"Where is the one who was born to be king of the Jews? For we saw a star [signifying his birth while we were still] in the east, and have come here to worship him."

In those days, John the Immerser went into the desert of Judea preaching [to Jews], saying,

But I tell you that Elijah has already come, but they [i.e., the Jewish leaders] did not understand who he was, but [instead] did to him what they wanted to. In the same way, the Son of man will also suffer from what the Jews will do."

Jesus said to them, "Moses permitted you to divorce your wives [only] because of the rebellious spirits you [Jews] had. But this was not how it was [intended to be] from the beginning [i.e., when God created one woman for one man].

Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you [Jews] and will be given to a nation [i.e., the Gentiles] that will produce the fruit of the kingdom.

Now Jesus stood in front of the governor [i.e., Pilate], who asked Him, "Are you the king of the Jews?" Jesus answered him, "You have said so."

Then they made a wreath out of thorns and placed it on His head and put a stick in His right hand. They knelt down in front of Him and mocked Him, saying, "Hey, king of the Jews!"

They attached over His head [i.e., to the upright portion of the cross] the charge made against Him, which read, "This is Jesus, the king of the Jews."

So, they took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story [i.e., that Jesus' body had been stolen by His disciples] was told widely among the Jews, and continues to be told to this day.

Then a person with an infectious skin disease came to Jesus and, kneeling down before Him, begged Him, saying, "If you want to, you can heal me." [Note: Throughout this narrative the term "heal/healing" is originally "clean/cleansing" because the Jews viewed a person with such a disease as ceremonially "unclean." See Lev. 13:1-3].

(For the Pharisees and all the Jews would not eat anything unless they first scrubbed their hands [i.e., up to the wrists] in accordance with the [long-established] tradition of the Jewish elders).

But Jesus said to them, "He wrote you this commandment [only] because of the rebellious spirit of you [Jews].

Pilate asked Him, "Are you the king of the Jews?" Jesus answered him, "You have said so."

Pilate answered them, "Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews [i.e., Jesus]?"

[So], Pilate again asked them, "Then what shall I do to this one you call the king of the Jews?"

Then they began "greeting" Him with "Hey, king of the Jews "

The inscription, stating the charge against Him, was attached above His head [i.e., to the upright portion of the cross]. It read, "The king of the Jews."

And even now the axe is also ready to chop down the trees at their roots [i.e., you Jews]. Every tree [i.e., person] that does not produce wholesome fruit [i.e., a godly life] will be cut down and thrown into the fire [i.e., the punishment of hell]."

Then He went down to the Galilean city of Capernaum and taught the Jews on the Sabbath day.

And it happened while Jesus was in one of the towns [i.e., surrounding Lake Galilee], that a man covered with an infectious skin disease appeared and, when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face [to the ground] and begged Him, saying, "If you want to, you can heal me." [Note: Throughout this narrative the terms "heal/healing" are originally "clean/cleansing" because the Jews viewed a person with such a disease as ceremonially "unclean." See Lev. 13:1-3].

And these Samaritans did not welcome Him because He was heading for Jerusalem. [Note: They perceived He was a Jew and Samaritans did not associate with Jews].

But [then] a certain Samaritan [Note: This was a person despised by the Jews and regarded by them as a 'half-breed'], as he traveled along, came to where the [injured] man was [lying], and upon seeing him [lying there], felt deep pity [for him].

But the official of the synagogue became angry because Jesus had healed [someone] on the Sabbath day. [Note: This was viewed as a violation of proper Sabbath day observance by certain Jews who interpreted the law of Moses with narrow legalism]. So, the official said to the crowd, "There are six days [in the week] for people to work. Therefore, you should come to be healed on one of them, and not on the Sabbath day."

And he fell on his face at Jesus' feet and thanked Him. And he was a Samaritan. [Note: Samaritans were despised by the Jews and regarded as a 'half-breeds'].

So, Pilate asked Him, "Are you the king of the Jews?" And Jesus answered him, "You have said so."

For if people are doing these things [to me] while the [leaves of the] tree are green [i.e., to someone innocent of wrongdoing], what will they do when [the leaves] are dried up [i.e., to the sinful Jews of Jerusalem]?"

saying, "If you [really] are the King of the Jews, save yourself."

There was an inscription above Him [i.e., on the upright portion of the cross], stating, "This is the king of the Jews."

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].

Now there were six clay water jars there, used by the Jews for ceremonial washings [i.e., for hands, utensils, etc.]. Each one held from

So, the Jews asked Him, "What [miraculous] sign will you show us, since you are doing these things [i.e., disrupting their merchandising activities]?"

