The Book of Matthew

The Ministry Begins

Lesson #2 for April 9, 2016

Scriptures: [Matthew 3:1-12; 4:1-12,17-22; 2 Peter 1:19; Philippians 2:5-8; Isaiah 9:1-2][i].

1.    This lesson will focus on John the Baptist and his ministry as the forerunner of Jesus as well as the early ministry of Jesus Himself. As we study the preexistence of Christ, His birth, His life and death, His ministry in heaven, and finally, His second coming, do we find answers to the most important questions in the universe? What are those existential questions? Where did we come from? Why are we here? How can we get the most good out of life? Where do we go after we die?

2.    The story of redemption and the great controversy behind it give us the full answers to those questions. We are blessed to have access to all of these answers.

3.    Read Matthew 3:1-6ii. Try to imagine yourself going down to the Jordan River, crossing the river, and seeing John the Baptist in his rough clothing, giving those powerful sermons that shook all of Judea and Galilee. How do you think you would have responded? What do you think John had in mind when he said to almost everyone who came, “Repent”? What is God asking of us today? Isn’t the message the same? For those who have been lifelong members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, do we still need the message to repent and be baptized?

4.    Notice that to give veracity and authenticity to his message, John-like other New Testament authors after him-quoted the Old Testament. Did John ever perform any miracles? Jesus gave the disciples authority and permission to perform miracles as they went through Galilee, preaching and teaching. We do not know how many miracles they performed nor of what nature? Jesus actually told them to raise the dead! (Matthew 10:8; compare Acts 9:36-42.)iii He did it! Did they ever do that? Nevertheless, despite all of that as a proof of their message, they always quoted from the “sure Word of prophecy.” (2 Peter 1:19)iv

5.    Read Matthew 3:7-12[v]. Try to picture the scene with priests and Pharisees, the rich and the poor, sinners and publicans, all there to hear what John had to say. And what was the basis of his messages? He told them to change their ways and be baptized and not to rely on their claim of being descendants of Abraham. To be saved one must accept and follow Jesus. He will be the final Judge of all things.

6.    Notice that even in this preliminary message prior to the ministry of Jesus, John the Baptist was already talking about events which would occur during the first coming and linking those events to the judgment and what will follow at the second coming. Was there any reason for Jesus to come the first time if He does not plan to come back a second time to rescue His friends?

7.    Why did Jesus go to John the Baptist to be baptized? Jesus was not a sinner. He did not need to be baptized to turn away from sin.

Jesus did not receive baptism as a confession of guilt on His own account.

He identified Himself with sinners, taking the steps that we are to take, and doing the work that we must do.—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 111.2.

8.    Read Matthew 4:1 and Luke 4:1. Are these two verses in contradiction with each other? Why did Jesus go into the wilderness alone? Were there wild animals there? Try to imagine the scene from Satan’s perspective. Remember that this was not the first time Satan and Christ had faced each other in serious combat. On the most obvious previous occasion, Satan had started the rebellion in heaven. Christ moved among the angels as Michael the Archangel, and two thirds of the angels joined His side by remaining loyal to Him; Satan, formerly Lucifer, managed to convince one-third of the angels to join him. After a very serious war of words and ideas, Satan and his followers were forced to leave heaven because no one would listen to him any more. What about the Garden of Eden? The flood?

9.    But, this time, with Christ having fasted for 40 days and looking weak and emaciated, Satan appeared as a bright, shining angel, feeling that he had the upper hand.

When Satan and the Son of God first met in conflict, Christ was the commander of the heavenly hosts; and Satan, the leader of revolt in heaven, was cast out. Now their condition is apparently reversed, and Satan makes the most of his supposed advantage.—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 119.2.

10.    How would you describe the differences between Satan’s kingdom and Christ’s kingdom? Satan was motivated only by selfishness and the desire to put himself above others. Christ was selfless and motivated only by love. That is the essential difference between righteousness and sin. So, how did the selfish Satan approach the loving Jesus?

11.    Compare [Isaiah 14:12-14 with Philippians 2:5-8]vi. We believe that Satan (formerly Lucifer) is and was incredibly intelligent. How could he be so self-deceived at that point? Did he really think that he could tempt his Creator and King, even asking Jesus to bow down to someone He Himself had created? What do you think the onlooking universe thought as they watched that conflict?

12.    How did Lucifer, now Satan, become so proud, selfish, and egotistical? What do the temptations of Jesus reveal to us about God and about Satan? (Matthew 4:1-11; Mark 1:1213; Luke 4:1-13)vii Would any of the temptations of Jesus be a temptation for you? None of us have ever been tempted to turn a stone into a loaf of bread because we could not do it anyway. On a personal note, I remember a time when at the end of a long day I was hiking up from the bottom of the Grand Canyon, and I certainly wished I could turn a rock into a loaf of bread!

13.    Each of those temptations was designed to tempt Jesus to doubt His relationship with the Father. There was always that “if” stated or implied in each temptation. The Jewish people had developed a legend that the Messiah would appear on the pinnacle of the temple and descend to the courtyard to help them conquer and remove the Romans. No doubt, if Jesus had been willing to do that, they would have rallied around Him!

14.    Since God’s kingdom is a kingdom of love, heaven can accept only people who will act lovingly for the rest of eternity, putting others first. Heaven is not a place for us to be served, floating on clouds, playing harps, but for us to serve others with joy and love.

15.    Satan tried to conquer Jesus in His weakened condition by a one-on-one attack. Every one of his temptations was completely selfish, and he was foolish enough to think that Jesus would be tempted by selfishness. Jesus had gone into the desert to have time alone to commune with God and prepare for His upcoming mission; but, Satan sought to take advantage of His condition.

He [Jesus] had been separated from His mother for quite a length of time.

During this period He had been baptized by John and had endured the temptations in the wilderness. Rumors had reached Mary concerning her son and His sufferings. John, one of the new disciples, had searched for

Christ and had found Him in His humiliation, emaciated, and bearing the marks of great physical and mental distress. Jesus, unwilling that John should witness His humiliation, had gently yet firmly dismissed him from His presence. He wished to be alone; no human eye must behold His agony, no human heart be called out in sympathy with His distress.

The disciple had sought Mary in her home and related to her the incidents of this meeting with Jesus, as well as the event of His baptism, when the voice of God was heard in acknowledgment of His Son, and the prophet John had pointed to Christ, saying “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” For thirty years this woman had been treasuring up evidences that Jesus was the Son of God, the promised Saviour of the world. Joseph was dead, and she had no one in whom to confide the cherished thoughts of her heart. She had fluctuated between hope and perplexing doubts, but always feeling more or less of an assurance that her son was indeed the Promised One.—Ellen G. White, 2SP 99,100; 5BC 1132.2-3. [Bold type and content in brackets are added.] How did Ellen White learn about that?

