[Now] Barabbas was a person who had been thrown into prison for [inciting] a rebellion in the city [of Jerusalem] and for committing murder.

and released the man they had asked for [i.e., Barabbas], who had been thrown into prison for [inciting] a rebellion and committing murder. But he turned Jesus over to the people do with Him whatever they wanted.

And when the military officer in charge of one hundred men saw what had happened, he honored God [by] saying, "Certainly this man had [always] done what was right."

And after the crowds that had gathered to witness this sight saw what had happened they left, beating their chests [i.e., as an expression of anguish over witnessing Jesus' death].

And all of those who knew Him, as well as the women who had followed Him from Galilee [See Matt. 27:55-56], watched all this from a distance.

(and who had not agreed with the decision and action of the [Jewish] Council). He was expecting the kingdom of God [to appear soon].

[Upon receiving permission] he took it down [from the cross] and wrapped it in a linen cloth, and placed it in a grave site, cut out of [a ledge of] rock, where no one had ever been buried.

The women who had accompanied Jesus from Galilee followed behind [those carrying the body] and saw where the grave site was and how His body was placed in it.

Now at early dawn on the first day of the week [i.e., early Sunday morning], the women [See Mark 16:1] went to Jesus' grave site, taking the spices which they had prepared [for His burial].

But they found the stone [had already been] rolled away from the [opening of the] grave site.

Then they remembered what He had said to them.

But Peter got up and ran to the grave site. He stooped down [i.e., because of the low opening in the cave-like tomb], looked in and saw the linen cloths [lying there] by themselves. Then he went home, puzzled over what had happened.}}

And they were discussing with each other everything that had [recently] happened.

And the leading priests and our leaders turned him over to be sentenced to death and had him crucified.

But we had hoped that he was the one who would purchase the Israelites back [from their bondage]. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened.

When they did not find Jesus' body they came and told us that they had also seen a vision of angels who said Jesus was alive.

Then some of our companions [i.e., Peter and John. See John 20:2-9] went to the grave site and found things just as the women had said, but they did not see Jesus [either]."

And it happened when Jesus had reclined at the dinner table with them [Note: See Matt. 23:6], that He took a [small] loaf of bread, asked God's blessing on it, then broke it and gave [pieces] to the two men.

And when He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet.}}

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

Nathaniel replied to him, "Can anything worthwhile come from Nazareth?" [Note: Nazareth had a bad reputation and Jewish writings made no prediction of a prophet coming from that area. See John 7:52]. Philip answered him, "Come and see."

and Jesus and His disciples had been invited to it also.

Now when they had run out of wine, Jesus' mother said to Him, "They do not have any more wine [left]."

and when the banquet host tasted the water, which had [now] been turned into wine, he did not know where it had come from. (But the servants who had poured out the water knew [full well]). So, the banquet host called the groom

and said to him, "Everyone sets out the best wine first, and when people have had plenty to drink, he then sets out the poor quality [wine]. But you have kept the best wine until now." [Note: See Barnes Notes and The Gospel of John by Butler for evidence suggesting that this was not intoxicating wine].

Therefore, when He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered what He had said and they believed the Scriptures and the words Jesus had spoken.

Now John had not yet been thrown into prison.

So, He arrived at the Samaritan town called Sychar, which was near the piece of property that Jacob had given to his son Joseph.

(Now Jesus' disciples had gone away to town to buy some food).

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."

So, when He got to Galilee, the people there welcomed Him, for they had also gone to the [Passover] Festival in Jerusalem and had seen everything He had done there during the festival.

Then Jesus returned again to Cana, in Galilee, where He had turned water into wine. There was a government official there whose son was sick at Capernaum [Note: Capernaum was about

When he heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went to Him and begged Him to come down [to Capernaum] and heal his son who was about to die.

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 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].

When Jesus saw him lying [there by the pool], and knew that he had been [in that condition] a long time, He said to him, "Do you want to get well?"

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.

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.

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].

And a large crowd followed Him because they had seen the [miraculous] signs He had performed on sick people.

So, they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with broken pieces left over from the five loaves of barley bread which they had eaten.

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.

Then the water became choppy because of a strong wind that had begun to blow.

And when the disciples had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the [surface of the] water. They became afraid as Jesus got closer to their boat.

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.

(However, meanwhile, some other [small] boats had come from Tiberias [i.e., a small town on the west side of the lake] near where they had eaten bread after the Lord had given thanks).

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."

But after His [half-] brothers had gone up to the Festival, Jesus also went up, but secretly instead of openly.

Then they [i.e., the authorities] tried to arrest Jesus, but no one laid a hand on Him because His time had not yet come.

Now He said this about the Holy Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive [See Acts 2:38]. For [at that time] the Holy Spirit had not yet been given, since Jesus had not yet received splendor [in heaven].

Some experts in the law of Moses and Pharisees brought [to Him] a woman who had been caught committing an immoral sexual act and stood her in the middle of the group.

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.

Jesus spoke these words in the treasury [area of the Temple]. And no one arrested Him because His time had not yet come [i.e., to be turned over to the authorities and killed].

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

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

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

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

[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.

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

His parents said these things because they were afraid of the Jewish authorities who had already decided that anyone who confessed Jesus to be the Christ would be expelled from the synagogue.

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

Then Jesus again went across [to the east side of] the Jordan River, to the place where John had first immersed people, and stayed there.

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.

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

So, when Jesus arrived, He found out that Lazarus had already been in his grave [i.e., a cave-like tomb] for four days.

and many of Martha and Mary's Jewish friends had come to comfort them over [the loss of] their brother.

Then Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if [only] you had been here, my brother would not have died.

(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."

When Jesus saw her and her Jewish friends, who had come with her, crying, He felt distressed in His spirit and [visibly] troubled [Note: This last word means to shake with emotion, and seems to have been caused by His deep sympathy for these grieving people],

So, they removed the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, "Father, thank you for hearing me. [Note: Jesus had already prayed for and been assured of Lazarus' resurrection].

And after He had said this, He called out in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!"

[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."

When many of Mary's Jewish friends, who had come to console her, saw what Jesus had done, they believed in Him.

But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done.

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.

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.

His disciples did not understand these things at first, but after Jesus received splendor [in heaven], then they remembered that these things had been written about Him [in Scripture] and that people had done such things to Him.

But the crowd that went out to meet Jesus [i.e., as He entered Jerusalem] did so because they had heard about Him performing this [miraculous] sign [i.e., of raising Lazarus].

But [even] though Jesus had performed so many [miraculous] signs in front of the people, still they did not believe in Him.

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?"

"God has blinded their eyes [of understanding] and closed their minds. If He had not done so, they would [be able to] see with their eyes and understand with their minds and turn [to God] so He could heal them [spiritually]."

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].

The devil had already filled the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, with the desire to turn Jesus over [i.e., to the Jewish authorities]. During the [Passover] meal,

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.

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, after Jesus had washed His disciples' feet and put His [outer] clothing back on, He reclined again [at the dinner table] and said to them, "Do you understand what I have done to you?

Jesus answered, "It is the person to whom I give a piece of bread after dipping it [in the sauce bowl]." So, when He had dipped the piece of bread, He took it [out] and gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot.

Now, no one at the table knew why He had said this to him.

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.