That man called Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes; then He said to me, 'Go to Siloam and wash [yourself].' So, I went and washed and my sight was [miraculously] restored."

Now it was the Sabbath day when Jesus had made the mud and restored the man's sight.

So, the Pharisees also asked him again how his sight was restored. He said to them, "He put mud on my eyes; I washed [myself], and [now] I can see."

and asked them, "Is this your son, whom you say was born blind? How [is it] then, that he can now see?"

His parents answered, "We know this is our son and that he was born blind.

It has never been heard of, since the world was created, that anyone has restored sight to a man born blind.

During the winter, when the Festival of Dedication was being held in Jerusalem [Note: This was the Jewish festival commemorating the rededication of the Temple in BC after its pagan desecration by Greeks. It is still observed today by Jews as "Hanukkah."],

Jesus was walking in the Temple [area] in "Solomon's Portico" [Note: This was a large covered area, with rows of columns, on the outside of the Temple enclosure].

Many people came to Him and were saying, "It is true that John did not perform any [miraculous] signs, but everything he said about this man was true."

Now a certain man named Lazarus, from Bethany, became sick. Bethany was the town where Mary and her sister Martha lived. [See 11:18].

This was the Mary who had poured the perfume on the Lord and wiped His feet with her hair [See Matt. 26:6-13], whose brother Lazarus was sick.

But when Jesus heard this, He said, "This illness will not result in [his] death, but was intended to bring honor to God, so that the Son of God would be honored by it."

So, when He heard that Lazarus was sick, He stayed where He was [i.e., on the east side of the Jordan River. See 10:40] for two [more] days.

Now Jesus had been talking about Lazarus' death, but the disciples thought He was referring to normal sleep.

And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there [when he died], so that [now] you will believe [i.e., when you see him miraculously raised up]. But let us go to him [now]."

Now Bethany was close to Jerusalem, [being] fewer than two miles away,

So, when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went [out to the edge of town. See verse 30] to meet Him, but Mary [just] sat at home [i.e., probably grief-stricken].

Martha answered Him, "Yes, Lord, I have [already] believed that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world."

(Now Jesus had not yet arrived in town, but was still at the place where Martha had met Him [i.e., probably on the road near the edge of town]).

When Martha's Jewish friends, who had been comforting her at her house, saw Mary getting up quickly and leaving, they followed her, thinking she was going to the grave site to mourn.

So, when Mary arrived at where Jesus was and saw Him, she fell down at His feet and said, "Lord, if [only] you had been here, my brother would not have died."

So, Jesus again felt distressed within Himself [as He] went to the grave site, which was a cave with a stone [slab] across its entrance.

So, the leading priests and the Pharisees assembled the Council [Note: This was the Jewish governing body called "the Sanhedrin"] and said, "What should we do, for this man is performing many [miraculous] signs?

But a certain member of the Sanhedrin, [named] Caiaphas, who was head priest that year, said to [the rest of] them, "You do not know what you are talking about.

Now he did not say this on his own [i.e., he was not aware of the significance of his words], but since he was head priest that year, he was prophesying [i.e., predicting] that Jesus should die for the nation.

So, Jesus stopped traveling publicly among the Jews [in Judea], but left there and went to a district near the desert, to a town called Ephraim, where He remained with His disciples. [Note: Ephraim was a small town about

Now the Jewish Passover Festival was to be held soon and many people went up to Jerusalem from the countryside before the [actual] Festival in order to perform the ceremonial purification rituals.

Now the leading priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where Jesus was, he was to report it, so they could arrest Him.

So, six days before the Passover Festival [began], Jesus went to Bethany, where Lazarus lived. He was the man Jesus [had] raised from the dead.

There Mary and Martha prepared a meal for Jesus. Martha served it while Lazarus was among those who reclined at the table with Him. [Note: See Matt. 23:6].

Then Mary took about a pint of expensive, aromatic perfume; [it was] genuine nard [Note: This was a sweet-smelling herb] and poured [some of] it on Jesus' feet and wiped them with her hair. The [whole] house was filled with the fragrant scent of the perfume.