16.    Do you think Mary worried about Jesus? Had she come to trust Him implicitly? John was quite young at that time. What did he think? Considering what you know about the temptations of Jesus and those 40 days in the wilderness, how would you have responded?

17.    Those temptations were specifically meant to challenge the idea that Jesus as that weakened Human Being could somehow be the mighty Creator and King of the universe. None of us could turn a stone into bread-even if we tried. Very few of us would be willing to jump off a high tower just to “prove” that God would catch us! I am not sure how many of us would be willing to bow down to Satan in order to get control of the entire world, but some would be selfish and egocentric enough to try.

18.    Clearly, Jesus went to the wilderness to be alone with God and prepare for His future ministry. It was certainly not for the purpose of placing Himself deliberately in the way of temptation.

19.    In one respect, the temptations of Jesus were similar to the temptations of Adam and Eve. They were tempted to eat, and He was tempted to eat. But, what a contrast in their position. Adam and Eve were not hungry. They could have freely eaten of the tree of life whenever they needed to. They also had all the other trees in the garden. Christ had not had anything to eat for 40 days. By His victory, Jesus showed clearly that there is never any excuse for sin. He was tempted, and we are all tempted. But, we do not have to fall. Through faith and submission to God’s will, we can overcome. When Christ finally dismissed Satan, he left!

20.    Read James 4:7-8viii. Have you ever had the experience of forcing Satan to flee by resisting him? What about drawing near to God? The Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide for Tuesday, April 5 asks:

How does this account, by showing us in such a powerful way that there is no excuse for our sin, make our need for Christ’s righteousness so essential? Imagine if we had to stand in our own righteousness without that covering and without justification for our sins! What hope would we have?

21.    So, what is the “covering” that is provided by Christ’s righteousness? Why is it necessary? Is it so that the Father cannot see what terrible sinners we really are when we slip into heaven? Would Jesus ever try to deceive the Father? Surely, there is nothing wrong with the Father’s vision! To be covered with Christ’s righteousness means to be transformed by taking on His character, and that happens by a well-known process.

22.    Our only hope is in God’s promise that “by beholding we can become changed.” (2 Corinthians 3:18ix; GC 555.1[x]) If we are willing to take the time to contemplate the life and death of Jesus and come to understand why He came and what He was trying to teach us, God will work within us to change us to become more like the Jesus we worship and admire. By contrast, read Psalm 115:8 and 2 Kings 17:15xi. It works both ways.

23.    If you look at the ministry of Christ in parallel with the experiences of John the Baptist, you will discover that when John was imprisoned, Jesus moved His ministry to Galilee. Later, when John was killed, Jesus and His disciples left Galilee and moved into Gentile territory for the last year of His ministry, trying to avoid conflict with the Jewish authorities.

24.    For the first one and one-half years of His ministry, Jesus worked fairly quietly in Judea (more or less under the radar), sometimes working with disciples at His side and sometimes working alone. (DA 201.3) When John was imprisoned, Jesus understood that things were becoming very hostile in Judea; so, He moved His ministry to Galilee where the Pharisees and Sadducees had less influence. It was at that point that Jesus called the twelve disciples and began His very public ministry in Galilee.

25.    Read [Isaiah 9:1-2 and Matthew 4:13-16]xii. What do we know about the area of Zebulun and Naphtali? What do they have to do with the ministry of Jesus? Zebulun and Naphtali were two of Jacob’s sons. (See Genesis 35:23-26xiii.) Unfortunately, they fathered two of the ten tribes that separated from Judea after the reign of Solomon; and then, later, those tribes were conquered by the Assyrians and scattered throughout the Assyrian kingdom. We have lost track of them and have no idea what became of them after that.

26.    There is one famous prophet in the Old Testament who came from the Galilean territory; his name was Jonah! It is also possible that Nahum came from Galilee because the town of Capernaum actually is named “Kaphar Nahum” or the village of Nahum. Of course, we do not know if it is the same Nahum whose book is in the Old Testament.

27.    So, we see that during almost His entire lifetime, Jesus lived among the rude, backward, unenlightened people of Galilee. Both Nazareth and Capernaum were in Galilee. When His ministry began, Jesus moved from Nazareth and made His home with Peter in Capernaum. Why do you think Jesus chose to live and work primarily in Galilee as opposed to Judea? Wouldn’t it have been better to establish Himself closer to Jerusalem? Or, as we see in the Gospels, it was conflict in Jerusalem that caused all the problems! And we must always remember that the people of Galilee were also God’s children. We certainly have no reason or authority to judge them.

28.    Read [Matthew 4:17-22; compare John 1:35-51]xiv. After the baptism at the Jordan by John the Baptist and His disappearance into the wilderness for 40 days, Jesus returned to the Jordan to where John was baptizing. John saw Him and identified Him as “The Lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the world.” What do you think people thought he had in mind? How did they understand those words? Some of John the Baptist’s closest followers heard John’s words and became excited to know more about Jesus. They followed Jesus and began to ask questions. Information about the next one and one-half years of the ministry of Jesus, we know almost nothing. Based on what Ellen White said, some of His disciples were with Jesus some of that time; and during some of that time, Jesus worked alone.

29.    Shortly after beginning His Galilean ministry, Jesus officially called His disciples. The account recorded in Matthew 4xv tells how He called Peter, Andrew, James, and John.

Clearly, that encounter was not the first time those men had had a relationship with Jesus Christ. Based on some tenuous evidence, some have suggested that James and John were actually cousins of Jesus. That may have been true. But, all of them had spent some time following Jesus earlier in their lives. But, when Jesus officially called them, they walked away from everything to dedicate their lives to following Jesus. What and how do you think they told their families about their decision? How did their families expect to be supported while they followed Jesus? Jesus knew that He was God. Did He ever tell anyone? (John 8:58)xvi

30.    In the times of Jesus, a rabbis was regarded as a very special person. Many people would crowd around a rabbi to hear what he had to say. But, it was regarded as a very special privilege to be asked by a rabbi to become his disciple.

31.    Many people reading Matthew 4 think that was the first time that Peter, Andrew, James, and John had any contact with Jesus. John 1-5xvii make it very clear that is not true.

Jesus chose unlearned fishermen because they had not been schooled in the traditions and erroneous customs of their time. They were men of native ability, and they were humble and teachable,-men whom He could educate for His work. In the common walks of life there is many a man patiently treading the round of daily toil, unconscious that he possesses powers which, if called into action, would raise him to an equality with the world’s most honored men. The touch of a skillful hand is needed to arouse those dormant faculties. It was such men that Jesus called to be His colaborers; and He gave them the advantage of association with Himself.—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 250.1. [Bold type is added.]

