For I have come down from heaven to do what God, who sent me, wants me to do, not what I want to do.

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."

And they said, "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph? Do we not know his father and mother? Then how can he say, 'I have come down from heaven'?"

No one can come to me unless the Father, who sent me, attracts him to me. [See verse 65]. And I will raise him up [from the dead] on the last day.

It is written in the prophets [Isa. 54:13], 'And they will all be taught by God.' [So], every person who has heard the Father and learned [from Him] will come to me.

[But] this is the bread that has come down from heaven [i.e., Jesus is referring to Himself], so that a person who eats of it [i.e., believes in Jesus] will not die [spiritually].

I am the living bread who came down from heaven; if anyone eats this bread, he will live forever. Yes, and the bread that I will give [him] is my physical body, [so] that the world can have [never ending] life."

This is the bread that came down from heaven [i.e., Jesus is referring to Himself]. [It is] not like [the bread] our forefathers ate and [then] died. The person who eats this bread will live forever."

Then He said, "This is the reason I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father gives him [the opportunity. See verse 44]."

So, Jesus said to them, "My time has not yet come [i.e., to be revealed to the world as its Savior], but it is always your time [i.e., they could go to the festival anytime without rousing opposition].

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].

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.

I know Him because I came from Him, for He sent me."

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.

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?"

Now on the last and greatest day of the Festival [of Tabernacles], Jesus stood up and spoke out, "If anyone is thirsty he should come to me for a drink.

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

Does not Scripture say [Micah 5:2] that the Christ will come as the descendant of King David, and from Bethlehem, the town where David lived?"

They answered him, "Are you from Galilee, too? Search [the Scriptures], and you will see that no prophet will come from Galilee." [Note: They were probably referring to "the prophet" predicted to come by Moses. Deut. 18:15]. {{Most ancient manuscripts do not contain the section from 7:53 through 8:11, or else place it elsewhere in the book.

Jesus replied to them, "Even if I do give testimony about myself, it is [still] true, because I know where I came from and where I am going. But you people do not know where I came from or where I am going.

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].

Therefore I said to you that you will die [condemned] in your sins. For unless you believe that I am [the Messiah, who came from above. See verse 23], you will die [condemned] in your sins."

Jesus replied, "If God were [truly] your Father you would love me, because I came from God to be here. For I did not come on my own authority, but God sent me.

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].

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

And Jesus said, "I came to this world to judge [it], so that people who can not see [spiritually] will [be able to] see; and those who [think they can] see [spiritually] will become blind."

All those who came before me were thieves and robbers and the sheep did not listen to them.

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came so that people could have life to its fullest.

If God called those people, to whom His message came, "gods" (and Scripture cannot be set aside),

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."

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

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."

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],

and said, "Where have they laid his body?" They answered Him, "Lord, come and see."

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.

If we allow him to go on [doing this], everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and destroy our Temple and our nation [i.e., its people]."

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.

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].

"Now my heart is distressed; and what shall I say [i.e., to God]? 'Father, bring me safely through this time.' But, this is the reason I came [to earth]; to [go through] such a time.

Father, honor your name [in all this].'" Then a voice came out of heaven, saying, "I have honored it, and I will honor it again."

I have come into the world to be a light [to it], so that whoever believes in me would not have to remain in [spiritual] darkness.

And if any person hears my message and does not obey it, I will not judge him [now], for I did not come into the world to judge it, but to save it.

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]?"

If you have come to know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know Him, and have seen Him."

I will not abandon you [Note: The Greek says, "leave you orphans"]; I will come [back] to you.

[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?"

Jesus answered him, "If a person loves me, he will obey my teaching, and my Father will love him and we will come to him and make our home with him [i.e., in the person of the indwelling Holy Spirit].

They would not be guilty of sinning if I had not come and spoken to them. But now [that I have], they have no excuse for their sin.

"But the Helper will come, that is, the Holy Spirit of truth [i.e., who reveals truth]. He comes from the Father and I will send Him to you from the Father. [When He comes] He will give testimony about me.

The Jewish authorities will expel you from their synagogues. In fact, the time will come when whoever kills you will think he is doing a service to God.

Yet I am telling you the truth: It will be helpful to you for me to go away. For unless I go, the Helper [i.e., the Holy Spirit] will not come to you. But if I go, I will send Him to you.

And when He does come, He will bring conviction to the world regarding sin [i.e., exposing it and producing guilt], regarding what is right [i.e., upholding godly standards], and regarding judgment [i.e., showing that sin condemns].

However, when the Holy Spirit of truth comes, He will lead you [apostles] into all the truth. For He will not speak on His own authority, but will speak [only] what He hears [from the Father]. And He will tell you about the things that are to come.

A woman has pain when giving birth because her time has come. But when the child is born, she does not remember the intense suffering because she is so happy over the child being born into the world.

"I have spoken these things to you in figurative language. [However], the time will come when I will not speak to you in figurative language, but will tell you plainly about the Father.

for the Father Himself loves you [i.e., and will grant your requests without my persuasion], because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.

I came from the Father into this world and now I am leaving the world and returning to the Father."

Now we realize that you know everything and do not need anyone to ask you [questions]. This makes us believe that you came from God."

