There was a man sent from God whose name was John [the Immerser].

[Such people] were born of God, not of blood ties [i.e., from physical descendants], nor of the will of the flesh [i.e., merely from a sexual desire], nor of the will of man [i.e., from a husband's desire for offspring].

And this is the testimony John [the Immerser] gave when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who are you?" [Note: Levites were men who assisted the priests in the Temple service].

He replied, "I am the voice of a man who is calling out in the desert, [urging people to] 'Make the road for the Lord straight,' as Isaiah the prophet said, [Isa. 40:3]."

He is the One about whom I said, 'A man will come after me who ranks above me, for He existed before me.'

One of the two men who had listened to John and had become a follower of Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother.

[As] Jesus saw Nathaniel coming toward Him, He said [this] about him, "Look, [there is] a true Israelite, a completely honest man!"

Then Jesus said to him, "Truly, truly, I tell you, you will see heaven opened up and the angels of God going up [from] and coming down on the Son of man" [i.e., probably a reference to angels ministering to Jesus' needs. See Matt. 4:6, 11; Luke 22:43].

Then Jesus made a whip out of strands of rope and drove all of the sheep and oxen out of the Temple [area], dumped out the cashiers' money and overturned their tables.

But Jesus would not trust Himself to them [i.e., to the care of these Jewish leaders] because He knew all men,

This man went to Jesus one night and said to Him, "Rabbi, we [i.e., speaking of himself and other Jewish leaders] know that you are a Teacher sent from God, for no one could perform these [miraculous] signs that you are doing unless God were with Him."

Jesus said to him, "Truly, truly, I tell you, a person cannot see the kingdom of God [i.e., enter it. See verse 5], unless he is born from above [Note: The words "from above" are also used in verse 31, but in this place they could also mean "again," or "anew" and refer to the source of a person's second birth].

Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born [again] after he is [already] old? He cannot enter his mother's womb a second time and be born, can he?"

And no one has gone up to heaven except the One who has come down from heaven, [even] the Son of man. {{Most translations do not contain the added words "who is in heaven"}}.

And [just] like Moses lifted up the snake [on the pole] in the wilderness [Num. 21:9], so the Son of man must be lifted up [on the cross]

These disciples went to John and said to him, "Rabbi, look, that man who was with you on the east side of the Jordan River [i.e., Jesus], whom you testified about, is immersing people and everyone is going to him." [Note: Actually, it was Jesus' disciples who did the immersing. See 4:2].

The one who has the bride is the groom; but the best man, who stands up with him and listens to him [take his vows], is very happy when he hears him speak. So, [now] my joy is complete [i.e. over hearing about Jesus' ministry].

because you have had five husbands, and the man you are now living with is not [really] your husband. So, you have told the truth."

"Come [and] see a man who told me everything I ever did. Can this be the Christ?"

Jesus said to him, "Go on [home]; your son will live." And the man believed what Jesus said to him and went [home].

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

The sick man answered Him, "Sir, I do not have anyone to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but [just] when I am about to enter [it] someone else goes down [into the water] before me."

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 he replied to them, "The same man who made me well said to me, 'Pick up your cot and walk.'"

[Then] they asked him, "Who is this man who said to you, 'Pick up your cot and walk.'?"

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

Later on Jesus found the man in the Temple, and said to him, "Look, you have been made well; stop sinning or else something worse [i.e., than the handicap you had] will happen to you."

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

For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him everything that He Himself does; and He will show Him [even] greater deeds [i.e., more extensive in scope] than these [i.e., than merely healing a crippled man], so that you people will be amazed.

And He gave His Son authority to carry out judgment [upon mankind] because He is the Son of man [Note: The Greek actually says "a son of man"].

But I do not rely on the testimony of men about me; therefore I tell you these things so you will be saved [i.e., from condemning judgment. See verse 29].

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].

Do not work for the [kind of] food that spoils, but for the kind that lasts until never ending life. The Son of man will give you this [kind of food], for God the Father has placed His seal [of approval] on Him."

Our forefathers ate the [supernatural] 'manna' in the desert, as it is written [Neh. 9:15], 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'"

Your forefathers ate the 'manna' in the desert and died.

Then the Jews [who were assembled in the synagogue. See verse 59] began arguing bitterly with one another, saying, "How can this man give us his physical body to eat?"

So, Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I tell you, unless you eat the physical body of the Son of man and drink His blood, you do not have [spiritual] life in yourselves [Note: The references to "body" and "blood" throughout this section allude to taking Jesus' life and teaching into one's heart. See verse 56].

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

You men go [on] up to the festival, but I am not going up yet [Note: Although "yet" appears in only a few manuscripts, it seems to be the proper idea here], because my time has not yet come. [See verse 6].

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."

Now the Jewish authorities were amazed, saying, "How can this man know so much, since he has never been educated?"

So, Jesus answered them, "What I am teaching is not mine, but [it belongs] to Him who sent me [i.e., to God].