32.    We have seen briefly in this lesson how important the Old Testament was in support of the gospel in the New Testament. There really is no separation between the Old Testament and the New Testament.

An evangelist came to town and advertised his meeting by this invitation:

“Come see a preacher tear a page out of the Bible!” That, no doubt, brought a crowd. He then stood before them, opened his Bible, and-to their astonishment-tore out a page. “This page,” he said, “never belonged there.

It’s the page separating the Old Testament from the New.” Whatever one might think of his theatrics, the preacher made a good point. These two books are, really, one.—Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide for Friday, April 8.

33.    Jesus Himself repeatedly quoted from the Old Testament. All of the writers of the New Testament did so as well. Some scholars suggest that the book of Revelation quotes from or alludes to the Old Testament 550 times! While it is true that we no longer practice a sacrificial system of killing animals, there are still many very important lessons for us to learn from the Old Testament.

34.    Jesus knew that He was the divine Son of God. So, why did He bother to quote Scripture when dealing with Satan instead of just demanding that Satan leave by exercising His divine power? Was it because He wanted to teach us how we can meet and defeat Satan in our temptations?

35.    The Bible has an answer to every temptation that we might face. We need to become so familiar with its teachings so that when we are tempted, the appropriate Scripture comes to mind. Jesus was incredibly humble. How can we learn to be more like Him? Why is it so natural and so comfortable for us to be selfish? If we study the life of Jesus and truly seek to become like Him, will we become more humble?

36.    The Gospels speak a great deal about the “kingdom of God” or the “kingdom of heaven.” That expression occurs 106 times in the Gospels. Of those, 49 times are in Matthew; 16 are in Mark; 38 are in Luke; and 3 are in John. What do we need to know about the “kingdom of heaven”?

The kingdom of God’s grace is now being established, as day by day hearts that have been full of sin and rebellion yield to the sovereignty of His love. But the full establishment of the kingdom of His glory will not take place until the second coming of Christ to this world.—Ellen G. White, Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing, p. 108.1.

37.    In the early ministry of Jesus as well as in the ministry of John the Baptist, we are taught about five spiritually dynamic essentials in the Christian life: 1) Repentance; 2) The kingdom of heaven; 3) The importance of baptism by water, by the Spirit, and by fire; 4) The importance of victory over Satan; and 5) How to become “fishers of men.” Do we clearly understand each of those concepts? What does it mean to be “baptized by fire”? In ancient times, one of the few ways they had of purifying a metal was by heating it very hot so that impurities were burned away. Thus, baptism by fire represents God’s method of removing the impurities and the sins from our lives.

38.    Repentance, and when appropriate, baptism, should be the dividing line in the attitudes, priorities, and directions of one’s life. The description of our behavior should be quite different after we meet Christ than before we meet Christ.

39.    Malachi 4:5 prophesied that a forerunner would come in the spirit and power of Elijah. Four hundred years later, the prophetic silence was broken when John the Baptist began his ministry in the wilderness of Judea. (Matthew 3:1) In what ways did John prepare the people of Israel for the ministry of Jesus Christ? Did Jesus really need the ministry of John the Baptist?

40.    Review the essential message of John and of the early ministry of Jesus: “Repent and be baptized.” Both John and Jesus challenged the Jewish preconceived ideas about the Messiah. Both told them that they needed to stop depending on the fact that they were descendants from Abraham as if that were some kind of guarantee of salvation.

41.    To repent means to change one’s mind which in turn leads to a change in attitudes and a change in behavior. John spoke about the judgment as if it were like an axe cutting down a tree or a winnowing fan blowing away the chaff from the pure wheat. What do these pictures conjure up in your mind?

42.    Read Isaiah 1:16-17xviii. What are these two verses challenging us to do? Some Jewish scholars have said that there are nine separate things that God is calling us to do: 1) Wash ourselves; 2) Make ourselves clean; 3) Put away the evil of our doings from before My eyes; 4) Cease to do evil; 5) Learn to do good; 6) Seek justice; 7) Rebuke the oppressor; 8) Defend the fatherless; and 9) Plead for the widow. Would you agree with their assessment?

43.    Besides giving an example for us to follow, the events surrounding the baptism of Jesus made it very clear to Jesus Himself as well as to those observing that He was/is the Messiah. The voice of the Father was heard, and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him like a dove. All three Members of the Godhead were present on that occasion. What better way to launch the ministry of Jesus?

© 2016, Kenneth Hart, MD, MA, MPH. Permission is hereby granted for any noncommercial use of these materials. Free distribution of all or of a portion of this material such as to a Bible study class is encouraged.    Info@theox. org

i-Matthew 3:1 At that time John the Baptist came to the desert of Judea and started preaching. 2 “Turn away from your sins,” he said, “because the Kingdom of heaven is near!” 3 John was the man the prophet Isaiah was talking about when he said,

“Someone is shouting in the desert,

‘Prepare a road for the Lord;

make a straight path for him to travel!’”

4 John's clothes were made of camel's hair; he wore a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. 5 People came to him from Jerusalem, from the whole province of Judea, and from all over the country near the Jordan River. 6 They confessed their sins, and he baptized them in the Jordan.

7 When John saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming to him to be baptized, he said to them, “You snakes—who told you that you could escape from the punishment God is about to send? 8 Do those things that will show that you have turned from your sins. 9 And don't think you can escape punishment by saying that Abraham is your ancestor. I tell you that God can take these rocks and make descendants for Abraham! 10 The ax is ready to cut down the trees at the roots; every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown in the fire. 11 I baptize you with water to show that you have repented, but the one who will come after me will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. He is much greater than I am; and I am not good enough even to carry his sandals. 12 He has his winnowing shovel with him to thresh out all the grain. He will gather his wheat into his barn, but he will burn the chaff in a fire that never goes out.”

4:1Then the Spirit led Jesus into the desert to be tempted by the Devil. 2 After spending forty days and nights without food, Jesus was hungry. 3 Then the Devil came to him and said, “If you are God's Son, order these stones to turn into bread.”

4 But Jesus answered, “The scripture says, ‘Human beings cannot live on bread alone, but need every word that God speaks.’”

5 Then the Devil took Jesus to Jerusalem, the Holy City, set him on the highest point of the Temple, 6 and said to him, “If you are God's Son, throw yourself down, for the scripture says,

‘God will give orders to his angels about you;

they will hold you up with their hands,

so that not even your feet will be hurt on the stones.’”

7 Jesus answered, “But the scripture also says, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

8 Then the Devil took Jesus to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in all their greatness. 9 “All this I will give you,” the Devil said, “if you kneel down and worship me.”