After saying these things, Jesus looked up to heaven and said, "Father, the time has come; honor your Son so that your Son may honor you.

Now they know that everything you gave me came from you,

because I have given them the message you gave me, and they accepted it. They [also] knew for certain that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me.

So, Pilate said to Him, "Are you a king, then?" Jesus answered, "You are [correct in] calling me a 'king.' This was the [very] purpose for which I was born and came into the world, that I should testify about the truth. Every person who wants [to know and obey] the truth listens to me."

So, Jesus came outside wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Then Pilate said to the [assembled] Jewish authorities, "Look, [here is] the man!"

and went back into the headquarters again and said to Jesus, "Where did you come from?" But Jesus did not answer him.

But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs.

Nicodemus, the man who first came to Jesus one night, also went with him [i.e., to claim Jesus' body]. He brought about a seventy-five pound mixture of myrrh and aloes [i.e., aromatic spices used for embalming].

So, she ran and came to Simon Peter and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved [i.e., probably the apostle John], and said to them, "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb and we do not know where they have put Him."

So, when it was evening on that day, [which was] the first day of the week [i.e., Sunday] and the doors [of someone's house], where the disciples were gathered, were closed [i.e., probably locked] for fear of the Jewish authorities, Jesus came and stood among them. [Note: Probably Jesus passed through the closed door miraculously]. He said to them, "May there be peace in your hearts."

Upon saying this, Jesus breathed on the disciples and said to them, "[Be willing to] receive the Holy Spirit." [Note: This "breathing" served as a pledge of the Holy Spirit which actually came on these apostles a few weeks later. See Acts 1:5-8; 2:4].

But one of the twelve apostles, named Thomas, [and also] called "The Twin," was not with them when Jesus came.

But the other disciples came [to shore] in their little boat, dragging their net full of fish (for they were only about a hundred yards from land).

Jesus said to them, "Come and have breakfast." [But] none of the disciples dared to ask Him, "Who are you?" because they [already] knew it was the Lord.

When the apostles had come together, they asked [Jesus], "Lord, are you ready to restore the kingdom [of God] to [the nation of] Israel [at this time]?"

These men continued in united prayer [for the kingdom to come? See 1:6; Matt. 6:10] along with [certain] women, Mary the mother of Jesus and His [half-] brothers.

[He said], "Brothers, it was necessary that the Scriptures be fulfilled which the Holy Spirit spoke through King David about Judas, who guided the soldiers who came to arrest Jesus.

And when the day of Pentecost came [Note: This was a Jewish festival held fifty days following the Passover Festival. Lev. 23:15-21], they [i.e., the twelve apostles] were all gathered together in one place [i.e., their second story living quarters, 1:13 ?].

Suddenly a rushing sound, like a fierce wind blowing, came from the sky above them, and [its noise] filled the entire house where they were sitting.

And the time will come when every person who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved' [i.e., whoever appeals to God through obedient faith in Christ].

But many of the people who heard the message [of God] believed [in Jesus] and the number of men [alone] came to be about five thousand.

About three hours later Sapphira came in, not knowing what had happened [to her husband].

And instantly she fell dead right in front of him, and her spirit left her body. [Just then the] young men came in and found her dead. They carried her out and buried her with her husband.

Large crowds also came from the towns surrounding Jerusalem, bringing people who were sick and those troubled by evil spirits, and all of them were [miraculously] healed.

[Just then] someone came in and said, "Look, the men you put in jail are [now] standing in the Temple teaching people."

For [remember that] some time ago Theudas appeared, claiming to be someone [important], and that about four hundred people rallied [to his cause], but he was killed and all his men left him and nothing ever came of it.

And when Moses observed one [of his relatives] being mistreated, he came to his defense by hitting the Egyptian,

The next day Moses came across a couple of his relatives who were fighting and tried to settle their dispute by saying, 'Brothers, since you are fellow-countrymen, why are you hurting each other?'

Evil spirits came out, with loud shrieks, from many persons and large numbers of people were healed of their paralysis and crippled conditions.

When these two apostles had come [to Samaria] they prayed for some [of the disciples] to receive [miraculous power from] the Holy Spirit,

So, he went and [eventually] came across a man who was the Ethiopian Queen Candace's treasurer. He was a high official and was also a eunuch [Note: This was a man without normal sexual activity], who had been to Jerusalem to worship [i.e., probably as a Jewish proselyte].

And the man replied, "How can I, except with someone's guidance?" Then he urged Philip to come and sit with him [in the chariot].

As they [i.e., Philip, the Ethiopian eunuch and his attendants] traveled along they came to a certain [body of] water. The [Ethiopian] eunuch said, "Look, here is [a body of] water, why can't I be immersed [right now]?" {{Verse

And when they came up out of the water, the Holy Spirit of the Lord [supernaturally?] directed Philip to go elsewhere and the eunuch did not see him anymore, as he continued on his journey rejoicing.

And everyone who heard him was amazed and exclaimed, "Is this not the man who tried to destroy all the people who called on [Jesus'] name in Jerusalem and has now come here [to Damascus] for the purpose of arresting them and bringing them before the leading priests?"

And when he came [back] to Jerusalem, Saul attempted to associate himself with the disciples but they were afraid of him [because of his past], and could not believe that he was a [true] disciple.