Jesus answered them, "I performed one [miraculous] deed and you were all amazed by it [i.e., the healing of the crippled man on the Sabbath day. See 5:1-9].

[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).

However, we know where this man comes from, but when the Messiah comes, no one will know where he is from."

But many people in the crowd believed in Him, saying, "When the Messiah does come, will he perform more [miraculous] signs than this man has done?"

The Jews [i.e., the authorities] were saying among themselves, "Where will this man go that we will not be able to find him? Will he go where the Jewish people are scattered among the Greeks, and teach the Greeks?

What did he mean by saying, 'You people will be looking for me, but will not find me; and you will not be able to go where I will be?'"

When they heard these words some people in the crowd said, "Truly, this man is the prophet." [See note on 1:21].

Others said, "He is the Christ." But [still] others said, "What [do you mean]? The Christ will not come from Galilee, [will he]?

The guards answered, "No one has ever spoken like this man."

"Does our law pass judgment on a man before first hearing from him and learning what he did?"

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.

So, Jesus stood up [again] and said to her, "[My dear] woman, where are the men? Did not any of them [stay to] condemn you?"

So, Jesus said, "When you have lifted up the Son of man [i.e., to crucify Him], then you will know that I am [the Messiah] and that I do not do anything on my own authority, but I speak [only] those things that the Father has taught me.

But instead, you are trying to kill me, a man who has [only] told you the truth, which I heard from God. Abraham did not do this [kind of thing].

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?"

After He had said this, He spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then He put the mud on the man's eyes

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.

Then the neighbors, who had seen the man begging previously, said, "Is not this the man who [used to] sit there and beg?"

Other people said, "[Yes], that is him," while [still] others said, "No, [it is not]; he [just] looks like him." The man said, "I am the one, [all right]."

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."

Then the people said to the man, "Where is he?" "I do not know," he replied.

[So], they brought the man, who had been blind, to the Pharisees.

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

Some of the Pharisees then said, "The man who did this is not from God, because he does not observe the Sabbath day. But other people said, "How could a man who is a sinner do such [miraculous] signs?" And the people were divided among themselves [over the issue].

So, they said to the [former] blind man again, "What do you have to say about the man, since [you say] he restored your sight?" The man replied, "He is a prophet."

But these Jews [i.e., Pharisees] did not believe that the man had been blind and had received his sight back until they called his parents

So, they called the [former] blind man a second time, and said to him, "Give honor to God [Note: In Jewish idiom this phrase meant "Tell the truth." See Josh. 7:19]; we know this man is a sinner."

He answered them, "I just told you, but you would not listen. Why should I tell you again? Do you men want to become his disciples, too?"

We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this man, we do not [even] know where he came from."

The man replied, "Is not that strange! You do not know where he came from and yet he restored my sight! [Note: The next sentence may be the beggar stating the Pharisees' argument. See verse 24].

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

Unless this man came from God, he would not be able to do anything [like this]."

[When] Jesus heard that they had thrown the beggar out, He found him and asked him, "Do you believe in the Son of man?"

And the man said, "Lord, I believe." And he knelt in front of Jesus [i.e., in reverence].

Many of them said, "This man is dominated by an evil spirit; he is crazy, why listen to him?"

The Jews answered Him, "We are not stoning you for a good deed, but for your abusive speech [i.e., about God], and because you are claiming to be God, even though you are [only] a man."

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].

But others of them said, "Could not this man, who restored sight to a blind person, have kept Lazarus from dying?"

Jesus said, "You people, take the stone away." [But] Martha, the dead man's sister, said to Jesus, "Lord, his body is decomposing by now, for he has been dead four days."

[Immediately] the man who had died came out [of the cave] with his hands and feet [still] wrapped in bandages, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to his Jewish friends, "Unwrap him and let him go."

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?

And you are not taking into consideration that it would be profitable to you for one man to die for the people, so that the entire nation would not be destroyed."

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.

"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.

So, the Pharisees were saying among themselves, "Look, you men are getting nowhere [in this situation]. See, the [whole] world has gone after him."

Then Jesus said to [all of] them, "The time has come for the Son of man to be glorified [i.e., by His crucifixion, resurrection and ascension].

Then the crowd replied to Him, "We have heard from [the writings of] the law of Moses that the Christ will live forever; so how can you say, 'The son of man must be lifted up [i.e., to die]?' Who is this son of man?"

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].

Then after Judas left, Jesus said, "Now the Son of man is [being] glorified [Note: Being "glorified" involved Jesus' crucifixion, resurrection and ascension. The first step of this had now begun]. And God is [being] glorified through the Son's life.

Jesus replied to him, "Have I been with you men all this time, and [still] you do not know me, Philip? The person who has seen me, has [also] seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'?

After a little while [longer] the world will not see me anymore, but you men will see me. Because I [will continue to] live, you will live also.

The person who does not love me will not obey my teaching. And the message you are hearing is not mine, but belongs to the Father, who sent me.

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].

And you will give testimony about me [also], because you men have been with me from the beginning [of my ministry]."