10 Then Jesus answered, “Go away, Satan! The scripture says, ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve only him!’”

11 Then the Devil left Jesus; and angels came and helped him.

Jesus Begins His Work in Galilee

12 When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he went away to Galilee.

17 From that time Jesus began to preach his message: “Turn away from your sins, because the Kingdom of heaven is near!”

Jesus Calls Four Fishermen

18 As Jesus walked along the shore of Lake Galilee, he saw two brothers who were fishermen, Simon (called Peter) and his brother Andrew, catching fish in the lake with a net. 19 Jesus said to them, “Come with me, and I will teach you to catch people.” 20 At once they left their nets and went with him.

21 He went on and saw two other brothers, James and John, the sons of Zebedee. They were in their boat with their father Zebedee, getting their nets ready. Jesus called them, 22 and at once they left the boat and their father, and went with him.

2 Peter 1:19 So we are even more confident of the message proclaimed by the prophets. You will do well to pay attention to it, because it is like a lamp shining in a dark place until the Day dawns and the light of the morning star shines in your hearts.

Philippians 2:5 The attitude you should have is the one that Christ Jesus had:

6 He always had the nature of God,

but he did not think that by force he should try to remain[a] equal with God.

7 Instead of this, of his own free will he gave up all he had,

and took the nature of a servant.

He became like a human being

and appeared in human likeness.

8 He was humble and walked the path of obedience all the way to death—

his death on the cross.

Isaiah 9:1There will be no way for them to escape from this time of trouble.

The Future King

The land of the tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali was once disgraced, but the future will bring honor to this region, from the Mediterranean eastward to the land on the other side of the Jordan, and even to Galilee itself, where the foreigners live.

2 The people who walked in darkness

have seen a great light.

They lived in a land of shadows,

but now light is shining on them.

ii-Matthew 3:1 At that time John the Baptist came to the desert of Judea and started preaching. 2 “Turn away from your sins,” he said, “because the Kingdom of heaven is near!” 3 John was the man the prophet Isaiah was talking about when he said,

“Someone is shouting in the desert,

‘Prepare a road for the Lord;

make a straight path for him to travel!’”

4 John's clothes were made of camel's hair; he wore a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. 5 People came to him from Jerusalem, from the whole province of Judea, and from all over the country near the Jordan River. 6 They confessed their sins, and he baptized them in the Jordan.

iii-Matthew 10:8 Heal the sick, bring the dead back to life, heal those who suffer from dreaded skin diseases, and drive out demons. You have received without paying, so give without being paid.

Acts 9:36 In Joppa there was a woman named Tabitha, who was a believer. (Her name in Greek is Dorcas, meaning “a deer.”) She spent all her time doing good and helping the poor. 37 At that time she got sick and died. Her body was washed and laid in a room upstairs. 38 Joppa was not very far from Lydda, and when the believers in Joppa heard that Peter was in Lydda, they sent two men to him with the message, “Please hurry and come to us.” 39 So Peter got ready and went with them. When he arrived, he was taken to the room upstairs, where all the widows crowded around him, crying and showing him all the shirts and coats that Dorcas had made while she was alive. 40 Peter put them all out of the room, and knelt down and prayed; then he turned to the body and said, “Tabitha, get up!” She opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter, she sat up. 41 Peter reached over and helped her get up. Then he called all the believers, including the widows, and presented her alive to them. 42 The news about this spread all over Joppa, and many people believed in the Lord.

iv-2 Peter 1:19 So we are even more confident of the message proclaimed by the prophets. You will do well to pay attention to it, because it is like a lamp shining in a dark place until the Day dawns and the light of the morning star shines in your hearts.

v-Matthew 3:7 When John saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming to him to be baptized, he said to them, “You snakes—who told you that you could escape from the punishment God is about to send? 8 Do those things that will show that you have turned from your sins. 9 And don't think you can escape punishment by saying that Abraham is your ancestor. I tell you that God can take these rocks and make descendants for Abraham! 10 The ax is ready to cut down the trees at the roots; every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown in the fire. 11 I baptize you with water to show that you have repented, but the one who will come after me will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. He is much greater than I am; and I am not good enough even to carry his sandals. 12 He has his winnowing shovel with him to thresh out all the grain. He will gather his wheat into his barn, but he will burn the chaff in a fire that never goes out.”

vi-Isaiah 14:12 King of Babylon, bright morning star, you have fallen from heaven! In the past you conquered nations, but now you have been thrown to the ground. 13 You were determined to climb up to heaven and to place your throne above the highest stars. You thought you would sit like a king on that mountain in the north where the gods assemble. 14 You said you would climb to the tops of the clouds and be like the Almighty.

Philippians 2:5 The attitude you should have is the one that Christ Jesus had:

6 He always had the nature of God,

but he did not think that by force he should try to remain[a] equal with God.

7 Instead of this, of his own free will he gave up all he had,

and took the nature of a servant.

He became like a human being

and appeared in human likeness.

8 He was humble and walked the path of obedience all the way to death—

his death on the cross.

vii-Matthew 4:1 Then the Spirit led Jesus into the desert to be tempted by the Devil. 2 After spending forty days and nights without food, Jesus was hungry. 3 Then the Devil came to him and said, “If you are God's Son, order these stones to turn into bread.”

4 But Jesus answered, “The scripture says, ‘Human beings cannot live on bread alone, but need every word that God speaks.’”

5 Then the Devil took Jesus to Jerusalem, the Holy City, set him on the highest point of the Temple, 6 and said to him, “If you are God's Son, throw yourself down, for the scripture says,

‘God will give orders to his angels about you;

they will hold you up with their hands,

so that not even your feet will be hurt on the stones.’”

7 Jesus answered, “But the scripture also says, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

8 Then the Devil took Jesus to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in all their greatness. 9 “All this I will give you,” the Devil said, “if you kneel down and worship me.”

10 Then Jesus answered, “Go away, Satan! The scripture says, ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve only him!’”

11 Then the Devil left Jesus; and angels came and helped him.

Mark 1:12 At once the Spirit made him go into the desert, 13 where he stayed forty days, being tempted by Satan. Wild animals were there also, but angels came and helped him.

Luke 4:1 Jesus returned from the Jordan full of the Holy Spirit and was led by the Spirit into the desert, 2 where he was tempted by the Devil for forty days. In all that time he ate nothing, so that he was hungry when it was over.

3 The Devil said to him, “If you are God's Son, order this stone to turn into bread.”

4 But Jesus answered, “The scripture says, ‘Human beings cannot live on bread alone.’”

5 Then the Devil took him up and showed him in a second all the kingdoms of the world. 6 “I will give you all this power and all this wealth,” the Devil told him. “It has all been handed over to me, and I can give it to anyone I choose. 7 All this will be yours, then, if you worship me.”