"Why was this perfume not sold for a large sum of money [Note: The amount here was equivalent to three hundred days of a farm laborer's pay, or over $20,000 in 1994] and [then] the money given to poor people?"

Now he did not say this because he cared about poor people, but because he was in charge of the money bag, and being a thief, he used to steal from it.

When a large crowd of Jews learned that Jesus was there [in Bethany], they came not only because of Him, but also to see Lazarus whom He had raised from the dead.

On the next day a large crowd that had come [to Jerusalem] for the Passover Festival heard that Jesus [also] was coming to Jerusalem.

The crowd of people that was with Jesus [and saw Him] when He called Lazarus out of the grave and raised him from the dead, gave testimony [about all this].

So, these people approached [the apostle] Philip, who was from Bethsaida, in Galilee with the request, "Sir, we would like to see Jesus."

The crowd that was standing around heard this [i.e., the sound of the Father's voice], but said it was thunder. Others said, "An angel spoke to Him [i.e., Jesus]."

Now He said this to indicate the kind of death He was about to experience [i.e., of being lifted up on a cross].

This was so that these words, which Isaiah the prophet had spoken, would be fulfilled [Isa. 53:1], "Lord, who has believed our message? And who has the Lord's power been shown to?"

Isaiah had said these things because he saw the [coming] glory of Jesus, and [so] was speaking about Him.

Now it was before the Passover Festival [was to begin] and Jesus knew that the time had come for Him to leave this world and return to the Father. Those [living] in the world, whom He had loved, and who were His own [disciples], He continued to love [dearly] to the very end [i.e., of His life on earth].

Jesus, who knew that the Father had given Him complete authority, [also] knew that He had come from God and was [about] to return to God.

He came to Simon Peter, who said to Him, "Lord, are you going to wash my feet, [too]?"

Peter said to Him, "[No], you will never wash my feet." Jesus replied to him, "If I do not wash you, you will not be able to participate with me [i.e., as a disciple]."

Simon Peter [then] said to Him, "Lord, do not [just] wash my feet only, but my hands and head, too."

Jesus replied to him, "The person who has already had a bath is completely clean and does not need to wash anything but his feet. And you disciples are [already] clean [i.e., spiritually], but not every one of you."

So if I, then, being your Lord and Teacher have washed your feet, you should wash one another's feet also.

The disciples looked at one another, puzzled over who He was talking about.

One of Jesus' disciples, [the one] He loved [Note: Probably this was the apostle John] was reclining at the dinner table close to Jesus.

For some of them thought, since Judas was in charge of the [money] bag, that Jesus was telling him, "Buy whatever we need for the [Passover] meal," or that he was [being told] to give [money] to poor people [from it].

So, after eating the piece of bread, Judas went out immediately. And it was nighttime.

And if God is [so] glorified through Him [now], God will [also] glorify the Son in Himself very soon. [Note: Possibly this was a reference to Jesus returning to the Father's presence].

[Then] Judas (not the betrayer) [Note: This was the son of James, See Luke 6:16. He is also called Thaddaeus, See Matt. 10:3], said to Jesus, "Lord, what has happened [i.e., to your original plans to be seen by everyone when you came. See Luke 21:27], that you will reveal yourself to us apostles [only] and not to the [whole] world?"

I command you to do these things so that you will [demonstrate your] love for one another. [Note: Or this may mean that His command was to love one another, as in verse 12].

But I have told you these things so that, when the time comes [for people to do such things], you will remember that I had warned you. I did not tell you them at the beginning [of my ministry] because I was with you [i.e., to protect you from persecution].

And now, Father, honor me in your presence with the honor I had with you before the world was [created].

I protected them while I was with them by [the power of] your name which you gave me. [See verse 11]. I guarded them so that not one of them was lost except the "son of destruction" [i.e., Judas]. [This was] so that the Scripture would be fulfilled [Psa. 41:9 ?].