But the Jews said, "It took forty-six years to build this Temple, and are you going to rebuild it in three days?"

Now there was a Pharisee, a leader of the Jews, named Nicodemus.

Therefore, the Samaritan woman asked Him, "Why is it that you, being a Jew, would ask a Samaritan woman [like me] for a drink?" (For Jews do not have any fellowship with Samaritans). [Note: The reason for this stemmed from longstanding religious, cultural and ethnic prejudices].

You [Samaritans] do not [really] know what you worship; we [Jews] know what we worship because salvation is from the Jews [i.e., through Jewish prophets, Jewish Scriptures and a Jewish Messiah].

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."

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

So, for this reason the Jews began persecuting Jesus, because He did these [kinds of] things on the Sabbath day.

So, for this reason the Jews looked for more [opportunities] to kill Him, because He not only broke Sabbath day [restrictions], but also He had called God His own Father, [thereby] making Himself equal with God.

So the Jews, [who were assembled in the synagogue. See verse 59] began complaining about Jesus because He had said, "I am the bread that came down from heaven."

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?"

Then after these things happened, Jesus traveled in Galilee [only], for He did not want to move around in Judea because the Jews [there] were trying to kill Him.

So, the Jews [i.e., their authorities] began searching for Him at the Festival, and were saying, "Where is he?"

However, no one said anything about Him openly for fear of the Jews.

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?

So, the Jews asked [one another], "Will he kill himself, because he said, 'You cannot go where I am going'?"

Then Jesus said to those Jews who had believed [in Him], "If you people continue [obeying] my message, then you are truly my disciples.

The Jews answered and said to Jesus, "Were we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan [See note on 4:9], and are dominated by an evil spirit?"

The Jews [i.e., the authorities] replied, "Now we know that you are dominated by an evil spirit. Abraham and the prophets [all] died and [yet] you are saying, 'If a person obeys my message, he will never experience death.'

So, the Jews said to Him, "You are not even fifty years old [yet] and have you seen Abraham?"

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

I have other sheep [also] which are not [presently] in this corral; I must lead them, too. They will hear my voice and become one flock [i.e., with the others], having one shepherd. [Note: This probably refers to believing Gentiles becoming God's people, along with the Jews].

The Jews who heard these words became divided again [i.e., over their meaning].

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."],

Then the Jews again picked up stones [intending] to stone 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."

[Then] the Jews again tried to arrest Him, but He escaped from their hands.

The disciples replied to Him, "The Jews [there] have just been trying to stone you, and you are going back again?"

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

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.

for because of him [i.e., his miraculous resurrection], many of the Jews rejected the priests' leadership and believed in Jesus.

Now Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jews that it was profitable for one man to die for the people. [See 11:50].

Jesus answered him, "I have spoken publicly to the world; I always taught in the synagogues and in the Temple, where all the Jews assemble. I have never said anything in secret.

So, Pilate said to them, "Take him yourselves and judge him according to your [own] law." [But] the Jews replied to him, "It is not permissible for us to put anyone to death."

So, Pilate went back into his headquarters and called for Jesus. He said to Him, "Are you the King of the Jews?"

Jesus answered him, "My kingdom does not belong to this world. If it did, then my servants [i.e., disciples] would fight to keep me from being turned over to the Jews. But now my kingdom does not belong here." [i.e., Jesus' kingdom was not based on physical, but spiritual principles].

Pilate replied to Him, "What is truth?" After saying this, Pilate again went outside to the Jews and said to them, "I do not find him guilty of any crime.

But since you [Jews] have a custom that I should release to you one [prisoner] during the Passover Festival, do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?"

Then they went [up] to Him and said, "Hey! King of the Jews!" and struck Him [in the face with their hands].

The Jews replied, "We have a law which requires that he ought to die because he claimed to be the Son of God."

After [hearing] this, Pilate tried to release Jesus, but the Jews shouted out, "If you release this man, you are no friend of Caesar's. Everyone who claims to be a king [i.e., as they had accused Jesus of doing. See 18:37] is in opposition to Caesar."

Then Pilate had an inscription written and placed on the cross [i.e., on the upright portion, above His head]. It read, "Jesus from Nazareth, the King of the Jews."

Many of the Jews read this notice, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city [of Jerusalem]. It was written in the Hebrew, Latin and Greek languages.

But the Jewish leading priests said to Pilate, "Do not write 'The King of the Jews,' but 'He said, I am the King of the Jews.'"