8 Jesus answered, “The scripture says, ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve only him!’”

9 Then the Devil took him to Jerusalem and set him on the highest point of the Temple, and said to him, “If you are God's Son, throw yourself down from here. 10 For the scripture says, ‘God will order his angels to take good care of you.’ 11 It also says, ‘They will hold you up with their hands so that not even your feet will be hurt on the stones.’”

12 But Jesus answered, “The scripture says, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

13 When the Devil finished tempting Jesus in every way, he left him for a while.

viii-James 4:7 So then, submit yourselves to God. Resist the Devil, and he will run away from you. 8 Come near to God, and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners! Purify your hearts, you hypocrites!

ix-2 Corinthians 3:18 All of us, then, reflect the glory of the Lord with uncovered faces; and that same glory, coming from the Lord, who is the Spirit, transforms us into his likeness in an ever greater degree of glory.

x-GC 555.1 It is a law both of the intellectual and the spiritual nature that by beholding we become changed. The mind gradually adapts itself to the subjects upon which it is allowed to dwell. It becomes assimilated to that which it is accustomed to love and reverence. Man will never rise higher than his standard of purity or goodness or truth. If self is his loftiest ideal, he will never attain to anything more exalted. Rather, he will constantly sink lower and lower. The grace of God alone has power to exalt man. Left to himself, his course must inevitably be downward. {GC 555.1}

xi-Psalm 115:8 May all who made them and who trust in them

become[a] like the idols they have made.

2 Kings 17:15 They refused to obey his instructions, they did not keep the covenant he had made with their ancestors, and they disregarded his warnings. They worshiped worthless idols and became worthless themselves, and they followed the customs of the surrounding nations, disobeying the LORD's command not to imitate them.

xii-Isaiah 9:1 There will be no way for them to escape from this time of trouble.

The Future King

The land of the tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali was once disgraced, but the future will bring honor to this region, from the Mediterranean eastward to the land on the other side of the Jordan, and even to Galilee itself, where the foreigners live.

2 The people who walked in darkness

have seen a great light.

They lived in a land of shadows,

but now light is shining on them.

Matthew 4:13 He did not stay in Nazareth, but went to live in Capernaum, a town by Lake Galilee, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali. 14 This was done to make come true what the prophet Isaiah had said,

15 “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,

on the road to the sea, on the other side of the Jordan,

Galilee, land of the Gentiles!

16 The people who live in darkness

will see a great light.

On those who live in the dark land of death

the light will shine.”

xiii-Genesis 35:23 The sons of Leah were Reuben (Jacob's oldest son), Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun. 24 The sons of Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin. 25 The sons of Rachel's slave Bilhah were Dan and Naphtali. 26 The sons of Leah's slave Zilpah were Gad and Asher. These sons were born in Mesopotamia.

xiv-Matthew 4:17 17 From that time Jesus began to preach his message: “Turn away from your sins, because the Kingdom of heaven is near!”

Jesus Calls Four Fishermen

18 As Jesus walked along the shore of Lake Galilee, he saw two brothers who were fishermen, Simon (called Peter) and his brother Andrew, catching fish in the lake with a net. 19 Jesus said to them, “Come with me, and I will teach you to catch people.” 20 At once they left their nets and went with him.

21 He went on and saw two other brothers, James and John, the sons of Zebedee. They were in their boat with their father Zebedee, getting their nets ready. Jesus called them, 22 and at once they left the boat and their father, and went with him.

John 1:35 The next day John was standing there again with two of his disciples, 36 when he saw Jesus walking by. “There is the Lamb of God!” he said.

37 The two disciples heard him say this and went with Jesus. 38 Jesus turned, saw them following him, and asked, “What are you looking for?”

They answered, “Where do you live, Rabbi?” (This word means “Teacher.”)

39 “Come and see,” he answered. (It was then about four o'clock in the afternoon.) So they went with him and saw where he lived, and spent the rest of that day with him.

40 One of them was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. 41 At once he found his brother Simon and told him, “We have found the Messiah.” (This word means “Christ.”) 42 Then he took Simon to Jesus.

Jesus looked at him and said, “Your name is Simon son of John, but you will be called Cephas.” (This is the same as Peter and means “a rock.”)

Jesus Calls Philip and Nathanael

43 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Come with me!” (44 Philip was from Bethsaida, the town where Andrew and Peter lived.) 45 Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one whom Moses wrote about in the book of the Law and whom the prophets also wrote about. He is Jesus son of Joseph, from Nazareth.”

46 “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” Nathanael asked.

“Come and see,” answered Philip.

47 When Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, he said about him, “Here is a real Israelite; there is nothing false in him!”

48 Nathanael asked him, “How do you know me?”

Jesus answered, “I saw you when you were under the fig tree before Philip called you.”

49 “Teacher,” answered Nathanael, “you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”

50 Jesus said, “Do you believe just because I told you I saw you when you were under the fig tree? You will see much greater things than this!” 51 And he said to them, “I am telling you the truth: you will see heaven open and God's angels going up and coming down on the Son of Man.”

xv-Matthew 4: Then the Spirit led Jesus into the desert to be tempted by the Devil. 2 After spending forty days and nights without food, Jesus was hungry. 3 Then the Devil came to him and said, “If you are God's Son, order these stones to turn into bread.”

4 But Jesus answered, “The scripture says, ‘Human beings cannot live on bread alone, but need every word that God speaks.’”

5 Then the Devil took Jesus to Jerusalem, the Holy City, set him on the highest point of the Temple, 6 and said to him, “If you are God's Son, throw yourself down, for the scripture says,

‘God will give orders to his angels about you;

they will hold you up with their hands,

so that not even your feet will be hurt on the stones.’”

7 Jesus answered, “But the scripture also says, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

8 Then the Devil took Jesus to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in all their greatness. 9 “All this I will give you,” the Devil said, “if you kneel down and worship me.”

10 Then Jesus answered, “Go away, Satan! The scripture says, ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve only him!’”

11 Then the Devil left Jesus; and angels came and helped him.

Jesus Begins His Work in Galilee

12 When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he went away to Galilee. 13 He did not stay in Nazareth, but went to live in Capernaum, a town by Lake Galilee, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali. 14 This was done to make come true what the prophet Isaiah had said,

15 “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,

on the road to the sea, on the other side of the Jordan,

Galilee, land of the Gentiles!

16 The people who live in darkness

will see a great light.

On those who live in the dark land of death

the light will shine.”

17 From that time Jesus began to preach his message: “Turn away from your sins, because the Kingdom of heaven is near!”

Jesus Calls Four Fishermen

18 As Jesus walked along the shore of Lake Galilee, he saw two brothers who were fishermen, Simon (called Peter) and his brother Andrew, catching fish in the lake with a net. 19 Jesus said to them, “Come with me, and I will teach you to catch people.” 20 At once they left their nets and went with him.

21 He went on and saw two other brothers, James and John, the sons of Zebedee. They were in their boat with their father Zebedee, getting their nets ready. Jesus called them, 22 and at once they left the boat and their father, and went with him.

Jesus Teaches, Preaches, and Heals

23 Jesus went all over Galilee, teaching in the synagogues, preaching the Good News about the Kingdom, and healing people who had all kinds of disease and sickness. 24 The news about him spread through the whole country of Syria, so that people brought to him all those who were sick, suffering from all kinds of diseases and disorders: people with demons, and epileptics, and paralytics—and Jesus healed them all. 25 Large crowds followed him from Galilee and the Ten Towns, from Jerusalem, Judea, and the land on the other side of the Jordan.

xvi-John 8:58 “I am telling you the truth,” Jesus replied. “Before Abraham was born, ‘I Am’.”

xvii-John 1: 11 In the beginning the Word already existed; the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 From the very beginning the Word was with God. 3 Through him God made all things; not one thing in all creation was made without him. 4 The Word was the source of life,[a] and this life brought light to people. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has never put it out.

6 God sent his messenger, a man named John, 7 who came to tell people about the light, so that all should hear the message and believe. 8 He himself was not the light; he came to tell about the light. 9 This was the real light—the light that comes into the world and shines on all people.

10 The Word was in the world, and though God made the world through him, yet the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to his own country, but his own people did not receive him. 12 Some, however, did receive him and believed in him; so he gave them the right to become God's children. 13 They did not become God's children by natural means, that is, by being born as the children of a human father; God himself was their Father.

14 The Word became a human being and, full of grace and truth, lived among us. We saw his glory, the glory which he received as the Father's only Son.

15 John spoke about him. He cried out, “This is the one I was talking about when I said, ‘He comes after me, but he is greater than I am, because he existed before I was born.’”

16 Out of the fullness of his grace he has blessed us all, giving us one blessing after another. 17 God gave the Law through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God. The only Son, who is the same as God and is at the Father's side, he has made him known.

John the Baptist's Message

19 The Jewish authorities in Jerusalem sent some priests and Levites to John to ask him, “Who are you?”

20 John did not refuse to answer, but spoke out openly and clearly, saying: “I am not the Messiah.”

21 “Who are you, then?” they asked. “Are you Elijah?”

“No, I am not,” John answered.

“Are you the Prophet?”[b] they asked.

“No,” he replied.

22 “Then tell us who you are,” they said. “We have to take an answer back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”

23 John answered by quoting the prophet Isaiah:

“I am ‘the voice of someone shouting in the desert:

Make a straight path for the Lord to travel!’”

24 The messengers, who had been sent by the Pharisees, 25 then[c] asked John, “If you are not the Messiah nor Elijah nor the Prophet, why do you baptize?”

26 John answered, “I baptize with water, but among you stands the one you do not know. 27 He is coming after me, but I am not good enough even to untie his sandals.”

28 All this happened in Bethany on the east side of the Jordan River, where John was baptizing.

The Lamb of God

29 The next day John saw Jesus coming to him, and said, “There is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is the one I was talking about when I said, ‘A man is coming after me, but he is greater than I am, because he existed before I was born.’ 31 I did not know who he would be, but I came baptizing with water in order to make him known to the people of Israel.”

32 And John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down like a dove from heaven and stay on him. 33 I still did not know that he was the one, but God, who sent me to baptize with water, had said to me, ‘You will see the Spirit come down and stay on a man; he is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 I have seen it,” said John, “and I tell you that he is the Son of God.”

The First Disciples of Jesus

35 The next day John was standing there again with two of his disciples, 36 when he saw Jesus walking by. “There is the Lamb of God!” he said.

37 The two disciples heard him say this and went with Jesus. 38 Jesus turned, saw them following him, and asked, “What are you looking for?”

They answered, “Where do you live, Rabbi?” (This word means “Teacher.”)

39 “Come and see,” he answered. (It was then about four o'clock in the afternoon.) So they went with him and saw where he lived, and spent the rest of that day with him.

40 One of them was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. 41 At once he found his brother Simon and told him, “We have found the Messiah.” (This word means “Christ.”) 42 Then he took Simon to Jesus.

Jesus looked at him and said, “Your name is Simon son of John, but you will be called Cephas.” (This is the same as Peter and means “a rock.”)

Jesus Calls Philip and Nathanael

43 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Come with me!” (44 Philip was from Bethsaida, the town where Andrew and Peter lived.) 45 Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one whom Moses wrote about in the book of the Law and whom the prophets also wrote about. He is Jesus son of Joseph, from Nazareth.”

46 “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” Nathanael asked.

“Come and see,” answered Philip.

47 When Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, he said about him, “Here is a real Israelite; there is nothing false in him!”

48 Nathanael asked him, “How do you know me?”

Jesus answered, “I saw you when you were under the fig tree before Philip called you.”

49 “Teacher,” answered Nathanael, “you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”

50 Jesus said, “Do you believe just because I told you I saw you when you were under the fig tree? You will see much greater things than this!” 51 And he said to them, “I am telling you the truth: you will see heaven open and God's angels going up and coming down on the Son of Man.”

The Wedding in Cana

2 Two days later there was a wedding in the town of Cana in Galilee. Jesus' mother was there, 2 and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. 3 When the wine had given out, Jesus' mother said to him, “They are out of wine.”

4 “You must not tell me what to do,” Jesus replied. “My time has not yet come.”

5 Jesus' mother then told the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”

6 The Jews have rules about ritual washing, and for this purpose six stone water jars were there, each one large enough to hold between twenty and thirty gallons. 7 Jesus said to the servants, “Fill these jars with water.” They filled them to the brim, 8 and then he told them, “Now draw some water out and take it to the man in charge of the feast.” They took him the water, 9 which now had turned into wine, and he tasted it. He did not know where this wine had come from (but, of course, the servants who had drawn out the water knew); so he called the bridegroom 10 and said to him, “Everyone else serves the best wine first, and after the guests have drunk a lot, he serves the ordinary wine. But you have kept the best wine until now!”

11 Jesus performed this first miracle in Cana in Galilee; there he revealed his glory, and his disciples believed in him.