Now it was the Day of Preparation [Note: This was the day before the Passover Festival began, and fell on a Friday that year], and the Jews did not permit bodies to remain on a cross over the Sabbath day. (Besides, that Sabbath day was a special day [i.e., since it was both the Passover and the regular weekly Sabbath, as well]). So, they asked Pilate to have Jesus' and the criminals' legs broken [i.e., to speed up their deaths] and then have their bodies taken away.

After this happened, one of Jesus' disciples (but secretly, for fear of the Jews), named Joseph from Arimathaea, asked Pilate if he could remove Jesus' body [from the cross]. Pilate granted him permission, so he went and removed the body from the cross.

Now some devoted Jews from every nation of the world were visiting Jerusalem [for the Pentecost festival].

God said that 'in the last days [of the Jewish nation?] I will pour out My Holy Spirit upon all people [i.e., both Jews and Gentiles], and your sons and daughters will speak out [in prophecies] and your young men will see [supernatural] visions, and your old men will have [supernatural] dreams.

For the promise [of forgiveness and the Holy Spirit] is being given to you [Jews] and to your descendants and [also] to all those who are far away [i.e., Gentiles. See Eph. 2:17]. [This promise is] to as many as [respond to] the Lord, our God's call [through the Gospel, See II Thess. 2:14]."

You [Jews] were the first ones to receive this blessing when God raised up [i.e., selected] His Servant [i.e., Jesus] and sent Him to turn all of you [away] from your sins."

So, after Peter and John were released, they went [back to the other disciples] and reported everything the leading priests and elders [of the Jews] had said to them.

The kings of the earth [i.e., Herod and Pilate] took their stand [against Jesus], and the rulers [of the Jews] gathered against the Lord and against His Anointed One [i.e., Christ].'

Now during the days when the disciples were multiplying in number [in Jerusalem. See verse 7], some Greek-[speaking] Jews began to complain to the Hebrews that their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution [of food].

But Saul was strengthened [spiritually] and proceeded to confound the Jews living [there] in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Christ.

And after a number of days had passed [these] Jews conspired together to kill Saul,

preaching boldly in the name of the Lord [and] speaking and arguing with the Greek-[speaking] Jews, but they were out to kill him.

They said, "Cornelius, a [military] man in charge of one hundred soldiers, [and] a man who does what is right, [and] who respects God and who has a good reputation among all the Jews [who know him], was urged by God through a holy angel to have you come to his house so he could hear you speak [about salvation, See 11:14]."

And we [apostles] are witnesses of all that He did, both in the region where Jews lived and in Jerusalem [as well]. But they killed Him by hanging Him on a tree [i.e., the cross].

But I said, 'O no, Lord, for I have never even tasted anything ordinary or [ceremonially] unfit [for Jews to eat].'

[Therefore], if God gave to them [i.e., the Gentiles] the same gift as He gave to us [Jews] when we [apostles, See chapter 1-2] believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, how could I stand against [the will of] God [by refusing to immerse them]?'"

So, when the apostles and the brothers from Judea heard these things, they stopped arguing [See verse 2] and gave honor to God, saying, "[This means] that God has permitted the Gentiles also [as well as the Jews] to repent [i.e., change their hearts and lives] so they, too, could have [the promise of never ending] life."

Those who were scattered everywhere as a result of the persecution [being waged against the church] because of Stephen's [death], traveled as far away as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, declaring the message to Jews only.

When he realized that this act pleased the Jews, he proceeded to have Peter arrested also. [This happened] during the Festival of Unleavened Bread [See Exodus 12:15ff].

Now when the synagogue service was over, many of the Jews and devoted proselytes [i.e., converts to the Jewish religion] followed Paul and Barnabas, who urged them to continue accepting the unearned favor of God.

But when the Jews saw the large crowds [gathered to hear the Gospel] they became very jealous and took sharp issue with the things Paul said, and [even] spoke against them.

But Paul and Barnabas [continued to] speak out boldly, saying, "It was necessary that the message of God be delivered to you [Jews] first. But since you have rejected it and [thereby] consider yourselves to be unworthy of [receiving] never ending life, we [i.e., Paul and Barnabas] will now begin proclaiming it to the [unconverted] Gentiles.

But the Jews incited the devoted [non-Jewish] women who held respected positions, and the principal men of the city, by stirring up a persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and [succeeded] in running them out of the region.

It happened in Iconium that Paul and Barnabas [again] entered the Jewish synagogue and presented the message [so powerfully] that a large number of both Jews and Greeks [i.e., Gentiles] became believers.

But the Jews who did not obey [the Gospel message] incited the spirits of the [unconverted] Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers.

But the large crowd in the city [who heard them] became divided [over how to respond to it]; some sided with the [unbelieving] Jews and some with the apostles.