12 After this, Jesus and his mother, brothers, and disciples went to Capernaum and stayed there a few days.

Jesus Goes to the Temple

13 It was almost time for the Passover Festival, so Jesus went to Jerusalem. 14 There in the Temple he found people selling cattle, sheep, and pigeons, and also the moneychangers sitting at their tables. 15 So he made a whip from cords and drove all the animals out of the Temple, both the sheep and the cattle; he overturned the tables of the moneychangers and scattered their coins; 16 and he ordered those who sold the pigeons, “Take them out of here! Stop making my Father's house a marketplace!” 17 His disciples remembered that the scripture says, “My devotion to your house, O God, burns in me like a fire.”

18 The Jewish authorities came back at him with a question, “What miracle can you perform to show us that you have the right to do this?”

19 Jesus answered, “Tear down this Temple, and in three days I will build it again.”

20 “Are you going to build it again in three days?” they asked him. “It has taken forty-six years to build this Temple!”

21 But the temple Jesus was speaking about was his body. 22 So when he was raised from death, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the scripture and what Jesus had said.

Jesus' Knowledge of Human Nature

23 While Jesus was in Jerusalem during the Passover Festival, many believed in him as they saw the miracles he performed. 24 But Jesus did not trust himself to them, because he knew them all. 25 There was no need for anyone to tell him about them, because he himself knew what was in their hearts.

Jesus and Nicodemus

3 There was a Jewish leader named Nicodemus, who belonged to the party of the Pharisees. 2 One night he went to Jesus and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher sent by God. No one could perform the miracles you are doing unless God were with him.”

3 Jesus answered, “I am telling you the truth: no one can see the Kingdom of God without being born again.”[d]

4 “How can a grown man be born again?” Nicodemus asked. “He certainly cannot enter his mother's womb and be born a second time!”

5 “I am telling you the truth,” replied Jesus, “that no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. 6 A person is born physically of human parents, but is born spiritually of the Spirit. 7 Do not be surprised because I tell you that you must all be born again.[e] 8 The wind blows wherever it wishes; you hear the sound it makes, but you do not know where it comes from or where it is going. It is like that with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

9 “How can this be?” asked Nicodemus.

10 Jesus answered, “You are a great teacher in Israel, and you don't know this? 11 I am telling you the truth: we speak of what we know and report what we have seen, yet none of you is willing to accept our message. 12 You do not believe me when I tell you about the things of this world; how will you ever believe me, then, when I tell you about the things of heaven? 13 And no one has ever gone up to heaven except the Son of Man, who came down from heaven.”[f]

14 As Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the desert, in the same way the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. 16 For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not die but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to be its judge, but to be its savior.

18 Those who believe in the Son are not judged; but those who do not believe have already been judged, because they have not believed in God's only Son. 19 This is how the judgment works: the light has come into the world, but people love the darkness rather than the light, because their deeds are evil. 20 Those who do evil things hate the light and will not come to the light, because they do not want their evil deeds to be shown up. 21 But those who do what is true come to the light in order that the light may show that what they did was in obedience to God.

Jesus and John

22 After this, Jesus and his disciples went to the province of Judea, where he spent some time with them and baptized. 23 John also was baptizing in Aenon, not far from Salim, because there was plenty of water in that place. People were going to him, and he was baptizing them. (24 This was before John had been put in prison.)

25 Some of John's disciples began arguing with a Jew[g] about the matter of ritual washing. 26 So they went to John and told him, “Teacher, you remember the man who was with you on the east side of the Jordan, the one you spoke about? Well, he is baptizing now, and everyone is going to him!”

27 John answered, “No one can have anything unless God gives it. 28 You yourselves are my witnesses that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah, but I have been sent ahead of him.’ 29 The bridegroom is the one to whom the bride belongs; but the bridegroom's friend, who stands by and listens, is glad when he hears the bridegroom's voice. This is how my own happiness is made complete. 30 He must become more important while I become less important.”

He Who Comes from Heaven

31 He who comes from above is greater than all. He who is from the earth belongs to the earth and speaks about earthly matters, but he who comes from heaven is above all. 32 He tells what he has seen and heard, yet no one accepts his message. 33 But whoever accepts his message confirms by this that God is truthful. 34 The one whom God has sent speaks God's words, because God gives him the fullness of his Spirit. 35 The Father loves his Son and has put everything in his power. 36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever disobeys the Son will not have life, but will remain under God's punishment.

Jesus and the Samaritan Woman

4 The Pharisees heard that Jesus was winning and baptizing more disciples than John. (2 Actually, Jesus himself did not baptize anyone; only his disciples did.) 3 So when Jesus heard what was being said, he left Judea and went back to Galilee; 4 on his way there he had to go through Samaria.

5 In Samaria he came to a town named Sychar, which was not far from the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob's well was there, and Jesus, tired out by the trip, sat down by the well. It was about noon.

7 A Samaritan woman came to draw some water, and Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink of water.” (8 His disciples had gone into town to buy food.)

9 The woman answered, “You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan—so how can you ask me for a drink?” (Jews will not use the same cups and bowls that Samaritans use.)[h]

10 Jesus answered, “If you only knew what God gives and who it is that is asking you for a drink, you would ask him, and he would give you life-giving water.”

11 “Sir,” the woman said, “you don't have a bucket, and the well is deep. Where would you get that life-giving water? 12 It was our ancestor Jacob who gave us this well; he and his children and his flocks all drank from it. You don't claim to be greater than Jacob, do you?”

13 Jesus answered, “Those who drink this water will get thirsty again, 14 but those who drink the water that I will give them will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give them will become in them a spring which will provide them with life-giving water and give them eternal life.”

15 “Sir,” the woman said, “give me that water! Then I will never be thirsty again, nor will I have to come here to draw water.”

16 “Go and call your husband,” Jesus told her, “and come back.”

17 “I don't have a husband,” she answered.

Jesus replied, “You are right when you say you don't have a husband. 18 You have been married to five men, and the man you live with now is not really your husband. You have told me the truth.”

19 “I see you are a prophet, sir,” the woman said. 20 “My Samaritan ancestors worshiped God on this mountain, but you Jews say that Jerusalem is the place where we should worship God.”

21 Jesus said to her, “Believe me, woman, the time will come when people will not worship the Father either on this mountain or in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans do not really know whom you worship; but we Jews know whom we worship, because it is from the Jews that salvation comes. 23 But the time is coming and is already here, when by the power of God's Spirit people will worship the Father as he really is, offering him the true worship that he wants. 24 God is Spirit, and only by the power of his Spirit can people worship him as he really is.”

25 The woman said to him, “I know that the Messiah will come, and when he comes, he will tell us everything.”

26 Jesus answered, “I am he, I who am talking with you.”

27 At that moment Jesus' disciples returned, and they were greatly surprised to find him talking with a woman. But none of them said to her, “What do you want?” or asked him, “Why are you talking with her?”

28 Then the woman left her water jar, went back to the town, and said to the people there, 29 “Come and see the man who told me everything I have ever done. Could he be the Messiah?” 30 So they left the town and went to Jesus.

31 In the meantime the disciples were begging Jesus, “Teacher, have something to eat!”

32 But he answered, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.”

33 So the disciples started asking among themselves, “Could somebody have brought him food?”

34 “My food,” Jesus said to them, “is to obey the will of the one who sent me and to finish the work he gave me to do. 35 You have a saying, ‘Four more months and then the harvest.’ But I tell you, take a good look at the fields; the crops are now ripe and ready to be harvested! 36 The one who reaps the harvest is being paid and gathers the crops for eternal life; so the one who plants and the one who reaps will be glad together. 37 For the saying is true, ‘Someone plants, someone else reaps.’ 38 I have sent you to reap a harvest in a field where you did not work; others worked there, and you profit from their work.”

39 Many of the Samaritans in that town believed in Jesus because the woman had said, “He told me everything I have ever done.” 40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they begged him to stay with them, and Jesus stayed there two days.

41 Many more believed because of his message, 42 and they told the woman, “We believe now, not because of what you said, but because we ourselves have heard him, and we know that he really is the Savior of the world.”

Jesus Heals an Official's Son

43 After spending two days there, Jesus left and went to Galilee. 44 For he himself had said, “Prophets are not respected in their own country.” 45 When he arrived in Galilee, the people there welcomed him, because they had gone to the Passover Festival in Jerusalem and had seen everything that he had done during the festival.

46 Then Jesus went back to Cana in Galilee, where he had turned the water into wine. A government official was there whose son was sick in Capernaum. 47 When he heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went to him and asked him to go to Capernaum and heal his son, who was about to die. 48 Jesus said to him, “None of you will ever believe unless you see miracles and wonders.”

49 “Sir,” replied the official, “come with me before my child dies.”

50 Jesus said to him, “Go; your son will live!”

The man believed Jesus' words and went. 51 On his way home his servants met him with the news, “Your boy is going to live!”

52 He asked them what time it was when his son got better, and they answered, “It was one o'clock yesterday afternoon when the fever left him.” 53 Then the father remembered that it was at that very hour when Jesus had told him, “Your son will live.” So he and all his family believed.

54 This was the second miracle that Jesus performed after coming from Judea to Galilee.

The Healing at the Pool

5 After this, Jesus went to Jerusalem for a religious festival. 2 Near the Sheep Gate in Jerusalem there is a pool[i] with five porches; in Hebrew it is called Bethzatha.[j] 3 A large crowd of sick people were lying on the porches—the blind, the lame, and the paralyzed. 4 [k] 5 A man was there who had been sick for thirty-eight years. 6 Jesus saw him lying there, and he knew that the man had been sick for such a long time; so he asked him, “Do you want to get well?”

7 The sick man answered, “Sir, I don't have anyone here to put me in the pool when the water is stirred up; while I am trying to get in, somebody else gets there first.”

8 Jesus said to him, “Get up, pick up your mat, and walk.” 9 Immediately the man got well; he picked up his mat and started walking.

The day this happened was a Sabbath, 10 so the Jewish authorities told the man who had been healed, “This is a Sabbath, and it is against our Law for you to carry your mat.”

11 He answered, “The man who made me well told me to pick up my mat and walk.”

12 They asked him, “Who is the man who told you to do this?”

13 But the man who had been healed did not know who Jesus was, for there was a crowd in that place, and Jesus had slipped away.

14 Afterward, Jesus found him in the Temple and said, “Listen, you are well now; so stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.”

15 Then the man left and told the Jewish authorities that it was Jesus who had healed him. 16 So they began to persecute Jesus, because he had done this healing on a Sabbath. 17 Jesus answered them, “My Father is always working, and I too must work.”

18 This saying made the Jewish authorities all the more determined to kill him; not only had he broken the Sabbath law, but he had said that God was his own Father and in this way had made himself equal with God.

The Authority of the Son

19 So Jesus answered them, “I tell you the truth: the Son can do nothing on his own; he does only what he sees his Father doing. What the Father does, the Son also does. 20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. He will show him even greater things to do than this, and you will all be amazed. 21 Just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, in the same way the Son gives life to those he wants to. 22 Nor does the Father himself judge anyone. He has given his Son the full right to judge, 23 so that all will honor the Son in the same way as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.

24 “I am telling you the truth: those who hear my words and believe in him who sent me have eternal life. They will not be judged, but have already passed from death to life. 25 I am telling you the truth: the time is coming—the time has already come—when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear it will come to life. 26 Just as the Father is himself the source of life, in the same way he has made his Son to be the source of life. 27 And he has given the Son the right to judge, because he is the Son of Man. 28 Do not be surprised at this; the time is coming when all the dead will hear his voice 29 and come out of their graves: those who have done good will rise and live, and those who have done evil will rise and be condemned.

Witnesses to Jesus

30 “I can do nothing on my own authority; I judge only as God tells me, so my judgment is right, because I am not trying to do what I want, but only what he who sent me wants.

31 “If I testify on my own behalf, what I say is not to be accepted as real proof. 32 But there is someone else who testifies on my behalf, and I know that what he says about me is true. 33 John is the one to whom you sent your messengers, and he spoke on behalf of the truth. 34 It is not that I must have a human witness; I say this only in order that you may be saved. 35 John was like a lamp, burning and shining, and you were willing for a while to enjoy his light. 36 But I have a witness on my behalf which is even greater than the witness that John gave: what I do, that is, the deeds my Father gave me to do, these speak on my behalf and show that the Father has sent me. 37 And the Father, who sent me, also testifies on my behalf. You have never heard his voice or seen his face, 38 and you do not keep his message in your hearts, for you do not believe in the one whom he sent. 39 You study the Scriptures, because you think that in them you will find eternal life. And these very Scriptures speak about me! 40 Yet you are not willing to come to me in order to have life.

41 “I am not looking for human praise. 42 But I know what kind of people you are, and I know that you have no love for God in your hearts. 43 I have come with my Father's authority, but you have not received me; when, however, someone comes with his own authority, you will receive him. 44 You like to receive praise from one another, but you do not try to win praise from the one who alone is God; how, then, can you believe me? 45 Do not think, however, that I am the one who will accuse you to my Father. Moses, in whom you have put your hope, is the very one who will accuse you. 46 If you had really believed Moses, you would have believed me, because he wrote about me. 47 But since you do not believe what he wrote, how can you believe what I say?”

xviii-Isaiah 1:16 Wash yourselves clean. Stop all this evil that I see you doing. Yes, stop doing evil 17 and learn to do right. See that justice is done—help those who are oppressed, give orphans their rights, and defend widows.”

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